A lot of my recent blogging, as you may have noticed, hasn't been about my actual job at the Health Center. I'll make an honest confession here: That's because a lot of the time, the work isn't all that exciting. I mean, yes I'm learning volumes about medicine and how a hospital works, but to use a French term, it's blasé. I do pretty much the same thing every day. However, this week, I was able to watch a circumcision for the first time. It was a lot different than I expected. I thought it would be a quick snip-bandage-mazel tov type of operation, but it took upwards of 20 minutes. Not a major operation but the lack of anesthesia made the "ambiance" (i.e. wailing baby) feel more tense than it probably was. As a result I was sweating profusely the whole time, I think probably sympathizing with the little guy. Also there were a lot more instruments involved than I expected! I'd explain but it'd be easier to draw. And drawing penises became a lot less of a novelty after my sophomore year of highschool. So I'll just omit all of that. It's funny to me that the world's most common male operation is something that I knew nearly nothing about up to this point. I also spent one afternoon on a slow day following a nurse around. Got to remove several IV catheters, mix and administer some medication, and was almost snookered into trying to pick a vein on an 80+ year old woman (with Parkinson's). Fortunately I know enough about starting IV's (and Parkinson's) that I balked and said "maybe the next one". That's like trying to do your first landing on an aircraft carrier in a hurricane. It even took the nurse a couple of tries to get a vein! I'm confident if I keep hanging around the same nurse, my golden opportunity will come though.
There is some building across the street from the clinic that either is a nightclub or sells speakers (Actually if it was both, that wouldn't surprise me either). Basically what this means is that day in, day out, they blare Nigerian pop music (pretty much the same 5 songs on repeat. After two months I know nearly all the words). Just when I thought I couldn't handle these same 5 songs anymore, they started mixing in some Christmas music. Many might find this to be a great respite from the standard autotune and twerking truck, but for me it was more of an "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" situation. See, I'm not really a big fan of Christmas music. Of course there are exceptions, I'm not a complete Scrooge (although I did use the phrase "mazel tov" earlier in this update...). I'm usually the guy who counts down the days til Christmas, not because I can't wait for Santa to come, but because if I hear Walking In A Winter Wonderland one more time, I'll start telling all the kids that there's reindeer meat in their Happy Meals. See, certain songs I dislike more than others. Walking in a Winter Wonderland just happens to be the It's a Small World of Christmas music.
Aside from not losing my mind over Christmas music, I think that the roadside stands here are one of the biggest tests of my self control.Any time I exit the compound I'm apt to see stuff I'm just dying to eat (Fried donuts, plantain chips, formerly discussed chin-chin, these peanut-like things that are breaded and fried), or, even more irresistible, tasty looking foods that I've never tried before! I mean it's torture to be just walking down any old street and seeing great food everywhere, all the time. Every trip regardless of the original intent seems to turn into a grocery shopping trip. And every actual grocery shopping trip I go on, I seem to return with more than I had intended to. The grocery stores in the U.S. may be good at subliminal influencing, but the Cameroonian street vendors are the true professionals in this department (it's past the point of subliminal, almost feels like hypnosis). I hope this isn't too insensitive, but I honestly wonder if that's part of why Cameroon is so poor! I mean, if there were street vendors in the U.S. I'd probably be broke all the time too! Just imagine someone setting up a freakin nacho stand in the lobby of the boy's dorm. They'd make a killing!
I checked out the gym that I mentioned in last week's update. It is pretty small, but they're not suffering from lack of attendance! There were probably 30-40 dudes in there, and the coaches had everybody rotating between 2 exercises that they changed every 10 minutes so that the equipment could be used most efficiently. I jumped in for a little while but badly pulled a muscle so I left. After getting home and showering, I noticed that my hands were extremely red - more red than I'd expect for just lifting weights. After applying some antifungal cream that my mom and dad decided to send in my suitcase (good thinking guys!), I'm in the market for a pair of gloves before returning.
After almost 2 months here, I'm learning that this experience is definitely much different than I'd expected. Sometimes I complain, but I'm really blessed. I may be bored sometimes, but at least I'm not stressed. I may be sick of washing dishes, but I'm becoming a darn good cook. The way I see it, that ability will either help me score a wife or make the bachelor life excellent. Win-win! Sometimes I may feel like I'm unnecessary or not being used to my full potential, but I'm learning to relax more and enjoy simplicity in my life. I may never be a critical component of the hospital's function, but I'm not here to change their procedure, I'm here to be a volunteer - doing my best to accomplish the tasks given to me. And I can boldly say that I've held myself to that standard. Finally, I may feel like I'm not making much of a difference here, but it's clear to me that I'm quickly becoming different here, and maybe that's okay. Who knows? It could be priming me now for future work abroad once I have more valuable skills than I have now. I'm still convinced that my being here isn't an accident. There were a lot of unlikelihoods that had to become concrete realities for me to come here. A lot of prayer was involved, and I believe it worked and still is. Many of you are continuing to pray for me back home, and I encourage you to continue doing so! It isn't always easy here, it isn't always rewarding here, and it isn't always exciting here, but I'm convinced that it is always a chance to grow into a better person (and resourceful cook to boot).
TL;DR (Sorry this entry is kind of long!) I have a pet gecko! He's not really active, and very low maintenance. The hospital is boring sometimes, but this week I observed a circumcision, and boy was it eye opening! I'm told that when mine was done it left me in such bad shape that I couldn't walk for a year and a half. Cameroonian pop culture revolves around Nigerian pop culture strangely enough, and I'm definitely being immersed in their musical tastes (willing or not). They've also started playing a little Christmas music. I'm curious to see what Christmas will be like here since it occurs during the dry season. Definitely won't have a Christmas tree, the nearest one is probably thousands of miles away. Maybe I'll go to the beach for Christmas. I spend all my money on biscuits (cookies), donuts, and plantain chips at the street vendor's stands. The gymnasium here has fungus, I'm buying gloves before I return. So far, being here isn't the easiest thing I've done, but I don't think it's necessarily the hardest either. I'm trying to take one day at a time and make the most of my time here! Keep praying!
... but I'm not here to change their procedure, I'm here to be a volunteer - doing my best to accomplish the tasks given to me.
ReplyDelete-I learned a very similar lesson while in Peru. It was that there is more than one right way to do something. My way may be faster or more efficient...but it doesn't mean that their way of doing things is wrong.