August 2011
21 posts
Final Week in SA
I’m here in the TV room at the Ele waiting to head to the airport. Checked out and made sure everything is in order. This past week has been pretty chill and I’m glad for that.
Didn’t do clinic last week b/c I still wasn’t 100%. Mon, finished the chart review. David told me about a group of his friends who were on a train headed back to CT and were held at knife point for...
Wineries
Went to the winelands in Stellenbosch today. David hiked TM w/ the new Germans. The Belgians flaked so it was just Milena and I. It turned out to be a great experience. We went to Spier first. Saw the cheetahs, but I didn’t wait around for the adult encounter since Milena was hungry. I just had an overwhelming sense of contentedness today. I figure I could always pet a cheetah the next time...
“I have three kids and no money. Why can’t I have no kids and three money?”
– Homer Simpson (via david)
My Office Space
Just outside my office you can see Devil’s Peak. It’s one of four mountain structures (Signal Hill, Table Mt, Lion’s Head) that are considered major tourist attractions. I haven’t hiked up any yet. Some friends want to do a sunset/moonlight hike up LH tonight b/c there will be a full moon. It’s hard to coordinate ppl though. We’ll see if it happens.
Jocelyne...
“Never looking back or too far in front of me. The present is a gift, and I just...”
– Common
Didn't follow through
Got brain, but I couldn’t sleep w/ the chain-smoking drunk French girl. I was shivering the entire time I was at her place. It’s as if my body was trying to reject the situation.
Clarity
I know when to stop drinking. I know money isn’t everything. I know sex doesn’t solve anything. I know drugs and cigarettes are self-destructive. I know knowledge is power, but most information is useless. I have a hard time finding people who know all these things. The closest I’ve come is fellow medical students. Everyone has an addiction. I’m not trying to sound elitist....
Pearl Gestures
Attending: Physicians have a language and we should use it. Imagine if a lovely female physician was at a conference gesturing while presenting a case to a room full of gentlemen. What if the case involved the mammary gland and she pulled out her pair of voluptuous breasts and began rubbing them?"
Me: There would be applause?
Attending: There would be semen flying everywhere!
SA - Day 33
A week and a half left and I’m still bordering on homesickness and serenity out here. It’s just minor things I miss, like my dogs, immaculate bathrooms and privacy. Saw the doc’s presentation last Friday. It was quite impressive. He’s certainly qualified to be a fellow. Went to the aquarium last Thursday w/ two new Norwegian girls. Nothing special. Left Friday for my trip...
Flying Solo
Went to clinic twice last week. The first time (Tues) I went to a fixed clinic where I hung out with the SA students with robust senses of humor (I’m actually posing w/ the ringleader in this photo). The second time (Wed), we were grossly understaffed for the first time since I’ve been here. Zara joined me. We split the few students up between the two camps. Apart from Zara, there...
Chipped
My tooth walking and texting. It’s not noticeable, but I can feel it w/ my tongue. Wouldn’t have happened if my boss had showed up for work today. TIA. Puts me in a bad humour. Ross left this morning. Not sure if he’s the source of my cold. Won’t go to clinic tonight. I’ve officially been here the longest (not sure on Ellie though). Came back from the trip yesterday....
Bubbleshooter
Sitting in the office playing bubble shooter. Too lazy to update.
Clinic 8/2/11
Went to clinic after hanging out with Ross and Orjan at “BloBurg”. Last night I was at a fixed clinic for the first time. I saw a baby who tried shaving w/ his dad’s razor and cut up his chin. His chief complaint was impetigo. His mom complained about aches in her neck and back. They seemed stress related. The last woman spoke in Khosa and had a URTI. (Tesham missed pharyngitis...
TIA Jokes
The humor of SA med students as I witnessed firsthand on the way back from clinics last night:
Q: What did Cinderella say when she got to the ball? A: *gag* Q: What does a baby sound like when you put it in a blender? A: I don’t know. I was too busy jerking off. Q: What’s worse than 9 babies nailed to 1 post? A: 1 baby nailed to 9 posts. Q: How do you make an orphans hands bleed? A:...
