Each day while in Sri Lanka, Mai recorded her experiences in her journal. Here they are for everyone to read and share.
Day 17 Wednesday – July 25, 2018
Today we got up early again, so we could set up a medical clinic at the Panadura Municipal Council headquarters. We collected health information for approximately 100 people that worked at the location. I recorded each person’s BMI and their blood sugar levels. I have done this before, but this was the first time I had ever seen sugar levels so high. One man had a blood sugar level of 285!
The men that ran the office gave us tea, and then we did a health presentation for the people in the office. We taught them first aid for treating wounds, burns, sprains, and fractures. Then we gave the employees a seminar on CPR and showed them how to do it.
After the presentation, we ate lunch and then headed to another Ayurvedic hospital to see more of this particular type of medicine in practice. We also were given an presentation on the science of acupuncture. Next, we headed to different hospital for another seminar on public health. Through this experience, I realized how interested I am in public health, disease prevention, and epidemiology. It is fascinating and very important to me.
Finally, headed back to the house. Tomorrow is Gaelle’s last day, so we are all very sad. Two days left until I go home and take a warm shower. I have been showering in cold water for three weeks since they don’t have warm water for showers here. Other than that, I am sad to leave as well.
Today we got up early again, so we could set up a medical clinic at the Panadura Municipal Council headquarters. We collected health information for approximately 100 people that worked at the location. I recorded each person’s BMI and their blood sugar levels. I have done this before, but this was the first time I had ever seen sugar levels so high. One man had a blood sugar level of 285!
The men that ran the office gave us tea, and then we did a health presentation for the people in the office. We taught them first aid for treating wounds, burns, sprains, and fractures. Then we gave the employees a seminar on CPR and showed them how to do it.
After the presentation, we ate lunch and then headed to another Ayurvedic hospital to see more of this particular type of medicine in practice. We also were given an presentation on the science of acupuncture. Next, we headed to different hospital for another seminar on public health. Through this experience, I realized how interested I am in public health, disease prevention, and epidemiology. It is fascinating and very important to me.
Finally, headed back to the house. Tomorrow is Gaelle’s last day, so we are all very sad. Two days left until I go home and take a warm shower. I have been showering in cold water for three weeks since they don’t have warm water for showers here. Other than that, I am sad to leave as well.
Day 16 Tuesday – July 24, 2018
Today I woke up 5:15 AM to head out early to a small village to set up a medical camp. I brought 50 of the Hearts for Hearts first aid kits with me. We ate breakfast that the villagers prepared for us. To get there, we drove for hours. It was up in the mountains in the middle of the forest with almost no civilization around. There was no phone service, electricity, or any of the usual luxuries we have at home. We set up the clinic to start seeing the villagers and test their blood. I handed out my first aid kits, and all of the people loved them. They were all so excited, and I quickly ran out as they begged me for more. We are planning to come back to this village on Friday, so I will bring the rest of the first aid kits that I have left and hand them out to the villagers. We ate lunch at the village and then drove to Pahiyangala. The largest natural cave in South Asia. It is also an ancient Buddhist temple, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. There was ancient cave writing on the walls and hundreds of hearts ago 3,000 people somehow inhabited it. I slept on the drive home until we stopped at the supermarket to get food for tomorrow. We came home to prepare for tomorrow and make dinner. Today felt the most like Africa last year, and I again felt the extreme happiness to be able to help people. I had hoped every day in Sri Lanka would be like today, but I am working with a different coordinator than I did in Ghana. |
Day 15 Monday – July 23, 2018
Today we went to the hospital in the morning again to volunteer. I slept through my alarm because I was so tired and rushed to get ready. At the hospital, I started out in the dentistry ward and saw multiple fillings and tooth extractions. They use no numbing cream, anesthesia, or Novocain. It is crazy because they are all painful procedures and the patients receive nothing for the pain.
We then went to the ultrasound room and watched multiple procedures. They did one after the next and did not clean or sanitize in between each. We saw a ton of ultrasounds, then went over to the eye clinic, which was the grossest of all to me. Patients had severe eye infections, and one man’s eye was so bad I didn’t want to look. I had an opportunity to look at people’s eyes under a microscope and saw someone post op with an artificial lens in their eye which was very interesting. I noticed almost none of the patients wear shoes in the hospital at all.
