Notes from Week Two (erin)

Hello. Here are some snippets from some emails home. It's a bit behind because we have been having trouble posting.

I lied about it not being too hot...it's very hot now. Well sometimes, it is and sometimes it isn't, it varies block to block and hour to hour.

We just walk to town, only 10-15 minutes. We can take a boda boda (riding on the back of a scooter) but we're not brave enough yet. We are staying away from the market today because it is market day and apparently it is very busy and crazy. Not ready for that yet either.

My days at the hospital have been very uneventful as my supervisor is away. So I have been reading material and today i transcribed some statistics. yesterday afternoon i helped Carli dispense medication to HIV/AIDS patients and today we played with the children there because it was children's day. We brought toys because they wait for hours to see the doctor. They loved us :) That was fun but very tiring because basically they are amused with pushing a wee car back and forth, back and forth, back and forth....etc.

We are very tired and a bit frustrated that we aren't doing much help at the hospital. Today I went to Jen's practicum where we sat and listened to people with mental illnesses get interviewed by the nurse...in Luganda. Anyway we are trying to do what we can.

It's a long weekend becauase Monday is Labour Day. Yah! We are getting bit by mosquitos and other strange creatures...we shall see next week if we get malaria, yikes. Should be ok :)

(Another day…)

I will tell you a bit more about the hospital. It is quite unbelievable. It is not really a hospital...what I mean is that they can't really do anything for these people. It's a hospital for poor people and each patient must be accompanied by someone 24hours a day to look after them. The companion must feed and clothe them. Sometimes it is children looking after parents. The only food provided by the hospital is a cup of Posho at lunch which is basically a cup of flour and water. We suspect that the patients must even bring their own mattresses. The companions of the patients are scattered all over the lawn washing clothes or just resting or waiting...it's quite the site. There are some buildings that are occupied by people who do not have the money to travel back home so they live in these structures. Some of them are just waiting to die.

Sorry, there isn't a whole lot of good news here today! It's really not all bad here,honest! Scott, there are also chickens, sheep and goats that roam the streets. Carli's worried cuz she hasn't seen her goat babies in a couple of days so we're wondering if they're on the menu at the restaurant!