Settling In & Pharmacy Meetings

It is now Tuesday, Sept 11 at 6:30pm and we are now settling in and getting used to life in Uganda.  There are so many different things to experience here that initially it is easy to be overwhelmed with the new scenery, new smells, new noises (loud birds and monkeys) not to mention new people and languages. Although English is one of the National languages, and it is the “medical” language here, many people speak normally in non-English native dialects.  It hasn’t been hard to communicate at all with the healthcare professionals we’ve met, but when it comes time to talk to patients, we may need to translators or defer the the Mulago staff for those interactions.  Monday morning started off with a delicious breakfast provided by the Mulago Hospital Guest House consisting of fresh pineapple, eggs to order, toast, tea, and passion fruit juice.  The Makerere Professor picked us up and brought us to the Pharmacy School where we were able to meet with two other faculty members and discuss plans for our time in Kampala.  We also gave them the 200lbs of books that we had brought all the way from Wilkes University, which they were very happy to accept as shown in the picture above with Professor Odoi.  Later that morning, we went to Mulago Hospital and met with the Principle Pharmacist (Pharmacy Director) and the Training Coordinator Pharmacist and were given an in-depth tour of the hospital campus.  Later in the afternoon, we walked to the Mobile Cell Phone store to get my USB Modem re-activated.  It turns out that WiFi isn’t readily available but that the use of portable modems is very common. Luckily, I had bought one last summer which just needed to be re-activated and airtime added (which of course involved a fee, albeit quite reasonable for the benefit I will get from it.) Now, walking anywhere on the very busy roads here is a feat in and of itself and I am quite proud to say that we were able to navigate the crazy Kampala traffic to get to the store and the pharmacy school when last year I was really scared to cross the street.  Finally we ended the day with a delicious italian meal at a place that was lit with small candles on the tables that were on a wooden platform with a small roof, but basically the restaurant was out in the open- not in a closed room.  Sitting there in the glow of the candle light eating a leisurely meal, it was hard to believe that this was the same Kampala that during the day time was filled with lots of traffic, noise, and so many, many people.

About kbohan

Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Binghamton, NY USA
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2 Responses to Settling In & Pharmacy Meetings

  1. Lorraine Maccia says:

    Dr. Bohan, Thanks for the daily updates! Everyone looks great.

    Like

    • kbohan says:

      Everyone is doing great and it has been a joy so far. Thanks for reading.

      KarenBeth H. Bohan, Pharm.D., BCPS Associate Professor Pharmacy Practice Nesbitt College of Pharmacy and Nursing Wilkes University 84 West South Street SLC 336 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 karenbeth.bohan@wilkes.edu office: 570-408-4292 pager: 570-821-4829

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