Tails from the african bush... :)

My apologies for the delay in updating my blog as I am sure many of you are patiently awaiting a continuation to the story. Unfortunately it turns out that Malawi, a third-world country, frequently fails to have internet access as readily available as we do in the states. In any event, I am alive and well and enjoying my journey thus far.

I started the 8-week long excursion through central and southern Africa with a 6000 ft. climb up Mt. Mulanje, the second tallest mountain in Africa, with 5 other medical students and the physician we are living with here. It is the raining season in Malawi so we were plagued by downpours for part of the journey up and down the mountain but it was a beautiful hike nonetheless. A fellow medical student along on the trip fell during the steep climb up the hill and lacerated her leg. Much to our advantage, we had all been well trained in suturing and so we each partook in stitching her leg back together along the banks of a waterfall. We slept and rested our tired bodies at a rustic campsite infested with very large spiders. Although I tried to be adventurous and sleep outside, I resulted to sleeping inside next to the fire in order to minimize the chance of a spider attack.

The second adventure was traveling via public transportation to Cape McClear on Lake Malawi. The transportation, a local bus that stopped along the road to pick up travelers, ended up taking approximately 11 hours to complete a 200km trek! We road amongst the Malawians and their chickens, packed to max capacity on the rickety old but and although it was humorous once it was over, we decided the best option for future travels would be to hire a car! In any event, Cape McClear and Mumbo Island were two of the most spectacular places to visit in Africa. The water was crystal clear which proved to be a fabulous spot for freshwater snorkeling and kayaking. And thankfully we ended up finding a more tolerable transport back to our house in Blantyre.

This past weekend we traveled to “Mvuu”, which means hippo in chichewa, Malawians primary language. It was a unique 3-day African safari because most safaris are either land or water tours but Mvuu had both. We were able to take 4wd vehicles through the roughed terrain to take pictures of impalas, waterbucks, warthogs, and elephants and then later on we traveled on water to search for the grunting hippos and unusually large crocodiles. We also got up close and personal with many baboons that lived in the camp, when they thought it was humorous to jump on our tent while we were sleeping!

Working at the hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central, has been some of the best and worst experiences in my short medical career. The pathology I witness everyday is astonishing and advantageous to my future infectious disease practice, but the lack of diagnostic tools and proper treatments leaves me feeling somewhat helpless in my quest to make an impact. In any event, I have found it to be the exact life-changing experience I had expected and it has helped solidify my desire to practice medicine in a country with similar hardships.

I have taken many exceptional pictures thus far and plan to keep up the pace for the last two weeks of my rotation. However due to the internet speed in Malawi, I am going to wait to post any pictures until I return to the states. I will update my blog to give you the website where you can access my pictorial diary once I finish posting them. Hope all is well in the states! Zikomo!

My Journey Begins

The time has finally arrived.  Tomorrow, January 2nd at 3pm I begin my journey into the unfamiliar territory of East Africa.  A mere 20 hour series of flights will eventually deposit me in Malawi, where I will spend the next six weeks working at Queen Elizabeth; a hospital dedicated to serving a nameless and faceless people group with physical and emotional illness unlike anything I have ever seen or imagined.  If I am honest with myself the task I am endeavoring upon is a quite daunting one.  One in which I find myself feeling a bit fearful and uncertain as to whether or not I will have what it takes to face all that I will encounter in this new world.  

Ready or not, here I go.  Feel free to check back if you would like as I will be updating my blog as often as possible with the goings on of East Africa.  You can also feel free to leave a comment or two as I am sure I will be longing for familiarity.