It’s crazy– I never thought a trip to Nairobi could be so smooth–well compared to the ambulance ride anyways…
So, the weekend is time off project to explore Kenya, and see the “must see” places. I got to go see baby orphan Elephants (So CUTE!!!). Many of these were found at a few months old without a mother, where they would not normally be able to live. For example, one elephant has epilepsy and would get left by the herd because, while she had a seizure, the herd would walk away.
Another elephant was the victim of human/wild-life conflict, and got stuck in a snare; the elephant still has a wound on its trunk:
I also fed giraffes, which was pretty cool. I tried to pet it, but it moved its head away… They also like to head butt.
I was asking around about going to church and was told I should go to the “mzungu” church (literally “white person”). So, I went:) it’s at two rivers, which is pretty much in Nairobi:
Not the best video, but they were singing in Swahili
Remember, when I said the hospital only has stairs? Well, today we had to take a patient to the larger hospital in Nairobi. Unfortunately, the patient was unable to walk (very low blood pressure, episodes of syncope etc.) and, as a result, we had to carry the wheelchair down the stairs. But things got a lot worse from here…
Next, we put the patient in the ambulance, which is just a large van with a low bed on the floor of the car. Unfortunately, the roads there are pretty bumpy, and the driving is normally quite crazy. Now, add a fast ambulance ride. At one point, we all flew in the air like cartoon characters. Simultaneously, the bag of IV fluids that was hooked up to the patient flew off the hook and across the van…we were racing to grab it and hang it back up.
However, that wasn’t even the most exciting part. You see, the patient is on a rolling bed that collapses to the ground, such that the wheels are on the floor and are held in place by a track with a safety rod to keep it from moving.
The bed in the ambulance is on wheels, secured by a metal track. The patient climbed (was carried) into the van to get to the bed.
On the way back from the hospital, we hit a very large bump and the patient went flying to the front of the car. The bed slammed on the front chairs, and the patient’s body jerked pretty hard upon impact with the chairs. The safety mechanism had broke, and the bed had come off the track! It kept moving all over the place, and we all scrambled to hold the bed. I had one hand clutching onto bed, one hand grabbing the rod attached to the roof, and braced my feet on the ground to try to stop the bed from rolling everywhere.
Definitely, the most exciting and intense road trip I’ve ever had!
It’s been a busy past few days. Yesterday, I went with the nurse to take vital signs of the patients. I also followed the doctor on rounds. One patient we took to get an ultrasound to look at a (possibly) enlarged liver. It was during this time that I noticed that it was difficult for patients to move around the hospital. You see, the hospital is three stories, but no elevators. This means that the patients must walk up and down the stairs…
Today, I went on rounds with the physician. One child had Rachitic Rosary, which is a deficiency in calcium. It makes the ribs to have bumps and is, in this case, caused by malnutrition, which according to this doctor, is the 3rd leading cause for the death of children in Kenya.
We brought food to the tea village
Later, we went through the market in town, which happens every Wednesday and Friday. They sell cloths, shoes, and fruit. There is also a lot of sheep, chickens, and donkeys that walk along the street. The donkeys are used to carry goods around.
From here, we went to the Tea Village, which is in walking distance from where I live. Limuru is known for its tea and there are acres and acres of tea farming land. All the green land is tea plants!
Unfortunately, parents go out to work in the fields, and the children (young children) had to take care of the babies. There would be 5 year-old children in-charge of newborns, and they would carry them on their backs.
A child with a baby on their back
Aside from the lack of food, these children really just needed love and care. They had to take care of the siblings so young that they never really get to play, as a result, they were so content just to sit on your lap and be held in your arms. They were also very fascinated with my watch and hair. My phone was especially interesting, so it was difficult to take pictures…
We played with the kids while the parents worked and we also delivered some food to them. ~$270 of food was given and it would feed the village for about 2 weeks.
These kids were so precious (don’t ask me what the stamp is… I took the picture while they were trying to touch my phone:) )
I am really excited because I’ve decided to set up a go fund me to help these kids that basically live next door to me. I hope to give food and other necessities, and help kids in school, and give supplies for the women’s centre in Limuru. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these kids would absolutely love whatever we could buy for them!
After a VERY long flight(s), I finally made it to Nairobi!!!
Immigration took awhile; it would have probably been easier to have just purchased the visa onsite…but I eventually made it out.
I got out of the airport probably around 11:45pm Kenyan time, after traveling for ~30 hours… I think, I am not exactly sure–time zones are confusing concepts. After I got out of the airport, I met my driver, who is really nice. He is from Limuru gave me an introduction to Kenya and Limuru.