Next, we went home for lunch and had curry and green beans, then headed back to the hospital for a little bit longer. We came back to the house to watch a presentation on first aid and first response and then practiced giving vaccinations.
Aubrey texted that she made it to Nepal safely and will start handing out the first aid kits at the clinic there.
Today we went to the hospital in the morning again to volunteer. I slept through my alarm because I was so tired and rushed to get ready. At the hospital, I started out in the dentistry ward and saw multiple fillings and tooth extractions. They use no numbing cream, anesthesia, or Novocain. It is crazy because they are all painful procedures and the patients receive nothing for the pain.
We then went to the ultrasound room and watched multiple procedures. They did one after the next and did not clean or sanitize in between each. We saw a ton of ultrasounds, then went over to the eye clinic, which was the grossest of all to me. Patients had severe eye infections, and one man’s eye was so bad I didn’t want to look. I had an opportunity to look at people’s eyes under a microscope and saw someone post op with an artificial lens in their eye which was very interesting. I noticed almost none of the patients wear shoes in the hospital at all.
Next, we went home for lunch and had curry and green beans, then headed back to the hospital for a little bit longer. We came back to the house to watch a presentation on first aid and first response and then practiced giving vaccinations.
Aubrey texted that she made it to Nepal safely and will start handing out the first aid kits at the clinic there.
Days 13 &14 Saturday and Sunday – July 20 & 21, 2018
I don't have much of an update other than to share photos from walking around town. We took the weekend off, for the most part, to look around at the area and have some fun. I was able to hold a monkey, a baby tortoise and saw a kite festival.
I don't have much of an update other than to share photos from walking around town. We took the weekend off, for the most part, to look around at the area and have some fun. I was able to hold a monkey, a baby tortoise and saw a kite festival.
Day 12 Friday – July 19, 2018
Today we went to the Horana Base Hospital again to volunteer. We were placed in the emergency ward, but it was too busy for the staff even to tell us what to do to help. We were actually in the way, so we moved to the psychiatric unit to finish our time in the morning. There wasn’t much for us to do at the hospital today and since Aubrey still isn’t feeling well, we headed back to our host family. We ate lunch and Aubrey was able to get some rest. After lunch, we went back to the hospital and volunteered in the dentistry ward. The doctor we worked with was very helpful and friendly. She took the time to explain everything she was doing to us. She described the healthcare, including surgery, are free to the Sri Lankan people. She also told us her education was free as well. It was slower in the dental ward, so the dental assistant made tea for all of us. All of the staff in the dental ward were all so friendly. This department was definitely the most hygienic and clean of all the wards we have seen at this hospital. They had multiple jars of extracted bloody teeth they were saving for medical students. After the hospital, we went to the supermarket to buy groceries because tonight we are making dinner for all of us. We are making pasta with homemade tomato sauce for our homestay family. After the supermarket, we headed to meet up with other volunteers to discuss the hospitals and other areas that needed medical supplies and help. After the meetup, we went back to the house and cooked dinner. Aubrey, who I traveled from the US with, decided she will go to Nepal to complete the final week of our trip. I chose not to go with her and to stay here in Sri Lanka as planned. She will still fly back to Sri Lanka to catch our flight back to New York next week. We finally had dinner and had a chance to have some fun at home. We all danced around and sang while cooking the pasta and sauce. My job was to cut the tomatoes for the sauce. We all ate together, including our homestay family, and their little girl. We made enough pasta for a decade! |
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Day 11 Thursday – July 18, 2018
Today the team headed out early to a village in Colombo to clean the houses and prevent the spread of dengue. Dengue is a disease spread by mosquitos and common in South Asia. One of the homes that we cleaned a woman offered us coconut water and fresh orange juice to thank us. When we finished, we took a tuk-tuk back to the house, ate lunch out of a banana leaf and then drove to the women’s hospital.
In the women’s hospital, we saw the labor room where a woman had just gone into labor and was screaming in pain. As we looked around the different wards to see where they may need our help, I noticed again all the blood all over the floor and how unsanitary the hospitals here are. When we were cleaning the houses earlier in the day, most of the people in the neighborhood had watchdogs where we were. A couple of them even came after us which was not so fun.
Aubrey is pretty sick with a really bad cold, I am hoping that I don’t get it too. I am so so so tired, more than usual, and I miss home a little today (meaning I miss my dog).
