"Feels like you're dying" they said? Pah, I say to them. This is what it feels like to be living.
Rafting on the Nile was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. This might, by itself, be reason enough to come back to Uganda.
We're talking about fighting with the forces of nature to stay inside the raft as it crashes from side to side by massive waves. Getting our vessel overturned and blindly aiming to swim back to it with water in our eyes. Rushing down a waterfall face-first. Enjoying the bliss of paddling in the sun in still waters between rapids - with the vast Nile scenery surrounding us.
Poseidon, this the best you got? Bring it!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Huckleberry Finn
Big plans this weekend. Now, I'm just going by the rumors I've heard: "You fall in the water and get sucked down, it feels like you're dying!" Sounds like fun, no?
They've also made claims that this trip is one of the most memorable and fun experiences they've ever had though. If there was a single attraction we should not miss while in Uganda, this would be it, they've said. What expectations.
Rafting on the Nile. There's not a fiber in me that believes that my high expectations will not be met.
They've also made claims that this trip is one of the most memorable and fun experiences they've ever had though. If there was a single attraction we should not miss while in Uganda, this would be it, they've said. What expectations.
Rafting on the Nile. There's not a fiber in me that believes that my high expectations will not be met.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
If the glove fits
When tragedy strikes at the hospital, feeling guilt is a very natural reaction for medical students. Not so much because we feel we didn't do enough or that we were responsible for it. Rather, it's due to the misplaced feeling that we willed the tragedy to happen.
As a medical student, one wants to learn. One wants to see things, to experience things. Learning in ways that textbooks cannot provide. As such, the dramatic is high on the wishlist of many a medical student.
Does this mean we want to see people getting cardiac arrests? Of course not. It does, however, mean that when cardiac arrests happen, we'd very much like to be there - perhaps to help, perhaps to learn. There's a world of difference there.
As a medical student, one wants to learn. One wants to see things, to experience things. Learning in ways that textbooks cannot provide. As such, the dramatic is high on the wishlist of many a medical student.
Does this mean we want to see people getting cardiac arrests? Of course not. It does, however, mean that when cardiac arrests happen, we'd very much like to be there - perhaps to help, perhaps to learn. There's a world of difference there.
Take your photo, sah?
While I did go to the hospital today, I was not so much a medical student as a photographer for the day.
Initially, I was a bit worried. Would patients allow me to take photos of them? What would be the best way of asking?
I did not see it coming that patients would almost be lining up to get their photos taken. Some patients even came and asked whether I could take a picture of their kid as well. Not so much for their own sake. Once they got to see the picture I took, they were more than happy, and went off with a smile on their face.
The real challenge, however, was keeping the spontaneity of the shot. How to get people not to pose for pictures, but still get their permission before taking them?
It was an experience in itself, I must admit.
Initially, I was a bit worried. Would patients allow me to take photos of them? What would be the best way of asking?
I did not see it coming that patients would almost be lining up to get their photos taken. Some patients even came and asked whether I could take a picture of their kid as well. Not so much for their own sake. Once they got to see the picture I took, they were more than happy, and went off with a smile on their face.
The real challenge, however, was keeping the spontaneity of the shot. How to get people not to pose for pictures, but still get their permission before taking them?
It was an experience in itself, I must admit.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray
Anyone who has watched an episode of House M.D. probably has a vague idea of what a lumbar puncture (LP) is: taking a sample of spinal fluid to diagnose conditions like meningitis. A generally safe procedure, but a common belief among locals is that the procedure kills children. It follows that many parents don't allow this to be done to their kid.
I figured I'd attempt to ask this one mother whether we could take an LP on her little boy, because of suspected meningitis. She nodded understandingly as I was explaining the procedure, and even replied "yes" when I asked her whether we could do it.
Wow. Had I actually managed to convince the mother?
Nope. As it turned out, the only English that she knew was the word "yes."
I figured I'd attempt to ask this one mother whether we could take an LP on her little boy, because of suspected meningitis. She nodded understandingly as I was explaining the procedure, and even replied "yes" when I asked her whether we could do it.
Wow. Had I actually managed to convince the mother?
Nope. As it turned out, the only English that she knew was the word "yes."
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Landslide?
It was the same with the tsunami back in 2004. I was in India at the time, living my life in ignorant bliss, until I was contacted by a friend. She had heard of it on the news and been all worried that something had happened to me. It was the first I had heard of it at all.
Apparently there has been a landslide here in Uganda. Luckily for us though, it was to the east, in Mbale. We're in the south, in Kampala. So here's the official message: we're safe.
Apparently there has been a landslide here in Uganda. Luckily for us though, it was to the east, in Mbale. We're in the south, in Kampala. So here's the official message: we're safe.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Best served cold
It's no Zimbabwe, but with an exchange rate of 343 Ugandan shillings to 1 NOK (about sh2000 to a dollar), you quickly find yourself carrying around large denominations of money. It doesn't take much to become a millionaire here. That said, it's amusing to see how small denominations some places use.
This shopping market called Shoprite for example - the only place that seems to operate with prices that require them to use ten-shilling coins. That's correct. Ten.
A friend of mine and I went to the management and told them how inconvenient it was of them to price in this manner, when no other shops accept coins like that. We were perhaps a bit naïve in our hopes of being taken seriously; we found ourselves being shooed off.
Not to worry, I have a plan. Every time I go to Shoprite, I'll be exchanging my 500's and my 1000's for these coins. Once I have enough, I'll come back and pay for my mass shopping using a huge pile of ten-shilling coins.
Go ahead. Count them.
This shopping market called Shoprite for example - the only place that seems to operate with prices that require them to use ten-shilling coins. That's correct. Ten.
A friend of mine and I went to the management and told them how inconvenient it was of them to price in this manner, when no other shops accept coins like that. We were perhaps a bit naïve in our hopes of being taken seriously; we found ourselves being shooed off.
Not to worry, I have a plan. Every time I go to Shoprite, I'll be exchanging my 500's and my 1000's for these coins. Once I have enough, I'll come back and pay for my mass shopping using a huge pile of ten-shilling coins.
Go ahead. Count them.
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