Eight is enough...

1/14/08

Word of the day: Bitese? (What's up?)

Today we finished the didactic portion of the training with a lecture on VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) and another on cryotherapy. The OB's have been really great about getting me involved and today Mark referred to me as the "4th trainer" to someone which was nice. The nurses all seem to be picking up everything really quickly despite the occasional translation issue. They have started reviewing slides of normal cervices and then ones that are either VIA positive or suspicious for cancer. There is a computer lab with 20 computers at the Kigali Health Institute which is unbelievable - better than the stupid lab we have at Einstein. It's been really interactive to everyone's surprise since the Rwandan people are generally not very emotive. In fact today during our lunch break we were walking over to the cafeteria (which by the way has served the EXACT same food for the past 3 days - rice, potatoes, spinach, cole slaw and the toughest beef I've ever experienced in my life) and Titina, one of the nurses, came up to me and asked if I was an actor in the show One Tree Hill (Chad Michael Murray plays a character named Lucas). She was obviously joking but it got her laughing and then her friends started teasing her because she's "single and searching" which apparently is a common phrase here... Unfortunately it was also used to introduce me the first time I presented to the group so now I get teased about it. Sadly I don't think she realizes she's not exactly the person I'm searching for... I may have found a potential African bride though so my Aunt Anne will be happy!

The two 100kg cryo tanks arrived today and magically made it up 3 flights of steep stairs while we were at lunch - no one knows who actually carried them up! Anyway, we're going to be demonstrating cryotherapy on sausages tomorrow for the group. I'll try to get some good pictures of that!

Dr. Anastos and her husband arrived tonight so now there are 9 of us in the house - hence the name of today's blog post. Eight is definitely the max capacity of this house so I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor tonight which will be interesting considering how many insects there are here. There are only 2 bathrooms (one of which is in Dr. Anastos' room) so that leaves 1 bathroom for 7 of us... YAY! I'm sure it will be fine. It also appears that I will now be accompanying Kathy, Mark, Lisa and Dan to Cyangugu this weekend (south western tip of the country at the southern point of Lake Kivu) in order to check out this rural health center and determine if it's a good site to start a Maternal/Child health center with capacity for labor services. We'll be there from the 17th - 21st so it will be intersting trying to find somewhere to watch or at least listen to the innauguration... considering that part of the reason we're going is to figure out how to bring electricity to the health outpost. To get there we have to drive through the Nyungwe Forest National Park which the travel guide I have describes as the "best reason to prolong your stay in Rwanda." Considering I'll already be here for 4 months I don't think I need an extension but I'm sure it will be a fun experience.

I'm totally ready for bed but since the livingroom has become my bedroom I guess I'm staying up until everyone goes to bed. These training days are really fun and productive but totally draining. I'm looking forward to a change of pace this weekend.

Ijoro Rwiza!