Sunday, January 28, 2007
What did I expect?
With less than 8 weeks remaining until our departure I gave my notice at work on Tuesday. I was fretting for a couple of weeks about how this would go. Though I did ask for the advice of few people to help me figure out the best time and the best approach, in the end I simply took the straightforward tack that I knew was best. As I am (I have one day left so I can use the present tense) in a training role I thought they would be upset and think I had wasted the time of all those who had helped me out since I started. That was not the case.
I was surprised by the support of the folks I work with and even those that I only know in passing. The response was a real affirmation of what we are doing; a shot in the arm that doesn't include a needle.
So with the real needles being discharged into our arms next week and the house still full of our future donations to the Sally Ann, I have my work cut out for me.
I recently read, Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, and my time off makes me feel like the team they assembled long before their adventure to smooth the road for them. Though Nik and I have already done 90% of the work the remaining 10% is tedious and time consuming. Selling some household items, donating most, getting supplies, mock packing, and organizing our technology. Let the fun begin!!
I was surprised by the support of the folks I work with and even those that I only know in passing. The response was a real affirmation of what we are doing; a shot in the arm that doesn't include a needle.
So with the real needles being discharged into our arms next week and the house still full of our future donations to the Sally Ann, I have my work cut out for me.
I recently read, Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, and my time off makes me feel like the team they assembled long before their adventure to smooth the road for them. Though Nik and I have already done 90% of the work the remaining 10% is tedious and time consuming. Selling some household items, donating most, getting supplies, mock packing, and organizing our technology. Let the fun begin!!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Near miss
We had a very tense Saturday morning; it began pleasant enough, with some relaxation and a late breakfast. Then as usual it was off to Abby's Gymnastics class at 10. Nik stayed behind to get some studying done and Abby and I took off to the Gym. It was a good class I sat and watched and chatted about iPods and Apple computers to one of the other fathers while I daughters balanced and tumbled, flipped and swung. With 15 minutes left they were up on the trampoline. The final thing they usually do on the trampoline (which is about 4-5 feet off the ground) is put all the kids on it - 8 in total - and the teacher bounces them all together. They call it popcorn. This usually provides giddy laughter and cheers from the kids and then it is off home. Today however the laughter and cheers was brought to a climactic end with a shrill scream followed closely by more screams and crying. I didn't realize how keen my sense of hearing was but I knew right away that these screams and cries were coming form Abby. And, as I looked over to the trampoline, my hunch was right as I saw 7 kids on the trampoline and Abby's ponytail on the ground, along with the rest of her. On the final bounce of the popcorn melee she was flung 4-5 feet to the floor. Now a fall like that isn't really that bad for a little kid if the mats are all in place and there is a flat spot to hit, Abby wasn't that lucky. Her fall was broken by a small bar (picture the parallel bars at the Olympic) that is supported about 12 inches off the floor. Her leg just below the knees struck the bar and turned on the scream machine. Once I got to where she was, her instructor was already trying to assess her injury and console her. Between the two of us we determined that both her knee and ankle did not sustain any real damage though we were still concerned that she may have broken her leg. The Gymnastics coaching crew was very helpful and called what I thought was the University first aid team and I called Nik to come over as I wasn't sure if we would have to go to the hospital and have it checked out. The next thing I know the police are there and Abby is totally freaked out by this. I don't know if she thought falling was a crime or what but she would not talk to the officer who was there just ahead of the ambulance. Picture, if you will, Nicole hurrying over to the Gym on foot and seeing a police car and Ambulance turning into the Gym parking lot with their lights and sirens going. Needless to day my calm on the phone had lost all of its effect as Nik ran in to see just how bad Abby's injuries were. Once the Paramedic had brought Abby's tension to a manageable level and Nik was able to hold Abby, she relaxed enough for us to get her on her feet and realize that she did not have anything broken and could return home. Not before we were able to have a look in the Ambulance and demystify the medical professional for Abby. Now several hours later the red mark on her leg is still there and I am sure it will turn to a fabulous bruise but all is well and the pain is gone. by Chad
Monday, January 15, 2007
Black Mamba is not a little spider or a dance
With our departure nearing and Nik spending her spare time reading for her candidacy exam (translates to BIG oral Phd Exam) I have been reading every -English- blog on Haydom and Tanzania that I can find. I know that, as Cami and Sof stated in their Haydom blog, "one could think about it and plan forever and the reality would still be a surprise". However, I think that the more I learn about other's experiences the better prepared I'll be and the less of a surprise I will have. On the plus side I have not found one blog that talks about a negative experience. Sure there are ups and downs to the work, after all it is a hospital in a poor area of a poor country, but the feeling of making a positive impact on the lives of people from not only the Haydom area but around the world seems to energize my fellow bloggers and leave them with a tremendous sense of selfworth. I suppose, based on Cami and Sof's blog, my reading could be a waste of time but my spirits are raised by their use of 'surprise' over 'shock'.
