I arrived at Kiwoko Hospital today after three days of travel including a ferry, a train, two planes, two taxis, two hotel stays, and finally the friendly driver that brought me to Kiwoko today. I can already tell there will be some adjustments that I need to make. Life is much slower here and taking a breath and looking around can benefit me. For example, when arriving at Entebbe airport, I knew I was going to have to stay the night so I booked a room at a hotel which reported they provided airport shuttle service. I had not heard from the hotel so assumed the shuttle would not be available therefore I found a taxi driver upon arrival and made my way to the hotel. Upon check-in, the kind front desk staff was surprised to find that their driver had not accompanied me to the hotel. If I had slowed down and not let my fast pace western brain dominate, I may have seen him and avoided this snafu. All in all, a small mishap in the scheme of international travels but one that makes a salient point- life here is not governed by email confirmations or set schedules but rather by good reputation and the word of one person to another. Looking toward the rest of the month, I hope that I can somewhat imitate these societal norms without too many social mishaps.
Lugandan word of the day: Mzungu (noun, a “wanderer” or visitor from another place, most commonly used as a friendly name for white people)
Medical learning point of the day: Medical personnel in Uganda include nursing students, registered nurses, medical students, medical officers (who are physicians without a specialty), and physicians. The nurses do not attend to hygiene or dietary needs of patients therefore patients are accompanied by family or friends who take care of these care needs.
