So, today was the second day of my internship and I am exhausted! Yesterday was a very long day, most of us were up and out of the house by 715, experienced the first day of our interships, came back to the house and had a short break if any at all, and then had class with Marita until around 930pm (after enjoying a scrumptious dinner made by her! I think everyone appreciated it very much).
The first two days of my internship have been good so far. I was nervous going in for the first time, I wasn't sure what exactly I would be doing except spending time with the kids. I'm interning at Maitland Cottage Hospital which is a pediatric orthopedic hospital specifically for underprivileged families. Patients there are usually admitted due to physical deformities they were born with or because of an injury (many kids get hit by cars because they drive crazy here!). The children could be of any age, the youngest there right now is around 16 months and the oldest is 17 years. There are two wards, one for boys and one for girls, and these first two days I have spent my time in the girls ward so maybe tomorrow I'll visit the other. These kids are from areas all around South Africa, so, many of them are away from their families for weeks or months at a time. That alone can be very stressful and emotional on the kids, nevermind the physical pain they may be suffering from injuries, surgeries, or disorders they may have. I'm not sure yet if I really want to follow the nurses around, I see a lot of what they do by just watching them since the room the children are in is one large area. I like talking and playing with the kids. They LOVE playing with my hair. Also, I had a pretty bad burn on my face so when the kids asked about it I had to explain it was a sunburn; many of them were unaware that skin could burn from the sun, or in my case, turn a red color. That was a little surprising to me at first but I realized that if I had dark skin (classified black or coloured as most, if not all, of the children are at the hospital) then it would be likely that I hadn't seen what a sunburn looks like on someone with light skin.
Besides talking with the children at the hospital, I have also had a few chances to speak with the nurses. Many of them are classified black or coloured and live in townships. They ask me questions about America, thinking that many people there are rich - one woman even jokingly said she was going to come to America to find herself a rich husband! One thing I have noticed, along with my co-educators that I live with, is how people here are not afraid to talk about the racism they still see here. They recognize the different colors of people and see as well as speak out about how some are still more privileged than others. This seems somewhat refreshing to me, at least that the racism is talked about, because in America, it seems like people are afraid to talk about it or even to recognize the privileges of one race over another. Either people are afraid of offending someone or people tend to think that ignoring the issue will make it eventually fade away. It would be nice if the latter were true, but it most definitely is not and these issues should not be ignored, although they go unseen by most people from the "dominant race", day in and day out. During our class last night, we discussed how racism is still incredibly real in the US; socially, institutionally, and structurally. I hope that some day it can be talked about more openly and even in public schools. I think many public schools don't do a very good job of teaching about the social history and current events of the US especially speaking of race, gender, sexuality, but that 's another topic.
Anyway, one thing I love about being here, and it is so simple but I really love it, is how people call you sister or auntie. People around your age or a little older will call you sister, just random people you talk to where ever you are. And small children will yell "Auntie, Auntie" when I walk through the ward. I think it makes me feel welcomed and even loved which is a nice feeling, especially since I'm in a foreign country away from many of the people who love me most. I am definitely feeling more at home and comfortable living here day by day.
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