I am not totally opposed to arriving and being shocked, hence the term culture shock, but a surprise as kids would say is always a good thing. I expect that the poverty in the cities will be a shock. The extent of the shock I can not imagine. I also expect to be shocked by the extent to which taxi drivers will try to rip us off. And, I expect to be shocked by the length of the fingers of the pick pockets because one piece that talked about the pick pockets at the market in Arusha. They did say that the market was not to be missed and so I think I will park my cash in my socks and go to buy some supplies, which I am sure I will be shocked at either the freshness or the agedness of the produce. I am sure that the shock that I get from the stall selling freshly killed chickens with the feathers still on will be nothing in comparison to the shock of the westerners complaining because they can't find replacement batteries for their camera or complaining because they just had a kid trying to get money right out of their purse,which was, of course, wide open.
Well my broad speculation is nothing near what we will encounter and losing sleep over the surprise or shock will most certainly not prepare me for the trip. All I can do is read about others adventures and dream about the adventures that are to come for us. This dreaming doesn't stop me from letting you know about the fascinations I have found on the WWW. Cami and Sof definitely gave some wonderfully detailed accounts of the life and times of Haydom. As did the few others whose blogs I located. The overwhelming theme of the writings was a great sense of peace, friendship and community. A common goal, learning new and exciting things from terrific and interesting people and having awesome adventures, what else could one be looking for...an exotic locale in which to stage this event, Done (not the capital D)!
Some of these adventures may or may not happen depending on your propensity to be kind to the little felines that wander to your door. Offering food to a little stray cat in Haydom could keep your backyard clear of the poisonous Black Mamba. I read this in a blog and thought, "cool a cat that kills spiders" and left it at that. I thought that the Black Mamba was a little dancing spider that could be found outdoors on rare occasion in Haydom, which I was sure was not its natural habitat. Black Mamba spiders must be indigenous to South America or some other far away place and a couple hitched a ride in the luggage of a kind hearted, unaware doctor when he came to help out as a surgeon in Haydom.
I'm not sure if it was a subconscious urge to not want to know the true identity of the Black Mamba or whether I really believed it to be a rare spider that stopped me from looking it up but it wasn't until Nicole did a little reading that we found out what a Black Mamba really is. The Black Mamba is in fact the largest venomous snack in Africa and after the King Cobra, the secong largest venomous snake in the world. At an average length of 9 feet and a max of 15 feet I can see why it ranks so high. There is a myth that the Black Mamba actually seeks out humans to, I guess bite them (it is to small still to eat a human) and poison the poor unsuspecting person who sees a nice long green snake and is not frightened, "can't be a Black Mamba, it's not black". The truth is the Black Mamba gets its name from the black colour of it's wide open mouth and by the time you see that it may be too late. You may not even see the snake untill it is too late because it has just come up on you at a speed of 14 or 15 Mph and its gun-metal grey colour has probably thrown you off at least a bit.
I can see it now, "wow look at that grey snake that is moving toward us at what must be about 15 miles per hour." "Cool, with colouring like that it can't be poisonous, let's play with it." "Great idea, I love snakes!!" Whack. "Hey it's mouth is black, RUN!" The moral is, feed the cat that comes to your door and if the rare Black Mamba comes into your backyard your new friend will, and you may not believe me, either scare it off or kill it. Makes me wonder why I should be afraid of a nine foot snake that is scared of a little kitty cat. I guess African cats must be fierce. That makes me wonder if I should be more afraid of the cat than the snake. Perhaps I should be feeding the Black Mamba to make it strong enough to keep cats out of my backyard.
Now that I have freaked some of you out, especially those with a title starting with "grand" I will tell you that only one blog ever mentioned actually seeing a snake on the hospital grounds. That snake was dead, killed by some resident with his bow and arrow.
There are a lot of merchants that set up shop either in a proper shop or on a blanket in the street or even peddling their wears to the door of our soon-to-be home. The door to door merchants are well regulated and only those selling the most necessary items are allowed into the hospital complex. These folks are selling the essentials; food they bring to the door may consist of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, bananas, Rabbit and fish from a nearby lake. Other items that the Haydom resident can seemly not do without are spears, bows, quivers and arrows along with the odd shield in case that Black Mamba is also packin'. Rest assured I'll have my bow and a quiver full of arrows ready and waiting by the back door. Ready for what, I'll have to wait and see just how cute the cats are and just how good a dancer that Black Mamba is.
I am not totally opposed to arriving and being shocked, hence the term culture shock, but a surprise as kids would say is always a good thing. I expect that the poverty in the cities will be a shock. The extent of the shock I can not imagine. I also expect to be shocked by the extent to which taxi drivers will try to rip us off. And, I expect to be shocked by the length of the fingers of the pick pockets because one piece that talked about the pick pockets at the market in Arusha. They did say that the market was not to be missed and so I think I will park my cash in my socks and go to buy some supplies, which I am sure I will be shocked at either the freshness or the agedness of the produce. I am sure that the shock that I get from the stall selling freshly killed chickens with the feathers still on will be nothing in comparison to the shock of the westerners complaining because they can't find replacement batteries for their camera or complaining because they just had a kid trying to get money right out of their purse,which was, of course, wide open.
