7am Monday 11/5
Good morning! I've been having some issues logging on to BlogSpot, so I'm hopeful this will get through. Saturday, I was up early and finished up another lecture on scanning 1st Trimester OB, then packed up all of my gear for our trip to Gulu. This trip usually takes about 4 hours driving, so our plan was to be on the road by noon. Much to the frustration of Picho, remember - he's the logistics director, we were not able to head out until 2pm. Picho, Allan (IT King!), Shallon and I were finally loaded into the van and off we went. A couple hours into the drive, the van started losing power and we pulled over some where in the middle of Uganda. Luck was on our side, and a mechanic (with tools!) drove by, saw the guys working on the van, and stopped to help. Who knows how long we would've been there if he hadn't come by! On the road again. On a side note, I learned a few things about squat toilets...1) It's much easier to use if I am wearing a skirt, so skirts for traveling from now on! (2) Squatting to pee is exhausting and I am out of shape (3) Bringing travel TP was a brilliant idea. We also pulled over at one point to get some street food. As soon as you pull over, the vendors will push all of their food in through your windows, to compete with the other vendors and get you to guy their food. We bought roasted bananas and cassava, and Shallon had goat meat skewers. Everything roasted over fire is delicious, and this was no exception. Moving on, we drove past the Nile river...WOW. It was quite stunning and I managed to get a few quick photos, although the area is heavily guarded and I was at risk for having my camera confiscated if caught. It is also an area that is quite the popular hang out for baboons, who will chase down and jump on cars, trying to get food. We quickly scrambled to get our windows rolled up, before they got to the car! It was pretty thrilling to see them outside of a zoo or game park. We rolled into Gulu town after sunset, stopped for dinner, then had another 40 minutes or so of driving to get to the first of three satellite clinics outside of town. In the mean time, the storm clouds were rallying, lightening was starting, and we were on a race to beat the rain. The last part of our trip is on dirt roads, that were already challenging because of recent rains. Once we finally pulled into the clinic, and unloaded all of our gear on the clinic porch, we discovered the keys to our building had been taken home with someone. Poor, frustrated Picho had to drive quite a ways to retrieve them, and didn't return until midnight. In the mean time, the heavens opened up, and Shallon, Allan and I were drowned rats. African adventure at it's finest! Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat, which was not surprising but annoying none the less. It was a "rest day" so I completed another lecture presentation, took vitamins and cold remedies that I had brought along (just in case!), and took it easy. I had another delicious Ugandan meal, worried a little more about my expanding waistline, and was able to meet one of the Midwives that I would be working with today. I managed a decent nights sleep, and am happy to say that my sore throat is improved. Today, Shallon and I will meet and work with 2 midwives who have been going through ITWA (Imaging The World Africa) Ultrasound Training and are hoping to get signed off on the remainder of their training while I am here. ITWA offers a training program where potential Sonographers agree to complete a specific training program, and once completed, are able to keep and use a portable Ultrasound unit supplied by ITWA and Philips. I'm thrilled to be part of such an incredible program, and I am really enjoying getting to know Shallon and learning about her experience and responsibilities as Lead Trainer. I will share more about her background later. For now, I am going to hope the Wi-Fi allows me to post this, work on some more lecture material, and get ready for another beautiful day in Uganda!
ox MB
Good morning! I've been having some issues logging on to BlogSpot, so I'm hopeful this will get through. Saturday, I was up early and finished up another lecture on scanning 1st Trimester OB, then packed up all of my gear for our trip to Gulu. This trip usually takes about 4 hours driving, so our plan was to be on the road by noon. Much to the frustration of Picho, remember - he's the logistics director, we were not able to head out until 2pm. Picho, Allan (IT King!), Shallon and I were finally loaded into the van and off we went. A couple hours into the drive, the van started losing power and we pulled over some where in the middle of Uganda. Luck was on our side, and a mechanic (with tools!) drove by, saw the guys working on the van, and stopped to help. Who knows how long we would've been there if he hadn't come by! On the road again. On a side note, I learned a few things about squat toilets...1) It's much easier to use if I am wearing a skirt, so skirts for traveling from now on! (2) Squatting to pee is exhausting and I am out of shape (3) Bringing travel TP was a brilliant idea. We also pulled over at one point to get some street food. As soon as you pull over, the vendors will push all of their food in through your windows, to compete with the other vendors and get you to guy their food. We bought roasted bananas and cassava, and Shallon had goat meat skewers. Everything roasted over fire is delicious, and this was no exception. Moving on, we drove past the Nile river...WOW. It was quite stunning and I managed to get a few quick photos, although the area is heavily guarded and I was at risk for having my camera confiscated if caught. It is also an area that is quite the popular hang out for baboons, who will chase down and jump on cars, trying to get food. We quickly scrambled to get our windows rolled up, before they got to the car! It was pretty thrilling to see them outside of a zoo or game park. We rolled into Gulu town after sunset, stopped for dinner, then had another 40 minutes or so of driving to get to the first of three satellite clinics outside of town. In the mean time, the storm clouds were rallying, lightening was starting, and we were on a race to beat the rain. The last part of our trip is on dirt roads, that were already challenging because of recent rains. Once we finally pulled into the clinic, and unloaded all of our gear on the clinic porch, we discovered the keys to our building had been taken home with someone. Poor, frustrated Picho had to drive quite a ways to retrieve them, and didn't return until midnight. In the mean time, the heavens opened up, and Shallon, Allan and I were drowned rats. African adventure at it's finest! Yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat, which was not surprising but annoying none the less. It was a "rest day" so I completed another lecture presentation, took vitamins and cold remedies that I had brought along (just in case!), and took it easy. I had another delicious Ugandan meal, worried a little more about my expanding waistline, and was able to meet one of the Midwives that I would be working with today. I managed a decent nights sleep, and am happy to say that my sore throat is improved. Today, Shallon and I will meet and work with 2 midwives who have been going through ITWA (Imaging The World Africa) Ultrasound Training and are hoping to get signed off on the remainder of their training while I am here. ITWA offers a training program where potential Sonographers agree to complete a specific training program, and once completed, are able to keep and use a portable Ultrasound unit supplied by ITWA and Philips. I'm thrilled to be part of such an incredible program, and I am really enjoying getting to know Shallon and learning about her experience and responsibilities as Lead Trainer. I will share more about her background later. For now, I am going to hope the Wi-Fi allows me to post this, work on some more lecture material, and get ready for another beautiful day in Uganda!
ox MB
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