Blogs from Windhoek, Namibia, Africa
October 25th 2011
Hi all, Well some bad news, our trip has come to a end, unfortunatly Wanda has got ill and needs to return to S.A. FOR treatment, her diabetes is out of control and she needs to be seen by Doctors and treated. So we will be returning next week to Klein brack were we last went to see a good Doctor, we will be staying at riverside park for now. As i said this trip is over but we will be looking at our next one once Wanda is sronger, as we have now spent over a month in Nam i am thinking of Malawi next, but we will have to wait and see. I will stil be posting once we are back and will keep you updated. Cheers Nick and Wanda.... read more
October 20th 2011
Hi all, It is time to be brave and leave poor old buksie in the hands of the specialist, yes he is in ICU, hopefully they are going to open her up today or tomorrow to try and get her temp down, we suspect a blown headgasket and hope the head is not cracked, i found a elderly German mechanick that thrives on these old vehicals, so hope for the best, will keep you updated. We are staying in our tent at the moment, what a job to unpack everything and try to find space for it all. some pics.... read more
October 17th 2011
O K we are in Windhoek on a farm called Monteiro, a couple of nice sites with a lappa for each site, nice for shade and a nice wind break,(windhoek means windhoek) The city itself might as well be in S A all the normal shops and banks, vruit and veg, WWorths, pick and pay, checkers etc. The last blog was in Keetmans hoop, from there we went to Helmeringhausen on a farm called Lovedale, these private parks on the farms are realy nice to stay in, friendly personel service, much neater than NWR, resorts,much neater and almost half the price, Lovedale farm has been in the same family for 5 generationes and thay farm with sheep. we bought some lovely mutton there, you dont seem to get lamb here in Nam. From here we wnt ... read more
October 15th 2011
Hi once again, We have arrived in Windhoek, the internet reception is not always that good so i will post a couple of pics now and do a write up later, cheers for now.... read more
September 7th 2011
Wednesday...Bedtime...Blog. It is very strange to get ready for bed and then notice it is afternoon back home. We both adjusted really well to the time difference. Thank you crazy residency lifestyle and On-Call lack of sleep schedules. Being awake for 30 hours straight several times a week really has its benefits. Especially if you need to adjust to jet lag and work the next day. Seriously though, I do think our schedules and changing rotations every month really made adjusting to a new time-zone, a new home, and new work environment much easier. We both had another busy but great day at KSH (Katature State Hospital). If you missed our blog from yesterday, go back and read it, its good :-) Our morning started our with a busy rounds on my ward, and a not ... read more
September 6th 2011
Today was a crazy busy 2nd day at Katatura State Hospital. Ward 8B where I am working exploded overnight with 8 new admission! Ward 8A, where Raissa is working has been blessed with her White Cloud from Geisinger and only has a few sick patients, the rest are playing around the halls waiting for bus ride on friday. They are fun to play with though, and tomorrow we are bringing a few little things to keep them busy until they get to leave. Rounding on 8A was long this morning, and I have quickly been introduced to writing daily SOAP notes sort of the Namibian way (although theirs are very sparse, and usually say "see above, stable, and plan continue current management." so I feel like i'm writing a novel!). My work rounds on ward was ... read more
September 5th 2011
Raissa and I started our 1st day of work as doctors at Katatura State Hospital today. We were definately a nice mix of excited and nervous for starting. It is a large hospital (pics to come) and pediatrics is on the top floor, 8th. Dr. Brown is the only full time consultant (like attending pediatrician/specialist) in the WHOLE country! That is just amazing to consider. We arrived around 8am, and joined a conference of brand new interns. Internship in Namibia is 2 years, with only 4 months total of pediatrics! that is all the training they receive for peds. Dr. Brown runs lectures frequently during the week for them, and is the doc for the Gastro (GI) unit. After we met everyone, and they heard the intro talk from Dr. Brown, we went on a quick ... read more
August 29th 2011
This morning we finished up most of our packing. When Pam got home from teaching she took us to a place called Sugar and Spice for pancakes (crepes) that were really good. The restaurant was in the courtyard of a mall and since the weather here is beautiful (70-80 every day) it was perfect. After lunch we perused the shops at the mall and then headed out for Katatura. If you'll remember, Katatura is the informal housing settlement near the hospital. We went out to the far end of Katatura to a place called Penduka. Penduka was initially founded as a place to help women support themselves and live independently. They teach women embroidery, batik, pottery making and other crafts and then sell these crafts in a shop on the premises and various other shops in ... read more
August 28th 2011
Yesterday morning we ran some errands with Dr. Brown and one of the stores we stopped in was Game, which is Namibia's version of Walmart. It was just as awful as Walmart except for their fun hot pink uniforms. Apparently Walmart has actually bought out Game which a lot of Namibians are upset about. We also passed the Namibian Lions Club, so Aunt Bev you can bring your mobile home here anytime :) When we got back we had to perfom some giraffe surgery. We bought a carved giraffe in Okahandja that is way to big for our suitcase so Katie sawed off all of his legs and we will have to reconstruct him when we get back home. We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, blogging and starting to do some packing. For ... read more
August 26th 2011
So stupid Irene has foiled our travel plans. Our flight into JFK was cancelled, which we are definitely happy about since travelling in the hurricane didn't sound too appealing to us. After about an hour on the phone with Boscov's Travel (thank goodness for free 1-800 calls on skype) we managed to get the flight rescheduled in a way that doesn't require us to stay in scary Johannesburg for 3 nights. So instead of getting in on Sunday as planned and having 2 days to acclimate before starting work, now we are getting in on Wed, missing a day of work and are going to be very tired for work on Thurs. At least we're missing all the natural disaster drama in the US this month and will get 3 more days to enjoy this beautiful ... read more