Today the team headed out early to a village in Colombo to clean the houses and prevent the spread of dengue. Dengue is a disease spread by mosquitos and common in South Asia. One of the homes that we cleaned a woman offered us coconut water and fresh orange juice to thank us. When we finished, we took a tuk-tuk back to the house, ate lunch out of a banana leaf and then drove to the women’s hospital.
In the women’s hospital, we saw the labor room where a woman had just gone into labor and was screaming in pain. As we looked around the different wards to see where they may need our help, I noticed again all the blood all over the floor and how unsanitary the hospitals here are. When we were cleaning the houses earlier in the day, most of the people in the neighborhood had watchdogs where we were. A couple of them even came after us which was not so fun.
Aubrey is pretty sick with a really bad cold, I am hoping that I don’t get it too. I am so so so tired, more than usual, and I miss home a little today (meaning I miss my dog).
Day 9 Tuesday – July 17, 2018
Today we woke up, ate beans with chili paste and eggs. After breakfast, we headed to the government hospital where Aubrey and I were able to volunteer in surgery again. The surgeon was not ready to let us in the OR yet to help, so we waited in the pre-op/post-op wards. While waiting, we had the opportunity to look at X-rays. The patients’ files we saw were of a man with extremely severe scoliosis, one with a broken nose and some we had no clue what we were looking at.
Everyone here thinks we are doctors, for the most part, and let us do everything. After waiting for a while to help in the OR, Aubrey and I decided to run home to grab her art supply donations and bring them to the children in pediatrics. When we returned to the hospital, we dressed for surgery again and watched a man with an infected cyst get brutally cut out of his arm. Aubrey and I both had to look away, it was so brutal and graphic. Some of the things we see in surgery are too intense for me.
The operating room at the Horana Government Hospital looks like a scene from out of a horror movie, and they don’t clean anything. There is dry blood all over the floor, and everything is rusty too. After that surgery, we decided to skip lunch and help with another surgery.
We watched a low-invasion ovarian cyst removal, and it was fascinating, one of the most amazing things I have seen. The other volunteers are going to the beach this afternoon, but Aubrey and I decided to stay so we can bring the donations to the children.
Every aspect of the operating room is so unsanitary and unsterile, it’s crazy. The doctors we worked with today had two surgeries in one room that was smaller than my bedroom at home. It is just incredible the difference in the hospitals here and at home. Because there is more money in Sri Lanka than in Ghana, they have the small luxury to be able to perform some small surgeries that are not life and death.
After watching a cyst removal from the monitor, we walked over and saw the babies that had just been born by C-section. They were so adorable! It is amazing to see babies that were born just second before.
The only lunch we could find was water and a donut. So we ate quickly and then headed to the pediatric ward. We hand delivered art supplies to the children and colored with them. They were all so happy and immediately began coloring. After we exhausted all the help the hospital needed for the day, we took a cab to the meet the other volunteers at the beach and then the grocery store to get food.
After a long day, we were tired so we went to bed early.
Today we woke up, ate beans with chili paste and eggs. After breakfast, we headed to the government hospital where Aubrey and I were able to volunteer in surgery again. The surgeon was not ready to let us in the OR yet to help, so we waited in the pre-op/post-op wards. While waiting, we had the opportunity to look at X-rays. The patients’ files we saw were of a man with extremely severe scoliosis, one with a broken nose and some we had no clue what we were looking at.
Everyone here thinks we are doctors, for the most part, and let us do everything. After waiting for a while to help in the OR, Aubrey and I decided to run home to grab her art supply donations and bring them to the children in pediatrics. When we returned to the hospital, we dressed for surgery again and watched a man with an infected cyst get brutally cut out of his arm. Aubrey and I both had to look away, it was so brutal and graphic. Some of the things we see in surgery are too intense for me.
The operating room at the Horana Government Hospital looks like a scene from out of a horror movie, and they don’t clean anything. There is dry blood all over the floor, and everything is rusty too. After that surgery, we decided to skip lunch and help with another surgery.
We watched a low-invasion ovarian cyst removal, and it was fascinating, one of the most amazing things I have seen. The other volunteers are going to the beach this afternoon, but Aubrey and I decided to stay so we can bring the donations to the children.
