Katika Iguhu!
Hey friends! Hope all of you had a wonderful Fourth of July. I haven’t blogged in quite a while, but I finally have some time to do so. The title of this post literally means: In Iguhu!
Iguhu Health Centre (yes, that is centre spelled CENTRE) is the hospital I am working in. My coworkers are all amazing people and I enjoy working with each and every one of them. During the first week of my internship, it was quite difficult getting to know everyone and remembering their names. I felt intimidated, and introducing yourself as Dalbert, that’s Albert, but with a D in front of it, wasn’t as useful as it was in America. I got a lot of Davids and random Starbucks names. I even contemplated going by Jonathan for the rest of the internship since that is my middle name! However, after a few days, Dalbert became my name again, and I learned their names too! Now, we all love chatting and when we aren’t working, we like to discuss football (that’s soccer for you Americans) and how Barack Obama is Kenyan.
Basically, I am having an amazing experience working in the hospital. Even though there were times when I felt helpless and frustrated because I did not have the skills to help the patients, I soon realized there were other ways you can help. Even though they are small actions such as making sure the patients are comfortable while they are being injected with an IV, or handing the doctors various surgical tools, I am able to help out. Seeing a patient get well really brightens my day. I smile after a patient says thank you and gives me a big grin. My heart is warmed when a mother gives me a smile after we treat her baby. These are all reasons why I want to one day become a doctor.
Host family is great! They are all so welcoming and loving. I’ve had a lot of great experiences, and I definitely look forward to spending more time with them in the next 6 weeks! Because I’m residing in the more rural part of Kenya, everyday is quite peaceful. Except for when they are cutting off the chicken’s head… Peaceful dinner for us, not peaceful for that chicken though! Before I leave, I am going to slaughter one. :) I’ve also gotten the chance to visit the Kakamega Forest. While there, I saw a bunch of monkeys! One of them almost peed on my head, but thankfully I avoided the stream. I also got to visit Kiboko Bay, where I saw a bunch of hippos!
Anyway, there is just so much more stuff to tell all of y'all about, but I’ll just share one more thing with you. CULTURE SHOCK IS A REAL THING. I thought adapting would be easy peasy, but NO. NOT AT ALL. There are times when I really miss home. I miss my friends, and I miss my parents. I’m slowly but surely getting the hang of things here, but every day brings more challenges. But through these challenges, I find the silver linings, which are helping me develop so much as a person. The culture has greatly humbled my pride, and I am so thankful for that.
DC
[makhokho, kenya]
{07.05.2014}