Instead of going to the hospital on Monday morning, Ryan and
I stayed at Gerry’s house to analyze the data that we collected for our
project. We began to transform our work into a presentation that we would give
at the hospital the following day.
For lunch, Nancy cooked a delicious barley soup with potato,
onion, and carrot. She also made wonderful stuffed soufflé tomatoes.
Nancy’s Stuffed Soufflé Tomatoes
Boil water in skillet; add milk, Gouda cheese, 2 egg yolks, and a pinch of salt
Beat egg whites separately
Combine both mixtures when they are stiff
Cut off top of tomato to make a “lid,” and remove insides
Stuff mixture inside tomato, add extra cheese on top, and cover with lid
Bake stuffed tomatoes in glass pan for 15-20 minutes
Gerry drove us to DLH that afternoon, where we met with a small
group of nurses to gain insight for our project’s final outcome.
This week’s HASH was located just outside Lilongwe, so we
unfortunately did not make it in time to run with the group. We did, however, have dinner with Sarah, Dr. Makin, and the Podgores—the "last supper," if you will. James made two curries: goat and eggplant. Tea and a
platter of fresh mango, pineapple, and banana were prepared for dessert. I will
miss the fresh produce of Malawi—and Nali hot sauce!
Sarah and I went for our last run together on Tuesday
morning. I already miss greeting the locals with the standard exchange:
Muli bwanji? (How are you?)
Ndili bwino. (I am fine.)
Zikomo. (Thank you, good day.)
Afterwards, Ryan and I presented our project findings at the morning Handover meeting. We prepared a brief slide set in order to illustrate our recommendations for the hospital based on the time and motion data that we had collected the past three weeks. The presentation was successful, and our recommendations were well received. It helped to have some friendly faces in the audience, including the Podgores. Gerry and the residents also attended.
Before leaving DLH, we said our final goodbyes to Sarah and
the Podgores. They are a truly special group of people, and I feel blessed to
have met them in Malawi. My experience would surely not have been the same
without them. I am hopeful that our paths will cross again someday. Ryan and I
also said goodbye to Maria at the pharmacy on our way out.
Gerry dropped off the residents at KCH on our way back to Area
3. Ryan and I walked into town for the last time, making a few stops at the
grocery stores, pharmacy, and souvenir shops. We also had our last smoothies at
Kiboko’s restaurant.
Back at the house, we heated up leftover lasagna for lunch,
and I chatted with Nancy about some of her recipes.
The afternoon was spent packing and finishing up assignments
for the rotation. Gerry’s colleague, Abi, joined us for dinner. Nancy prepared
tasty squash soup, a spinach and feta phyllo pie, and chicken for the meat eaters.
Abi also brought a spicy Indian dish called "dahl." Lemon cake for dessert!
Wednesday was my last day in Malawi. I said goodbye to the
residents in the morning before they left for KCH. After breakfast, I zipped up
my bags and waited anxiously to go to the airport. Before leaving “Camp
Douglas,” I said goodbye to Jeremy, Chipi, and to sweet Nancy—one of my favorite
Malawians. Gerry was also on our flight to Kenya for a conference meeting, so we
all drove to the airport together. There we used the remainder of our kwacha to
watch planes fly in and take off from the upper deck area.
Our flight left at 2:30 pm, made a brief stop in Lusaka,
Zambia (where we did not change planes), and departed again for Nairobi, Kenya.
It was hard to believe that Ryan and I had celebrated the New Year there almost
a month ago. We parted ways with Gerry, and waited for our overnight flight to
Amsterdam. Back to the wintery northern hemisphere!
On the way home, I looked out the car window at the bare and
dead earth. Jumping straight from summer to winter would be tough,
but I was glad to be home for a few months. After all, I’ve been on the move since my
Carolina rotation in October. Four months of traveling is exhausting, and I am
content that my final rotation will be in Pittsburgh... graduation is just around
the corner!
