week 4 update

Week 4 update:

Time is flying by, one more week of work left and lots still to do. We said cheerio to Claire this am, so our team of 4 is now 3. We wish her a safe trip home. She was a valued member of the team, with her current inpatient experience making our skill mix complimentary. We will fill her shoes as best we can. We have arranged a talk with the Doctors at the Hospital re the role of inpatient Physiotherapy. Should be interesting.

We are all still enjoying the work and now able to start seeing the fruits of our labour with patients demonstrating some good improvements. My workable French is becoming more workable. I have never made more use of my schoolboy French.

Also it rained. When it rains here it is serious rain. It’s a bit like snow in Guernsey, the whole Island comes to a standstill. It’s a good enough excuse to say you can’t make it to work because you can’t cross the road because of the mud!

In a gap year before University I went to Zimbabwe. There I was taught ‘TAB’ (That’s Africa Baby) to sum up numerous moments of chaos and disarray, and to help you keep your sanity. I am happy (?) to confirm that ‘THB’ also stands here.  Let me give you an example: Last night we went to a ‘cultural evening’. The tickets said start at 1530 so we arrive on time, stupidly. The DJ arrives at 1630 with his speakers and sound system and starts plugging in things. At 1700 the generator cranks up right beside us to power everything as there is another powercut. At 1715 when they are about to start they realize they can’t draw the curtains (painted sheet) they put up so have to tie them up instead! At 1720 it starts. At 1730 we leave unable to hear ourselves think from the sound of the music to drown out the sound of the generator.

On Saturday we went to a beautiful coastal fishing village only accessible by boat and had a swim in the Atlantic. It was glorious. It was good to see that parts of the coastline here have maintained some of their local traditions and the sea is still clean to swim in. There is a private beach beside this village that the locals are not allowed to use. It is used by the Caribbean cruiseliners only. This seems a shame but the subsequent employment it produces for the local community apparently outweighs this exclusivity