This past weekend a bunch of us traveled the Garden Route,
which is a stretch of the South Eastern coast of South Africa. It may have been
the best weekend I’ve had so far. First, we went to caves where we got to climb
and crawl through various tunnels as well as see structures that took thousands
to millions of years to be created. Then, we got to see three beautiful
elephants that we got to walk with and feed! Elephants are my favorite animal
in the world, so it was so incredible to be with them. Later that day, I faced
my fear of heights and did the highest bungee jump in the world at Bloukran’s
Bridge. I thought I was going to chicken out when I got there, but as we drove
over the bridge, I immediately got excited and knew this was something I had to
do. Everyone said that the walk over the bridge was really scary but it
honestly made me more excited. It stunk because I was one of the last people to
go but it was incredible. I got nervous right when I got to the edge and ended
up going feet first, which you aren’t supposed to do. But I knew that if I
didn’t somehow get myself off of the bridge at that moment, then I wouldn’t
have gone at all. Surprisingly, I didn’t scream. At first I had so much regret,
and the first oscillation was pretty scary. But once I was just hanging down
there I made myself look around at the beautiful scenery and really enjoy what
I was doing. It was so peaceful and amazing and focusing on that helped me not
to focus on the feeling that my feet were going to slip out of the harness. I
am so happy that I got to do that and I’m really proud of myself for doing it.
Then today, we went to a day safari and that was amazing too! We saw zebras,
rhinos, elephants, giraffes, lions, and more. It was really incredible and I’m
even more excited to go on excursion now!
Last week at the clinic, a lot of eye opening things
happened. First, I observed a patient who came in complaining of abdominal
pain. Sister asked her if she was stressed and she said yes. After a few
minutes, she opened up to us and said that she was having anxiety and insomnia
because she had just witnessed a murder. Every time she closes her eyes at
night, it replays in her head, and she’s nervous that they will find out she
witnessed and come after her. We also saw a patient in the same day who had
recently been stabbed on the beach. I think that I have grown comfortable with
the clinic and forgotten the environment that I am actually in, so this was a
reality check. Then another day, we were so busy that we hadn’t gotten to a mother
yet who was bringing in her baby who had diarrhea and a fever. She couldn’t
miss work any longer so she wouldn’t listen to anyone telling her not to leave.
It’s crazy for me to comprehend that work is so important that she couldn’t
stay with her baby at a clinic, who potentially could’ve died from those
symptoms. We see so many patients everyday and there are really serious cases
like that but also people who just come to get a work certificate to get out of
work for the day. I wish there was a better way to prioritize patients, but we
don’t take appointments. I also saw my first pap smear this week and it’s safe
to say that I officially don’t want to be a gynecologist. I would be okay with
not seeing that again for the rest of the semester.
Finally, last weekend we attended a Human Rights training. I
was a little disappointed because I thought it would focus more on human rights
than it did, but we later found out that it was supposed to be more
experiential. It was really interesting to hear perspectives from people from
across Africa. It was the first time I had listened to men actually say that
women should be inferior to men and then give their explanations. But it was a
great experience because it helped me to understand why different cultures believe
certain things and to still have meaningful conversations with people even if
you don’t agree.
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