Above is a picture of the entrance to our residence hall, I'm hangin out my window a bit :)
Well, still no internet access for this poor traveler L I’m in a woman named Maude’s office who works for the Department of Nursing at Wits University (the school that is accommodating us and treating us so well)! So this is another pre-written blog! We’re hoping for internet access very soon…so cross your fingers!!!!
I started on the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Johannesburg General and I had SUCH a great experience the first day. My favorite part was the very beginning…the nurses (or sisters, as they are called here in South Africa) sing and pray every morning. They have the most beautiful voices and they dance around and clap, oh it’s just wonderful and so uplifting J The patients we get up there are incredibly sick & injured. The crime of Johannesburg truly shows I this ICU. Motor vehicle accidents (which also include pedestrian vehicle accidents, as my patient was the first day) and gun shot wounds are all we really see up there. I’ll spare most of the details since I know not all of you are reading this with a nursing mind like I have as I type this out! For those that are interested, I’ll tell lots of stories when I get back I promise!!! I already have a TON to tell and I’ve only worked two days!
Alison and I started planning our days in Johannesburg and are going to make reservations hopefully on Thursday for a trip to Kruger National Park for a safari and then a trip to Cape Town at the end of the month! Every person we’ve talked to says we HAVE to go to Cape Town before we leave. This weekend though we are going to Gold Reef City and the Apartheid Museum on Saturday. Then on Sunday we’ll be going to Museum Africa and Market Theatre which we’ve heard have amazing African art exhibits and then some great African music! So we’re excited to spend our first weekend in Johannesburg!
We’ve met a couple of other international students, all of which are studying medicine. Jason is from Australia and he has been such a help in getting us adjusted to Jo’Burg. We learned quickly that we couldn’t function here without a phone so we went and bought a “pay as you go” phone. There is also another Aussie name Catherine who is so nice, she actually asked us to join her for dinner the night we arrived which we were so grateful for because we were starving by then! Craig and Johnny are from the U.K. and are just hilarious. They’re like an old married couple honestly! Then there is Jacob who is from London who is just so sweet as well. The other guys make fun of him because he takes the security thing in Jo’Burg very seriously…but that’s a good thing we have learned!!! The bummer part is that those guys leave at the end of this week, so hopefully we’ll get to know some new international students as they arrive.
Tomorrow we are having tea with some faculty and students from Wits Nursing. I have a feeling that they are super excited that we are here, they have been SO good to us and I only want to learn as much as I can from them!
I hope I can get on here and blog again soon! I’m loving my time here so far, and especially loving the weather! There’s an occasional afternoon thunderstorm which I don’t mind so much J I’ll talk to you guys again here soon…miss you all!!!!!!
I started on the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Johannesburg General and I had SUCH a great experience the first day. My favorite part was the very beginning…the nurses (or sisters, as they are called here in South Africa) sing and pray every morning. They have the most beautiful voices and they dance around and clap, oh it’s just wonderful and so uplifting J The patients we get up there are incredibly sick & injured. The crime of Johannesburg truly shows I this ICU. Motor vehicle accidents (which also include pedestrian vehicle accidents, as my patient was the first day) and gun shot wounds are all we really see up there. I’ll spare most of the details since I know not all of you are reading this with a nursing mind like I have as I type this out! For those that are interested, I’ll tell lots of stories when I get back I promise!!! I already have a TON to tell and I’ve only worked two days!
Alison and I started planning our days in Johannesburg and are going to make reservations hopefully on Thursday for a trip to Kruger National Park for a safari and then a trip to Cape Town at the end of the month! Every person we’ve talked to says we HAVE to go to Cape Town before we leave. This weekend though we are going to Gold Reef City and the Apartheid Museum on Saturday. Then on Sunday we’ll be going to Museum Africa and Market Theatre which we’ve heard have amazing African art exhibits and then some great African music! So we’re excited to spend our first weekend in Johannesburg!
We’ve met a couple of other international students, all of which are studying medicine. Jason is from Australia and he has been such a help in getting us adjusted to Jo’Burg. We learned quickly that we couldn’t function here without a phone so we went and bought a “pay as you go” phone. There is also another Aussie name Catherine who is so nice, she actually asked us to join her for dinner the night we arrived which we were so grateful for because we were starving by then! Craig and Johnny are from the U.K. and are just hilarious. They’re like an old married couple honestly! Then there is Jacob who is from London who is just so sweet as well. The other guys make fun of him because he takes the security thing in Jo’Burg very seriously…but that’s a good thing we have learned!!! The bummer part is that those guys leave at the end of this week, so hopefully we’ll get to know some new international students as they arrive.
Tomorrow we are having tea with some faculty and students from Wits Nursing. I have a feeling that they are super excited that we are here, they have been SO good to us and I only want to learn as much as I can from them!
I hope I can get on here and blog again soon! I’m loving my time here so far, and especially loving the weather! There’s an occasional afternoon thunderstorm which I don’t mind so much J I’ll talk to you guys again here soon…miss you all!!!!!!
Below is a picture of Johannesburg from our campus...a little overcast :)
1 comment:
Cara.....you are having such a rich cultural experiene. I think nurses here should begin with some type of praise each shift....it would help everyone. I am so happy you are keeping an open mind and learning from each encounter.
Your weekend plans sound great and your travel adventures I know will be be fantastic.
We miss you so much but are so proud of you!
love, joy and peace, MOM
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