My family is here now!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
We Are Family
Itty Bitty
Caroline and I were finally at work on the same day! We hadn’t seen each other in almost a week and had so much to catch up on. We spent the day chit chatting and playing with the kids. It was the American family’s last day in Tanzania and LOHADA said their goodbye’s to them.
Contagious
Newfound friendships at their best, and boy gossip at it’s highest, I was pumped to go to work on Monday. The American family was gearing their trip down and preparing for their last day in Tanzania. Already set on going to Camp Joshua for the day to scope out the new cute French volunteer, I was happy to see that everyone else at Moses had the same plan, minus the French volunteer part.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Good Vibrations
As a team, we decided that we just wanted a relaxing weekend. We slept in Saturday morning, and then did a workout video on the balcony. Our cleaning lady thought we were crazy as we kicked and sweated our way through P90X cardio.
Keepin On Keepin On
Wednesday, Caroline was sick and didn’t make it into work, leaving it to be just Juliet and I and some new Danish volunteers at the office. I went to go talk to her about how soon my family was coming, and it ended up turning into one of the best conversations we have had. All of the miscommunications from the past were brought into the open and we realized that that is just what they were. I explained the work I had been doing and what I was planning on doing for the rest of my time here. We finally understood where each other were coming from.
The next day I woke up feeling really cruddy. I was still excited about the previous days success, but had a nasty cold. I made it to work in the morning but didn’t last long. There was a new family from the states at the orphanage taking pictures and doing videos, along with 3 Danish volunteers. They all looked at me like I was walking dead, and to be honest that’s how I felt. I really didn’t want to risk getting the kids sick and I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to stay awake, so at 11 I headed home. I got back to the white house, tucked myself into bed and slept until 4 that afternoon. The house was strangely empty, as 6 people had left the day before to go to Zanzibar. I had dinner, and went back to bed, hoping I’d wake up the next day feeling better.
I started feeling better after dinner, and the new girls and I had a nice and relaxing in night. We made banana splits and pineapple banana muffins and read Cosmopolitan magazines and just had a great girls night. I was finally starting to get to know the people in my house better, and I was happy about the way everything was going. All I needed was to feel better and life would be perfect!
Joseph
Anxious to see how Joseph had done the previous day, I had no problems being at the bus station at seven the next morning. Like a worried mother, I couldn’t sleep the night before and just wanted to know that he was okay. Juliet, Caroline and I, along with Mama Lydia, got onto the bus and went to see our baby. We met Eamon in Moshi, grabbed something quick to eat, and went in to see him.
Juliet had gotten to the hospital before us, and as I walked into the room all I could see was a large lump on the bed where Joseph was supposed to be. Juliet looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes and asked me to give her my hand. My heart has never beaten so fast. I had no idea what she was going to tell me.
Much to my relief, she said, “our baby is okay, Joseph is fine”. The lump was a cage that they had placed over the majority of his body so the blankets wouldn’t touch the wounds. He was very sedated, but he was still my baby and he was still okay.
The surgery had taken 2.5 hours, but was successful. They had cut into his lower abdomen and found that only the head of his penis had been cut off; the rest had simply retracted into his abdomen. They were able to bring it outside and took a piece of skin from his thigh to create a new head. The doctors said they weren’t sure the penis would function at 100%, but he would still have sensations there and he should go through a normal puberty. Success! The only downside was that Joseph would have to stay at KCMC for at least 14 more days to recover as he still experienced great amounts of pain while he urinated.
Happy about our brilliant day, the trip home didn’t seem nearly as long. Even though I had to leave my baby in Moshi, I knew he was going to be okay.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Becoming Normal
One of the new volunteers, Lauren, had been placed at Camp Joshua, so I brought her to work with me on Monday for her orientation. Still not fully recovered from the tiff with Juliet, things weren’t 100% safi at work.
While we were in the office, Juliet popped her head in and casually mentioned that my baby, Joseph, was having his surgery that day. Like it was no big deal. I almost started to cry. She said we should all go to Moshi the next day, and I of course agreed. Then she mentioned that someone would need to pick up the bread for the rest of the children the next day as Mama Wambura (and her vehicle) were still out of town. Great. I was left with the dilemma of whether to go see my child after his surgery or to pick up the bread so 120 children could have their one slice a week.
I, being completely frazzled and much to close to tears for comfort, called Ronnie, the genius-all mighty problem solver, and he agreed that if we paid his gas money he wouldn’t mind picking up the bread the next day. Even though he was sick, he was still a great coordinator!
After Lauren and I had finished at Camp Moses, Ronnie came over and had a quick meeting with Juliet to confirm Lauren’s details and then we went to town. I was more than excited to be the ‘oldie’ for once; showing Lauren the hot-spots in Arusha and helping her get familiarized with the city….
It just sort of struck me that I now think of Arusha as a city. As the hub of everything. As normal.
We all headed home and it was so exciting to hear about the four new girls and their first day of placement experiences. I really feel like I have made a home and a family and that I could stay here for a long time.