After a delicious breakfast, I had a short orientation about the project before heading to the hospital. This is a private hospital (Limuru Nursing Home), and it was a great first day! Lots happened! I made some cotton balls and taught several new mothers cord care. I got to observe and assist some with 3 C-sections. The best part of this was being handed the baby, cleaning him, cutting the umbilical cord, and being able to show it to the mother to see him for the first time.
The worst part of this, was that, after the mother’s surgery, I accidently rolled her into a wall…I felt so sorry. But it is a very tight space…
Also, most of the time the doctors will motion towards something (they might say a word (in English or Swahili), and it is sometimes difficult to figure out what you are supposed to do. But, its all part of the challenge!
To go into the OR, we put large scrubs over our normal scrubs. They were x-large and so I kept tripping over the pant legs… This is the shoe rack for the OR: only these shoes can be worn in the OR. However, there are slippers with a blue bird on top if you need to make a quick trip out of the OR.
…And this is outside of our cottage. I am staying at a Christian training centre/campus here:)
I can’t believe it! After weeks and months of planning, I am finally going!!! My visa never actually came through, but apparently that is not uncommon for US citizens. Fortunately, it can be solved at the customs there, or I have been told…
These past couple days have been great! I went to a Prayer Conference at my Grandmother’s church.
I got introduced to a lot of people here and had a great time! It was interesting though, when some people heard that I was from the US they would say in reference to the Church, “Oh, the US, it definitely needs a change… maybe you can experience God here and bring it back to the US.”
Anyways…during the conference we would break for lunch and walk by these apartments:
Apartments in Paya Lebar
As we walked by, my Grandmother told me that these were older apartments because they were on the ground level. Later on, people decided to use the ground floor for more communal space; so many apartments now are not on the first story.
So, in talking about Christianity, one can not deny that Singapore is very multi-cultural/multi-religion country. Usually I tell my friends it is the “melting-pot of Asia.” In my experience, because it is so mixed, diversity is viewed differently than in the US. It is more of normalcy, while, from what I have seen, in the US people, either get upset, feel awkward, or think its really cool. In the US, I have been made fun of and laughed at because of my Asian physical characteristics. However, in Singapore, I am called “Ang Moh” or “white person,” but I see it as being stated more as a fact.
My internship company suggested that I bring snacks from my home country, which I did, I promise…However, I kind of ate them all:)
So, my aunt, who lives in Australia, gave me snacks from Australia that she happened to bring when visiting Singapore. I also attempted to purchase US-like snacks in Singapore and successfully found some. As a result, I will be bringing snacks to Kenya from Australia and Singapore, when my home country is the US…
This is a scenario that actually occurs frequently in my family. For example, my Aunt in Canada will bring maple syrup to Singapore when she visits my family there. Then, when my Grandmother comes to visit us in the US, she will bring that syrup to us. Unlike most families who simply go to the grocery store to buy maple syrup, we have to wait for it to travel around the world first just because it is cheaper in Canada…
In other news, I got my last Rabies shot today! (yay, I’m done!!!) This shot was not actually recommended to me when I went to the travel nurse in the US; however, in Singapore they strongly recommended that I get it. The doctor I talked in Singapore said that he actually sees a lot of bites from ravenous animals. He said that he always feels sorry for telling people who did not get the vaccination beforehand that treatment costs 1000s of dollars. So, I ended up getting the shots. It is just interesting to see the differences in the recommendation here compared to the US.
So this morning I went out to eat breakfast at a hawker center, which originates from the hawkers that used to sell food on the streets. Anyways, this is one of the foods that I ate:
It’s beef hor fun or char kway teow and one of my favorite dishes to eat here. But on a more interesting note, most people in the US (myself included) would probably consider this a lunch or dinner dish. In Singapore, however, there’s not really a separation of food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner: it’s all just food…
For many years now, I have attempted to explain what “breakfast food” is to my Grandmother. Unfortunetely, I have had little success:) After all, it doesn’t really make sense. I mean, in the US, a sausage can be for breakfast, but not a hotdog. Cheese is okay for breakfast, but if you add tomato sauce, it becomes a lunch/dinner food (e.g pizza/past). So… I guess I can see where it gets confusing.
There are some perks to this idea; especially as a kid as dessert can also be a breakfast food…right?
Another interesting thing you might notice from the picture is all the chopsticks that are on the same plate. Here it is not unusual to use your own utensils to grab the food from a communal plate. However, when my family comes, most of my friends and family will provide serving spoons, being sensitive to our American ways:)
Habari! I’ve been busy with preparations for my trip. I finally signed up for the STEP program, which is a program through the US government for traveling to keep up with the latest news in the area your going and other safety precautions.
