Monday, December 30, 2013

Getting ready and excited!

Getting very excited to accompany Astrid, Kelsey and Shana on this wonderful journey (along with my sister and Norrie)!  A few tips that I thought all of you may find helpful:
    Keep bugs away with Ultrathon
  • If you have an iPhone 4S or higher you can call your carrier and they will unlock your phone.  In TZ, you then purchase a new SIM card, insert and buy minutes.  Essentially, your phone becomes a Tanzanian phone.  A former student mentioned that the SIM cards are larger in size in TZ; she trimmed hers a bit and her phone worked seamlessly.
  • Ultrathon Insect Repellant- 12 hour- has provent to be very helpful
  • TZ has Standard Treatment Guidelines and an Essential Medicine list.  From what I can determine it appears that they were updated in July 2013.  The URL is very long so just Google TZ Standard Treatment Guidelines.....and the PDF for 2013 will be readily apparent. 
See you all very soon!  Jill

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Soon the adventure begins

Dear Friends of the 2014 Ilula Medical Group,

Our 2014 adventure is about to begin.  I am writing this first entry from Walt Disney World, where I am with my family.  It is a lovely time but I assure you it is at the absolute opposite end of luxury compared with Ilula, Tanzania.  Disney World is fabulous and decadent, so how can I love being in Ilula so much?  Guess you have to be there!

There is one African sight I have seen here at WDW and not in Tanzania, despite its existence there: a couple of white rhinos!  I might have to post the photo.

White Rhinos (WDW)
In barely over a week, a crowd of intrepid medical and pharmacy students, faculty and visitors will be leaving for Ilula, Tanzania, several more of us following as some of the faculty and visitors leave for home.  Those who have not been before will surely have their lives changed (for the better, I believe).  Those who have been before will likely return trying to understand when they can return.

For now, travelers, I invite you to become authors.  Before you arrive in Tanzania, I encourage you to commit yourselves on expectations just for comparison.

Family and friends, my invitation to you is to follow the blog, to comment and support!  Interested prospective students, keep abreast of what you might experience and feel free to post your questions!