Mzungu bye-eee

For the last 2 months, when I have walked past children and they've shouted 'mzungu bye-ee' at me, it has made me laugh and wave back, now each time i hear it it makes me want to cry because it fits so appropriately!
Saying goodbye to the girls at the school I have been playing netball at was very sad as many of them are GCSE or A level age and will soon be leaving school and going off yo get jobs or (more likely because of the culture) getting married and having childtrn so it will be hard to see them in the future.
Had a lovely long chat to Thad about the ups and downs of life in Uganda and then bid him farewell. My final stop of the day was at The mustard seed orphanage. As ever, it was so lovely to sit and entertain the kids - letting them clamber all over me and pull on every part of my body! I helped one of the aunties (women who look after the children) wash the babies and toddlers who of course loved the fact they had a white person splashing water at them and I inevitably got soaked! The babies have a brilliant ritual of being stripped, hands washed and placed, naked, around a large bowl of food. They then eat this and get covered, head to toe, in food so they then get 'bathed' and plonked (in a line) onto potties and dressed. Once they were all in their cots I went round and kissed them all goodnight and goodbye which of course set the tears flowing as many of them were crying too. The older kids were then rating so I said goodbye to each of them individually, just about managing to hold it together. As soon as I was out of the gate and sat on the back of a boda, the sobs came at the thought of not seeing those beautiful, happy, playful children on a weekly basis :'(
Popped in to Sofia's place to find that Rhi had arrived. It was great to see her and nice to have another familiar, mzungu face here! However, i was much more excited by the fact that she brought a large block of cathedral city cheddar cheese with her and Sofia and I just sat in amazement at the smell, let alone the taste - we then used it to make pasta and cheese for dinner (such a novelty) :D
My youngest sister is sadly really unwell but no one really knows what is wrong.. It seems like malaria but she tested negative for it, however she has a scorching temperature, lots of vomiting and is just generally very weak and unhappy - it is so horrible to see a little 4 year old like that, especially when she is usually so energetic and bubbly.
At work on Wednesday, we had a little race has to whose mother would have their baby first (so unprofessional) with Rhi and I against Sofia's - we won of course. Also helped a mumma with her little, but thankfully very healthy, little 30 week baby so she could feed her and keep her warm.
For lunch i was given fried grasshoppers (along with the usual beans, rice and matoke). Esau has been telling me for weeks that they are the best food ever and all that... I have to say they weren't as awful as they could have been but didn't quite live up to his description. I couldn't quite get over the fact that I kept getting legs stuck in my teeth!
On Wednesday evening we hosted a party at Sofia's house for her birthday (which isn't until next week but I wanted to be here for the party) to which we invited all the midwives and doctors and a few other staff that we have got to know, along with Charlie and heather and Rhi of course! The senior midwife, Grace, did most of the cooking and she went completely overboard on the quantities but oh well, it meant everyone had a goody bag of potatoes to go home with ;) the party was good fun and it was nice to spend time with the people we have built up such a good relationship with, outside of work. Of course it was another difficult goodbye but somehow (<<that's such a Ugandan saying) I managed to choke back the tears. Also had to sag goodbye to Charlie and heather after they walked me back home in the dark which was sad as they have both been good friends put here and k have learned so much useful obstetrics from Charlie and plenty of useless, random knowledge from Heather (I know your reading this heather ;))!
Spent Thursday morning squeezing all my stuff into 2 suitcases and bracing myself for yet another emotional goodbye. Eve is still very unwell so saying goodbye to her was particularly tough, having to leave her in such a bad way :( the farewell was tearful but brief which is probably a good thing otherwise I may never have left!
On arrival in Kampala I repacked mg bags to try and make them a little easier to shut (unsuccessfully) and then read on my balcony with Kampala stretched in front of me. Met Sofia and Rhi at a restaurant in town and we had a delicious Indian, coming away completely stuffed.
Yesterday we went on a coffee safari. This involved turning up at a coffee shop (completely drenched after catching a boda in the rain) and getting breakfast. We then visited various places learning about the importance of how the coffee is prepared by the barista, the coffee tasters who spent their day sipping and spitting coffee to check it is suitable for export and us Brits (and the like) won't complain. Then went on to a factory where they clean and sort the beans according to colour and size. Also visited a roasting house, where ironically they gave us disgusting coffee. After seeing a coffee research centre (which was a bit too much like A level biology for my liking) we went to a very rural coffee farm for a traditional Ugandan lunch and planted our very own coffee trees with a sign beside them - I will be back in a couple of years to harvest my crop ;)
Lugged all my bags to the coffee shop opposite the craft market this morning where I sat and had a coffee whilst Rhi and Sofia did some shopping and then on on to the beautiful Boma hotel I'm Entebbe, by the airport. The sun did us proud and shone all day so I snuck in some last minute tanning (and nose burning as ever) in the equatorial heat before a lovely dinner followed by a very quick goodbye (to avoid tears) with my Ugandan companion Sofia and Rhi.
I am currently sat in a (very overpriced) cafe in the airport departures and I still don't think its hit me that I am coming home although I am so excited to see my families faces as a walk out of Heathrow :D
See you in under 12 hours.... Xx