Every aspect of the operating room is so unsanitary and unsterile, it’s crazy. The doctors we worked with today had two surgeries in one room that was smaller than my bedroom at home. It is just incredible the difference in the hospitals here and at home. Because there is more money in Sri Lanka than in Ghana, they have the small luxury to be able to perform some small surgeries that are not life and death.
After watching a cyst removal from the monitor, we walked over and saw the babies that had just been born by C-section. They were so adorable! It is amazing to see babies that were born just second before.
The only lunch we could find was water and a donut. So we ate quickly and then headed to the pediatric ward. We hand delivered art supplies to the children and colored with them. They were all so happy and immediately began coloring. After we exhausted all the help the hospital needed for the day, we took a cab to the meet the other volunteers at the beach and then the grocery store to get food.
After a long day, we were tired so we went to bed early.
Day 8 Monday – July 16, 2018
My experiences this morning are some I will never forget. I was volunteering in the surgical ward today. The first thing I saw after changing clothes, putting on a cap and mask was surgery to remove testicular cancer. It was a crazy thing to watch. The patient was fully awake during the surgery, and I watched from only five feet away. In the other room, the operation was so intense that all three of the volunteers had to step out because we felt nauseous. The operation was on a woman missing all of the skin on her entire lower leg, and they took a skin graft from her other thigh. It was so graphic and brutal, and I had never seen any wound so raw, not even at the leprosy camp in Ghana last year. We needed to sit down for about 30 minutes but when we went back in, there was a baby getting surgery on his hand. The baby was between one and two and was fully awake for the whole surgery. In the other room, a woman was having surgery on a severely broken wrist. She was awake at first, but in so much pain they had to put her under full anesthesia. After the surgery, another woman was brought into the theater with appendicitis. I was able to observe the entire procedure from start to finish. It was absolutely fascinating! Nothing about the surgery bothered me except the suturing at the end because they used a device to melt the skin and the entire room smelled like burning flesh. I watched the surgeon remove the appendix and put it in a dish. Then they sewed up the patient, and wake her up. The laws for surgery are so relaxed here that the surgeon let us take a picture of the appendix, and we watched the surgery up so close. In the US, you have to have already been through medical school to see what we saw. In the operating room, flies were flying around, rusty instruments, disgusting floors, the operating table is not sanitized after each use, and the doctors don’t have to scrub up before each surgery. The doctors were also wearing flip-flops. There are practically no health codes. All of the doctors were really nice and let us come next to them during the surgery to watch. We were so close that during the appendectomy, I could see all of the woman’s organs and intestines as well. The next surgery we saw was on a woman’s tendons in her hand, it was incredible to see. I also saw a surgery to remove a tumor from a woman’s breast. The amount I saw today is what some medical students don’t have the opportunity to see for years in medical school. After volunteering in the hospital’s surgical ward, we went home to eat lunch and prepare for our next medical clinic. At the clinic, we will educate about the dengue virus. The dengue viruses are members of the genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae. Along with the dengue virus, this genus also includes a number of other viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks that are responsible for human diseases. Flavivirus includes yellow fever, West Nile, Japanese encephalitis, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. It was an exhausting day seeing so many incredible surgeries in the room with the surgeons, watching over their shoulders. I brought my donations to the head director of the Horana Hospital and then hand delivered them to each ward. The first aid kits will be handed out to the orphans and others at the medical clinics. |
There are many other photos that I took but they are pretty graphic and not sure if appropriate to post.
