I’ll go from room to room saying hello to all the women who had babies last night. Usually, it's no less than four. I hold the babies and everyone asks me to take their baby back to America with me when I go. I reply "Awa awa awa, si Allah jabi" which means, "Okay sure, if god sees fit." This is a common catch-all response to many jokes in this culture.
I spend the next few hours doing intake for women in the maternity ward. They come for their monthly checkups if they’re pregnant, post-birth checkups, birth control appointments, any abnormalities they may be experiencing and any illness with their infants. I weigh, take blood pressure, temperature and measurements, and do tests requiring urine samples. As things slow down, I wander over to the main hospital building and greet the rest of the staff who are also typically slowing down with the rest of the healthcare appointments. This includes anything and everything, from things stuck in kids' ears to scorpion bites and stitches. For any major surgeries or specialist visits, they will get a referral to visit the nearest big cities of Kolda or Bansang, across the border in The Gambia. I sit with my counterpart Alpha, who works at the pharmacy, and listen to music and chat. He’s my local supervisor for the two years I'll be working here.
1:00 PM
I head home, stopping to buy a bunch of bananas to take home for a snack before lunch. I’ll again greet many many people on my way home. Once I’m home, I try to do some chores like dishes or sweeping, but honestly, it's very hot today and I’m tired, so I’ll leave those for kididay, or, the time between afternoon and evening when it's cooler out.