Last week in Hoima

So it is now 2 days until I leave Hoima, 5 days until I leave Uganda which I cannot quite believe.
I am saying more and more goodbyes and every time I tell someone I am leaving they ask when I am coming back. I think that is the hardest part, when I left England, yes I was sad because I was going to miss everyone but I knew I was coming back in 2 months, the trouble with leaving here is that I know I will be back for sure, but I am also going to be a student with no money for the next 5 years at least so it is going to be a while before I am back :(
Last time I wrote I was about to embrace a knew role out here as mother to the 3 girls I live with. Personally, I would say I was a very good mother... they ate on time (although I didn't cook, the maid did), they washed well, they weren't in bed too late and I even got up at 6 in the morning to get them up and ready for school. Although, I think that was my downfall... I woke them up, then sat on the sofa and dosed off to sleep again.Thankfully the 9 year old, Esther, is very responsible and grown-up and got both her and Eve washed and dressed and then they had breakfast. Once they had gone to school I went straight back to bed for another couple of hours - early mornings are NOT my thing! I did find it hilarious that the previous evening I had gone for a walk to Thad's house which is just done the road and took Eve with me, I then got a phone call from Esau (their dad) saying I hear you are walking towards Thad's, because someone had rung him to say that a white person had stolen his daughter!! Throughout that day I helped deliver 3 babies and I love looking after the baby once it is out - sorting out the chord, putting a nappy on it (not any more as we've run out), dressing it, weighing it and then wrapping it up like a little parcel to give to the mother or more often the attendant who is with the mother. The 3rd baby of the day was the 11th child of a 42 year-old woman which I think is just crazy... imagine having 11 kids :O As a result of being a 'grand multip' (having so many kids) she bled a lot after having the baby so we then had to deal with that.
Played my last netball match with the girls from Canon Njangali girls school, however, there weren't so many that were keen to play at the beginning because they were watching a film - but when the power went off they all wanted to play!
Had another new experience on Saturday; I went to an introduction ceremony. This is a traditional Ugandan function and is basically the pre-amble to a wedding. It is basically the bride's family meeting the groom and his family and checking whether they approve, then the groom has to choose his wife from a load of different groups of people who come dancing in and then there is lots of gift giving (including 4 goats). Eve and Esther, my 2 younger sisters, were some of the girls who walked in in the groups to see if any of them were the bride. They looked adorable in their little pink spotty dresses and thankfully he didn't pick any of the under 9 year olds ;) I really enjoyed the ceremony although I found it quite difficult and parts of it very dull because it was all in the local language so I couldn't understand anything and I was sat next to my other sister Eileen who wasn't particularly helpful and just said 'I don't know' to every question I asked her. In typical African style it also started extremely late, the official start time was 12pm, I arrived at about 12.30 and there were very few other people there. Masses of people started to arrive at about 2pm and the event properly started at 3pm - so only 3 hours late. I got to wear a traditional Ugandan dress to the wedding which was good fun and everyone told me how smart I looked; it was long, thick and blue with gold flowers, it had very pointy shoulders and a big gold sash belt to wear around my middle - I felt like a true African woman!
Decided to go to church with the kids from the Mustard Seed on Sunday, but it was a complete failure which is entirely our own fault as we trusted them with telling us the time of the service that they go to and that it was in English. So we turned up at 8.20 for the 8.30 service just as they were coming out of sunday school and there was still a service going on. The mustard seed kids then all left and went back home so we waited a bit for the service but it hadn't started by 9 so we just left and went to the mustard seed.
We were picked up from there by Charlie and Heather and 2 other Brits who are visiting Hoima, having lived and worked at the hospital for 6 months in 2013. Bravely, we let Charlie drive us to a beautiful little lodge right on the edge of Lake Albert for the day. The entire drive there was on a completely flat, no speed bumps tarmac road which was heaven - especially as I was sat in the boot because the car was only 5 seats for 6 of us, and being the smallest I got that honour ;) it is probably the best road in Uganda and it has been built very recently because it is the road that the Turkish have built to the oil fields. The lodge was pretty much deserted but was completely idyllic and so peaceful. We spent the morning sitting around with feet in the pool, then had lunch followed by a long and intense game of Monopoly in the sunshine until we melted and everyone got bored and gave up. We drove home through the wildlife reserve surrounded by beautiful birds, thousands of antelope and loads of warthog.
In the evening I had dinner with the family and then both Olive and Esau did little speeches which I sobbed my way through making me so sad to go home, the girls didn't really know what to say with me sat there crying in front of them but even just them saying they were going to miss me made me sob harder. They have been so welcoming and they are like my family now, it is lovely to have the little sisters that I have always wanted, even if they do live on the other side of the world from me.
Yesterday, I delivered a baby entirely on my own because the Senior Midwife Grace (who I love and is hilarious) was far too busy taking out an implant on the next bed to help me. Sofia came into find me pulling out the head and then the rest of the body came very easy. I still get such an exhilarating feeling from delivering a baby and knowing that you have just brought a new life into the world - it is made better when the baby comes out screaming its head off as this one did. It is strange to think that in a weeks time it won't be an every day thing to be delivering babies :( Charlie and Heather came round for evening tea and I was presented with a leaving gift from the family which was a beautiful orange and purple dress that the Ugandan women wear all the time! I then went to my last aerobics session along with Olive who has never come before. It was a particularly tiring and sweaty one, but I think that might just be because it is generally getting hotter now. Again had more goodbyes to say to everyone there.
Today I have just been pottering around town, doing a bit of shopping and saying farewell to various people who have become such good friends out here. Rhi is arriving today along with a new delivery bed for labour ward at Azur which people have donated money to buy so I am very looking forward to her arrival.
As much as I am sad to leave, I am really looking forward to coming home, back to the little luxuries (particularly toilet paper that tears on a dotted line)
Love to all and see you soon xxx

