I’ve been clinically depressed for a while now. I made a self
diagnosis a few days ago with the help of SIGECAPS. Why am I depressed, you
ask? You may guess that it’s related to work, but you’d be wrong. It’s related
to life. Our landlady is having some family problems, specifically involving
her husband, and him not really contributing to this household. He has another
wife, whom he stays with most of the time, and he doesn’t really support our
landlady, as all his financial resources is poured into his other home. Our
landlady fell behind in paying our water and power bills, and so we have not
had running water or electricity since early September. Her husband had
initially promised to help pay off those bills, but then started having financial
problems related to his work, and so couldn’t contribute any money when it came
time to foot the bills. Now, our landlady is sick and tired of her husband
never supporting her financially, so she decided that since he had promised to
pay the bills, he shall have to pay the bills – she won’t pay off the bills,
even though she had the money to do so after collecting our rent. And us, the
poor innocent tenants, find ourselves caught in the middle of this family
drama, having to suffer the waterless, powerless conditions because of their
stupid fight.
So at night, we do everything by candlelight, which only retained some
romantic flavor for the first week or so. We go to bed super early, because
there is nothing else to do. I charge my electronic appliances at the hospital,
usually at the nurse’s station, and have to deal with the constant worry of
having my electronics stolen while charging. So after a few weeks of these
deplorable living conditions, I realized something important about myself –
despite my career aspirations to help develop health infrastructure in third
world countries, I could never work for more than a few weeks in a setting with
no running water or electricity. I am much too spoiled for that. I have reached
my personal limit that simply cannot be crossed. And I started to feel homesick
in a truly bitter and miserable fashion.
Luckily for me, I started work at Ward 14, the low-risk obstetrics
ward in Mulago Hospital. I LOVE Obstetrics, and enjoying myself tremendously at
work made the miserable home life much more bearable. My days are filled with
the joys and wonders that only the birth of new life can bring. Can you imagine
a more fulfilling job? Also, on my third day at Mulago, I met a true life-saver
at this crucial point of my Ugandan experience – Lauren Rogers-Bell. Lauren is
a fantastic nurse newly graduated from the prestigious Johns Hopkins
University. She is actually pursuing a dual degree – a Bachelor’s in Nursing
and an MPH. The MPH is currently on hold as she’s spending the year in Uganda,
building up her resume, but more importantly, spending some time with her
fiancé, Cary, who is working for UNICEF in Kampala. What an international work
oriented couple! Since Lauren is mostly interested in maternal health in developing
countries, and envisions concentrating on that aspect of global health in her
future career, she has been spending most of her time in Uganda working on Ward
14. She quickly took over most of the teaching responsibilities, guiding young
students, both Ugandan and international, through many of their first vaginal
deliveries ever. So luckily for me, Lauren showed up and really set me straight
in terms of my delivery skills and technique. We got to chatting a bit about
our private lives, and I told her about my deplorable living conditions. I
needed a vacation in a first world country – stat! Especially now, when my
room-mate was going to be away for 2 weeks on a work trip, leaving me all alone
in the dark, dark apartment. Lauren immediately invited me to stay with her and
her fiancé, assuring me that her home situated on top of a hill in Muyenga, the
residential district favored by most expats, with glorious views over the city,
hot water showers, almost constant access to running water and electricity, was
as close as you can come the first world, while being physically situated in
Kampala. So I happily packed my bags and moved in the very next day.
I stayed with Lauren and Cary for 3 whole weeks, living the high life,
feeling like a rock star. I was staying in a 5-star hotel. Every day, I piled
into their Toyota Rav4, catching a ride to Mulago with Lauren. At the end of
the day, I would ride home with Lauren. We would cook (I can actually cook as
they have a gas and electric stove, and I don’t have to mess with trying to
light charcoal with a burning plastic bag) all sorts of great food, sometimes
accompanied by wine, always shared over amazing company. It was the perfect
vacation, the break from my hard, strife-filled third-world living that I desperately
needed. I shook off the shroud of depression that had threatened to engulf me,
slowly but surely, usually while sitting on their balcony overlooking Lake
Victoria and the hills of Entebbe, sipping a refreshing cup of tea… or
sometimes wine. By the end of my stay, I had completely recovered, and was
eager to embark upon my great African adventure again! Since I had gotten my
energy and upbeat personality back, (and more importantly, since my visa was
about to expire), I even decided to jump right back into the saga with a solo
trip to Rwanda (stay tuned for more details…)!!!
I have so much to thank Lauren and Cary for. Their kindness and
generosity are the only reasons I didn’t cut short my stay and fly straight back
to America in October. Without them, my great African adventure would have ended
on such a negative note – in complete and abysmal failure. A little bit of
kindness goes a long way. I shall never forget that, and will try in the future
to repay their kindness by extending a helping hand to others in need, others
like me in my sad, lonely, depressed state back in that fateful month of
October.
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