Days 20 & 21: Health Fair Take Two

June 26 & 27: Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to Natalie and Krista, who headed home to the United States. I would be lying if I did not admit that I was yearning for home a little, but I am sure these next couple weeks will be a blast and will fly by. 

Sarah with her "A+" Lungs

      After eating an early breakfast, I went to the Health Fair in the morning and measured more heights, weights, and waist circumferences in the vitals tent. The location of the fair was the same as the day before, so we just received the people who had not made it on the opening day. There were not as many participants, which was nice because I had more time to walk around and visit the other tents. I also held a lot of babies whose moms were taking tests in the stations. Fortunately, none of the kids went to the bathroom on me, so that was a plus. During the time when the traffic flow was low, Sarah, Krystal, Katie, and I took a few of the tests that the tents offered. We took the pulmonary function test, and let me tell you, it was extremely difficult! When taking the test, subjects have to take the deepest breath possible and blow forcefully into a tube for six seconds (do not worry, they use different tubes for all participants). You would think six seconds is not long, but it is when you have to blow out the air as quickly as you can. I thought I was going to pass out, and of course, everyone was laughing at me each time I failed to blow out for the full six seconds. After five tries, I finally was able to achieve one good test, and the monitor said that my lungs had "normal action." I guess my results were better than Katie's, who was told she had an obstruction (we are assuming this is not true). Sarah's monitor said that she had "A+" lungs, so her lungs were the clear winner for the day, and she was quite happy about her victory.

Typical Ugandan Meal

      The Health Fair managers put together a lunch for all of the workers and volunteers, and it consisted of local Ugandan food. Krystal and I decided we would be adventurous and try a little bit of each food that was offered, for I have yet to try many of the "interesting" looking foods. The first food we tried was matoke, which is the staple food here in Uganda. Matoke looks like a green banana, but is then boiled and mashed up like a potato. The thought of mushed up bananas is revolting to me, but matoke takes it to the next level because there is no sweetness to the starchy food; it is quite bland with a little bit of a bitter end taste. I only took one bite of matoke. The next food was millet, which was honestly the most tasteless food I have ever eaten. It was a sticky paste that had the consistency of dough. Again, I stuck to one bite only. Then, we tried boiled cabbage, and I will admit that it was not bad at all; in fact, it was quite tasty. In Uganda, instead of peanuts, they have g-nuts, which are essentially the same thing. Except, when in the form of a butter, g-nuts do not form a brown mixture like peanuts do. Instead, they form a purple-y mixture that sort of resembles blueberry vomit. In spite of the appearance of the sauce, it tasted almost just like American peanut butter, minus the added sugar and preservatives.
      After lunch, I decided to return to the guest house in the blood car because I was exhausted. I talked with Julio, who had been working with the oncology and psychiatric wards to see how the psycho social program will play out. I was so happy to hear that everything is going better than planned; the occupational therapists in the psychology ward are loving their training, and the patients absolutely adore the music sessions. Moms are asking if there will be music every hospital visit, and they say that their kids greatly enjoy the time. . .it is the highlight of their day! A weight has now been lifted off my shoulders, knowing that the program is off and running, and it seems as if it is headed in a positive direction. There is now a sustainable element with the interest of the occupational therapists, and that is ultimately what I wished for. Next week, we will continue working with the therapists and the pediatric oncology ward (I will make awareness pamphlets and posters as well as participate in the music sessions).
    As night approached, I started to feel a little sick (hopefully it was not from my lunch because everything was cooked, or so it seemed). Because being sick in Uganda does appeal to me, I spent the rest of yesterday and today catching up on work from the U.S., reading, and watching movies. It is nice to take a little rest!