Africa time American holidays are funny in Africa baby Gonzo beachin' it up beat dook beef jerky is delicious birthday love bizzle bluegrass bucket list by popular request call me nurse Call out Connie carolina girls really are the best in the world carrboro is for townies chapel thrill crack in your coffee culture shock D.C. darn it why is there still glitter everywhere Debbie Downer came to town delicious grubbing derby DUSON eve excited anyway fan club flashback friday FOFP friendiversary G and G gettin' lucky in Kentucky gone to carolina in my mind good books Haiti Happy Holidays hash heart carolina i am a tar heel i heart mountains I'm a child of the Disney generation I'm coming home in review in roy we trust insufficient gratitude jet set across America KCMC keeping it local Kelly G-love kilimanjaro kvetch Liles make me smile love Louisville Love NC Lulu making new memories with old friends Materuni waterfalls meg and bex music makes my ears smile my dad is superman new2lou Obama pediatric nurse practitioner playing outside post secret red river gorge resource-limited medicine ridiculously unprepared safari njema school of life Shakori sharing the love shout outs skipping town soap box song of the week sorry i'm not sorry stand up for what's right Sunday Funday swahili kidogo Tanzania Tekoa the dirty D the life of a twenty something time to put my big girl pants on tobacco road townie love TZ pics unc bball is a dynasty UofL viral video woo hoo it's my birthday xoxo zebras

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Byenvini à Haiti

I thought I was in Tanzania until I heard the beautiful Haitian Creole. There are so many similarities between Haiti and East Africa that I feel right at home here. The smell of burning wood and trash is actually a comforting, sweet smell bursting with lots of memories. The locals live similarly with street side vendors, carrying 20 gallon buckets of water on their head, and aweing at the "blancs" (white people) as we walk by. The most welcome difference is that I can speak with the people! Finally my 7 years of French is coming in handy! I even made a care plan for my patient with the nurse tonight en français.

The houses are made of cinder block and tin roofs. It's easy to imagine how devastating an earthquake could be when four simple walls are constructed right on a flat piece of dirt. I'm told by my colleagues that life is actually improving from their earlier trips as the roads are paved, there are lots of baby goats, and power lines line the main roads. 

Life is simpler here and being out of my "comfort zone" makes my heart happy. I put quotations around "comfort zone" because it implies that it's uncomfortable for me to rough it in a third world country. Quite the contrary. Those who know some of my crunchier tendencies or have traveled abroad with me can vouch for the laid back nature of my life. What really makes my heart well with tingly bubbles is realizing how blessed I am, getting both feet back on the ground with my fellow humans, and embracing a completely different way of life. 

Life at L'Hopital Sacre Coeur (HSC) has been pretty easy thus far. We have been rounding on the patients with the Haitian doctor and we admitted a little girl to the OR with a tib/fib fracture tonight. We even took the afternoon to enjoy a local beach. Tomorrow we start clinic and I'm afraid I will eat my words about how Island Time has made our stay so pleasant. 

Remind me to talk about:
-the children, particularly nutrition and kwashiorkor. 
-resource limited medicine with the world's greatest resource
-the team
-the food

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