more bangla pics

some bangla photos

week forty eight - Perth Debrief

so here we arrive to the last week of BAS! we landed in Perth on friday in the later evening. feeling overwhelmed, cold and slightly nauseous i got to the house were i was to spend the week and went to bed. the next morning felt a little better getting to sleep till i wanted to and not having to answer to an alarm clock. me and some girls went to lunch at the base and felt so overwhelmed that we had some toast and then left again. its strange cause people are excited your back and want to know how it was but when the question is asked ‘how was it?’ how can i truly answer that? it was eight months of ups and downs so overall, ‘outreach was challenging, i love midwifery and want to keep doing it’ was my response.

we had the weekend off and were all able to try and ‘settle’ in a bit more. its weird cause things that seem so trivial have a whole new meaning when you come back from being in a foreign land for so long. like going to a grocery store.... so many choices, so expensive and very overwhelming! even the climate change. its quite chilly hear and it rained the first whole part of the week. i got to spend the saturday night at Naomi’s house which was nice. but then monday morning we got right into debrief week.

debrief week was far more chill than i expected, we shared as a group how we grew and our highlights of outreach and what we were thinking of doing in the future. we then prayed for one another. on thursday night we all went out for dinner to a really nice grill and then friday we talked about ‘going home’ said a few goodbyes and that was it. that evening some of us went out for food and just to hang out. saturday was full of goodbyes and then sunday me and Naomi left as well to her house. and that was it.

i have a week and Nai’s and then we both head to the east coast to visit friends and just relax. so this ends my midwifery adventures for now. its sad and i do miss delivering babies and being with the moms but i know this is not the end.

thanks for reading!

week forty seven - Dhaka-Perth

well a slow week, counting down the days till perth! but it was a nice week as well, getting to hang out as a team, relax, do a bit of shopping and even got to be taken out to the ‘American club’ in Dhaka to hang out for the day. they had a pool (a storm hit so we had to wait a few hours for the lightning to stop but we still got to swim!) and great food and internet.

the maui team was also in so i got to hang out with the leaders! so nice to see familiar friends! a lot of our team was feeling yucky on and off, i think going back to eating western food did our bodies in after all the rice, potatoes and fried eggs!

i don’t have much to share as most of the week was just recapping from the last two months and looking forward to whats to come. the pool was interesting at the club, by the time i got in Bek (my leader) and Jasmine (maui leader) had all the kids (about 8 of them) rounded up and were playing games with them! quite entertaining and me and Naomi even joined in for a few rounds!

we got our haircuts... i think i mentioned before? maybe not. not a too bad of an experience..... they don’t do bangs very well so i was a tad unimpressed but o’well they’ll grow! i bought some fabric and one of my teammates drew a photo of a dress and i got the tailor to make one for me! i was actually pleasantly surprised as it was not a bangla style at all but he did a very good job!

we left thursday evening, a scary drive in a ‘CNG’ (little motorized car thingy) and got to the airport and were taking off and met the rest of our team (that had been in India) in Dubai! we had a five hour layover and then were on our next/last flight to Perth.

arriving in Perth was overwhelming and very cold. it was a mere 12 degree’s and after our 30-40 degree’s we were used to we were all quite chilled! i knew it would be a hard adjustment but i don’t think i expected it coming back to Perth, just home. today is monday, and i still haven’t gone out anywhere public besides the base and that is even overwhelming. its had to describe but when your gone for eight months in foreign lands you get used to everything being foreign and being the only white people who speak english and coming back is just ‘pow’ in your face. but i plan on going to a grocery store today! woo hoo! haha! got to get some toothpaste, shampoo and things. it will probably be overwhelming with lots of decisions and the price of things here. but it has to be done! can’t hide away forever!

as of right now i fly into edmonton to go to a wedding (cousin) on June 23 and then drive back with my family sometime after that... maybe a week? not sure the day i’ll be home but hopefully i’ll get to spend canada day at home this year!!!!! first time in winnipeg for that day in 8 years!!!!

