I’m actually cheating this time and saving this entry as a Word document before I take it to somewhere with internet, just so I don’t have to worry about time constraints this time. I have quite a lot to report, but might not remember to fit it all in!
Work at the hospital is going well; I am not sure exactly how my report is going to work at the moment but I have done some useful interviews and seen a lot of interesting consultations as well as getting some handy on-the-spot teaching! Last week I went on two outreach clinics: one very quiet one in Sigcaweni (somewhere about an hour away in the middle of nowhere!) and a very busy one in Tikhuba (about half an hour up into the hills). It was interesting to see how they work out there with extremely basic facilities – Sigcaweni doesn’t even have running water! Tomorrow I’m hopefully going on one more outreach visit and then will take some time to write up what I’ve done so far, as my supervisor is going home next week.
Also at the hospital, I’ve started playing netball along with Rachel and Lucy (two other British elective students, from Sheffield) with the nurses after hospital finishes. The court is half size and not properly marked, and one of the hoops is somewhat bent, but it’s fun! I haven’t played since school, so I’m quite rusty, but so far nobody has objected.
Mlilwane at the weekend was great fun. It’s only a small park and has no big predators, but it’s in a beautiful location and the lack of predators means you can roam around pretty much as you please (just don’t annoy the hippos!) Still no giraffes though, I'm afraid fleur! The vast majority of people there were tourists from the US, UK and South Africa, often on long journeys over large tracts of Southern Africa – we get quite a few of them staying at Mabuda with us too! We actually ran into a couple who Lucy and Rachel had met during their travels round SA – it’s a very small world! The hostel (Sondzela’s backpackers) was nice – we liked our private rondavel – and a good chance to meet lots of fellow travelers. Dinner there was basic but edible, and we treated ourself to the buffet at the main camp restaurant on the other night, including impala stir-fry, which was fantastic. Having hired a car was a great bonus as it made us so much more independent and meant we didn’t have to pay to go on an organized game drive! Driving on the dirt roads around the park was a bit of an adventure but on the main roads it was fine for the most part – at least, we and the car were in one piece by the end! We went exploring part of the Ezulwini valley on Saturday afternoon and found our way to Swazi candles and various craft markets, as well as seeing House on Fire, a strange place with stunning architecture (it’s such an eclectic mix of styles I can’t even begin to describe it) which very occasionally holds massive club nights – sadly not when we were there. Naturally, I had to spend some of my money on souvenirs, which I hope will turn out to be at least vaguely useful for some people! There is still plenty of present shopping to go though; we’re planning a trip to the market in Manzini at some point to finish that off!
This weekend’s mission is to Maputo in Mozambique; we’re not quite sure how we’re going to get there yet but we’ll work something out. I’ll try not to get too sunburnt!
Work at the hospital is going well; I am not sure exactly how my report is going to work at the moment but I have done some useful interviews and seen a lot of interesting consultations as well as getting some handy on-the-spot teaching! Last week I went on two outreach clinics: one very quiet one in Sigcaweni (somewhere about an hour away in the middle of nowhere!) and a very busy one in Tikhuba (about half an hour up into the hills). It was interesting to see how they work out there with extremely basic facilities – Sigcaweni doesn’t even have running water! Tomorrow I’m hopefully going on one more outreach visit and then will take some time to write up what I’ve done so far, as my supervisor is going home next week.
Also at the hospital, I’ve started playing netball along with Rachel and Lucy (two other British elective students, from Sheffield) with the nurses after hospital finishes. The court is half size and not properly marked, and one of the hoops is somewhat bent, but it’s fun! I haven’t played since school, so I’m quite rusty, but so far nobody has objected.
Mlilwane at the weekend was great fun. It’s only a small park and has no big predators, but it’s in a beautiful location and the lack of predators means you can roam around pretty much as you please (just don’t annoy the hippos!) Still no giraffes though, I'm afraid fleur! The vast majority of people there were tourists from the US, UK and South Africa, often on long journeys over large tracts of Southern Africa – we get quite a few of them staying at Mabuda with us too! We actually ran into a couple who Lucy and Rachel had met during their travels round SA – it’s a very small world! The hostel (Sondzela’s backpackers) was nice – we liked our private rondavel – and a good chance to meet lots of fellow travelers. Dinner there was basic but edible, and we treated ourself to the buffet at the main camp restaurant on the other night, including impala stir-fry, which was fantastic. Having hired a car was a great bonus as it made us so much more independent and meant we didn’t have to pay to go on an organized game drive! Driving on the dirt roads around the park was a bit of an adventure but on the main roads it was fine for the most part – at least, we and the car were in one piece by the end! We went exploring part of the Ezulwini valley on Saturday afternoon and found our way to Swazi candles and various craft markets, as well as seeing House on Fire, a strange place with stunning architecture (it’s such an eclectic mix of styles I can’t even begin to describe it) which very occasionally holds massive club nights – sadly not when we were there. Naturally, I had to spend some of my money on souvenirs, which I hope will turn out to be at least vaguely useful for some people! There is still plenty of present shopping to go though; we’re planning a trip to the market in Manzini at some point to finish that off!
This weekend’s mission is to Maputo in Mozambique; we’re not quite sure how we’re going to get there yet but we’ll work something out. I’ll try not to get too sunburnt!
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