Insights
This week has been a busy week, filled with new knowledge and old reminders.
Last Friday I decided to take Houa to the hospital. She is clearly not well, sha has an awful cough and is crazy skinny, she can't eat properly and her skin is some kind of yellowish. I e-mailed for a bit with Naomi's mum (who is a doctor) who gave me a list of different deseeses it could be, anything from malnutrition to HIV, so In thought we'd better have a check at the hospital.
This turned out to be a really interesting experience.
We saw a number of different nurses and doctors who all took one look at her, felt her pulse or checked her ears and then scratched their heads and said hm.. hm.. and then sent her off to somebody else. She ended up being tested for some kind of hear problem where they concluded her heart was fine and then perscribed some medicine for her. I had my doubts about it but we got the medecin and went back.
After a few days I asked Houa how she felt and she said it was much better, which made me very happy of course and we decided to go to the market to buy some more before I left, since she can't afford it on her own. By a chance Kirstie came along to the market and she nows a thing or two about medecine. It turned out the medecine they perscribed for Houa was super strong pain-killers (the stuff you would have to have a perscription for back home), anti depressants and vitamines. No wonder she felt better! They perscribed her to take them three times a day, she must have been walking on clouds.
I guess I was a bit naive to trust the Lao medical system, but the hospital was newly built, with Belgian money and it is very nice and clean and proper. But as always looks can be deceving. I bet they are ok with broken bones and childbirth but anything beyond that is too much of a challenge. Lesson learnt.
The sewing shop is coming nice and slowly, but as with everything in Laos it's one step back, two steps forward. There are so much politics involved in everything! For example we had to change the sign just because the police doesn't like the Lao letters being underneath the English letters. And we can't market it as a Hmong shop because people still think the Hmong are traitors because their involvement with the CIA during the Vietnam War. It takes a long time trying to understand this country and it's complex history. It's both interesting and tirering. But I'm learning!
I had a bit of a change of plans for this weekend. Mr. T asked me and, Kirste and Cameron if we wanted to go with the family to Ponsavan and the Plain of Jars in the east of Laos and we are all going tomorrow. I think it will be very interesting. Plain of Jars is a very important historical site and it is also one of the places where you best can see the destruction caused by the US during the Vietnamese War and the Secret War. Laos is after all the most heavily bombed nation in the world.
After Plain of Jars I'll continue to Luang Phrabang and my adventures up north.
So tonight is my last night and it is sad as always when you're leaving a place you have come to feel at home at. A lot of people to say good bye to and a lot of kisses and farwells. But I feel pretty good about it, I'm ready to set off, to see new places and I really long to be on the move again. Also i long to be egoistic, to care about nothing but myself. During my time here I have really put my heart and mind into things and I feel a bit drained. I don't think I am an awful person for admitting that it will be nice to not give a damn about anybody for a while. Don't get me wrong, I have receaved much more than I've been giving, in tearms of understanding and knowledge and just in my own growth. But I think it will dawn on me when I leave the farm, just how much this place and these people have given me. I will realize the extent of it in time, right now I can;t grasp it. It's too close.
One month and one week left of travelling,
that feels good.
Last Friday I decided to take Houa to the hospital. She is clearly not well, sha has an awful cough and is crazy skinny, she can't eat properly and her skin is some kind of yellowish. I e-mailed for a bit with Naomi's mum (who is a doctor) who gave me a list of different deseeses it could be, anything from malnutrition to HIV, so In thought we'd better have a check at the hospital.
This turned out to be a really interesting experience.
We saw a number of different nurses and doctors who all took one look at her, felt her pulse or checked her ears and then scratched their heads and said hm.. hm.. and then sent her off to somebody else. She ended up being tested for some kind of hear problem where they concluded her heart was fine and then perscribed some medicine for her. I had my doubts about it but we got the medecin and went back.
After a few days I asked Houa how she felt and she said it was much better, which made me very happy of course and we decided to go to the market to buy some more before I left, since she can't afford it on her own. By a chance Kirstie came along to the market and she nows a thing or two about medecine. It turned out the medecine they perscribed for Houa was super strong pain-killers (the stuff you would have to have a perscription for back home), anti depressants and vitamines. No wonder she felt better! They perscribed her to take them three times a day, she must have been walking on clouds.
I guess I was a bit naive to trust the Lao medical system, but the hospital was newly built, with Belgian money and it is very nice and clean and proper. But as always looks can be deceving. I bet they are ok with broken bones and childbirth but anything beyond that is too much of a challenge. Lesson learnt.
The sewing shop is coming nice and slowly, but as with everything in Laos it's one step back, two steps forward. There are so much politics involved in everything! For example we had to change the sign just because the police doesn't like the Lao letters being underneath the English letters. And we can't market it as a Hmong shop because people still think the Hmong are traitors because their involvement with the CIA during the Vietnam War. It takes a long time trying to understand this country and it's complex history. It's both interesting and tirering. But I'm learning!
I had a bit of a change of plans for this weekend. Mr. T asked me and, Kirste and Cameron if we wanted to go with the family to Ponsavan and the Plain of Jars in the east of Laos and we are all going tomorrow. I think it will be very interesting. Plain of Jars is a very important historical site and it is also one of the places where you best can see the destruction caused by the US during the Vietnamese War and the Secret War. Laos is after all the most heavily bombed nation in the world.
After Plain of Jars I'll continue to Luang Phrabang and my adventures up north.
So tonight is my last night and it is sad as always when you're leaving a place you have come to feel at home at. A lot of people to say good bye to and a lot of kisses and farwells. But I feel pretty good about it, I'm ready to set off, to see new places and I really long to be on the move again. Also i long to be egoistic, to care about nothing but myself. During my time here I have really put my heart and mind into things and I feel a bit drained. I don't think I am an awful person for admitting that it will be nice to not give a damn about anybody for a while. Don't get me wrong, I have receaved much more than I've been giving, in tearms of understanding and knowledge and just in my own growth. But I think it will dawn on me when I leave the farm, just how much this place and these people have given me. I will realize the extent of it in time, right now I can;t grasp it. It's too close.
One month and one week left of travelling,
that feels good.
Kommentarer
Postat av: Mor...
Lycka till älskling! Vi hörs snart hoppas jag.
Kram
Mamma
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