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Day 5 Friday – July 13, 2018
Today we woke up early, had breakfast, then headed for the children’s school. After a two hour drive to reach the school we had the opportunity to work with the children. We met two teachers from Belgium. Our coordinator told us it was a school for underprivileged children. Most of the school was outside, and there were so many plants, so it was really beautiful. We taught a class to the children on how to wash their hands, brush their teeth, and eat healthy food. They made fun of our laughs and they wanted to shake out hands and high five us. The children were all so sweet and so well behaved. Aubrey and I walked around from class to class and handed out donated supplies. All of them were so happy. We then set up the medical clinic where we tested the children’s BMI, blood sugar level, and blood pressure of many of the adults and children in the area. Then we had food which the teachers prepared for us. They were traditional Sri Lankan dishes and tea. We ate it with our hands the way the locals do here. After we packed up the medical supplies left over at the clinic and we headed for the long drive back. We stopped at the ocean on the way home to feel the water. The ocean was so warm and then out of nowhere it started pouring rain. We packed up, then we headed back to get ready for the weekend. Today felt a lot like what we were able to do while in Ghana last July and that makes me happy. I don’t feel like we are making the impact that we came for yet and have discussed with our coordinator. We need to go to more locations like we did today for the clinic. I will update on the plans for next week when I can make sure they have been adjusted to meet the needs of the locals that need help. |
Day 4 Wednesday – July 12, 2018
It's monsoon season in Sri Lanka and today the rain was so loud and so heavy it woke us up. We are breakfast then headed for Panadura (two-hour drive) to go to the Ayurvedic hospital. We learned about the natural medicine and made the rounds with the doctors to watch each of the herbal treatments for the different pains. The training we are going through is taking longer because of the different culture. After the hospital, we went to get lunch and saw the view of the beach. We aren't here for the beach so for now, this is all we will see. For lunch, we ate a traditional Ayurvedic vegetarian meal. It consisted of rice and lots of spicy vegetables. After lunch, we drove home and stopped at the supermarket and bought kinder eggs since they are illegal in the United States. Aubrey (US), Gaelle (Belgium), and Juliet (France) and I listened to music together on the way home from the hospital. Tomorrow the real work starts at the health clinic at the school. Today was just a day of learning about the history and practice of Ayurvedic medicine. |
Day 3 Tuesday – July 11, 2018
Today neither Aubrey or I woke up to our alarms, and we both woke up hearing breakfast was ready. We ate and then headed off to the hospital where we volunteered in the general medicine area again. Today was a lot more interesting than yesterday. The female doctor of the ward explained many of the cases and told us anemia and diabetes are very common in Sri Lanka. She also described the treatments. I was surprised how advanced some of the treatments were. We walked around the ward and heard about each of the cases. Then, the male doctor, explained more to us about heart attacks and diabetes. We also went around the ward with both doctors for "rounds" but nothing was in english so it was difficult. He told us about interesting places to visit when we are not volunteering in the hospital. We aren't sure we will be able to do it but he suggested surfing and Jungle Beach. Fun Fact: Horana Base Hospital was built in 1970. Since we are close enough to the Horana hospital we walked home for lunch again. After lunch some of the other volunteers came over and we designed posters to teach hygiene and brushing teeth for school kids we will see on Friday. This gave us an opportunity to meet some of the volunteers we had never met before so it is starting to get fun. I keep getting asked about American politics, school shootings, racism, Trump, and how many celebrities I have met. Everyone is very fascinated with America. The Polish boy is hilarious but thinks Americans are very dumb because I didn't know some of the capitals in European countries. I did America a disservice. After all of the volunteers left the girls and I colored with our host families kids then ate dinner. The days are starting to go by very fact now. |
Day 2 Tuesday – July 10, 2018
Today I woke up around 6:30 AM and got ready for the day and ate breakfast. Breakfast was chickpeas and an egg. We left for the hospital shortly thereafter. The hospital reminds me a lot of Ghana and it is very poor.
Aubrey and spent the morning volunteering in the medical ward (general medicine). It was all women and most had basic lower respiratory infections so, there wasn’t a lot for us to do. I listened to the heartbeat of a woman with a heart murmur which was very interesting. Aubrey and I were also trained on how to read an EKG so we can help with this when needed. We are volunteering in this ward one more day, then will rotate to the others.
We didn’t have much time in the morning at the hospital because everyone is on “Sri Lankan” time so, they are very late everywhere. We went back to our homestay families house for lunch and then returned to the hospital after. When we went back to the hospital there was nothing they needed help with so, we sat until it was time to leave. In the late afternoon we headed home and walked around the neighborhood to see the environment.
In the evening we ate dinner and got ready for bed. The other two members on our team from France and Belgium are staying up late to watch the soccer game tonight.
Interesting facts: In Sri Lanka they don’t use toilet paper, there seems to be no traffic laws, and they drive on the wrong side of the road. There are cows everywhere!
Today I woke up around 6:30 AM and got ready for the day and ate breakfast. Breakfast was chickpeas and an egg. We left for the hospital shortly thereafter. The hospital reminds me a lot of Ghana and it is very poor.
Aubrey and spent the morning volunteering in the medical ward (general medicine). It was all women and most had basic lower respiratory infections so, there wasn’t a lot for us to do. I listened to the heartbeat of a woman with a heart murmur which was very interesting. Aubrey and I were also trained on how to read an EKG so we can help with this when needed. We are volunteering in this ward one more day, then will rotate to the others.
