Friday, January 29, 2010

First Day at Bara

This morning Adrienne picked me up on her way to Bara (Chris Baragwanath Hospital) in Soweto. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Bara is the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere and most likely the entire world! With over 2,964 beds and roughly 120 admissions per day, I can see why. I can't wait to go on rounds in the hospital!

The project that I came here to work on will most likely start in March. In the meantime, still not sure what they are going to have me do until then. It seems like there is no shortage of projects to work on at PHRU (Perinatal HIV Research Unit) here at Bara. Spent most the day helping Caroline, one of the Hopkins students, with her project and introducing myself to some of the study personnel that I will be working with over the next two months.

Getting Settled

Ahh, my first days in South Africa...ok, so nothing really happened. My biggest accomplishment was getting Internet. In South Africa you have to pay based on the amount of data (uploads and downloads) you use. No more unlimited access like the states.

Still trying to find long term housing for my two month stay; spent most of yesterday searching online and making phone calls. Have a few potential leads, but will have to wait until next week to know for sure.

Last night had dinner with the 3 PhD students and 1 Masters student from Hopkins that are currently living in Joburg. It was nice to see some familiar faces and to know that I will have some partners in crime for weekend travel!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Day of Departure

I could imagine no better way to spend the last three months of medical school then traveling to various wonderful locations! My first stop will be Johannesburg, South Africa. I still cannot believe that it has been 8 years since I last traveled there. I'm excited to see if much has changed and what the country will be like as South Africa is set to host the World Cup this summer. Although the actual games will not start until after I leave, I am sure there will be plenty of soccer mayhem to go round!

At the request of friends in Richmond I have started this blog to document my travels over the next three months. Enjoy!!!