Au revoir medicine...bonjour vagina squad

The halfway point has been and gone and thankfully I don't have to do any more on the general medicine wards! Last week I was rounding by myself meaning that all the patients were getting treated by me ACK! It was definitely a good idea to go to medicine first as the system works so differently here and the conditions people get are really different so its given me a good basis to start obs and gynae on. Last week I also confirmed my first death...win.

So now I'm headed to the new wing of the hospital (opened by President Bingu himself a few short weeks ago) to help save some babies and heal some ladybits! I'm very excited apart from the fact that this week I have to spend my time on the gynae HDU with our supervisor (who we're managing to build a pretty good case for the fact that we don't think he's a doctor - latest rumour is that his degree is from Belize haha!). I stuck a needle in someones groin for the first time ever today though so not all bad!

This weekend I went to the lake again but as my housemate had the car it had to be by public transport...ack! So off me and the 3 finnish nurses set at 7.30 on Saturday morning to get a bus (where I sat next to a chicken), then sit on the back of a pick up truck (only to get off it about 1km early resulting in a 4km walk in the midday sun in the wrong direction...standard chat!). We made it to Senga Bay eventually and spent the afternoon being watched by about 25 black kids who thought we were hilarious in our bikinis and chilling out to the max. Sunday we tried to get a big bus home but we had missed it so we had to get a minibus. In the UK this would not be an issue but here the minibuses have moveable seats, people standing, crazy drivers and the goats and people on bicycles here have more right of way than the cars.Luckily we made it back to Lilongwe and yet again I turned up for classy jazz in the park looking like a scarecrow.

This week is a sad week as Zareena, my roomate and partner in crime is headed off to other foreign climes .....I'm trying to convince her not to go but I don't think bribing her with a pair of scrubs is going to work! I don't know what I'm going to do once she goes as I will be the only female medical student in the hospital although I might get some more sleep after all our late night chats haha!

Tan update - my arms are now not the same colour as when I left home, I would say they are about beige rather than white! Have added to the sunburn round my bellybutton and the top of my chest though. I'm a veritable patchwork quilt.

6 days my birthday so I hope people have already started sending diamonds and money...fedex can get them here in 5 days ;)