We didn’t have much time in the morning at the hospital because everyone is on “Sri Lankan” time so, they are very late everywhere. We went back to our homestay families house for lunch and then returned to the hospital after. When we went back to the hospital there was nothing they needed help with so, we sat until it was time to leave. In the late afternoon we headed home and walked around the neighborhood to see the environment.
In the evening we ate dinner and got ready for bed. The other two members on our team from France and Belgium are staying up late to watch the soccer game tonight.
Interesting facts: In Sri Lanka they don’t use toilet paper, there seems to be no traffic laws, and they drive on the wrong side of the road. There are cows everywhere!
Travel Day - July 6, 7 & 8
I flew a red-eye from Long Beach to JFK, met Aubrey in the airport and flew to Qatar. We changed planes in Qatar and then flew to Sri Lanka.
LB -> JFK : 6 hours
JFK -> Doha : 12 hours
Doha -> Colombo : 5 hours
= 23 hours on a plane + 7.5 hours of layovers
- We almost missed our flight to Colombo but made the final call
We landed in Colombo, exchanged money, got SIM cards, and headed for our host families house. We drove with an English boy named Archie and an Irish girl named Danielle. We finally got to our host family we are staying with and met the other two girls, ate dinner, showered, and quickly went to bed.
I flew a red-eye from Long Beach to JFK, met Aubrey in the airport and flew to Qatar. We changed planes in Qatar and then flew to Sri Lanka.
LB -> JFK : 6 hours
JFK -> Doha : 12 hours
Doha -> Colombo : 5 hours
= 23 hours on a plane + 7.5 hours of layovers
- We almost missed our flight to Colombo but made the final call
We landed in Colombo, exchanged money, got SIM cards, and headed for our host families house. We drove with an English boy named Archie and an Irish girl named Danielle. We finally got to our host family we are staying with and met the other two girls, ate dinner, showered, and quickly went to bed.
Day 1: Monday, July 9
Today Aubrey and I woke up early, at 6 AM instead of 7. We read, then eventually got ready and went down for breakfast. A lot of the food here is rice and spicy. We got a tour of the hospital we will be volunteering in. Stray dogs are wandering and it is extremely overcrowded. Hundreds of people waited around for help, and as we passed them, they all went quiet and stared at us.
The stretchers in the hospital look like metal carts. Healthcare is free in Sri Lanka. After touring the hospital we went to have lunch and discuss the culture. We had the opportunity to meet other volunteers in the area. There were two girls from Australia, three people from Poland, one from Russia, three from the UK, one from Belgium, one from Hong Kong, one from the Netherlands, two from France and many more that I can't remember. Aubrey and I are the only two Americans and being the odd man out among almost all Europeans is very weird to us. The language barrier is definitely there and everyone is fascinated with what life is like in the USA. They all want to know about Trump, and if life is actually the way it is in American movies.
We eventually left lunch and went home. For dinner we had curry, then showered. It is only cold water but it is a complete luxury compared to the bucket showers in Ghana. I am exhausted. We start volunteering at the hospital tomorrow.
Today Aubrey and I woke up early, at 6 AM instead of 7. We read, then eventually got ready and went down for breakfast. A lot of the food here is rice and spicy. We got a tour of the hospital we will be volunteering in. Stray dogs are wandering and it is extremely overcrowded. Hundreds of people waited around for help, and as we passed them, they all went quiet and stared at us.
The stretchers in the hospital look like metal carts. Healthcare is free in Sri Lanka. After touring the hospital we went to have lunch and discuss the culture. We had the opportunity to meet other volunteers in the area. There were two girls from Australia, three people from Poland, one from Russia, three from the UK, one from Belgium, one from Hong Kong, one from the Netherlands, two from France and many more that I can't remember. Aubrey and I are the only two Americans and being the odd man out among almost all Europeans is very weird to us. The language barrier is definitely there and everyone is fascinated with what life is like in the USA. They all want to know about Trump, and if life is actually the way it is in American movies.
We eventually left lunch and went home. For dinner we had curry, then showered. It is only cold water but it is a complete luxury compared to the bucket showers in Ghana. I am exhausted. We start volunteering at the hospital tomorrow.