A Mother's Lullaby
(For some reason this came to mind. It’s an intense poem I remember from the JHS-3 textbook I used while teaching in Japan)
A big, old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things. One summer night the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded sweet. But the...
SA - Day 25
Yesterday, I came in and the doc wasn’t here. Waited till about noon and took off. Paid for about 2900MB of internet. Came in late today. Was distracted at the hostel. Tried to obtain a sample for the doc, but unfortunately the patient was clotting too much to aspirate. Gonna try clinic tonight. Was too lazy last night. Just read White Noise. It’s getting more interesting. Murray and...
Shark Cage Diving
Went on Sat to a place just pass Hermanus. John began feeling nauseous as early as the two-hour van ride over there. We did rush breakfast and he tends to overeat. When we got to the shore we browsed some shops as we were waiting. Stuffed penguins instead of sharks. Not that I wanted anymore stuffed animals. It just strikes me as odd that so many ppl are into penguins here. Met a couple of Belgium...
July 2011
33 posts
Heart of CT
Cape Town is home to the first heart Transplant in the world. It was performed on Dec 3, 1967 by Dr Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schur (where I’m doing my research). A woman by the name of Denise Durvall (25) was crossing the street w/ her mom when the two were struck by drunk driver. Her mom died instantly, while Denise was left brain dead. Up until then, the world was afraid to perform a...
SA - Day 23
Been a bit lazy updating. Half way through the ride. Here’s week 3.
Clinics - MON, canceled. Went out to the townships anyway. There was another American (undergrad) who wants to be a DO. Such a hippie. Simon told me about the clinic’s sponsorship. Apparently, they get some R1.5 million from a pharma company. They’ll soon be sponsored by a beer company (had to meet w/ an ethics...
“Tomorrow we will show the world that Norway’s democracy grows stronger...”
– Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
The rich don’t need it, the poor have it, it’s more powerful than God and it will kill you if you eat it.
SA - Day 17
Came in on Friday and finished up the Excel sorting. Friday night, I visited Long St for the first time. We went to Fiction (trance, electro) Neighbourhood (sit down place) and JoBurg (cozy, dark nightclub). Tina and Kate got wasted. The Ele staffers seemed to have fun w/ them. I won’t be visiting Long St again w/ those girls for a while. I can’t deal w/ the party girl personality....
INTP
On the Garden Route, Ingrid spoke to Vidar and me about a psychiatrist named Carl Gustav Jung who created an INTP profile. Apparently, Vidar and I are introverted, sensing, thinking and perceiving. The ideal is intuition over sensing, but I do tend to get bogged down in details. Ingrid is the opposite of us. She’s charming in her own way.
"Ape Town"
On the Garden Route, I couldn’t help but notice that as we moved east, there was more money to be found in the land. It also got progressively more Afrikaans. It’s a shame that across the globe blacks are so closely associated w/ poverty. On more than one occasion, I had someone ask me where I was from. What I heard was, “Are you sure you belong here?” On the way back, we...
Snus
Ingrid smokes when she drinks, but isn’t very good at it. Apparently, at parties in Scandinavian countries, they use snus. It’s a teabag form of tobacco created in Sweden that they keep in their gums. It’s like chewing tobacco except no need to chew. You just drink alcohol.
“You’re gonna ride killer. He’s big. Fast. And aggressive.”
– Our tour guide on the ostrich farm
Quotes
I feel nothing.
~Vidar petting a dog
I just wanted to break it’s neck.
~Vidar referring to the pictures he took w/ ostriches
I don’t mind b/c it smells nice.
~Ingrid after Steve accidently touched elephant excrement to her nose.
Quick Update
Stayed at Orange Ele for two nights. Kristine was none too happy w/ John, the owner. It was fairly creepy. Ruddy red stained bathtub and blankets w/ holes or similar stains. Lots of family pics and frog statues. Slept in a silo that was so cold we might as well have been outside. Got a bit sick, but feeling better.