till next time...

week forty six-Dhaka

our second last week of outreach, a very full week. sunday morning me, Jen, Naomi and Bek left for this apartment to teach a group of women about healthcare in pregnancy. we spent three days with them teaching them snidbits of what we know so that they can help their community and the women in the slums that don’t always go to get care. we even got to go to a ANC clinic and better help them learn how to feel for the baby and listen to its heartbeat. the women really grabbed on to all we had to say and would spend time praying for each mom they checked. it was a really fun group of women who just wanted to learn! then wednesday Naomi and I were supposed to plan a teaching for a different group of women for thursday. so the next day we left early and went to the group of four women to teach them about deliveries and how they can help and support the mom in labour. it was an amazing experience, although i was sick the entire time... but the women were really into our teachings and got really excited about it.

it has been really nice hanging out in Dhaka, where we’re staying is very relaxing and comfortable and yes we’ve had grilled cheese sandwiches!! woohoo!! the teaching week was very full, and a bit tiring but also very encouraging to see that what we’ve learnt we can pass on for these women to better their communities. one of my lessons was on vital taking, pulse, breathing, blood pressure and temp. one of the women was so excited when i showed her how to take blood pressure she said ‘oh we’re all becoming doctor’s today!’ another things she said was about the pulse ‘sometimes i feel it jumping and sometimes not, but now i can feel it.’ the ‘jumping’ was referring to the pulse beating! and when they found the heartbeat of the baby in one of the lady’s bellies they got so excited and the smile on their face was priceless. they were so proud of what they had learnt!

we got friday and saturday off as we missed our day off last week, it was relaxing but also a bit crazy, i was feeling really nauseous most of friday and decided to go out shopping anyways. only made it to lunch then me, Naomi and Tiffany headed home feeling to yucky to continue with the day. the next day us three and Jasmine (a maui team leader that i knew when i mission built their!!!) went to a salon! yes, haircut in asia. sometimes not the best idea, but its not too bad. could have been worse, i’m not thrilled but i can get it fixed! i also got my eyebrows threaded! first time ever i did that, didn’t hurt to bad and they did a good job!

this next week we head into debriefing, a few projects to finish up and team times together. i’m excited we leave thursday but feeling a little nervous to head into ‘real life’ again!

so i guess this is it till Perth! talk to ya then!!!

week forty five- Bollobhpur-Dhaka

this week has been so crazy. tuesday started off with two deliveries and another lady in labour that i was monitoring. that night i did a delivery just before eleven, a beautiful little boy. Celia stayed up all night with the other mom who was still in labour and came to woke up me and Naomi at five am and Naomi did a delivery right then! another women was fully dilated and i delivered her at seven thirty. but this delivery was a bit more difficult. the baby’s heart rate was up and down, sometimes dropping dangerously low. i had to go to the head nurses house to ask for a drug to help the mom have more contractions so the baby could come out faster. it was a bit of a struggle and me and Naomi praying like crazy for this little baby. there were charms on the mom’s arm and we knew she was muslim. we saw break through at seven when the heart rate went up to a normal beat and stayed that way till delivery! the baby boy was born with a strong heart beat but not a strong cry. it took some stimulation and prayer but we eventually did hear a little cry from him which grew as the day went on!

that same morning Celia did two deliveries back to back! it was pretty crazy, i was her second and was running around helping her take vitals as well as taking my mom/baby’s vitals. it was fun, but exhausting as well. the rest of the day was spent getting paperwork and laundry done. in the afternoon our team went to Karpasdanga to say goodbye to Benuka and her family. it was a lovely lunch that they prepared, extremely spicy! my mouth has never been on fire as it was that day. thursday we had a team meeting, prepared for our seminars that we’ll be teaching on healthcare and tying loose ends up.

