Case Studies and Cooking Lessons

It feels like the week has flown by. I am buried in readings, busy writing papers for all my classes, and attending multiple site visits, as well as being out and about in town conducting case study interviews. In my case study, I am trying to find out where people access their health information and which avenue of education (family, church, school, clinics, peers, or media) is the most influencial in health decision-making. Particularly, I am focusing on sexual health education, and by the end of the project, I hope to be able to make specific recommendations for improvement in this realm. Much of the information I have been learning is shocking. In Bushbuckridge, sexual education begins in grade 10, when the students are about fifteen years old. Let's just say, this is problematic when girls are frequently becoming pregnant at ages nine and ten!

On Monday, I had the opportunity to tour the local public hospital. This was an unforgettable experience. I visited the TB ward, the pediatrics ward, the maternal health ward, and the Step Down ward (which transitions patients out of the hospital). The TB ward was actually more of just the general area of the hospital, but for me, it was the most memorable. Going to the hospital in Bushbuckridge is unlike going to the hospital in the United States. The most striking difference is the lack of privacy. There were at least thirty beds lined up next to each other in one giant room. For some reason, this conjured up images of WWII hospitals that I've seen in the movies. With only about two feet separating the patients, large numbers of chatty visitors, and no air conditioning, I can't imagine this being a place conducive to regaining a state of health. I had also never seen people visibly suffering so much pain. It was hard to see, and now it is still hard to think about, but I hope that this experience brings a dose of reality to the subject I have chosen to study (though really, this entire abroad experience is bringing my studies to life!).

This week is particularly hectic because my stay in South Africa is quickly coming to a close. I will be saying goodbye to my beautiful host family on Tuesday and embarking on an adventurous Spring Break to Durban and Port St. Johns for a week. There are, however, some parts of my daily routine that I sincerely cherish, even though I have been extremely busy. The first thing, is the view of the road every morning. This is the one paved road through town and I walk here every day to catch the bus to school. Isn't it beautiful?

The next part of my experience that I will miss is simply being with my host family. I seem to learn something new every day! A lot of my learning has involved adventurous eating experiences (worms!) or new Tshonga phrases, and yesterday was no exception! My host mom taught us how to make peanut butter!

We roasted homegrown peanuts and heated cornmeal over the fire. Then, we ground the peanuts into a fine powder. We poured the cornmeal and peanut mixture (with a smidge of sugar) into a hollowed-out tree stump and used a wood stick to mash it together - think of it as the original version of a blender! I was surprised at how heavy the stick is and I most definitely woke up a little sore this morning...

Amaka, My, and I churned the mixture for at least an hour until it was the creamy texture of peanut butter and had a visible sheen of oil on the surface. We did a taste test and now I am convinced that store-bought peanut butter will just never be the same for me. My host mom insists that this homemade peanut butter will never expire. She says, "It will last for 100 years." She gave me specific instructions to take the peanut butter home to my family and to call her after I have made everyone taste it! Hopefully she's right about the expiration date...because it will have been in my luggage for a couple months before it makes it back to California...

Well, this has been a pretty thorough description of the last couple days. I am embarking on a safari tomorrow, where I hope I'll see a rhino (the only Big 5 animal I have yet to set eyes on!) - I will keep you all updated!