Well my broad speculation is nothing near what we will encounter and losing sleep over the surprise or shock will most certainly not prepare me for the trip. All I can do is read about others adventures and dream about the adventures that are to come for us. This dreaming doesn't stop me from letting you know about the fascinations I have found on the WWW. Cami and Sof definitely gave some wonderfully detailed accounts of the life and times of Haydom. As did the few others whose blogs I located. The overwhelming theme of the writings was a great sense of peace, friendship and community. A common goal, learning new and exciting things from terrific and interesting people and having awesome adventures, what else could one be looking for...an exotic locale in which to stage this event, Done (not the capital D)!
Some of these adventures may or may not happen depending on your propensity to be kind to the little felines that wander to your door. Offering food to a little stray cat in Haydom could keep your backyard clear of the poisonous Black Mamba. I read this in a blog and thought, "cool a cat that kills spiders" and left it at that. I thought that the Black Mamba was a little dancing spider that could be found outdoors on rare occasion in Haydom, which I was sure was not its natural habitat. Black Mamba spiders must be indigenous to South America or some other far away place and a couple hitched a ride in the luggage of a kind hearted, unaware doctor when he came to help out as a surgeon in Haydom.
I'm not sure if it was a subconscious urge to not want to know the true identity of the Black Mamba or whether I really believed it to be a rare spider that stopped me from looking it up but it wasn't until Nicole did a little reading that we found out what a Black Mamba really is. The Black Mamba is in fact the largest venomous snack in Africa and after the King Cobra, the secong largest venomous snake in the world. At an average length of 9 feet and a max of 15 feet I can see why it ranks so high. There is a myth that the Black Mamba actually seeks out humans to, I guess bite them (it is to small still to eat a human) and poison the poor unsuspecting person who sees a nice long green snake and is not frightened, "can't be a Black Mamba, it's not black". The truth is the Black Mamba gets its name from the black colour of it's wide open mouth and by the time you see that it may be too late. You may not even see the snake untill it is too late because it has just come up on you at a speed of 14 or 15 Mph and its gun-metal grey colour has probably thrown you off at least a bit.
I can see it now, "wow look at that grey snake that is moving toward us at what must be about 15 miles per hour." "Cool, with colouring like that it can't be poisonous, let's play with it." "Great idea, I love snakes!!" Whack. "Hey it's mouth is black, RUN!" The moral is, feed the cat that comes to your door and if the rare Black Mamba comes into your backyard your new friend will, and you may not believe me, either scare it off or kill it. Makes me wonder why I should be afraid of a nine foot snake that is scared of a little kitty cat. I guess African cats must be fierce. That makes me wonder if I should be more afraid of the cat than the snake. Perhaps I should be feeding the Black Mamba to make it strong enough to keep cats out of my backyard.
Now that I have freaked some of you out, especially those with a title starting with "grand" I will tell you that only one blog ever mentioned actually seeing a snake on the hospital grounds. That snake was dead, killed by some resident with his bow and arrow.
There are a lot of merchants that set up shop either in a proper shop or on a blanket in the street or even peddling their wears to the door of our soon-to-be home. The door to door merchants are well regulated and only those selling the most necessary items are allowed into the hospital complex. These folks are selling the essentials; food they bring to the door may consist of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, bananas, Rabbit and fish from a nearby lake. Other items that the Haydom resident can seemly not do without are spears, bows, quivers and arrows along with the odd shield in case that Black Mamba is also packin'. Rest assured I'll have my bow and a quiver full of arrows ready and waiting by the back door. Ready for what, I'll have to wait and see just how cute the cats are and just how good a dancer that Black Mamba is.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Where and when
Many people have enquired as to where exactly we are going so I thought I'd post a map. You will see in the image here a map of Tanzania with all of the ELCT health locations marked. This is the network of health care facilities that Haydom is connected to. You will also note the Serengeti National Park a couple of hundred kilometers to the north and the Ngorogoro Conservation area just south of that. Both of these areas are prime safari locations and on Nicole's trip to Tanzania with our friend Shannon last January they saw some magnificent and wild sights.The path we will take is another frequent question. We will head out of our Canadian
home in late March through Vancouver to Amsterdam for a short layover; from there we will fly to Dar Es Salaam for a week or so stay at a nice hotel on the Ocean (the Indian Ocean). Here we will take care of the paper work that is necessary for Nik's research and our extended stay. Once this is all out of the way and complete we will head for Arusha. Arusha is close to the two highest mountains in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro at 5895 meters above sea level and Mount Meru at 4566 meters. We will gather supplies and meet with some people that we will work with at a distance for the rest of the year and then make our way via a small plane to Haydom.After that the adventure begins.
By Chad