that evening we had a ‘tea/biscuit’ night for the nursing students. about thirty of them showed up in our small house! we were constantly serving Sprite, tea, cookies, sweets and water to the girls that continued to come and go. it was a lot of fun, we danced, sang, watched a ‘Bollywood’ video and started giving away things we didn’t need anymore. the girls were really sad that we were leaving and kept asking for photos of us. i ran out of ones of me and Naomi to hand out so started giving out my family photo’s! sorry family, you will now be shown to many people in Bangladesh! it was a good night though and the power stayed on for the most of it!

friday we packed, cleaned and got ready to leave. it was a bittersweet day, we are all excited to move on and are tired of outreach life but have all developed relationships with the nursing students and are going to miss midwifery. that evening Sister Gillian came over and we got to learn more about her and how she got to Bangladesh. she is a remarkable women who has dedicated her life to her work and to helping these people.

saturday we woke up early, and packed up the van and were off by six am. it was sad to say goodbye to our new friends. some of them cried. some of us nearly cried. the drive was no fun at all but a lot shorter than our original drive to Bollobhpur. we made it to Rachel’s house just after one and were able to eat grilled cheese sandwiches and rest! the next day was going to be a full one of teaching for me, Naomi and Jen. the other girls were heading out to a different part of the city to stay a night to do teachings to a group of Pakistani women. full on work but really good for these women. i’m excited but also very tired!

till next time...

week forty four-Bollobhpur

hmmm trying to remember the past week... me and naomi were partners again, working a lot of morning shifts and going to an anc clinic.

its been a hot week, and our water pump has busted so we’re pumping water from the well outside non stop. going and dumping water on ourselves just to try and stay cool. the good thing is the power isn’t too bad so we usually can have cold water from our fridge! when the power is on me and Naomi sit in our wet towels under the fan, very refreshing!

the hospital was pretty slow as well this week, Jen delivered a stillbirth on wednesday which was a bit hard, especially because it was the mothers second one and she has no live children. that same day me and Naomi went to a clinic where a storm hit and the winds blew like crazy and the rain pelted down. all the women huddled under the roof top to escape and for an hour or so we felt cooled down.

that afternoon Celia told me a women had just come into the hospital in labour so i went and monitored her. she gave birth at six thirty to a little boy! a healthy mom and baby, but the delivery itself stressful. sometimes working with the nursing students can be a little trying, with language and just cultural differences. also though because they have such a different way of doing things. its difficult to explain but the student i worked with that day has a reputation of being very controlling and not very friendly. i was left feeling upset and frustrated with her. we’ve made emends since then and things are okay, but i probably won’t be working with her again!

the rest of the week there were no deliveries so we spent days sitting at the hospital talking with the nursing students and cleaning our house and just hanging out. then saturday a few women came in and Naomi did a delivery that evening. a women also came in at the same time who was only one cm dilated, so i stayed up through the night with her monitoring her, then another women came in at one thirty am who was much further along so i started monitoring both of them. Liz came around two to check in on me and i told her about the two women. Bek and Naomi came around two thirty and slept on one of the beds while i continued monitoring, then at three thirty we brought the second women in to the labour room, her waters were broke and she delivered a beautiful little girl at four o’five am! it was a beautiful delivery no stress and she cried as soon as she was out! the mom was so excited, i’m completely content if that was my last delivery. i’ll be sad to go home and no be able to be a part of deliveries but i’m grateful for the experiences i’ve had.

so after that delivery i came home, showered and layed in bed just as i heard a knock on the door that the first mom was ready. i woke up Liz and went with her to her delivery, while this was happening Celia’s mom from the night before also was ready to push so i ran back to the house and woke her up too! so i stayed their till they delivered and helped with recuss on Liz’s baby, he was born very small and didn’t cry, but after while and with some help he was crying and doing good.

so i didn’t sleep at all saturday night, so sunday i went to bed around seven thirty and woke up at one! it was a good night and doing a delivery always leaves you with a bit of an adrenaline rush so i didn’t feel to tired.

the rest of the weekend and our day off was just relaxing and catching up on sleep, despite being extremely hot was restful.

well i actually get to stay again here for the last week, crazy i know! we leave next saturday for Dhaka.

till next time...