Hyperactive children...

Today I held my first outpatient clinic.  Unfortunately schools and government offices were closed due to the weather and thus only half of my patients arrived.  The weather was unseasonably warm (4 degrees Celsius) and as the snow melted to expose the ice underneath it became extremely slippery.  Yikes!  It's supposed to be warm until the weekend when it will go back down to -8.

My first patient, aged 14 months was very active and was climbing all over her mom and the office.  She also had her 2 and a half year old sister with her, who proceeded to explore all the cupboards and shelves in my office.  Unfortunately there are no toys in my office!  (In case you're wondering, toys are standard equipment in a pediatrician's office.)

View from the hospital of the Frobisher Inn. 

The logo of the Qikiqtani Region Hospital. Which is used to decorate the walls and floors.  I think it's two fish and a bird.

The nursing station decked out for the holidays.  The hospital logo is incorporated into the floor.

Day 1 at Qikiqtani Regional Hospital

I woke up this morning to discover that the electricity was not working.  First I tried to turn on the lamp, which didn't work.  Then I tried the light switch, then I looked out the window and realized that the whole town was dark. From my room on the second floor I have a view of a large portion of the town and the bay.  After a week of holidays, a cup of coffee and a shower would have helped to start the day, especially considering that I had to wear the same clothes as yesterday.  This is certainly turning into an experience more reminiscent of Botswana than I had anticipated.

I spent a quiet day getting to know my way around the hospital.  It's new and very clean and colourful.  I have my own office which is used by each pediatric resident. I checked out some of the resources in my office including the Nunavut Food Guide which includes "traditional" or "country" foods, and has a picture of a whale on it!

http://www.gov.nu.ca/health/FG_english.pdf

Tomorrow I will start to see patients in my clinic!

Also my luggage has arrived.  Although it took three calls to the airport to find out.  It doesn't seem like they were going to contact me...and they refused to deliver it, despite having promised to do so yesterday...Well at least I have something clean to wear tomorrow.

Iqaluit!

I am spending the next two weeks working in Iqaluit, Nunavut.  I guess this blog is becoming about medical adventures in hot and cold places.  I arrived in Iqaluit today after boarding a plane in Ottawa which then made stops in Montreal and Kuujjuaq (northern Quebec). Total time spent squished into the window seat beside a large Inuit teenager, 6.5 hrs.  Apparently over Christmas First Air does this "milk run".  Thankfully my flight home is direct to Ottawa and only 3hrs long.

Unfortunately, my bag did not arrive!  Containing all my clothes, food, stethoscope and reading material!  I'm not sure how this happened since I never changed planes...but there's another flight tomorrow, so hopefully it will arrive then.  Meanwhile I'll be wearing hospital scrubs until a change of clothes arrives.

I arrived around 3pm and it was still light out, although within the next 30 minutes darkness descended.  The weather here is a balmy -3 degrees with high winds and blowing snow.  Definitely less intense than I was expecting.  Keith, a coordinator for the hospital, picked me up and gave me a quick tour of the town.  Population approximately 8000.  There are the usual grocery stores, government buildings and the hospital. The big difference I noticed was how far off the ground all the windows are; I presume this is because of the height of the snow in the winter.

Flying into Montreal, the first stop on the milk run.

Kuujjuaq airport, my second stop.  Weather was blowing snow.

Finally arriving in Iqaluit.  Walking to the terminal, only to find my bag had not arrived.

I'll try to keep posting about my adventures up here!  I'm hoping to go dogsledding at some point (when I'm not busy with medicine).

Luxury; Safari Style

 Soon after arriving at Gunn's Camp we went on a boat safari.  Our guide had grown up in the Delta and his father had also been a guide; he had a sixth sense about where animals would be.  We saw hippos, elephants, wildebeest and, lots of birds.

We also learn what it's like to be staying in luxury.

Our Safari "Tent".

Open air bathroom at the back of the tent.

The front porch of our tent.

The typical day at a safari camp:
5:30: wake up with fresh coffee delivered to your tent
6:00: breakfast
6:30: morning game drive (or in the Delta boat ride)
11:00: return to camp and bruch
11:30-3:30: nap time and relax
3:30: high tea
4:00: afternoon game drive
7:30 return to camp
8:00: dinner

Dan particularly enjoyed the fact that there were four meals a day.

Into the Delta

Day 3: We fly deep into the Okavango Delta.
We headed back to the airport in Maun for our flight to Gunn's Camp in the Delta.  After hearing so much about the Delta, Dan and I were itching to experience it for ourselves.  The only other passengers on our flight were an older German couple dressed entirely in matching safari suits (yes, even the same shoes).

As an aside, safari clothing is actually worn here; it's not just a costume dreamed up by Disney. Safari clothing seems to encompass a wide variety of things, the basic premise is that it must be green, brown or khaki coloured.  Zip-off parts are just bonus.

Planes lined up at Maun Airport

Loading our luggage into the plane

Right after take-off; flying out over Maun which is completely dry.

A few minutes later we're over the green of the Delta.

Maun

We stayed one more night in Maun; allowing Dan to recover from jetlag.  It was a quiet day since basically there is nothing to do in Maun, except for organize a trip into the Delta.  We did go on a short boat ride up the Thamalakane River at the southern edge of the Delta.  Our lodge was located on the banks of the Thamalakane River.

Polling a traditional makoro up the river.

Our Lodge as viewed from the river. 

Yes, those are cows grazing between the palm trees and water lilies.

Honeymoon with Dan

A few people have been asking about our honeymoon.  It was amazing! We saw elephants and lions and tons of other animals.  The natural beauty of the area was unbelievable.

I know that there are some people who I won't get to tell about the trip in person for a while, so I'm going to post about our honeymoon.

Day 1 (Oct. 24): Dan arrives in Gaborone and we fly to Maun.
We arrive in Maun after the sun has set and realize that we'll need to find a way to get from the airport the small (and budget) lodge where we are planning to stay.  We walk out the door of the airport, not a taxi in sight. Dan has the brilliant idea of asking the guy standing behind the tourist information booth in the airport. First he offers to drive us himself, for an exorbitant price. We refuse.  He then offers to call his buddy who drives a taxi. He agrees to drive us (for a much more reasonable price).

Maun is basically just a town which serves as the gateway to the Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world.  The Okavango River drains the highlands of Angola and flows into the Delta where it spreads out over an area of 15 000 km sq.  The Delta water levels peak between June and August, the dry season in Botswana, and thus attract large numbers of animals.  The waters of the Delta gradually dry up as you travel south, and the Kalahari Desert begins.

The Okavango Delta from the air.  Most of the grass which you can see is floating on the waters of the delta. 

Traditional Makoro (dugout canoes) on the bank of an island.