The First Week

It's really hard to begin this post. As I reflect back on the wide array of emotions felt this week its hard to put them collectively into words. I've been excited and optimistic at the thought of new opportunities, I've been frustrated and dissappointed when things haven't gone as planned, but I've alse remained confident (with the help of some of you) in the belief that whatever it is I'm actually doing will someday make the slightest bit of difference to someone somewhere. Or at the very least will provide me with the skill set neccesary to pursue a career in an aid related field. That might be egocentric or undoubtebly American but it provides me with ample motivation.

With all that being said Thursday and Friday made for much better days then the early half of the week. Carl and I worked in the Free Area Clinic, a clinic we came to find that was not free but simply located in 'Free Area'. Ha, only in Kenya. In the clinic our duties change based on the day of the week. Mondays and Fridays are supposedly the busiest days in the clinic however this past Friday was only moderately so.

So as I said the clinic is in Free Area that sits just beyond the fence of Lake Nakuru National park. To get there each morning we need to take 2 matatus (micro buses used for public transport) and it takes about 30 minutes. The clinic itself is not large its a collection of four buildings layed out in a U with the fourth building in the center. The first building houses a reception counter, a pharmacy, the exam room for children, the VCT, and the family planning room. The building directly opposite houses the doctors office and the head nurses exam room used mainly (atleast these last few days) as a dispensary for TB drugs. The building at back is the largest and houses the maternity ward. The center building contains the 'lab' an 8' x 6' room with chemicals in it, and the public health officials office.

This post isn't very exciting so here's a picture of Carl:
(He looks like he's scrubbed in for surgery but that's what we had to wear to fold bandages. We didn't use gloves or wash our hands and we put them in stacks on a dirty table before putting them in dirty boxes. I hope I don't ever need one)