the hospital

I spent yesterday morning in the hospital. Having worked in hospitals for years they are places where I am used to being but while I was there I realised that there is a lot here that is different.

The most obvious are the language differences, we got to talk with a lady via a French speaking interpreter and then the French was translated into a tribal language by another patient's relative.

Another difference is the involvement of family - many people had brought relatives who slept on mattresses under the beds and yet many of the ladies for VVF surgery were here alone, having lost their only baby in childbirth and been deserted by their husbands.

These were differences I had anticipated - yet others were not and show I have lots to learn of their culture. You might expect that all the patients are very grateful, but mixed in with that they struggle leaving family to come, find it hard being in this environment which is so alien to them, they are sad when other patients leave quicker than them. We hope that surgery will change their future, that they will no longer be outcasts in their villages or towns, but things are not always that simple either for some. Women who have lost their family might not regain a husband just because they are now dry and children with cleft lips may still be considered evil because they have that label from birth, even if they are now healed. It is amazing privelege and yet an overwhelming challenge being in the hospital showing love to people.

Sarah

Je prendes des cours de francais

Just when I though that was a phrase that I would never use, I realised that I could put it on here!!

I started lessons here tonight with James, mon amis, one of our day workers. We learnt the alphabet tonight, and while this wasn't completely new to me as I managed about 8 lessons before I came here I did expand my limited French with these other useful phrases...

j'ai huit giraffes
nous avons deux fenetres

and (at the request of a nurse) he tried teaching us how to ask someone if you could put a tube down their nose, which I am really not sure would go down well at the market or swimming pool!!

So more usefully we can say hello, how are you, I am well, goodbye. Its a good start....until next week...or until Tommy tries intermediate French on Wednesday...au revoir!!

Sarah

our little firemen

The boys are spending more time playing together- this week they devised a game where they made a den under the table -which turned into a fire engine, they asked for a plate to use to drive with, put their orange cushions on top as the lights and toy guitars as the ladders (they obviously have more imagination than me as I'm not sure that would have occurred to me), they wore their sunhats as their helmets and went to all sorts of emergencies, putting out fires, rescuing cats and people! It was made all the more exciting by being allowed to stand on the chairs to rescue toys that were stranded on the shelves. Children are great! Shame today has not started off so peacefully!!

Sarah

Our cabin

I've taken a couple of photos of our cabin, so that those of you who have not seen it can get an idea of what you were praying for all those months ago....you can see that the boys room is off at one end and our room at the other end. We have a wet room with a sink, toilet and shower (which some of my family initially didn't even notice when they visited!). The main room has a sofa, table and chairs (that it is incredibly hard to fit extra people around, even though we try regularly!), plenty of storage.....and usually lots of toys around the floor....

It feels like home (apart from the empty cupboards which are a new concept for me - not to have things to fill them with!). The boys are enjoying having magnetic walls to stick things on and want their latest art work from school and nursery stuck up as soon as they walk through the door. Most importantly our cabin feels like home as it is often full of our friends popping in and out. Anyone welcome!!

Friday mornings

Fridays are our day without nursery so we get to play in our cabin, play in midships, play in the library, play in the coffee shop area, play outside with Toms class on deck 7.....the coffee area is always busy between 10 and 11am with people coming to have a break there - and Friday is Waffles day so we can always guarantee to find some of our friends and some new people to talk too! Today was made more exciting by Peter walking through wearing his fire fighting gear - although ever since all we have heard is 'where has fireman gone?'. Joshua has been offered a visit to the fire locker so I think that may be one we might have to take up!! We like our Friday mornings!!

Sarah