Went to ADDO Ele park on Tues. Saw an elephant’s member. It was larger than...
SA - Days 9 & 10
I haven’t been able to access the internet for 48 hours. It’s such a strange feeling. Pete responded to my e-mails and said to come back w/ stories, but I don’t think I know how to do that. I know Linn hiked up Table Mountain and when she used the bathroom at the top there was a baboon in it that started screaming at her. They also have door handles 30m off the ground that are...
SA - Day 8
Went out to Franschhoek w/ Vidar, Christine, John, Gowry, Joselyn and their friends. It was the whitest place I’ve seen in Cape Town. We went around tasting wines and I got my tourist game on. Bought a beret and haggled for a a couple of statues (including a green elephant). It has been lovely weather all week and according to Louisa’s Danish weather forecast, it’ll be sunny for...
SA - Week 1 Wrap
The Norwegians are done. There’s a farewell braai for them tonight. It was great working with them. Saw my first penis and anus in clinic this week. Nothing wrong with the penis, and the anus was a complaint of hemorrhoids that didn’t have any external presentation. In any event, I stared at a man’s asshole. There’s no going back from that.
SA - Day 6
Went to the day clinic. Saw the patient w/ Proteus Syndrome. Referred her to a clinic for HTN. Saw ringworm. The kids in the townships find joy in their lives. Pancho’s for dinner.
“I’d rather stick my finger in a vagina than in an asshole.”
– Carita
“Sometimes babies get raped… We don’t want responsibility.”
– Dr Kabala
SA - Day 5
Lab was uneventful. Stayed in and watched the US trump France. It was ridiculously cold. Ate some of the Ele’s crap burgers.
Ele
The housing staff here is extremely sweet. Esther needs to go ahead and publish a cookbook already!
Clinics
The clinics are two mobile trucks with 4 cubicles in each. That allows for 8 teams at a time. There are 8 clinical Norwegian students. Last night I was with Karita. It was a light night and the only interesting case was a baby with paroxysmal breathing due to an aggravated pneumonia. Tonight I teamed up with Rundghild (prev. thought it was Woodhill and still not convinced I’m spelling that...
SA - Day 4
Went to the office. AD told me about my project. Looks like I’ll be organizing a super-sized Excel file. My laptop is outdated so I’ll be using a carbon copy they have with a newer OS. I tried riding a Jammie Shuttle to the Upper Campus, but wound up waiting half an hour. Supposedly, it’s b/c it’s holiday. I decided to walk it. It took about 50 min. I was just fed up w/ all...
“Teetintongue”
– Norwegian for “tooth of the time”, Woodhill (sp?)
SA - Day 3
Overslept. Went to see Deffur around 11:30. Took a cab like a sucker. 20 rand minimum. Need to sort out some admin stuff. Saw Lana. Didn’t look like what I imagined. Rudo’s on holiday until next Monday. Need to go out to the main campus to get my ID. Internet is rationed!!! Students only get 3GB/month. I couldn’t access anything beyond PubMed and Google Scholar. Lame. Deffur was...
Banksy
The guy from Germany (name escapes me) gave me a copy of Banksy’s doc to watch. Why does kindness startle me?
Scandinavian girls
…are cute. That comment from Hans (about cycling) makes me question what kind of insensitive remarks pass for conversation in Norway. There isn’t much diversity up there, but they did make the journey to Africa. Hope they don’t hold prejudices. Gonna be working with them at SHAWCO this week.
Hans' Ignorance
Hans: What’s going on outside?
Nyasha: Someone is having a wedding.
Hans: What the hell? Don’t they know it’s a Sunday! Sundays are for peace and quiet!
Nyasha: (smiling) Welcome to Africa!
SA - Day 2
Slept. A lot. Woke up at noon or so and missed the guys going to Table Mountain. Showered. Ate cereal for my late breakfast. Watched the tail end of the SWE-AUS match. Watched cycling w/ Erling (a Norwegian clinical med student who I’ll be working with at SHAWCO this week). I found it pretty drab, but watched to be polite. Could have gone down to a busier street in Observatory, but...