class begins!

I don’t know when my feet have ever been so dirty! Most of us have remarked at least once over the past few days at the state of our feet at the end of the day. We’ve been walking everywhere, most of us in sandals of some variety, on the dry, sandy-dusty roads that the dry season brings. The wind kicked up this afternoon as we walked down the road, sweeping us up briefly in a Tasmanian devil-type cyclone of dust. It quickly passed and we were left chewing dirt! Yet another uniquely African experience!

Our Healthcare in the Developing World class started this morning after an early breakfast. (College students CAN eat breakfast at 7 a.m.! Who knew?!) Dr. Thuma provided us with an overview of what to expect in the course, reviewing some basic definitions and terms that we need to be familiar with to begin digging into the material. We discussed what goes into internationally recognized statistics such as the birth rate, death rate, child mortality rate and the infant mortality rate, among many others. We also discussed key concepts in international health, such as recognizing the emotional and 

psychological consequences that illness causes to families and communities in the developing the world. Tomorrow we will begin reviewing case studies and discussing in greater detail the unique challenges to healthcare in the developing world.

While our friends and family in the United States

celebrated Memorial Day today, Africa

celebrated African Freedom Day. We had the afternoon and evening off to spend as we pleased. After lunch, many of us made our way to a local dressmaker’s house named Vera, who custom makes beautiful African outfits. We were welcomed into her cheerful home by her beaming smile and generous presence. She showed us many of the outfits she has made, as well as prints of potential outfits. The vibrant colors and beautiful designs drew us in and many of us ordered special-made garments to bring home with us.

A few of us then walked about thirty minutes to a local store (the same store we stumbled upon in our “bushwhacking excursion” a few days before!) where we purchased fabric for our recently ordered outfits, or as gifts, or to wear as skirts (as we women need to have skirts on any time we step off MIAM’s campus). This time "The Garfield Movie" was playing on the television behind the counter, and we all marveled again at the odd experience of being in rural Africa with an American movie playing in the most unexpected of places!

We also learned recently that the locals call the MIAM campus where we are staying “Little America” due to its running water, satellite television, and wireless internet! I can completely understand why, though I’m happy to report that, to my knowledge, none of our students have taken advantage of the television thus far! (We, quite obviously, have taken great advantage of the water and wireless!) The students will have a true African experience when they go into the surrounding villages in pairs this weekend to do home-stays!

We have this evening off to work on assignments, reading for class, and to relax and enjoy each other’s company. A few of the students have the opportunity to observe surgeries tomorrow morning at the Macha Mission Hospital. We will have class in the afternoon, followed up a cultural evening discussing marriage and dating in the Zambia culture.

Though we continue to be stared at most everywhere we go, people continue to be extremely friendly and pleasant to us, always greeting us as we pass by. Zambia continues to be very good to us!