1.The phrase ‘I will flash you’ is no longer appropriate wording! (In Malawi it is the phrase used for miss calling someone on their mobile phone).
2.It is no rongel applopliate to intelchange the rettels ‘l’ and ‘r’ in wolds!
3.It is no longer acceptable to walk around the streets with no shoes on.
4.You can no longer buy any type of medication over the counter; prescriptions are needed for the harder drugs!
5.Azungu is no longer an acceptable word for a white person, they are just people.
6.You should no longer assume nurses will write out x-ray forms, blood forms, and put drips on patients – this is now a DOCTORS job!
7.No one will understand you if you say Zikomo, or Muli Bwanji?!
8.You cannot barter for a better price of tomatoes or onions!
9.It will no longer be acceptable to pray out loud for the patient about to undergo an operation or on the ward round.
10.On calls at night will consist of more than being able to sleep soundly in your bed without being disturbed because the nurses know what they are doing and only call the doctors for the real emergencies. It will be back to the days of ‘doctor? Shall I wake up the patient to give him his sleeping tablet?!’
11.People will understand you when you say Ta, eh up me duck, and nowt!
12.The thrice weekly scramble for the matches and candles at the 6pm power cuts will be put behind you.
13.The daily ritual of putting a tentative toe under the freezing shower before getting up the courage to stick your head under will also be put behind you.
14.Praying before even the shortest journey on public transport will no longer consist of ‘please get us there alive’ instead it will be more along the lines of ‘please get us there on time’!
15.You can no longer bribe a policeman with a bottle of water or a newspaper!
16.It is no longer acceptable to call your consultant boss by his first name.
17.It is no longer acceptable to sing worship and praise songs at the top of your lungs in theatre when operating; instead revered silence is insisted upon.
18.Reusing scrub gowns, and gloves will, from now, on get you killed by the infection control nurses.
19.On sending a patient to x-ray you no longer have time for a cup of tea and reading the paper whilst the radiographer develops the film by hand.
20.Showing your knees will no longer be the height of indecency, but showing your breasts will be!
21.Shrugging your shoulders and saying ‘TIA’ (This is Africa) is no longer an appropriate answer to why things are going wrong.
22.Shirts will no longer be lovingly washed by hand and ironed so well since the washing machine is not named Alfred and the owner of her shirts hates ironing!
23.Kids in clinic will no longer be petrified of the Azungu white doctor because he is told by villagers Azungu’s steal souls and doctors give big nasty injections!
24.Journeys on public transport will be free of chickens, goats, dried fish, and at least 5 people to every seat, oh and there is now NEVER room for one more!
25.Using the right hand indicator on the car as a warning for the car behind not to overtake as there is an oncoming car is no longer appropriate – it is used for telling people you are turning right only.
26.Not knowing that there is a dip function on your headlights and blinding every incoming car with full beams is now hugely impolite and quite frankly dangerous!
27.Stopping at a zebra crossing when there is a pedestrian on it is now law and not just an act of kindness.
28.They are now called traffic lights and not robots, and they will not be turned off at night to save power, and obeying them is NOT optional!
29.When the kettle leaks get a new one, do not just tape it up with gaffa tape and hope it will last another 3 months!
30.England is not Malawi and I will miss it :-(
Tuesday 21 December 2010
Friday 17 December 2010
2 and a half weeks to go!
Hi all!
Merry Christmas :-)
It still seems weird that Christmas is upon us, and here in Malawi we have 25-30 degree heat! I know, I know, I mustn't rub it in ;-)
I remain busy, although this next week there will be no theatre running unless it is an emergency, but clinics will continue till Christmas eve.
I have finally submitted my surgical application form on line, and will await the verdict in January as to whether I have interviews for them or not. I am told I am virtually guaranteed an interview to my top two choices of deanery (area of UK to work in) providing I have filled the forms in satisfactorily. I do however remain undecided on whether to also apply for emergency medicine - as the more jobs I apply for the more chance I have of actually getting one. I wouldn't necessarily want a job in emergency medicine however, and it would only be a stop gap in applying for surgery again the following year, which would look better on further applications than locum (supply) jobs.
I am finding it difficult to hear God and what He wants me to do, and I only have 3 days left to get an application in if that is in fact what I am going to do. Please pray urgently for this dilemma, that I will hear God very clearly over the next day or so and have the courage to do what is right in His eyes. I am certain that God wants me to follow a career in Orthopaedic surgery, and if that is so then surgery is the way forward and the only way. Pray I will have the little faith necessary to fully rely on God.
I am very much looking forward to wrapping up my job and work here to go home, and eagerly await the turn of the new year for the next chapter in my life. I have fully enjoyed being here in Malawi and would love to return one day, either to visit new found friends or to work at CURE hospital. Thank you all for your love and support and most of all you faithful prayers that have kept me going through the enjoyable and tough times. God has been so faithful to me here and shown me so much of His love and grace through the kids in the hospital. He has shown me His heart for the disabled kids of Malawi and has broken mine for them. I am certain He has said to me this is what you are made for, to help the sick and disabled of this world, I pray that this comes in to reality and His will be done.
Merry Christmas to all,
And to all a good night!