Kampala and back to reality

Spent the weekend after safari in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Said goodbye to helen and Duncan which was very strange knowing that in less than 2 weeks it will be me leaving!
Kampala was like visiting another country altogether, with high rise buildings, cars EVERYWHERE, western food and crazy boda boda drivers. Spent the day on Friday eating delicious western food like pizza, pancakes and good coffee. Had a luxury pedicure with a foot bath and everything, and Sofia risked getting her hair cut which I thought went surprisingly well, she wasn't so keen.
In the afternoon we went and found the craft markets and spent a ridiculous amount of money on souvenirs and tat! The hotel we were staying in had hot, powerful showers too which we both really appreciated, especially Sofia who hadn't just been on safari.
On Saturday we caught a public taxi which is called a mutatu (muh-tah-too) and looks like the mystery machine from Scooby doo. We had to first find the appropriate taxi in the madness that was the taxi park and when we boarded, so did another 15 people to sit on the 12 seats - safe to say it was a tight squeeze. Took the mutatu to the equator where we were very touristy taking pictures stood either side of the equator and visiting yet more craft shops. Also saw demonstrations of water spinning in opposite directions on different sides of the equator and straight down exactly on the equator - who knows whether it is legitimate or not?! Liked the idea that on the solstice days you weigh 3% lighter stood on the equator!
Catching a bus home was more of a challenge as we had to hail them as they sped along the road. About 5 drove straight past because they were full, one stopped and tried to convince us to get on even though he was already overfull but we turned down that offer and thankfully the next one was only half full so we caught that one. Spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly around the streets of Kampala taking in the sights and smells of such a busy city and dodging the wild motorbikes. Finished off the day with chicken fajitas (om nom nom nom)
Before our return to Hoima on Sunday we went to Watoto church in the centre of Kampala. It was definitely an experience as everyone had so much energy and it is run by Americans so is very modern with flashing lights and sound systems and all that. This was great but both Sofia and I were a bit thrown by the fact that so much money had clearly gone into it yet we have met so many people that can't afford food and are lying on hospital floors to deliver babies due to lack of beds.
I shouldn't have enjoyed the journey home yet I did. I was wedged between 2 people on the back row of the mutatu with very little leg room and the drivers don't slow down for the speed bumps so I regularly bumped my head on the ceiling but it is all an experience :)
Got back to the reality of Hoima with orange dust everywhere because it hadn't rained for a couple of days. Visited the mustard seed and let them rub their grubby hands in my hair and up my arms and hold my hands because they are just too lovely to deny anything.
Had a lovely welcome home from little eve who came running into my arms and told me she missed me :') she's had her hair done in loads of little bobbles all over her head to - its adorable. Then had a less welcome cold shower and beans and rice for dinner!
Had lots of babies at the clinic this week and also been able to do things like print them new posters, to replace the orange-tinged, blood-stained ones that they currently have.
Braved going to Hoima hospital again yesterday which as ever was a crazy day! It started surprisingly gently with very few mothers in labour and no major complications. Did a ward round with Charlie and found a mum who was pregnant with twins and according to her dates was 36 weeks but according to a scan was 26 weeks so that was a curious case and may be due to growth restriction in-utero, dodgy scanning or bad recollection of dates. Went back to labour ward to find a girl had come in who had a baby in breech position with feet coming first and no foetal heart beat. Decided to let her deliver naturally to save the trauma of going to theatre but the delivery was pretty challenging too as the feet and most of the body could be delivered fairly easily but the head, being much bigger, got stuck and the arms were extended above the head. Eventually managed to get the baby out, wrap it up and put it in a box as is customary with dead babies.
Whilst we were delivering that baby another baby was delivered and according to the midwife was fine but as soon as Sofia saw it she knew that there was no way that baby was okay - it was blue and floppy! Sofia and Charlie spent over half an hour attempting to resuscitate the baby but then decided it was in vain and baby wasn't going to make it. When we told the grandmother of the baby she burst into tears and was devastated which is so rare to see here. She kept asking us how she was going to break the news to her 17 year old daughter, the mother of the baby, and then crying. It was absolutely heartbreaking :'(
We then had another woman come in who was enormous so we suspected  she had twins but it turned out to be just one MASSIVE baby whose shoulders then got stuck and the local midwife dealt with it very badly, just pulling on the babies head. She ignored all our protestations and slapped Charlie and Sofia's hands away when they tried to interfere. Predictably the baby needed resus as the chord had been really tight around its neck and we were worried we were going to lose that baby too but thankfully the little giant came back to us and we took her over to the neonatal unit for more help.
Popped my head into theatre to see what was going on and ended up watching the end of an amputation of a boys leg that had been severely burnt because he had been walking bare foot during a storm and had been struck by lightening! It was pretty gross to watch but also fascinating watching the surgeon stitch the skin, muscle and fat back up. Thankfully, i think, I didn't see the part of leg that was chopped off - I don't think that would have been a pretty sight.
In the evening I had a full body massage (for £3.50) to relax me after the stresses of the day.
I am currently acting as mum to the 3 girls I live with because both their mum and dad are away in separate places so that should be fun.
It is very strange to think that in 10 days time I will be home and wishing for sunshine whilst I am currently sat sweltering in the heat!
Lotsa love xxxxxx

