Quickly Waiting

August 4, 2010

I think it has been a while since I’ve posted. It’s hard to remember what I’ve written about and what still needs to be covered. I’ll bullet-point because this is probably going to be a boring entry:

I only have 22 days left. Things I need to do before then:
o Finish all interviews (25 more).
o Analyze results.
o Create a powerpoint and hopefully get it approved by Dr. Anderson.
o Go to Kumasi to Komfo-Anokye to present to the obstetricians I interviewed
o Present to the obstetricians at Korle Bu in Accra.
o Go to the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons and try to find the answers to questions I didn’t know I had.
o Go to the Ministry of Health to get annual reports and ask more questions that I don’t have yet.
o Talk to the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and try to understand the relationships between the GCPS and the WACS. Amazingly enough, this really can only be done in Ghana, in person. There isn’t enough literature on the internet to learn the stuff and everyone has a very different perception of the differences and goals of both programs. I’m looking forward to hear what the founding members have to say about the Ghana College.
o Get my debit card in the mail so I can take out money to pay my 2 assistants (Sabina in Kumasi and Kwadwo- pronounced ‘Kojo’ in Accra)
o Figure out what kind of going-away presents I need to give and who I need to give them to… I don’t think the Ghanaians would appreciate a strip of Kente cloth or a djembe (drum) as much as my American friends…


More things that are time sensitive but won’t get done before I leave:
o Medical school applications. I’ve submitted 4 and have quite a few more to do.
o Transcribe interviews: it takes about 3x as long as the real interview to figure out what the interviewee is saying and type it out. Almost all of the interviews have been about 20 minutes long. My interview on Monday with one of the women was AN HOUR AND SIX MINUTES. That will take me 3 hours to transcribe. That will NOT get done while I’m in Ghana!!
o Learn Twi. The Accra Ghanaian boys are starting to get annoyed with my trying to learn Twi, but it is SO satisfying to say something, even if it’s just one word, in Twi and then wait to see the smiles on the Ghanaian faces when they realize that I am trying to speak their language. I have a Twi booklet from the University of Ghana and a recording of learning Twi from the Ann Arbor Public Library. It’s hard for me to learn because (1) I really don’t have much time. Between med school apps, interviews, traveling, etc. I really have only a few hours every day to do what I want. (2) There are many pronunciation issues. For example, the combination “ky” is pronounced “ch” – as in, “Komfo-Anokye” is pronounced “Comb-fo-a-no-chay” and like I said above, “Kwadwo” is pronounced “Kojo.” (3) The boys just get frustrated and then try to make me say things. They keep telling me that it means, “I love you” but I know their sense of humor and I really doubt that’s what they’re teaching me. I wish I were back in Kumasi because the boys didn’t get sick of Eva and me asking millions of questions. Accra people are more impatient.

OK wow, this entry was actually way more boring than I had expected. I’m sorry, faithful readers. If I have time later tonight, I’ll write another one to make up for the lack of content in this one.

It’s pretty amazing to think that I am planning on running from place to place for the rest of my life. It’s definitely part of the medical school → residency → doctorhood, and I plan on fully embracing this aspect of medicine. Meanwhile, on Monday, I sat on a bus for 4 hours to Takoradi (the most beautiful place in the world) and then 4 hours later (after waiting for 2 of those 4 hours), I sat in a car for 4 hours back to Accra. On average, everyone waits at least 3 hours every day for various reasons. Today I called a doctor who works a little outside of Accra and she said that she could meet me because she was coming to Accra. I met her at the Ministry of Health where she was going to have a meeting. She told me that because she didn’t know when the meeting would end, we could meet before her meeting. She was about 50 minutes late to arrive at the Ministry of Health (traffic), and then I took up about 35 minutes because she gave detailed answers. We were sitting in the hallway and by the end, everyone who was going to meet with her kept walking past saying, “Hello Sylvia.”
Anyway, I just find that ironic—that medicine is such a fast-paced, totally packed profession, and that I am (and everyone in this country is) always sitting here waiting for something. I also think it’s so ironic because I have SO much to do but I’m always waiting. I can’t do my applications because I really don’t feel comfortable flashing my computer around at the patient waiting rooms, and my presence is required as a physical reminder that the doctors have an appointment with me.


In other news, most of my mosquito bites are starting to ooze clear water when I squeeze them. Eeeeek!!! I hope I didn’t get any worms from my gash on my foot!! There’s like a yellowy/orangey ring around where I cut my foot, but other than that, it should stop oozing in a few days. It’s definitely a lot easier to walk on it now but I’m glad that I won’t be hiking in the mountains until Friday or Saturday.