Well, well, well! It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this, so I’ve been here 3 months, now that is simply beyond crazy! We leave for Cape Town in about 4 weeks for Christmas and New Year, I’m sooooo excited to see all of the other PT girls (and boy) for a good old catch up. But with good times comes sad times, and during December we have to say goodbye to two wonderful people that have made our first few months in the world of Zithulele so easy for us to settle in. So THANK YOU to Pieter and Stephen and we wish you both the best of luck in your new jobs! You’ll be missed big time!!
The 10 clinics we have here are getting crazier and busier, which is by NO means a bad thing! Recently the SA government has increased the ARV start CD4 count to 350 which means patients are starting treatment when they are still relatively quite well, which in the long run, helps the treatment be as effective as possible. This has meant a rather steep increase in the number of patients we have starting at the clinics, which means we have a lot more to do, but this has been made a lot easier for us with DWF supplying us with a pre-pack assistant, honestly, it’s made us think where on earth did we find the time to do all of the other admin work? Zidindi, which is one of the newer clinics has grown to such a size we’ve had to make clinic days there every 2 weeks, rather than every 4. Everything with the project is getting very exciting and incredibly fascinating as I learn more and more about people living with HIV. Hopefully, in the New Year we will start side projects in the pre-school which will allow us to have a change of scenery from the hectic running of the clinics.
As always, we’re still having lots of fun!! A few weeks ago was Laura’s (one of the physiotherapist’s) Birthday Party. It was a pink themed party so everyone got with the spirit and dressed up…(or under dressed in some cases)…some of the guys sporting some incredibly flattering swimwear and hot pants, a possibility of some photos to follow. We have also had a BEAUTIFUL weekend break in Umdumbi, my word, the beach there is utterly stunning! (ask M&D for the picture or see facebook). On the evening we had a fabulous meal, drinks, lots of successful, and in the same respects, runsuccessful pool tournaments, and wonderful chitchats with wonderful people. A lazy morning followed, then a trip to the beach in true African sunshine and as a plea to stick to the ‘British tourist’ stereotype I somehow managed to burn ridiculously through MANY layers of factor 50 on my shins- of all places. Although I wasn’t the only one, the following days resulted in many cruel games of ‘slap the sunburn’ owwwwwch! All in all, another amazing month has passed, I cannot wait to see that the coming one’s hold! My next post may well be from Cape Town, if not I’ll update as soon as I get back. So to all of you, a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ENJOY!! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
As always, we’re still having lots of fun!! A few weeks ago was Laura’s (one of the physiotherapist’s) Birthday Party. It was a pink themed party so everyone got with the spirit and dressed up…(or under dressed in some cases)…some of the guys sporting some incredibly flattering swimwear and hot pants, a possibility of some photos to follow. We have also had a BEAUTIFUL weekend break in Umdumbi, my word, the beach there is utterly stunning! (ask M&D for the picture or see facebook). On the evening we had a fabulous meal, drinks, lots of successful, and in the same respects, runsuccessful pool tournaments, and wonderful chitchats with wonderful people. A lazy morning followed, then a trip to the beach in true African sunshine and as a plea to stick to the ‘British tourist’ stereotype I somehow managed to burn ridiculously through MANY layers of factor 50 on my shins- of all places. Although I wasn’t the only one, the following days resulted in many cruel games of ‘slap the sunburn’ owwwwwch! All in all, another amazing month has passed, I cannot wait to see that the coming one’s hold! My next post may well be from Cape Town, if not I’ll update as soon as I get back. So to all of you, a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ENJOY!! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
PS…I have experienced my first dose of every traveller’s nightmare…FOOD POISONING. In fact I think it’s the first time I’ve had it in my life (thanks Dad for cooking my food properly for the last 18 years!!!) And I can safely say it is something I NEVER want to experience again!!! New Year’s Resolution…Check and double check food before eating it!!!
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