The perception of passing time is such a mystery. Last week we talked at one meal time about how we felt sort of suspended—it seemed as though we had not been at Macha for very long at all and yet we felt as though we had been away from home for an eternity.We were in the space between the familiar (life in the US) and the unfamiliar.Now, about a week later, our life, schedule, surroundings, have begun to feel familiar. Our feet have walked the paths, our eyes have taken notice of the patterns of the sun and clouds, and we know the names of many of those who live here at Macha.
Yet it is not our home (with the possible exception of Wanda!) and there are still ways in which we are not comfortable.While it has gotten easier, our ears still strain to understand the English many speak with a strong accent. We still to move to the wrong side of the road to get out of the way of approaching vehicles. We still walk quickly, while others move at a more leisurely pace.Embracing a culture does not mean that it becomes our own—but it can shine light into our lives.Memories of our time at Macha will be reminders about things we may want to incorporate into our lives.Maybe we will more often set aside time for a cup of tea with a friend. Maybe we will be more welcoming when we see a visitor or more helpful when someone appears to be confused. Maybe we will have a greater sense of gratitude for the blessings in our lives and a greater urge to generosity to share those blessings. Maybe.
This is our last Tuesday in Zambia. Our days at the hospital are winding down, though there havestill been a lot of exciting opportunities—assisting in maternity with deliveries and observing C-sections, observing surgeries of various sorts, and interacting with ART Clinic clients taking vitals and working with compliance interviews. (Don’t worry, friends, I’ve not actually done any of this—I’m not a nurse!)
Once again, our plans for a walk to the dam were postponed due to threat of rain. This means that more reading was done, the jigsaw puzzle of the elephants is closer to being completed, and likely a few got in a nap. The runners in our group will likely still do their pre-supper circuit.
Tonight the principal tutor from the Nurses Training School here in Macha, Mrs. Sitali, came to talk to us about the Zambian health system and some of the specific challenges of nursing in Zambia.
Could this have been our beloved Harry, who was ever so much more popular than the spiders, before he met his unfortunate end?
"Hallo! How are you?"
The market near the hospital has foodstuff, clothing, cooking supplies, and other essentials to serve the families who are there for a while with a hopsital patient. The latest fashion--this outfit with an American flag with a photo of President Obama and the words "Our Dream".
People who know me are aware that for the past seven months or so I've been a fountain of haiku, a short poetic form that consists of three lines, with 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. I've written a few since we left the States and I thought maybe I'd share them here. Ignore them if you wish!
One of the members of the Outreach Teams who serve (fairly) local communities by taking some health services to them in the villages
Jessicaaaaaa, Brooke and Casey can't wait for the Outreach experience.
The van is loaded with supplies and people and ready to go!
Here's a view inside the ART clinic. ART stands for anti-retroviral therapy. Each of the hundreds and hundreds of files belongs to an individual who is receiving treatment for HIV.
Last night the power was out but they run the generator up until 11 pm and then start it again at 5 am. This meant that some of us who hadn’t turned out the lamps which were still on when the electricity went off were woken up at 5 when they turned on the supplemental power. But that was after being woken at 4 by the heavy, heavy rain. The world smelled fresh and clean and alive this morning after the rain.
We were all dressed for church when the rain began again in earnest, and we made the difficult decision to not take the 20 minute walk to Macha Church through the mud and rain. Instead we gathered in the big guest house where Wanda and I have been living.
Around the circle of friends we each shared a verse or passage of scripture which is especially meaningful to us and a brief explanation of why. We talked about things that God has been showing us during our time here in Zambia. With the help of an iPod, we sang a few songs together, and prayed. It was a good time together.
The afternoon was spent finalizing materials for tomorrow’s lecture and playing card games. I actually fell asleep on the couch in the midst of the chaos. Fun to hear happy voices laughing and talking!
This little one suffers from malnourishment. Many do.
Watched a bit of these men butchering a bull in the back of a pickup truck. The meat was then taken into the hospital kitchen.
At breakfast we made some Munali coffee—grown here in Zambia and courtesy of Marlys and Chris.It was a delicious change from the instant we have had until now. In addition to our staple of peanut butter toast, this morning we each had a hardboiled chicken egg at our places.
Rounds at the hospital again. We saw again an old friend of Wanda’s, a nurse who has some health issues of her own. When we greet her and ask how she is doing, she consistently replies, “One day at a time!” One of the assignments for the J-term course is to conduct an interview with a nurse here at Macha. I think that most of our students have had that chance by now—they will write up their interviews in a paper.
I’ve been impressed with the work that the girls are doing in their free time.They have reading to do, and they’ve also been putting together their portions of Monday’s lecture on the ear, nose and throat which they will present at 8:00 Monday morning.They are creating power point presentations with simple outlines—the Zambian students are accustomed to writing down word for word what the teacher presents because they do not own textbooks.
Wanda and I stopped at the shop to buy some crisps (potato chips) for the girls who have begun to crave a little junk food. Interesting flavors to choose from: cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, roasted chicken, and fruit chutney.
A few days ago we were joined here at MIAM by a Johns Hopkins entomologist who eats meals with us in the dining room. He has been coming to Macha a couple of times a year for research since 2005. He is, of course, the only male at the table.
Our hopes for an afternoon hike to the dam were thwarted by scattered showers—the mud would have been quite a mess. We will save that walk for a sunny afternoon later in the week. Instead there was time for reading, napping, jigsaw puzzling, and homework. Just a bit before the evening meal, we realized that conditions were perfect for a rainbow—bright sunlight from the west and rain still falling.Sure enough, there was a brilliant rainbow arching over the hospital compound.We stood in joyful amazement. “You can definitely see Roy G. Biv!” said Rachel. (Forgive me if I ever reference the wrong girl. After the first two days I had finally gotten all the names attached to the right person, but I may forget who said what.) And then it was time for supper… we’ve gotten into what may well be a bad habit of talking about foods we miss.On the way to the dining room, Katie L. said that earlier she thought she had smelled Cinnabons and then, she added, “I started to crave them hard.”
To make a long story short, a pilot from Rachel’s home church knows a pilot stationed here at Macha’s airport (airport sounds perhaps overstated—there is a runway and a sign…) Anyway. This Macha-based pilot connected with us (and took Rachel out for dinner on Thursday evening), and we were invited to their home Saturday evening for games. He and his wife have three lovely children and we enjoyed several hours sitting in their comfortable living room, laughing, eating delicious brownies, and hearing the story of God’s leading in their lives. He kindly drove us both ways so we wouldn’t have to walk the mile+ in the dark.
