Week 3
These weeks are obviously going faster and faster. I only have one week left in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. Our schooling in almost complete and soon we will be thrown into the world of working in another country.
In class this week we learned about oxygen concentrators, fluid pumps, suction machines, blood pressure machines, anesthesia machines, and bottled gases (such as oxygen tanks). In lab we built a variable power supply that could charge rechargeable batteries and learned how to properly use it the next day. We also had a lab dedicated to correctly training hospital staff to properly use a medical machine/device (which included making a quick start guide). It was during this week that we have been able to put a lot of our new knowledge of medical equipment to the test.
These weeks are obviously going faster and faster. I only have one week left in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. Our schooling in almost complete and soon we will be thrown into the world of working in another country.
In class this week we learned about oxygen concentrators, fluid pumps, suction machines, blood pressure machines, anesthesia machines, and bottled gases (such as oxygen tanks). In lab we built a variable power supply that could charge rechargeable batteries and learned how to properly use it the next day. We also had a lab dedicated to correctly training hospital staff to properly use a medical machine/device (which included making a quick start guide). It was during this week that we have been able to put a lot of our new knowledge of medical equipment to the test.
On Thursday I returned to the same hospital that my group visited last week to work on the project we had already started. Megan, Katie, and I continued to test a water bath. However, after running some tests on the heating coils of the device, we discovered that the age of the bath caused the coils to acquire too much resistance in them to be able to heat up in the proper amount of time. There was not much else that we could do. While looking around the maintenance room for a new project for the day, Megan found a broken down wheelchair. We replaced a missing wheel, used an old chair to replace the seat, and attempted to create a new footrest. We ended up with Frankenstein’s monster’s wheelchair, but it worked! We were able to send it to the floor that day and put it in use!
Friday we had even more hands on experience. At IPRC, our school campus, we went in stations and “fixed” equipment that our TA “broke”. For example, a stethoscope attached to a power supply to power a light would not turn on. My team opened up the device and found that one of the fuses and the attachments to both hand held devices were covered in tape preventing any current from passing though and powering the machine. It was exciting using our problems solving skills on the equipment!
Kinyarwanda class has become a little more difficult. We continue to learn new vocabulary everyday. It is quite a lot to keep up with. But our teacher, Francis, likes to keep up involved and active by giving us tasks to write out different scenarios in the native language and act them out to the class on a daily basis. I have been in a restaurant setting, a market, a hospital, and asking for public transportation. All of the scenarios that I encounter are often in the real world. Thank goodness that most locals here know more English than I know Kinyarwanda. But I am slowly learning and retaining more. Maybe by the end of this trip I will be able to have a conversation longer than “Mwiriwe. Amakuro? Ukomoka he?” (Hello. How are you? Where are you from?)
This week after class, I have tried my best to try to make is to dinner at my host family as much as I can. (Which is easy since dinner is always after 8 o’clock pm.) Knowing that I only have one more week with my Rwandan family makes me very sad. I have been trying to spend as much time with them as I am able. This past week the main event around the house was trying to teach the one year old, Annalle, to walk. She has been able to walk a few steps and keep her balance. It’s very exciting! I feel so very honored to be apart of this family’s memories. Especially since I know I will cherish them greatly.
To show my appreciation for all my host family has done for me, I cooked Mexican rice for dinner on Wednesday night! I hunted for some ingredients that were close to what I needed, but not quite right. I cooked an enormous amount of rice on a charcoal stove that was impossible to control. It tasted terrible to me. I was so worried that the only flavored rice that they would ever taste would be mine, and that it would be horrible. But for some strange reason, my host family really enjoyed it! It was incredibly odd. My host mother even asked for the recipe! I really enjoyed dinner that night, even if I was a little stressed out the whole time.
Kinyarwanda class has become a little more difficult. We continue to learn new vocabulary everyday. It is quite a lot to keep up with. But our teacher, Francis, likes to keep up involved and active by giving us tasks to write out different scenarios in the native language and act them out to the class on a daily basis. I have been in a restaurant setting, a market, a hospital, and asking for public transportation. All of the scenarios that I encounter are often in the real world. Thank goodness that most locals here know more English than I know Kinyarwanda. But I am slowly learning and retaining more. Maybe by the end of this trip I will be able to have a conversation longer than “Mwiriwe. Amakuro? Ukomoka he?” (Hello. How are you? Where are you from?)
This week after class, I have tried my best to try to make is to dinner at my host family as much as I can. (Which is easy since dinner is always after 8 o’clock pm.) Knowing that I only have one more week with my Rwandan family makes me very sad. I have been trying to spend as much time with them as I am able. This past week the main event around the house was trying to teach the one year old, Annalle, to walk. She has been able to walk a few steps and keep her balance. It’s very exciting! I feel so very honored to be apart of this family’s memories. Especially since I know I will cherish them greatly.
To show my appreciation for all my host family has done for me, I cooked Mexican rice for dinner on Wednesday night! I hunted for some ingredients that were close to what I needed, but not quite right. I cooked an enormous amount of rice on a charcoal stove that was impossible to control. It tasted terrible to me. I was so worried that the only flavored rice that they would ever taste would be mine, and that it would be horrible. But for some strange reason, my host family really enjoyed it! It was incredibly odd. My host mother even asked for the recipe! I really enjoyed dinner that night, even if I was a little stressed out the whole time.
After class on Friday, I arrived a little earlier than usual at my host house and washed clothes for the first time! My host mother sat with me and taught me how. We went outside and I faced a row of buckets filled with water, some with and some without soap. The trick is you stick the clothes in a bucket with soap water and use your knuckles to rub it together and clean it. Then you move it to another bucket with soap to clean it some more and repeat as needed. You move on to buckets without soap to rinse off. It was time consuming, but very relaxing. After washing, I helped the houseboy, Kalist, peel sweet potatoes. I was also accompanied by Belize, a young house girl. She spoke with me and helped me with my Kinyarwanda.
Saturday a group of girls and I went on a 5 hour road trip to Nyungwe National park. As soon as we finished our long, winding, but amazingly beautiful bus ride to the park, we instantly went to the park center and arranged a hike to the canopy walk! We were hiking through the rainforest within and hour, and guess what… It rained in the rainforest! It was very thrilling. The forest was fantastic. The sights and sounds were almost overwhelming. After our 2 hour hike to and from the canopy walk, we stayed at a small school with Rwandan hotel rooms and enjoyed a night in the thick of the forest. For the first time since arriving to Africa, I was freezing cold while trying to fall asleep. We made it back to the capital safe and sound and I enjoyed the rest of my relaxing Sunday.
At this point in the trip I feel a lot more accustomed to the surroundings, food, culture, and the many different reactions I get form the locals seeing a foreigner. I will be a little sad to leave this part of the country soon. However, I am also excited to do what I came here for. With our schooling coming to a close, I am gaining more confidence to tackle the everyday, real world problems of a Biomedical Equipment Technician!
Thank you again for reading!
Thank you again for reading!