August 26th, 2017 by jenniferolmstead

I got up early this morning and spent extra time in prayer and reading God’s word. It really got my day off to a good start. Breakfast was great fun. Noodles made from rice topped with coconut and sugar, a great start to a great day. I find I really like the noodles especially eating them with my fingers.
I took the new nurse student, Holly, with me to introduce her to some of the nursing staff. They were quite happy to meet her. After checking in we went to spend some time in post-natal ward. It was kinda fun, but the babes all look so tiny. Average birth weight is about 2.5 kg which is about 5 lbs. The positive is that they were all healthy. The nurses reviewed their daily routine with me and suggested I come back one morning before 8am as they are busy from 8-9 with morning things such as dressing changes, otherwise just paperwork and education. I will do that one day next week. We were invited to observe as the gave a baby a bath. This was fun and new for Holly. She has not done her rotations yet that include baby stuff so she is very excited about learning this area. Her plan is to go into missions with her soon to be husband. She is planning on marrying next summer after she graduates. Then they will both get 1-2 years’ experience, he plans on teaching, then off to the mission field. I am very happy for them. So, after the bath we went back to the pediatric floor.
It was a slow day for me today. They discharged all but 56 patients. I was hoping to help more with this but my efforts were entertaining at best for many. I was able to run to the pharmacy and get translation of some medication orders. I helped Holly remove IV catheters on 4 patients which she found quite exciting and I played with a couple of toddlers, which is always fun. I told one of the nurses I felt a little useless for my last day on the floor. At first, she said yes, then when she figured out what it meant she quickly changed and said I was lots of help as I was entertaining. Translation is sometimes more fun than the actual conversation. Before leaving Sabi, the head nurse, asked me in Hindi when I was leaving. She said this and looked at me as though I should understand and be able to answer. I looked at her and said what is … my attempt at her word. She got to laughing so hard and told all the other nurses about her prank on me before she translated. It was quite funny. I am going to miss the nurses here they are so amazing.
After work, I walked home with Holly. We were met at the door by the younger daughter of the house Deborah. She was eager for company and offered coffee or tea. As I had been trying to get a cup of tea for hours I excitedly said yes. So, 30 minutes later no tea or coffee and we had to remind her to finish her homework so she did not get in trouble with her mom. We offered to play games wither later if she did her homework and let me get my blog done and Holly wanted to clean up. She was in our room before I even got started with her iPad and wanted to show me photos. They were wonderful storied and I enjoyed hearing the storied behind them, but 1 hour later I still had gotten nothing done. Then the Irish girls got in and offered tea. I again said yes quite excitedly. This time I did get tea and we played games till almost dinner time. After dinner, we went outside for internet. The only way we can connect is to all stand out on the stairs in the front yard about 25 feet from the house. We are just happy when it’s not raining, at least not heavy. It was a little drizzly but not enough to keep us in. we have also been working on laundry during this time. My laundry bag has come in very handy. We all take turns washing and rinsing to ensure we each have something to wear every day. If we hang it outside for the first day and then bring it in for a day it seems to dry quite nicely. Things are really damp here due to the high humidity and so keeping things dry enough to prevent molding is a challenge, but we seem to have figured out a system that is working for all of us.
They are waiting to play toss the pig and Dutch bliss. So, I am going to learn some new games.