I also realized a little to late that I don’t have a way to get Kenyan Shillings. My debit card is expiring next month, and I can’t seem to find a money changer in Singapore that will change to Kenyan shillings. The current plan is to go to Germany (which is where my layover is at) and to get the Kenyan currency…Hopefully it works…
I’m also learning about the grammar of Swahili, or should I say Kiswahili. It is very interesting and quite complex.
In other news, I went to Singapore’s Funan center, which was recently renovated; it is very new and shiny. This is probably one of the more touristy areas but is a super nice shopping center. I went to Toast box, where the common food is the traditional Kaya toast. It is a sweet-jam like spread that is usually put with butter on thin and light toast.
Funan Center at City Hall, Singapore
Unrelated, but every time I go out, I always walk past this:
Sidewalk view in Toa Payoh
A lot of times, during certain seasons, there will be food next to the fire ring as sacrifices. When my Grandmother see the sacrifices, she always gets annoyed because it attracts stray cats and birds. She would also complain about the mess:)
I have 6 more days until I leave for Kenya! I applied for my visa (slightly late, I know), but I had to wait to get my invitation letter from my internship company.
In other news, it is the second day of Chinese New Year! On this day, my family from my Kong Kong’s side visit (Kong Kong refers to my mother’s dad and is Cantonese). As a side note, my grandfather’s side is Cantonese, while my grandmother’s side is Peranakan, which is an unusual marriage during their time. Anyways, we did another Lo Hei, took a bunch of photos, and caught up with what everyone had been doing in the past year.
I reconnected with my cousins and learn how to play Tai ti (in Cantonese), which is a gambling game that is common in Southest Asia.
Playing Tai ti during the second day of Chinese New Year with my cousins
So, interesting story that displays my ignorance. For this Chinese New Year, my grandmother cooked Laksa, which is a very Peranakan food. Just as a quick explanation, it is a noodle soup. I was uncertain behind the rules of consuming this food and saw the noodles separate from the soup. Because I enjoy eating plain rice noodles, I started eating them without the soup. However, little did I know how wrong this act was. Independently, approximately five people came up to me to comment on eating the noodles plain. Upon further peer-pressure, I added the soup, which was actually very good:)
The reaction to my eating Laksa incorrectly:)
One of my favorite deserts in Singapore is Kek Lapis, which is an Indonesian layer cake. But, it is very well known in Singapore, as well as Malaysia. Typically, it is served in very thin pieces because it is very rich and contains a large number of eggs. It is mildly sweet, but has a nice cinnamon taste. However, the most memorable part is that it usually has around 20 very thin layers.
What was left of the layer cake at the end of the day
This is my Cheongsam that I wore for the second day. It was a very modern form of the dress, as it is a stretchy fabric with a zipper in the back. Typically, it is silk and very tight, making pretty uncomfortable to wear. However, one only gets to wear this type of dress so many times in a year:)
-A time of reunion, celebration, and good wishes for the future.
To anyone who has attempted to study abroad, it can be tough at the start. My planning was not any different– it involved endless meeting and paperwork, but, at long last, I am almost on my way to Limuru Kenya for a medical internship!!! Just one more week!!!
I am very excited because on my journey to reaching Africa, I have gotten the opportunity to learn more about my own culture and experience other cultures. You see, my mom is from Singapore, but I have lived in the mountains my entire life. This year, because of my study abroad program starting later, I get to join my family for Chinese New Year for the first time since 2005. This is a time of reunion, celebration, and good wishes for the future.
Yesterday, we had the Chinese New Year reunion, and I participated in lo hei. Although I had little idea what was going on or what to say, it was really neat to be a part of it. From what I gather, different foods are put on the plate and each item represents different good fortunes.
Lo hei during Chinese New Years Eve
Today was the first day of Chinese New Year. Traditionally, those who are married give Ang Bao to those that are not married: these are little red packets containing money.
It also happened to be my Great Aunt’s birthday both on the English and Chinese calender. A concept that I learned about on this trip–it seems quite complex, so I won’t attempt to explain it:) We sang Happy Birthday in both English and Chinese (I think…).
Happy Birthday on day 1 of Chinese New Year!!!
But, let’s rewind a bit for an embarrassing story. Before reaching Singapore, my family and I had a long layover in Germany. Like any tourists would, we decided to explore Germany. Now, understand that I have no knowledge of the German nor of their culture, and I was searching for the bathroom in a restaurant in Germany. Unfortunately, I became lost, as I could not understand the signs. I ended up making my way to what I thought was the bathroom, but turned out to be the freezer in the storage room… Not exactly what I had intended. But I have learned that some things you just can’t prepare for, although knowing a little German would have probably helped…
Winter market in Germany
That’s all for now, but tomorrow brings new stories!
My Adventures in Limuru, Kenya 
