On Monday morning I went into work to find it a changed place – no longer was it filled with drugs arranged in a system devoid of any logical order, or cluttered with boxes to climb over or buried under heaps of paperwork, but Ian [our new pharmacist who I'm very pleased to say is still here and does not appear to be leaving anytime soon] had spent the entire weekend clearing it out, removing boxes and boxes of expired stock, introducing a revolutionary new system called alphabetisation [ha] and generally straightening everything out and making it look more like a real pharmacy. It was so cool to actually walk down the aisles without clambering over cardboard boxes and to know where things are without having to dig around all over the place! And on top of that, in a MIRACULOUS turn of events, all three of the pharmacy staff turned up for work so for once there was the possibility of having a productive day and actually finishing by 5pm...[Sadly, a possibility was all it turned out to be]
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| Order is finally restored to the pharmacy |
Sadly for Sam and I, our water had been off for the previous five days which we were thoroughly enjoying [brushing your teeth outside and spitting in the compost heap is just GREAT, as is running across to the hospital to use the toilet :)] We hadn't been able to wash dishes so by Monday night had about one plate and one fork between us so ended up having cheese on toast for dinner served on plates that we deemed to be cleaner than the others. Not sure either of us has felt so trampy in our entire life!
Tuesday night we all went out for pizza in Coffee Bay and once again commanded about half of the four tables in the place. When we got back, Annelou, Chane [another student], Charlene [her mum who is volunteering], Sam and I decided to get vengeance on the chickens who have been keeping us up at all hours of the night. There are two roosters, about eight hens and countless chicks of various sizes and at night they all fly [yes, these weird chickens can FLY] up into the trees outside our rondavels and sit the whole night and make THE most annoying noise. They also have the talent of timing it so precisely that you have just forgotten how angry you are and are drifting back to sleep when, oh, there they go again! So we decided we would take some revenge and jumped on the branches, causing the chickens to almost fall out of the tree, and then proceeded to unsuccessfully throw sticks at them but sadly only managed to anger them more so they made a screaming sound and made noise the entire night. I ended up getting up at five to hit the rooster with a stick, but he didn't even flinch. It was a top night.
Wednesday was a fun day at work [not] because we had 146 patients in ARV clinic. I can't remember if I wrote previously about this, but I was recently thrown out for a few days because apparently I don't speak good enough Xhosa [which is true, but sometimes there isn't anyone else to do my job when attending work is cancelled due to lack of interest]. After about 2 weeks of feeling very annoyed, I was somehow let back in [apparently there was some miscommunication, how ironic] so Wednesday was my first day back in. It was a loooooong day and we didn't finish until half six, but it's not the latest ever so it wasn't all bad!
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| Abenathi, the CUTEST child in the world |
Someone had come to fix our water so the toilet was back in use [yay!] but the shower was less than effective and the hot tap was no longer connected to the wall, but I guess we can't really be picky. Then to make life just that little bit more brilliant, the power cut out, so with a defrosting fridge and freezer and surrounded by pitch darkness Sammy and I sat in the middle of the living room floor next to our solitary candle, heating up some food on a gas stove and chatting until midnight...does it get any better?
Thursday morning came and went without any improvement in the situation so I decided enough was enough, took my phone charger and a towel and went to make use of the running water and power at Liz and Lisa's :)
Thursday night was Annelou's leaving braai where we all had steak because she had bought 15 steaks with her, expecting to eat them all over the course of her month long elective [and not surprisingly didn't! We then spent an enjoyable eating listening to her endless supply of 'tips' about how to live life and watching as she epically failed at blowing on the fire to make it burn better, only succeeding in blowing it out. Then Karl showed up with marshmallows so we all toasted them :) GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD TIMES.
Friday was a hard day at work because Monday had taken its toll and we were back down to one member of staff plus Ian and I in the pharmacy. Then the delivery guys showed up with an order of one zillion boxes, took one look at me and asked 'Are you the only manpower?' and proceeded to be the least helpful people I have ever met for the next forty minutes as they unloaded their truck. First of all, they decided that it was a great idea just to chuck these boxes that weighed about twelve kilos at me, which would have been fine if they were actually throwing them accurately and the boxes weren't pointy! Then when we moved onto using trolleys to move the boxes, they loaded about 100 kilos of stock onto them, then shoved them through the door and let go, at which point they careered into all the little kids waiting in OPD. When I shot them a horrified look, they just acted as if I was the one trying to kill the patients! Needless to say, I was very glad when they left. Ian then showed why it is better to work in a rural hospital where there are less rules when he turned up in his running clothes so that he could shift all the tonnes of boxes up to the store room, don't think you'd seen many first world pharmacists running around in shorts, a vest and a white coat!
I gave up on work at around half one, resolving to come back around three to finish all the ward orders. Four hours later, after having a leftover steak sandwich and watching Prince Caspian with Lisa, I eventually returned to finish up...At home I hopefully switched on the shower, only to watch a few solitary drips of cold water come out so once again picked up my stuff and went to the Plaza, where an crazy dance party was taking place [Zithulele is a bit insane at times]. The evening was spent at, yes, another braai, this time hosted by the legendary Le Rouxs :) We had such a nice meal together, then had milkshakes and coffee and then an epically long eighties dance party until late in the night, culminating in the final seven of us dancing round the table to the Bangles 'Walk like and Egyptian', another classic moment :)
Do I really have to go home?
x
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