A Day in the Life in Pictures

Nothing profound here, just some views from the day to day routine of going to work and back with a few comments. Hope this gives you some idea of the physical environment.

Morning balcony view with Upanga high-rises in the distance

The walk to work is about a mile on dirt (a very fine sandy mix) sidewalks

I pass the Aga Khan Exhibition Hall which currently has Chinese brand merchandise (appliances etc) being demonstrated. China is a major trade partner. I venture no comment when queried about the quality of said goods.

Traffic at a major intersection is chaotic with no lights or stop signs. You just kinda ease your vehicle into the intersection and play chicken with other motorists. The right of way seems to go to the bigger vehicle all the time. Size matters!

Needless to say, being a pedestrian crossing this road is no fun. Getting run over is actually the biggest cause of injury for PC volunteers in Tanzania, not malaria or other diseases!!!

Soon I hit a real sidewalk along this major road. It is swept by hand every day by an older woman and is kept spotless. Often even the dirt itself is swept so as to be neat.

Once I get to my office (pictured below) I try to cool off for a minute or two using my AC and fan (highly prized) and then don my white coat replete with the Peace Corps emblem sewn on by hand and the Seed Global Health lapel pin which we received in Washington.

My office with computer that is not connected to the internet at present.

The desk of my office mate with another highly prized item...a printer.

Unfortunately I often arrive drenched with sweat after this modest 1.5 mile walk. The idea of putting on a white ocoat is repellant. Guess what? This is the cool dry season. I am not optimistic about my fate in the hot, humid, rainy season!

Off to the wards I go for rounds on the chest service patients to be described in another post. This is a picture of the families gathered outside the entrance to the medical ward around lunch time. Visiting hours are limited and strictly enforced. During visiting hours the families have to both feed and bathe and otherwise provide care for their loved ones. This is not the role of nursing in the hospitals here. More on this at a later date.

This is a simple flower bed outside my office which is hoed and raked daily. For me it represents the Tanzanian focus on things being clean and orderly. Of note the hoes are about 3 feet long so this represents back-breaking work wherever you see it.

This was a scene I stumbled across yesterday leaving the clinic. The covered walkway you see stretches across the campus of most of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) which has multiple buildings spread overs large campus. Since patients are transported outside and since it will rain like crazy in the wet season these are very utilitarian.

The scene was one of about 100 young men with motorcycles who had congregated outside a particular building and were obviously waiting for something to happen. Most every young male here wants or has a motorcycle. These are generally Indian made 125 cc motorcycles that are used for transportation and revenue generation.  They are also responsible for an epidemic of accidents and injuries which one of the local orthopedists described to us at Dar orientation. Amputees begging at crossroads are not an uncommon sight. 

Shortly after this picture was taken a coffin bearing the remains of a young man, a motorcyclist, who was killed in a traffic accident was wheeled out of a building on the far side of the picture. A huge outpouring of expressed grief followed as these young men mobbed the coffin and escorted it down the road. I  was very impressed. This appeared to be the African equivalent of a Hells Angels type sendoff. I am overdramatizing this to make a point. These young men are a community and this was a shared tragedy. As a motorcyclist myself, it was a moving scene to witness.

OOCOM!

Two days ago I had the opportunity to attend a lecture on Ebola organized by the ED Department at Muhimbili. The focus was on preparation for receiving unconfirmed but suspected Ebola cases. There was great interest amongst the faulty of MUHAS and the staff of the Muhimbili National Hospital. The presenter is the head of the ED. Of note, the presentation was in Kiswahili until the professor next to me spoke up and asked the presenter to speak in English after pointing to me. I was quite grateful for this kindness. More on Ebola later....

Attendees

After the three hour presentation I went for lunch at the cafeteria adjacent to my office. This is typical lunch fare...beans, rice with a vegetable sauce, spinach, baked green bananas, and a cabbage. the fare is the same every day. The price is $3.00 or TZS 5,000.

Back home later in the day we had a grilled cheese, rice, carrot and chips supper complete with ice water and a spot of wine. Laurel is teaching me to cook!

She has every right to ask "Is this safe to eat?"