iska waran

"iska waran" means "how are you?" The easiest Somali word I have learned yet, "Ha," which means "yes."

My first two days have been wonderful! I'm getting all settled in and beginning to find my way around a bit more easily. There is already so much to tell, but I'll try to keep it from being too long. Here are some pictures of the hospital....


The entire hospital is enclosed by a wall. Most of the pictures I took were from the roof, which is easily accessible and allows you to see much of Hargeisa.



This is Hargeisa (it's big)












Within the hospital complex there is:

An outpatient department















Pharmacy/Lab




















Convenience store

















Mosque

Nurses' dormitory

















New operating theater (still being built)
















A garden/tree area, which I haven't actually been to.



















Inside the main hospital building, the main floor has a reception area, a labor and delivery wing, a maternity wing, and a general patients' wing. The second floor has Edna's office, other administration offices, dining area, classrooms, and several rooms (including mine).

This is my bedroom! I have it all to myself plus my own bathroom which seems rather luxurious considering I am living in a hospital.

I don't actually use the mosquito net. I have maybe seen four this far, and have not been bitten at all.

























On the third floor, there are two more classrooms plus additional rooms. There are around 15 rooms for volunteers/visitors. Currently there are about 15 people living at the hospital. Sherri, the other summer volunteer from Texas, and myself are the only two summer volunteers here right now. Edna's brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew all live in the hospital. There are also several rooms occupied by teachers. Currently there are three British pharmacists staying here for three weeks but working at the Hargeisa Group hospital which is the government run hospital. The head nurse, Katherine (aka Matron), and one doctor, Dr. Lea, also live at the hospital. Everyone eats together at 7:30am, 1pm, and 8pm. Everyone is very welcoming, and the mish-mosh of nationalities and backgrounds has been interesting so far.

Here is a photo of our dining area:



So far I have mostly been sticking to vegetarian dishes. They do have goat almost every day, but I haven't quite gotten up the nerve to eat it yet. I have also been told that camel is the other common meat eaten.

At breakfast there is some amazing porridge. And there is always fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice.










There are so many people to meet in the hospital. In addition to all those living here, there are also other doctors and nurses. Robert and Jennifer Thiel live in a rented home in Hargeisa, but Robert comes in three days a week to work at the hospital and Jennifer teaches English to the various students. There are tons of students!! The hospital is very teaching oriented which has been interesting to see. There is a nursing/midwifery program at the hospital, and all of these nurses live in the dormitory behind the hospital. I'm still trying to figure out the different levels, which seem to coordinate with different colored head scarves. Light blue is nursing/midwifery. Darker blue seems to be the graduated/advanced nurse/midwives...they seem to be more in charge. There are still other nurses who seem to wear white or purple headscarves...they all live at their homes in Hargeisa. There are so many names, my head is swimming. There are three shifts and so there are new people to meet all the time. Surprisingly, my name is very difficult for people to say. Everyone loves Sherri's name and tell me mine is too difficult. They think it is "ein." They ask me to write it down so they can see how to say it, which helps because I also have them write their names for me.

My first full day, I went on rounds at 8am with Dr. Lea (she's from the Congo), two nurses, and Sherri. Rounds are every morning, and the rounding doctor (there are three who rotate) check in on each patient and give directions for medicine and procedures for the day. I actually felt a bit light-headed this morning as I was still a bit jet-lagged and the heat smothering in some of the patients' rooms. Everyday (except Friday) there is also an out-patient clinic open from 8am-noon and again from 5-8pm. After rounds, I went to the outpatient clinic. There are no appointments, so whoever wants to come, just comes. There is a separate Pre- and post-natal care region where women get exams and receive pre-natal vitamins. I did not get to go to this yesterday, but probably will next week. I spent some of the afternoon around the labor and delivery department, but I have not seen a birth yet. Apparently this is a very slow week. Mostly I have just been observing so far. The afternoons (1-4pm) are very quiet. This is the time when everyone eats lunch, rests, and prays.

There are also classes throughout the day. I haven't quite figured out all the classroom schedules, but there are nursing courses in the morning. There seems to be a rotation where there are two groups of nursing students. One group goes to classes for a month while the other group works in the hospital, and then they switch. There are pharmacy/lab technician classes later in the day (4:30pm). There are also English classes throughout the week for the different groups of students (nursing, nursing/midwifery, lab technicians), but there has not been one yet since I have been here.

Sherri and I are meeting with Edna and the education director tomorrow to discuss other areas for us to get involved in. I think both of us will be helping out with the English classes. The students are very eager to learn. They often apologize for their "Somali English." More than anything they just need practice talking English, as outside of their weekly lessons they do not actually use English with friends and family. Edna also wants us to help the nursing students with some smaller research projects so they can understand the basics of conducting a community needs assessment and she wants them to utilize their English (she wants them to write reports all in English). So, we will see what all I end up doing.

All of the students and patients have been extremely nice and welcoming. All of the women wear headscarves. Most of them wear full length dresses, a small headscarf, and then a large piece of cloth wrapped around their heads and upper torso. I do not know how they keep from dying of the heat. I have been wearing a small scarf...Edna calls it the Taliban style?

Everyone asks if Sherri and I are sisters, but I think that is just because we are the only two young Americans. Yesterday, I sat in on part of a lab technician class, and during break I talked with a lot of the girls. They are very eager to hear about how America perceives Somaliland, and they love to compare cultures. Many people have asked me about my perception of Hargeisa and Somaliland, and most of them are sad to hear that Americans see Somaliland as part of Somalia. The Somaliland presidential elections are to be held on June 26th. The elections were already postponed twice by the current government, but it seems they will actually take place this time. There is no limit on the number of times a person is elected, so the current president is running again. Starting yesterday was the beginning of the campaigning. Here, each party gets a different day. There are three parties, so they will rotate days from now until elections. On a given party's campaigning day, their supporters have people parade, sing, shout, etc. for their candidate. Today, there was a parade of buses outside of the hospital. Edna is very adamant that the hospital and the staff remain neutral towards the elections, since the hospital is open to everyone. However, many of the students have been talking about them. They like to compare American and Somaliland politics. Many of the students have asked me about Obama and most of them love him.

Today (Friday) is the weekend in Somaliland, so everyone has the day off. The hospital is still open since people are always sick, but it is very quiet. Most people are visiting family and friends...our campaigning. Something I learned today....in order for a woman to receive any medications or procedures at the hospital, her husband must give permission (by signing a written permission document). Craziness. The culture is so different.

That's all for now.