Paraa-dise

Extremely early start on Tuesday morning - up whilst it was still dark! Helen, duncan and I drove to masindi (an hour and a half) and had pancakes in the sunshine for breakfast. Then onwards and upwards towards the safari park. It was a long drive but I love gazing out the window as this completely different world whizzes by. Eventually we arrived at the ferry crossing where we crossed the Nile into the park, whilst watching the hippos bobbing about in the water beside us.
When I arrived at Paraa safari lodge I honestly thought I was in heaven - it is the most beautiful place with stunning views and lovely rooms. They even had fancy mosquito nets and was in awe of the hot tap in the shower!! My room looked out over the pool with its sunloungers and thatched pool bar with a palm tree for added effect.
Started with lunch where I had proper bread (not sweet bread) with CHEESE on it, salad including my long-lost love CUCUMBER accompanied by a cold, DIET coke :D I was a very very happy girl!
After lounging about in the intense heat, Duncan and I went for a game drive. The scenery is incredible with such vast stretched of flat land and its even better with giraffe, elephant, antelope, buffalo and warthogs dotted amongst it.
There were ridiculous amounts of giraffe, almost everywhere you looked. We almost saw giraffe fight but it didn't get too serious, they left it at just hitting each other with their necks. Found a torn apart hippo carcus which was surrounded by ugly vultures and scavenging jackels, and the next day it stank!
I was welcomed back to the lodge by an amazing hot, powerful shower...I felt clean for the first time since I left England and that is no exaggeration.
Did a morning game drive at 6am and watched the sun come up and the wildlife wake up around us. We spent much of the morning following lion's paw prints but never found the lion. However, we did find a hyena which are very rare to see and it just wandered down the path in front of our car for a while - they are very unattractive animals because they have a special shaped jaw for chewing bones! Saw giraffes running which is the best thing to watch and is so elegant despite the gangliness. As we were almost back at the hotel, a little family of elephants stepped out on the road in front of us with a liddle baby and then slightly older (but still young) one who got a bit agitated with us and was very close to charging us but thankfully got distracted by food.
Again spent the middle part of the day (after a delicious breakfast with sausages and BACON) lounging by, but mostly in, the pool in the almost unbearable heat. It was great to catch up on all the gossip from home and hear about Hartley wintney life :)
On the evening drive we were mainly on the hunt for lions but there didn't seem to be any about. Duncan had said I will give up hope at 6.35 and at 6.25 we got a call from another ranger saying they had found lions so we sped over to them! There was a male and female lying side by side in the open but far off the track so no wonder we couldn't find them. We had been there watching them for about 3 mins when the male got up and mounted the female. They had a brief - 5 seconds - moment of excursion where he bit her and roared a bit, then he dismounted and they lay down again. Our ranger then told us that this was them mating and they do it every 22 minutes, day and night for 3 weeks while the female is in season - how crazy is that! So if I came back in 7 months time there would be little babies too :) we were so thrilled to have seen the lion in the end and drove back in the moonlight very happy!
Another hot shower and impeccable dinner followed by much needed moisturising of my extremely sunburned skin (again I blame the anti-malarials) and then sleep in my grand mosquito net with a fan!
Drove home through the safari park and through land that was previously impassable because it was Kony's land and crossed the Nile at the beautiful Karuma falls. It was a longer and much dustier drive home (due to no rain) but with stunning scenery to make up for it. Eventually made it home for a cold shower to wash off the layer of orange dust that had collected on my skin and then went out for dinner.
Absolutely knackered after a tiring but thrilling couple of days - what a perfect birthday present!! Now off to Kampala, the capital, for the weekend to do some shopping...
Hugs and kisses xxxxxx

