Pumoja Bab!

Well, we made it to the highest point in Africa, all three of us!

Last Sunday we started our climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I'll say it, we had no idea what we were getting into! We new that it was going to be physically challenging, so we'd been running in Kowak, but other than that, we were clueless. So it was a bit of a surprise (and a relief-we thought we would carry our own bags!) that when we met with our guide the day before we left, we found out that we had a team of 10 people to take us up the mountain. There were 2 guides and 8 porters to carry all of our food, bags, tents and general supplies! We thought we were being spoiled, but soon found out that how everyone goes up the mountain!

While we weren't sure what to expect, we had no idea how crowded the trail was going to be. Each day, about 150 people start their climb up Kili on the route we took. On average, most groups have about 3 porters per person to assist with the climb, so if you do the math, that's

A LOT of people hiking on a pretty small path- the majority of them being Tanzanian porters walking much faster than us! Now just a word about these porters, because what they did was pretty amazing. They each carry up to about 50lbs of supplies, and it's not in fancy trekking bags. They would combine all the supplies into a large plastic bag and carried them on their shoulders or heads! It was so impressive how fast they walked, managing such heavy loads. It was pretty interesting to see the different things they carried- everything from tents, tables and chairs, to fresh fruits and veggies, to 3 dozen eggs (I mean, who would even think to bring eggs on a week long hike?!?!)

Our trail took us up and back down the mountain over 6 days. The first 4 days we hiked about 5-8 hours a day, through gorgeous scenery- each day different as we ascended. It was mostly uphill, and /*on a whole it was tiring but not too difficult. The only downside was starting the first night, we got quite a bit of rain, aka every night and most morning we started walking in the rain! We definitely looked pretty stylish as we climbed in our ponchos! We had fun though, especially talking with all the various groups climbing.

Last Thursday was our summit day, and it was definitely the hardest. We started from base camp (4800m) in the dark at around 1am. Luckily, it was the first night it didn't rain and we had great weather for the whole day. It was a steep walk, pretty much straight up the mountain with a little zig-zagging, through the snow. We have never walked so slowly in our lives and still felt so tired! The altitude definitely was the biggest challenge, making it harder to breath. But we made it (it only took us 9 hrs to go up 1000m!), and we got to enjoy our first beautiful sunrise on the way. The views on top were stunning- bright blue skies against glaciers and snow! After taking a few pictures, we turned around and walked right back down to base camp. It was almost as hard as walking up- trying not to slip! After resting at base camp for about an hour, we finished off the day by descending to a lower camp site. It was our longest day, walking about 16hrs, but it was definitely the most rewarding!

It was great to get off the mountain and back to our hotel. We were all ready to take long, hot showers and actually sit on a toilet seat rather than use a squatter!

Kili here we come!!!

Just a quick update on where we are now!

We left Kowak on Wednesday afternoon and headed to outside the Western Serengeti gate, where we spent the night. Thursday we woke up, and after a yummy breakfast, met up with our driver and headed into the Serengeti. It was fun because this time we were in a Landrover with a roof that popped up, so you could stand on the seats and look out the roof while we were driving! Just like last time, we saw tons of animals- lots of zebras, giraffes, tons of elephants and wildebeests, and this time a bunch of lions! Wednesday night we camped in the park, then on Thursday continued to head East to a neighboring park called the Ngorongoro Crater. It's a smaller park, but has a spectacular backdrop (the walls of the crater) and lots more animals to see! We even got to see a few rhinos!

Today we drove to Arusha, one of the bigger cities in Tanzania, and the start point for our trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro. We leave tomorrow at 8am, drive for 2 hours to the base of the mountain, then start hiking (I think our first day as an easy 5 hr hike...at least that's what our guide said!). We got to meet with our guide today, he seems pretty chill and has climbed to the summit over 100 times, so we're pretty happy! We also have about 8 porters coming along with us to carry our bags and cook and set up the tents and basically do all the hard stuff but walk! Should be pretty easy! We're all pretty excited. Say an extra prayer for us on Thursday, that's when we should reach the summit, then head back down. We'll let you guys know how we did on Friday when we get back down!

So Long, Farewell!

It's official- 3:00pm, February 9th, 2011. It's kindof unbelievable, but we're 3 days away from our departure date from Kowak! 4 months have absolutely flown by, and it's almost time to end one adventure and start another (1 month of backpacking round Africa)! From start to finish, it's been great, we've learned a lot and have had a blast.

