On African Soil!

I have been in Africa for almost 2 weeks now! The internet is very, very slow here and I didn't have a converter for my computer so I am finally updating my blog.

 The second flight too Africa went well. I met a boy my age from the US that was flying into Douala as well so we helped each other to our next flight. It turns out that his dad had security meet him at the terminal in Douala, and the security guard thought we were traveling together so we both bypassed customs (which was way too easy...) and found our bags at the baggage claim. When we got to baggage claim, I saw a lady holding a sign that said, "Caty Fontem", so I figured she must be waiting for me. She didn't say anything and motioned for me to follow her (she didn't speak English)... I didn't know where she was going, but I didn't really have another choice so I followed her and she lead me to my group! I got my first glimpse of Douala outside of the airport...Douala is a very big city with many people everywhere. I have never seen so many people in my life! We stayed the night in Douala in a Catholic missionary hostel building and then left in the morning for Fontem. The day before I arrived, an Italian girl named Chiara arrived in Douala to go to Fontem as well, so we traveled together with an Italian focolarino (from the hospital) that came to pick us up in his truck.

The journey to Fontem took all day. Most of the trip was on paved roads, but the last two hours were on dirt roads. The dirt here is orange and very slippery when wet so since we are in the rainy season, we were sliding allllll over the place. The road was so rough that I hit my head on the window two times on the way! We climbed some mountains and then descended into the valley where Fontem sits. It was a beautiful sight coming in- a little town in the middle of a jungle with a river flowing through and palm trees everywhere! So many different fruits grow here as well- plums, bananas, coco (what chocolate is made out of), pineapples, passion fruit, papaya, guava, sugar cane..etc. My house is on a giant hill and the hospital is about 100 yards below. We have sugar cane, pineapples, plums, and bananas on our land! I live with my Italian friend, Chiara, (she is also a nurse), and three women: two from Africa and one from Chile. Although everyone here speaks English, it is a very different English! It is a British African English so it is difficult for me to understand sometimes what people are saying and vice versa. It actually keeps things interesting but I am causing chaos in Cameroon because my American English is so hard for everyone to understand. The locals also speak a form of English called “Pidgeon English”. It is basically a very basic form of English with many slang words. When you want to know if someone has pooped, in Pidgeon you would say, “you de shit?”. The first time I heard this my mouth fell off of my face…a nurse kept asking a patient if they needed to “shit”. But then she explained that was how to ask if someone has gone to the bathroom in Pidgeon.

Chiara and I met with the matron of the hospital (the head of the hospital) to discuss our jobs before working. In the middle of our serious meeting, my chair suddenly collapsed beneath me and broke! I fell right to the ground on top of the broken chair that belongs to the head of the hospital. Then the next day when we started working, Chiara fainted while dressing a wound. The new nurses had a rough start to their jobs but it can only get better from here!

I am working in the men's ward with men (obviously) and some people with infectious diseases such as TB, malaria, AIDS, and chicken pox. When I get back to the US, I am going to be so grateful for saline flushes, paper, trash cans, toilet seats, alcohol swabs, paper towels, fitted bed sheets, and washing machines because these don't exist in the hospital (or in Fontem). If you need a saline flush, you must withdrawal it out of a saline bag with a syringe. If you need an alcohol swab, you must pour alcohol on a cotton ball for use. It works just the same, but it takes much more time! They re-use everything here in the hospital. For example, we wash gloves that aren't soiled, we use cardboard to write on and label things, and we use the plastic bags that infusions are packaged in for patients that need to vomit.

Nurses are allowed to do much more here such as suture wounds and order some medications. The women are all kept in one big room and the men are kept in the new ward, so there are three to a room. Everyone must pay for everything out of pocket, so if the family cannot afford something, they refuse treatment. Today, we wanted to put oxygen on a dying patient but the family refused so we could not give this to the patient as he was dying. It was very hard for me to watch, but there are also many happy moments in the hospital.

I work from 7:30am to 2:30am Monday through Saturday. Mass on Sunday lasts longer than in the US...last Sunday was almost three hours! Mass here has an African twist with singing and dancing...its awesome. Cooking also takes much longer here...from the beginning of cooking until the end of dishes is about 2 1/2 hours! But the food here is very good so far. The five of us take turns preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have cooked twice so far and butchered both meals. Hopefully I will get better soon. We also have to wash our clothes by hand because there is no washing machine, so I am still getting used to that as well! We buy our food at the market, which meets every four days. We must walk 30 minutes uphill to get our food and then carry everything back home. I need to learn how to carry food on my head because it looks much easier than carrying everything in your arms. 

Life here is beautiful. The people in this town are amazing! People are so nice and welcoming...everyone you pass greets you with a handshake and wants to know how you are and what is your name. I am meeting many WONDERFUL people from all over the world and I am having a GREAT experience so far!

I'll update more in a couple of weeks!