English arrivals

So after the drop in numbers of babies delivered at the beginning of the week, a day at Hoima hospital made up for it...delivering 7 babies in one day! They were all bar one normal deliveries. The one that had to be sectioned was pregnant with twins, both in breech position, however, the cord of one of the babies had fallen out so there was a good 4 inches of cord visibly hanging out of the woman. As a result, this baby did not have a pulse but thankfully the other twin did so they took her to theatre and she came away with one of her 2 babies, alive. One delivery resulted in the baby being rushed over to the kangaroo ward for respiratory help. Another delivery lead to major bleeding afterwards and the woman then ran a very high temperature but other than that it was much less traumatic than our previous visit. It was also interesting to see the ward when Charlie wasn't there and hadn't been for a week!
On Friday I visited the school project that olive works at again to give out some clothes (that we had brought out with us) to new, underprivileged mums for their babies. I also helped her with a bit of her work and then she showed me where to get a pedicure. That was an experience in itself, I sat on a bench on the side of the street and had my toenails sorted out and made to look beautiful, all for the cost of £2.50 :)
Had a delightfully relaxed weekend spent sunbathing and shopping and visiting the ever lively children at the mustard seed orphanage! For some reason, on saturday night sofia let me die her (very brave) so we spent halloween dyeing here hair red. I also went to Sunday school where I got a very warm welcome and all the kids sang and danced for me. I even had one young girl fall asleep on me - dead cute.
Sunday was finished off with the arrival of Helen and Duncan from back home who have come to visit me and Hoima. Duncan is the overseer/manager type person for the charity Help Hoima which has helped build the clinic that I'm working in every day, and a few of the schools, along with doing lots of other things. It is through Duncan and Helen, and their daughter Ellie, that I have a link with Hoima as I first came here to visit them in 2008 when they lived here with their family for a year.
They came bearing gifts from my amazing mother who (as ever didn't listen to me saying I didn't need anything), had sent me luxuries like mints, chocolate and freshly, home baked banana and raisin cake. Tasting the cake was heavenly and it made me realise just how much I miss little things like home baking. She also sent lovely letters from some friends and family which, of course, reduced me to tears.
On Monday we went into the clinic and everyone was dressed particularly smartly which I later put down to the fact that the infamous Duncan was visiting so everyone was on best behaviour ;) ended up having to transfer a preeclamptic patient over to Hoima hospital because she was very ill and yet was only 28 weeks pregnant. In UK babies can be kept alive and supported from 24 weeks, sometimes even 20 weeks, but out here anything less than about 32 doesn't really stand a chance because they just don't get the treatment and attention that they need.
Went to the mustard seed again in the evening and the toy cupboard was opened so they all went even more crazy than before (hard to believe it was possible) but it did make it easier to have some one-on-one time and give some attention to one at a time as the others were preoccupied.
Early start in the morning for safari :D
Much love xxxx