Post Holiday Update

Habari gani rafiki, long time no speak! I’m sorry I have failed to post an update in the last two weeks. Unfortunately my trip to the Masai Mara game park was cancelled two weekends ago due to torrential rains and so I have been waiting for more exciting news before I wrote again. I have just arrived back at Kijabe after a week long holiday, and am now feeling well rested and ready to enjoy my final four weeks on the mission station.

Well, I was sad to leave the wonderful Obstetrics and Gynaecology team after three full-on weeks with them. I think I’ve mentioned in a previous update the 6am starts, so it won’t surprise you that I was ready for a holiday when my time was over. But I have to say, I miss the ladies, the babies and especially the team very much now that I’ve moved on. Most of all I’m missing the chai and samosa breaks that became the highlight of my weeks :)

But before I go any further, I better tell you about our wonderful holiday! On Sunday morning, Juliette and I were lucky enough to fly to Mombasa for a few days of r&r. We arrived in the city and took a drive around the sights before settling into the hotel. This is a view of the beach from the hotel.

We spent our time enjoying the hot African sun, swimming, reading and walking on the beach. The absolute highlight of our stay was a trip out to the reef for some snorkeling. I can never get over the amazing beauty and variety hiding just beneath the surface of the water. We were even lucky enough to see one of the very rare Lion fish, along with the full cast of Finding Nemo :)

Unfortunately, the beach life cannot last forever, and so we spent the rest of the week in Nairobi, sorting Juliette out before she heads to Cardiff to begin her Masters degree. After a few issues with her visa, she will fly out to the UK on Tuesday morning, only three days late.

So now, its back to business. I’ll spend my last four weeks doing a mixture of paediatrics, neonatology and paediatric surgery. We are looking forward to the arrival of two new American students and a bunch of Kenyan medical students to join the team. I’ll write to you with more news as it unfolds. Hope you are all well!

My African Birthday

Well, as of the 5th of September, I am officially 24 years old! Can I start by saying a huge thank you to all those who sent me birthday wishes, I was so blessed to open my inbox to a huge number of emails from home! It is honestly the only time I have ever been pleased that facebook emails you every time a message is left on your wall because the hospital have just banned facebook on our internet and so I was able to read all the birthday messages even though I could not access the website!

My birthday morning began with a 6am ward round. It seems there is no rest for the wicked, even on your birthday! Later in the morning I had time for a chai and ndazi break with the lovely obs and gynae team (Chai is taken with an abundance of sugar and ndazis are African deep fried doughnuts).

Frank and I



Munge and Joshua

We then went on with our busy day. A gynae clinic and an emergency caesarean section later, the girls Emily (Wales) and Gail (Northern Ireland) found me in casualty and took me away for a traditional African lunch in the sun.

Later on in the evening we had a few friends over for dinner, including the two new recruits, Matthew and Chris who are medical students from Bristol. We made pizza and chips and were just sitting down to eat, when Juliette and her boyfriend Richard arrived bearing gifts. My main present was a Masai blanket, and a box of chocolates covered in flamingos, but they also brought a huge bunch of lilies and roses. This is me pretending to be a real masai… I just had to.

And then the best part, my birthday cake!

So it was a great night for everyone and I was extremely spoilt. Today I’m on call for the weekend, ie. The whole 48 hours until Monday morning ward round. Unfortunately it means I have to hang around close to a phone, but I guess I get to enjoy my beautiful flowers :) I hope you are all well and enjoying the beginning of spring. Kwaheri!

Mini-safari at Lake Nakuru

Hello my friends, I am just back from my weekend of fun with Juliette and Emily (a fellow medical student at Kijabe). We had a great time, I feel like we had a real holiday, but as usual I have come home exhausted.

So it was Alisa the american's last day on Friday, and we made a big dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and then had ice cream with real chocolate sauce. It was very special and a nice way to send her off. She left the following morning for a weekend in Nairobi before she flew out on Sunday. So now we are down to four!

Juliette drove up to meet me in Kijabe on Saturday morning and we got on the road to Nakuru by about 9am. We drove through a wee town called Naivasha on the way and stopped for some photos, then headed for Lake Nakuru National park. You pay about $40 US to get into the park, and then can drive freely around checking out animals to your heart's delight. Lake Nakuru is famous for it's flamingos, but unfortunately it's hard to get close enough for good photos. They are so beautiful though, lining the lake with bright pink feathers.




Lake Nakuru lined by Flamingos



We also saw Zebra, warthogs, wildebeast, water buffalos, rhinos, antelope, impala, grouse and gazelles. Unfortunately we missed out on seeing Giraffe and lions, so I guess I'll have to wait for the Masai Mara. A picture is worth a thousand words they say, so here are a few...




Mama and baby rhino




Zebra




Zebra and Pelicans at the water hole




Gazelles on the plains





Emily and I at Mwabira Waterfall





Water Buffalo covered in mud




Lake Nakuru from Lion Hill lookout



We caught up with Juliette's family in the evening and ended up staying at this guest house near Lake Elementaita. On sunday morning we enjoyed a lavish sleep in, a long hot shower and a late breakfast, and then we set off for a more relaxed day. We drove back into Lake Naivasha Country club, and had lunch in the sun. It is such a gorgeous place,with a big lawn covered in Acacia trees, Juliette wants to get married there. We went for a walk down to the lakeside where we saw a couple of hippos playing around, and then went for a swim (in the pool, not the lake!).





Hippos on Lake Naivasha





Juliette and I at Lake Naivasha




After whiling the day away in the sun, we made our way back to Kijabe and here I am! Today I had a good start to Obstetrics and Gynae with an emergency caesarean section within the first hour. I think I'm gonna enjoy myself, although the 6am starts are a killer! Hope you are all doing very well back home, and just before I leave, I have to gloat... My little sister just informed me that WGC won the National Stage Challenge! WGC is number one, don't mess with number one!


Okay, enough now, love to you all,
Chlo




PS. Tiki my travelling mascot. Just so you know I brought I piece of New Zealand with me! Shout out to Lisa Bathgate.