"My Dear - this is Africa!"

It's amazing how much can happen in a week. I feel like I'm standing in a very different pair of shoes than I was during my last post - although in reality it's the same warn pair of Dansko clogs.

1) Caleb arrived on Thursday night. It is wonderful to have him share this place with me. We had a lovely and relaxing weekend jumping on and off mini buses, going to the market-in-the mall, and reading at home.

2) I returned from Ndola - on a bus - after waiting 4 hrs for the bus to fill to capacity and FINALLY leave the station. No sooner was I done thanking god for the departure than on came the terrible Nigerian soap operas played at unimaginable decibels. After covering my ears and whimpering for a while - the man behind me laughed. "My dear - this is Africa!"

Ndola was a beautiful little city - with wide tree-lined streets, a 'Shop Right' super market, and a nice woman selling hard-boiled eggs and delicious oranges on the corner between my guest house and the hospital. I spent a full three days there - and in total - only observed 7 births. I decided, as most babies are born in the wee hours of the morning - to switch my day shifts into evening/night shifts. My plan all but failed there - as in 11 hours - I only saw one normal delivery. Although my eyes were tired, my confidential envelope was all but empty. Ndola hospital was very well equipped however, and did not buck the trend that I have been seeing: Active Management is used and loved by the midwives.

The last morning of my trip, acknowledging my bad luck at the hospital, I hopped a cab to see the busiest clinic in one of the surrounding compounds. What luck! I saw two beautiful deliveries in one morning. Both done by students- with the midwife looking over her shoulder.

So - my total number of birth observations is at 58 (6 higher than expected). I am now heading into the next phase of my project - the analysis and the closure of sites. I have spent the day coding - and making thank you cards. As a gift I am giving protective eye glasses - as all the midwives wanted mine. In my interviews, when asked about what was needed, many said "protective clothing." While 30 pairs of goggles won't save anyone necessarily, hopefully it can prevent one splash from getting in a midwifes eyes.

Wednesday I leave on a canoe trip for a few days. Time to see some hephalumps and woozels.