Habari!!!

Sorry it has taken me absolutely ages to get a blog posted. Between extremely slow and spotty internet and adjusting to a new routine, I just haven’t had a chance. But here goes...

I have been here for just about three weeks and I feel quite at home. Nyakato, where we live, is located about 15 minutes outside of the city of Mwanza. We live in a compound which houses the Nyakato Health Center, the home for the IHP directors, our house (the bungalow), Lucy’s house (where we eat dinner every night), and the start of the IHP hospital. Currently the hospital consists of 3 buildings: the isolation ward, birthing center, and eye center. Ultimately the hospital will have a surgical unit, pediatric unit, women’s ward, men’s ward, x-ray suite, and dental clinic. Until the hospital is built, the Nyakato Health Center only sees outpatients. The clinic operates from 8-5 on Monday to Friday and from 8-12 on Saturdays. There are three wonderful Tanzanian physicians (Dr. Bon, Dr. Msengi, and Dr. Victoria) who see all the patients (on an average day between 80-120). The clinic also has an operating room although currently there is no surgeon so the only procedures are tooth extractions, circumcisions (seen more of those than I ever want too!), lipoma removal, and fixing up various cuts and scrapes. The clinic also has its own pharmacy, run by Fridah, and lab, run by Jimmy, who does everything from blood draws to looking at the slides under the microscope. Everyday I am amazed by the staff at the clinic. They are some of the warmest and kindest people I have ever met.

My daily routine is fairly set by now. I try to get up and run the one mile lap around the compound a couple of times with a few of the other students who are here for the summer. This is one of the first times that I have traveled and been in a place where simply by my looks you can tell that I am a foreigner. All of the kids here are fascinated by us running around the compound and village. More often than not I feel like the Pied Piper because after our first lap we will have a trail of kids running behind us shouting “Mzungu, mzungu” which means white person or foreigner. All of the kids here are absolutely adorable!!!

Breakfast is at Paula’s at 8. I should just pause for a second and tell you about Denny and Paula. They are amazing!!! Denny is a retired pathologist and Paula a nurse. They are the on site directors of International Health Partners. I have never seen a more active and enthusiastic pair. I think Paula adopts every student here as if they were her own children. She is so much fun to be around. A week ago she taught me how to make homemade bread and last night it was biscuits. She and Denny have lived and worked internationally for the past 20 years so they are filled with all kinds of interesting stories.

After breakfast we all split up for the day and either go to work at the clinic, work on our health education presentations, or visit other health sites in Mwanza. Our day wraps up between 4-5. Since the World Cup has started we have been walking into the village most days after work to catch at least one of the games at the only “restaurant” that has a television. Dinner is at 7 at Lucy’s house. She makes the most delicious food. Tanzanian food is similar to Indian food but definitly less spicy. My favorite dishes are the homemade chapatis and samaki (fish) that comes in fresh from Lake Victoria. Post dinner its back to the bungalow to read, play cards, chat, and regroup for the next day.

Aside from work we have had a chance to do a little bit of exploring in Mwanza. Because we live a little far away it takes some planning for us to all go out together. My first weekend we had dinner on Lake Victoria at a place called the Tunsa. We arrived just in time to catch the sunset over the lake! Off for another presentation on STDs. Kwaheri!

PS: Since Amit and I are both here for the summer we thought we would include you on both of our writings. Read more about Nyakato and life in Tanzania at:

http://theguptaman.blogspot.com