So, I haven't written in a week! That's not like me. I realized though that the longer I have been here the easier it is to BE here. It all becomes routine- going to work, completing the requirements of the day, playing with the kids, checking my emails (and updates from the Giant's games the night before), etc. And it is all just life here as I know it. So I have been writing in my journal each night, and every entry from last week mentioned something about feeling even more comfortable at work here, and fitting in with the others that I work with. Each day I noticed I was taking a little more ownership of this hospital and the jobs done. It's extremely hard to believe that tomorrow I will be on a plane leaving Zambia. Every single co-worker has come up to me today explaining to me the process of changing my tickets so that I can stay longer- all I have to do is call the airline :) I am blessed to have been taken in so quickly by such a loving group.
Last week, Miriam had left town Tuesday night and one of the other nurses, Precious (an extremely common name here) didn't want me staying in the guest house alone so she took me home with her. After two bus rides and two separate walks across very dusty and rocky roads, we finally made it to her house. She and her husband are renting a house out in the "country" while they build a house close by. Precious taught me to cook nshima and I helped make dinner. She thought it would be fun to dress me up in traditional Zambian clothing and take photos! And then we went through her photo albums- photos of her wedding, of nursing school (oh, and nurses wear those white scrub dresses and white nursing hats here. So glad I work at Cure- we get to wear happy scrubs!) But I was very thankful to have someone to spend time with instead of being alone and to see where my friend lived.
Thursday night Miriam left town again, and this time Judi, my nurse manager, thought it would be fun to take me home with her. So, again, I get to experience true living in Zambia. Judi and her husband had lived in the States for many years, so they built a house when they moved here (apparently labor and land is cheap). Judi has 3 really adorable little kiddos who I got to spend some time with while dinner was being prepared. Again, another fun night, hanging out in Lusaka.
This past weekend I went with Grace to Livingstone and saw Victoria Falls (very wrong time of the year to go, but still, I went, I saw, and I will most definitely try to go again next year- in June!). We also went on a safari. And oh my goodness, the animals! Rhinos, hippos, elephants, antelope, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, baboons, vultures, warthogs... I mean the list goes on! It was AMAZING! To be there, in the African wild, with all the animals just enjoying the hot summer day. Oh I have stories, but I wouldn't want to scare my mother (same reason I haven't written about the snakes on here, only facebook!) Sorry mom.
But all that to say it has been a jam-packed week of amazing times here. And today I was asked (and allowed) to scrub in for a shunt placement surgery with our neurosurgeon here. And you better believe I have photos! The anesthesiologist took them since I was scrubbed in. But WOW. I always wondered how they got a tube to tunnel under the skin from the head to the stomach. I no longer have to wonder. But the best part about it was that, unlike observing surgeries in the States, this surgeon had me all in with the surgery! I was assisting, holding clamps, handing him tools, blotting as he cut... it was a little bit of a high! And I love this, the entire team- the anesthesiologist, surgeon, nurses and assistants all together prayed before any cut was made! How awesome to fully understand the gift that God has given you to save lives and recognize it is only God working through you to do any of it! Such a sight to see.
So that is my snap shot of the last week. It is time for me to go home and get all my stuff in order to head out just after devotion time tomorrow morning. The trip itself starts at 1000 tomorrow and I arrive in Dallas at 1600 Wednesday - but I also have 7hrs to make up from time changes. It'll be a long trip. But I'm loving the books I have been reading- I'll have plenty of time for reading on my layovers. Texas, I will see you soon.