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. We had a great visit in Nairobi, enjoyed the hot water, internet and good food (maybe the 3 things we are missing most!). Back in Kowak, it has mostly been business as usual while trying to fit in a few last-minute African adventures, we thought we'd share some of the highlights. Friday night we had 6 kids sleep over at our house. It was a blast- movie, popcorn (thanks Charlie!), pillow fight- the works! I guess you could say the only downside was that one kid wet the bed, and there was quite a bit of pee on our bathroom floor the next morning (I guess these kids aren't to using a sit down toilet!). Today, we went to church at the neighboring village, then went back to one of the hospital guard's house to eat lunch with his family. It was great to see a home outside of the hospital, the food was delicious, and we were even able to have a decent conversation in Swahili! What else, there was a ride in the back of a cement truck to check the PO Box (still getting packages, Thank you!), discovered a "movie theater" in Kowak, attempted to wash and style black people hair (Fran- you'd have been proud!) and just generally hung out and worked!

As we said, we have 3 more days left, and I know they're gonna go quickly! Tomorrow we are going to make our last trip to Musoma to meet some of the other Indian sisters working in Tanzania, and hopefully download the Superbowl so we can watch it on our computer Monday night (father is a HUGE Packers fan, so we're pretty excited!). We're also trying to fit in last minute laundry, which isn't so last minute because you have to leave enough time for it to air dry and who knows when it's gonna rain! We've started packing and compiling our "leave in Africa" pile. We're looking forward to giving away all the things we can't take with us!

Though we'll be sad to leave Kowak, we're all really excited about our trip to come. We start with another safari through the Serengeti on our way to Arusha, the city from which we'll start our week-long climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Other highlights include Zanzibar (we'll be ready to relax on a beach after all the walking!), Capetown, Lesotho, Victoria Falls and a mystery destination. We were originally going to go to Cairo but have decided not to go because they are trying to have a revolution or something- so rude! We'll try to keep you updated along the way with pictures and funny stories!

Beat the Mom, Save the Baby!

I think that one of my favorite parts about working at Kowak Hospital is that we've been able to "help" deliver a few babies. While adjusting to nursing in rural Africa took some time, we've definitely reached that point where for most crazy instances, we can just shrug our shoulders, say "Oh well!" and get on with whatever we are doing. I use "most" because whenever we think we've seen it all, something crazier walks through the door (for example, a thumb so infected the bone was sticking out and the tip had almost fallen off!), but that's the fun part of nursing. I'd say the one exception to that might be delivering babies. Each time has been an adventure...and it's just a little different than in the States! We'd thought it'd be fun to share some of our experiences ;-)

Unlike the States, it is mostly nurse midwives who deliver the babies, the doctor will only come near the delivery room if there is a life-threatening problem, and then the mother is usually transferred to another hospital. I wish we could fully set the scene of the delivery room. There are 2 delivery beds (so if 2 moms come in at once, they have their babies together!), which are covered with a big plastic tarp that is "washed" and reused for each birth...yea. The equipment is pretty old, worn out and quasi-sterile, and our emergency supplies consist of a suction bulb for the babies. And while we've found the whole situation a little shocking in comparison to the States, I just want to say that we've only had successful deliveries since we've been here.

An important piece of equipment to help deliver the baby here is The Kanga. I guess most women realize this, because they normally come with a bunch of them. They're used for almost anything, from wiping up from poop and amniotic fluid (no disposable Chucks or hospital towels here!) to swaddling the new born baby after delivery. One time, I guess the mom hadn't brought enough kangas with her, because we had to donate the one we were wearing at the time to help clean the mom (good thing we were wearing legging underneath!). And we thought they were just good for tying babies to your back!

I think one of the craziest parts is their attitudes towards the deliveries. The moms get no pain medicine (maybe a Tylenol afterwards), and are expected to deliver without really yelling or complaining at all. I was recently helping out with one delivery, and the mom was screaming and squirming during the contractions. The nurse and the hospital cleaning lady (still not sure why she was even there helping out) were slapping the mom and shouting, "Shut your mouth" while trying make her lay still and physically keep her mouth shut! I just stood there, with wide eyes, hoping that the baby didn't come out while they were otherwise distracted! After the delivery, we were joking about how the mom had yelled, the nurse promptly declared, "Beat the mom, save the baby!" Not a strategy I would have previously endorsed, but it seems to work pretty well here!

We could keep going with more stories, but the blog would get pretty long! So a couple last highlights/crazy aspects include: making the mistake of standing at the end of the bed when the mom's water breaks, forcing the mom to get up and walk to her bed right after delivering, holding the babies upside-down by their feet to make them cry, helping tie the umbilical clamp (apiece of gauze) and cutting the cord or hearing the nurse yell at the moms for pooping too much. And of course, getting to hold all the newborn babies!