Arriving at ZITHULELE HOSPITAL - first impressions... is this the TAR road?!

So, I'm here. Zithulele Hospital, deep in the belly of the rolling green hills of Transkei... a 1hr30min (at least) dirt road drive off the N2, about 30 Km from Mthatha (before the dirt road turn-off that is)! Zithulele services Elliotsdale and Mqanduli area, including 14 clinics, and has a great team of nurses, doctors, rehab professionals and other allied health care workers!

I have only been here for 2 days, but I have already learnt so much! It is so different here to anything I've ever experienced. My missionary friends will know what I mean when I say this... I think I will experience some serious culture shock! It's strange to look outside and see goats walking around freely, and horses tied to the hospital gate. It's strange to have to greet people in isiXhosa, and to be in the vast minority. The closest petrol station, ATM and Spar is an hour away... so tough luck if you run out of food or airtime! But it is beautiful here, with green hills, and little pink and green huts everywhere... more-or-less untouched by Western civilization, really beautiful :)

Hmmm, ok, let's talk about a few lessons learnt: DRIVING HERE:

1) The words "tar road" mean nothing in the Transkei! After a good hour or 2 of dodging massive crater-sized potholes on the "tar" road, i was relieved to hit dirt road, which lasted another hour or 2 :)

I'd say the right side is the better option, personally.

2) Don't bother driving on the left-hand side of the road, it doesn't work, nobody does it here... rather take the right lane or the grass next to the road - there are less potholes there, for the most part.




3) Cars may drive on the road, but they certainly do not own the road - that right is reserved for donkeys, goats, dogs, mules, horses, and people only.


Mmmooooooove!

4) Although they are very friendly, the locals are not always waving at you to say hi, often they are asking for sweets or a lift!

5) Do not attempt to drive the road to Zithulele with eggs in your car, they will not make it.

Today was my first official working day at the hospital... My hours are 7:3o-17:00, and Fridays we knock off at 13:00. Today we did orientation - my brain felt like one of the poor eggs I bought after a 2 hour bumpy drive - scrambled. Information overload! Me and the Comm Service OT (also named Jess) were introduced to the staff and shown around... I have A LOT of names and places to remember. The rehab staff are all white but are pretty good at basic Xhosa, well, good enough to sound impressive to a newbee English-speaking comm serve PT anyway! The locals really like it when we speak their language, so I've been trying :) I'm excited to learn more tho... Uphilile namhlanje sisi?

I also got given my weekly and year schedule, so confusing! I do 2 clinic visits a week, then a ward day, a project day, and a Disability Grant day... the rest of the time I will be in the Wards, or at Outpatients, or Driving around the area and Mthatha trying to get admin stuff sorted out; if you want anything done, you have to physically GO and get it done - that's seems to be the trend!

My accomodation is great, if you like living in very close proximity to the entire cockroach ad mosquito population of the world! No, it is great. We live opposite the hospital, in a new complex... just about all the staff live here, in flats or houses; I have a single-room flat, it's cosy! The complex is secure and very safe.

After work today I went for a short run... I was nervous because I didn't know how people would react, but I should have really been more afraid of the dogs guarding the huts, 2 nearly tried to eat me as I ran past! I was nice though, I got to practise my greetings "Molweni Tata""Molo bhuti". Tonight we all went to the Chief Physio and her Husbands house (Karen and Roger) for drinks - to say farewell to a couple I had never even met!) - it was nice to get some social time in, it's like one big family here! Tomorrow me, OT Jess, and another OT Lisa are off to Mthatha to get our bank accounts sorted out - if we want to get paid some time this year we need to do this tomorrow... Roadtrip!

So all in all, it's been an interesting first few days, it's crazy, I'm still not used to seeing goats and huts everywhere... but I wouldn't change my placement for anything else! This year is going to be so exciting, and I may even be involved in some wheelchair sports... but that's a story for next time!


As a side note to my Christian Buddies:

Please continue to keep me in your prayers - that I will grow as a health professional as well as in my faith... that I am a light in every dark corner, that i fearlessly live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, and that my discipleship is transparent to those around me!

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.Rather, as it is written:

'Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.'"

Romans 15:20-21