Vicarious Arrival

It is 3:00 PM CST and in Ilula 11 PM, with our 8 hour time difference.  The first group should have arrived in Ilula several hours ago and now may be heading off to dream land.  Lala fofofo. This idion is translated a "sleep very soundly."  However, I have noticed that when you say this to a Tanzanian they always seem to laugh or at least giggle.  I have taken this to mean that the literal translation is slightly different than "sleep very soundly," as in "sleep like the dead."  The Tanzanians are too polite to tell the wazungu (white people, mzungu is singular) the literal translation.

The travelers should be settled by now, with Gary Moody and Dr. Saga seeing to their needs, probably with some sodas and perhaps a Kili, Safari, Serengeti or Tusker beers.  (There are also a couple others like Ndovu.  Why would I be so familiar with beer brands?  Well, you can't drink the water!  OK, there is bottled water too.)

Of course, I will be anxious to hear how things have gone.  It can be a long hot drive from Dar es Salaam to Ilula.

Below are door photos of the buildings where the travelers stay.

Isimila is the student residence

The students can upload photos of the interior of their building.  Likewise Chandra and Deepthi, the couple's residence.  This will actually be the residence of the Nursing School Principal once the school is operational.

All three buildings were built for student and faculty use, if I understand correctly.  We will be making good use of them!

The couple's residence

Faculty residence

Ruaha is one of the national parks where the group will go on safari.  Isimila is a stone-age park, not to be missed.  Mufindi is a town of about 5000, some distance from Iringa.  I will need to check the significance of the name in the context of Ilula.

MSP Excitement!

Astrid, I hope you were ready to publish your note.  Of course, you won't really know it is for another day at least!

That is because our first wave left for Tanzania today on the 3:10 flight.  Here is a photo of the group.  You will have to sort them out, but generally the order is left to right.

Cole, Sandy, Laura, Erin Shana, Kristi, Kelsey, Lynnette, Astrid, Treya, Angela, Kari and Randy.

I am not quite sure who was more excited, me or the departing group.  I know I felt a little twinge of jealousy having to wait another two weeks to go myself.

Randy and I commiserated on the holding of others' passports.  And true to form, there is always a little drama somewhere with a large group traveling.  In this case, no frozen pipes but some anxious family members to see their loved ones off to the exotic lands of Tanzania and one sick cat.  This is literally a cat, not a reference to the nature of the group members.  In that vein, they are all cool cats, no sick cats.  No, Randy's cat truly got sick before they left, so a fast trip to take the cat to the vet ensued, with Gramps left to retrieve said feline.  On a personal note, I see daily that our 15 year old cat is wasting.  She doesn't seem ill.  She still romps and races, but she is also content to purr in my lap for extended times.

In Tanzania, there are many dogs and cats, some surely being pets.  Unlike here, where we see many breeds, the dogs in Ilula all appear phenotypically similar.

The group is now over the Atlantic.  There is an 8 hour time difference (no Day Light Savings time to account for).  The group will pick up Chandra and Deepthi in Amsterdam and Jill and Julie had checked in separately.  I am relieved that all have gotten at least to the gate, to me the most difficult part.  The will overnight in Dar at Wista's, tomorrow night.

All: do not hesitate to leave a comment, especially questions for your loved ones!

Almost time... but wait!

  

These past few months, I have been anticipating the opportunity to go to Ilula with great excitement. When I first applied to this pharmacy rotation, I thought about how my experiences in Tanzania would help shape my future career as a pharmacist. One of my long-term goals has always been to serve for an organization such as Doctors Without Borders. 

Over the past few years, I've sought opportunities that would allow me to volunteer my time and skills to the betterment of medically under-served populations. I have often pondered, however, how volunteering my time to such cause would impact the people I am trying to help. There are many ethical dilemmas, which I will not cover today but should be something to think about. 

I have been asked about the type of work I will be doing in Tanzania. Often, I sense that there is an expectation for me to answer something along the lines of helping people or somehow helping fix problems that are often reported in the media. Problems that of course have merit but are often viewed as technical and not adaptive problems. Money and volunteering my time often cannot fix problems abroad or locally. 

The work that we will be doing in Ilula is fantastic. Learning about the work that has occurred over the last decade at this hospital is inspiring. I will be going there to learn. I am not there to fix anything necessarily. Rather, I will be there with colleagues to learn and to offer our thoughts and support to help others learn and grow. The following will make my comment make sense.

A couple of years ago, I came across this short documentary. Please click here to view (http://vimeo.com/6200458).

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:

• 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

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!