Burn Victims

Just came back from my internship at the health post, and I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest but most rewarding days I’ve had yet. Today I opted to work at the Salle de Pancement for the first time, or wound-dressing room, where we get burns, deep cuts and other bloody messes we need to clean up, treat and apply dressings to. It was incredibly crowded today, and I was on my feet patching people up for five hours straight, from 8am to 1pm, and so I’m pretty exhausted, especially since I only had about 3 hours of sleep last night.

It’s amazing how much I got to do there without any training whatsoever — they simply need the hands, and so they got me working and figuring things out as I went along, rather than taking out a block of time to teach things to me. I normally like to learn things methodically and make sure not to make any mistakes along the way, but I’m quickly learning to just dive into things and be messy, to figure things out for myself and just make sure that I can be useful.

A lot of the people we got in the health post today had been seriously burned. The first person I helped out was an older woman in her 60s, who had completely raw, red flesh throughout her left arm, as well as her whole left breast. She was in such intense pain and shook so violently that I was more useful by holding her hand and keeping her steady than by doing anything clinical. While holding her hand, I felt my whole body shaking in sync to her’s, and as I watched her keep silent through the obvious suffering, I definitely witnessed the Senegalese value of being strong, holding pain in and getting through difficulties without calling out or complaining.

I saw some other things today, but another that sticks into my mind is a brother and sister pair around my age who both had their arms, legs and faces badly burned, again with the raw, red flesh that contrasted so visibly with their dark skin. Their faces were quite literally peeling off in flakes, and I felt uncomfortable for the first few moments seeing them, hoping that their faces would heal properly and not become permanently disfigured. It’s amazing how quickly discomfort can disappear though, and after a short time, my mind was just focused on helping them the best I can, and making sure they weren’t in too much pain. I just hope I did a good job.

Lots of things went through my mind today — the concept of caregiving, Senegalese values, and where the hell they were getting all of these burns from. I think a lot of them were from cooking accidents, since a lot of Senegalese cooking is over an open gas portable stove that can easily topple over, but I was too chicken to ask how the brother and sister got their faces burned.

Another thing to chew on: Though I love my work at the health post, I was a little disappointed in the beginning of the semester to see how well-run the clinic was, only because I knew that I was working at the exception, not the rule. It sounds kind of silly, because being in a well-run charity organization is obviously better than being in a badly-run one, but considering the state of the health system in Senegal, I wasn’t sure if I was going to have any insight into healthcare in Senegal being in a place that seems to be the anomaly. Today, I finally felt really good about being at a place like Centre de Saint Laurent, when around 1pm, two obviously poor men came strolled into the room to get their wounds redressed. If people who normally wouldn’t have access to good healthcare can come to a health post that I work at simply to get their wounds cleaned, treated and bandaged up for free by me, then I think I’m doing a good day’s work.

Mid-semester Reflections, Ramblings

My life has definitely been up and down and crazy topsy turny over the last few weeks, but it’s been an amazing ride. I can’t believe it’s almost been two months already! I feel like I’m just getting into the groove of things, and now there’s only two months left for me to enjoy my new friends, my adopted family, and all Dakar has to offer. A semester abroad is definitely not enough to fully grasp the world you’re living in, but it definitely gives you a taste of something new and a drive to learn more about it. I remember feeling the same way after leaving Paris last summer — that after only getting un goût of Paris, feeling this need to keep traveling, keep seeing new things, keep going and get a better global understanding of how the world works.

Something that Tess and I talked about last semester (during the sorely-missed weekly chai sessions) was my desire to become the kind of person that, when dropped anywhere in the world, has the ability to be open-minded, become quickly adjusted, make friends and feel comfortable with my surroundings while also keeping my sense of self and where I came from intact. It’s about knowing yourself, your values and your own personal history, but also being open to learn from others and what they have to offer. It’s about having a strong enough sense of self that you aren’t threatened when new things come along and instead actively attempt to understand. You don’t have to agree with everyone always, but you can try to recognize that we are all just a sum of our upbringing, place, society, biology, psychology, and the people around us. Learning to be careful about when to put value judgment on things that are different, but also knowing yourself well enough to finally accept that it’s okay to disagree and actually have opinions has been an everyday endeavor. In my global health class last semester, Professor Becker warned against chalking everything up to cultural differences, that sometimes it’s simply the practical answer that explains it. At the same time, though, I’ve been realizing that there are real cultural differences, that we are NOT all the same, and it’s trying to understand that as well that is shaping my experiences here.

Aside cultural realizations, I’m also learning more about myself. I can be much more spontaneous than I ever thought I could ever be while also being a responsible adult. My spring break plans are kind of a testament to that. I don’t want to get too deep into the details of why our grand Cap Skiring plans didn’t pan out, but the gist of it was that we were scammed by our sociopathic Senegalese friend, and so all 13 of us had to figure out new Spring Break plans, pronto. After about 20 minutes of discussion with two of my friends, we sketched out a first destination with a hazy idea of the rest of the week, jumped on a Sept-Place and hit the road.

What started off as stunned disappointment ended in an amazing, spontaneous journey around the Siné-Saloum Delta area of Senegal, getting to meet amazing people and spending time with great friends. In Palmarin, where we stayed with a Peace Corps friend in a village called Diakhanor, we got to kayak through the mangroves, go inside a baobab tree, travel through the bush by a horse-drawn carriage, see salt wells and hyenas, try palm wine straight from the tree, camp on the beach, and see the beautiful landscape by moonlight. In Popenguine, where we stayed with another Peace Corps volunteer, we stayed at one of the most beautiful, peaceful beaches in Senegal, hiked up the Cape de Naz, saw lagoons and World War II bunkers, chilled on the beach, and played petanque with the locals. And keeping our engagement with the art center, we finally made it by Thursday evening to Portes and Passages, which is located in a warehouse on the side of the road in between the villages of Mbodiene and Joal, where we helped out with the wonderful couple and their adorable kids who recently moved there permanently to work on building their art space. Overall, definitely a rewarding trip.

Now that I’m back, I’m definitely looking forward to make the most of the next two months. Making new friends here has been a big part of my trip here, but I can’t help but miss my loved ones back home. I keep being reminded of how lucky I am to have friends that I can share everything and anything with, and despite the distance and the time differences, we can find time to keep each other updated and be genuinely interested in each other’s happiness, well-being and everyday struggles.

Anyway, another week over, and another fun weekend to plan. Chilling in Ouakam tonight, internship tomorrow, then afterward possibly strolling through an arts fair with Katie, eating out, movie night at the French Institute, bar and night out at Almadies with some good company. Saturday, British Council Showcase with rappers, artists, fashion show, etc. Maybe I can even drag my sister to the markets to finally get some clothes made? We’ll see about all that. Till then, ba beneen yoon, Insha’Allah.