H xx
Sunday 12 December 2010
Putting your trust in God
Sorry for the long delay in another blog! Over the past few weeks since you last heard from me I have been terribly stressed and busy. Mainly because my computer packed up working and needed to be restored from scratch. It's amazing how much I rely on the thing - all my surgical applications are on line, which means if I don't have access to a computer I have no job, it's my only source of communication with people outside of Malawi, and it's what I rely on for my work including preparing presentations and working on my project!
However it is now working beautifully thanks to Simon who is a guy at CURE in charge of the new building wing for the private patients.
My daily reading the other day came at just the right time (it's funny how God does that isn't it?!) It was about Moses and when he was weary, he took a stone and sat on it! Reminding us that God will never give us too much and that He will provide rest when we need it, and that we should trust Him. And this is what today has been. I am currently writing this sat in the McGrath's dining room smelling the dinner that is cooking (something to do with chicken nuggets - made from scratch!). Today has been really relaxing - got up late, went round to the McGrath's for breakfast of croissants, bacon, and poached eggs with copious amounts of coffee :-)
I then started my application forms for surgical training and was surprisingly calm about the whole thing - I think the surroundings helped! We then took a trip to Spices for lunch of masala chips (chips covered in tika masala sauce - scrumptious!) The application site is currently crashed now and awaiting maintainence which is frustrating but yet I am still calm - God is in control and gives me a peace that passes all understanding :-)
Last weekend was another trip to the Mulanje Massif - 3rd highest peak in Southern Africa and I got to the top! Yep that's right we climbed right to the highest peak! Sapitwa the highest peak (which means 'don't go there!') was tough. We stayed at the base of the peak on the plateau the first night and then went up and down the peak the next day staying at the same hut then going down to the base on the third day. It was definitely an amazing achievement. Especially as the weather wasn't brilliant. It rained the first day in the afternoon just as we were about 1.5 hours away from the hut, and did it pour! The stream I remember from last time 5 minutes from the hut became a raging river which we crossed as a big group holding hands so as not to get washed away - a very scary experience! Then on the second day as we were coming down the peak it hailed which was extremely painful, and the rock face we had climbed up using our hands as well as our feet was a water slide on the way down - we had to go on our bums most of the way - which created a few holes in my shorts - needless to say they were rags by the time I got down and now reside in the bin!
Anyway - It's now only 3 weeks till I get back to England :-S I'm looking forward to returning but also sad to leave, but there is Christmas first to look forward to. I heard my first Christmas carol the other day - on one of the patients radios :-)
I'll leave you with some awesome lyrics from my favourite band Kutless, I can't remember if I've already shared them but here they are anyway :-) Very apt for my current feelings and situations:
When every step is so hard to take
And all of my hope is fading away
When life is a mountain that I can not climb
You carry me, Jesus carry me.
You Are strength in my weakness
You are the refuge I seek
You are everything in my time of need
You are everything, You are everything I need
When every moment is more than I can take
And all of my strength is slipping away
When every breath gets harder to breathe
You carry me, Jesus carry me
However it is now working beautifully thanks to Simon who is a guy at CURE in charge of the new building wing for the private patients.
My daily reading the other day came at just the right time (it's funny how God does that isn't it?!) It was about Moses and when he was weary, he took a stone and sat on it! Reminding us that God will never give us too much and that He will provide rest when we need it, and that we should trust Him. And this is what today has been. I am currently writing this sat in the McGrath's dining room smelling the dinner that is cooking (something to do with chicken nuggets - made from scratch!). Today has been really relaxing - got up late, went round to the McGrath's for breakfast of croissants, bacon, and poached eggs with copious amounts of coffee :-)
I then started my application forms for surgical training and was surprisingly calm about the whole thing - I think the surroundings helped! We then took a trip to Spices for lunch of masala chips (chips covered in tika masala sauce - scrumptious!) The application site is currently crashed now and awaiting maintainence which is frustrating but yet I am still calm - God is in control and gives me a peace that passes all understanding :-)
Last weekend was another trip to the Mulanje Massif - 3rd highest peak in Southern Africa and I got to the top! Yep that's right we climbed right to the highest peak! Sapitwa the highest peak (which means 'don't go there!') was tough. We stayed at the base of the peak on the plateau the first night and then went up and down the peak the next day staying at the same hut then going down to the base on the third day. It was definitely an amazing achievement. Especially as the weather wasn't brilliant. It rained the first day in the afternoon just as we were about 1.5 hours away from the hut, and did it pour! The stream I remember from last time 5 minutes from the hut became a raging river which we crossed as a big group holding hands so as not to get washed away - a very scary experience! Then on the second day as we were coming down the peak it hailed which was extremely painful, and the rock face we had climbed up using our hands as well as our feet was a water slide on the way down - we had to go on our bums most of the way - which created a few holes in my shorts - needless to say they were rags by the time I got down and now reside in the bin!
Anyway - It's now only 3 weeks till I get back to England :-S I'm looking forward to returning but also sad to leave, but there is Christmas first to look forward to. I heard my first Christmas carol the other day - on one of the patients radios :-)
I'll leave you with some awesome lyrics from my favourite band Kutless, I can't remember if I've already shared them but here they are anyway :-) Very apt for my current feelings and situations:
When every step is so hard to take
And all of my hope is fading away
When life is a mountain that I can not climb
You carry me, Jesus carry me.
You Are strength in my weakness
You are the refuge I seek
You are everything in my time of need
You are everything, You are everything I need
When every moment is more than I can take
And all of my strength is slipping away
When every breath gets harder to breathe
You carry me, Jesus carry me
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