Wild Camel Day

After last weekend, I am convinced that Wild Camel Day should become an international holiday/event.  There are few places that you can participate in such activities; I'm thankful to have been around for this one.  A group of us from the IU-Kenya program took off to Rumuruti, Kenya for the weekend festivities.  We had a little glitch in the plans when one of the cars broke down four hours from our destination.  There isn't really roadside assistance or tow-trucks here so getting help can sometimes be problematic.  While waiting for someone to come get us, our white faces attracted children from the surrounding area.  Many of them were fascinated when they discovered their faces in the side view mirrors on the cars as many had never before seen their reflection.  After several hours, the car was attached to another and taken to Nakuru for repair.  After hiring a matatu to make up for the broken vehicle, the rest of the crew joined us for the camel adventures.

Stuck on the side of the road.  What seems to be the problem guys?  

A few of our admirers, one with a machete...nice.

Thankfully, we finally made it to our campsite and enjoyed a nice dinner over the campfire.  A few highlights from camping include:  two leaky tents in the rainy season led most of us to get close in one tent; a green mamba snake in the community shower kept many of us dirty for the weekend (isn't that the way camping's supposed to be anyway); and one of our nights, we had some unexpected guests, aka elephants.  Good times!

Wild Camel Day began with a half-marathon and fun 10 km run that ended at the fields where the festivities were held.  Upon arrival to the fields, you could sign up for any of the events:  Camel Polo, Camel Races, a Triathalon Relay (Run, Bike, and Camel Race), and the Greasy Kuku race (catch a greasy chicken) to name a few.  We tried to get someone into each of the events for the day.  Myself and three others joined in for the camel polo fun.  I had never played polo, let alone played while riding a camel, but what the hey, always a first for everything.  We were first to play so I didn't have the luxury of seeing how this was supposed to go, but I quickly got saddled up on my camel, named Mambo, and was given a quick lesson on riding and hitting the ball.  Needless to say, it didn't look pretty.  The game was an incredible amount of fun even with my inability to get Mambo to go where I wanted, let alone hit the ball.  We lost 2-0, but had a great time trying.

WooHoo, I actually hit the ball!

Getting a little competitive

Enjoying the beautiful day and events.

I definitely am much more comfortable riding the camel now, so bring on the games for next year.  Anyone ready to join the camel fun?

Mwalimu

Since my arrival in Kenya, the Casualty department has given me the name Mwalimu, which means teacher in Swahili.  Teaching has become one of the most enjoyable parts of my job here, primarily because the Kenyans are so eager to learn and appreciative of any efforts to provide them with more education.  To achieve the goal of developing emergency medicine in Western Kenya, where the specialty currently does not exist, it is important to begin teaching my Kenyan colleagues about some of the basic concepts in emergency medicine.  As part of this, I have started a Basic Life Support (BLS) class which everyone in the department is required to attend, including administrative staff.  The majority of people taking the class have never had any training in BLS, which includes CPR and managing choking victims.

An EM/Peds resident helping with the practical portion of the class

After teaching BLS, the Kenyans like to show their appreciation through a small speech followed by a special applause.  They have a number of special handclapping which they all do together to say thank you.  I have received a different one after each of my BLS classes.  Today was special though; after class, I received the "Obama Clap" which consisted of me standing at the head of the class waving to the Kenyans like Obama while they clapped for me.  Awkward, honoring, and hillarious all at the same time.

We have trained over a hundred people in the department and have more classes on the schedule.  With the success of the class, there has been discussion about rolling this out to the rest of the hospital to provide training to everyone on the wards.  It definitely is an honor and blessing to be available to meet some of the needs here in Kenya, hoping to improve the emergency medical care for these beautiful people.

Nap Time

Napping is one of my favorite pastimes that I wish I could enjoy more.  While people may frown upon naps in our very fast-paced American society, many famous and brilliant people were known for napping:  Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt to name just a few.  So I like to think being a napper puts me in good company.  Well, now we need to start adding Kenyans to the list.  One thing I love about this country is the freedom without judgement or guilt to just lay down wherever you are and take a nap.  It is not uncommon to find people napping in the fields, along the road, or around town.  Walking around the hospital, you will see nurses, staff, visitors, or patients taking a nap in the grass.  Here are just a few pics of people napping around Eldoret.


Is work slow, why waste time - take a nap

 

Rebecca, our maid, taking her usual nap during lunch time in the grass outside our house

Why not just sleep on this slab of concrete near a big hole in the ground?  Don't roll over! 

Looking at these pictures is making me sleepy.  Yay, Nap Time!

Welcome Back

Large signs and friendly faces welcomed me back to Eldoret.  

I arrived back in Eldoret, Kenya this morning and received a warm welcome from my housemates.  There is much to be thankful for with my dad recovering well from surgery and having an opportunity to return to work here.  This month is filled with lots of exciting projects, which will keep me incredibly busy.   I have two students coming this month (a Tulane MPH student and a US med student) who will be working on my research over the next year.  In addition to my two Kenyan medical students on the project, I will spend a good portion of the month teaching them about research and getting them to a point where they can run the project in my absence.   I am very excited to have their help, allowing me to free up some time to focus on education and clinical responsibilities.  Also, one of our IU EM/Peds residents is coming to spend her elective with me over the next 6 weeks.  It will be another milestone for our program as I develop a formal international emergency medicine elective for the residents at IU.  I look forward to this new adventure with the residents and seeing this experience through their eyes. With my clinical shifts, several lectures and BLS classes for the Kenyans, research, and resident education, this should be a crazy month at the hospital.

But, who likes to work all the time?  Not me, that's why I went into Emergency Medicine.  We have a few parties planned, a girls weekend get-away, and a weekend of camel racing this month.  Apparently there is also camel polo the weekend before the races that we might attend as well.  Who would have thought there could be so many activities surrounding camels?  I've been thinking we should look into having a pet camel here at Hilltop for such festivities.  Thoughts on a good camel name?  Spit? Humpty?

Anyhow, all this to say it should be a good month.  And Kenya is always full of surprises, adding to the adventure.  Good to be back.