Suriname way of life!

In english as promissed!

I think there are some things you need to know about the way of living here. To start with I think that Paramaribo is dirty. There are a lot of houses who really are dirty and old and ready to collaps. Of course you have the nicer neighborhoods but they aren't located in the city..

Now a bit more of my workexperience. I encounterd that you have to let them know that you also are a nurse and that you know things. You have to raise your voice onces in a while.. Because otherwise they just walk over you. Things in Belgium you wouldn't even think of saying are normal here..

Anyway we start our day at maternity ward with washing babies I don't have any comments on this really. Afther washing babies we soaks the beds. This means, rinsing the matras top and bottom and washing the bed. The beds have no wheels or no way to put them up or down. Imagine the backs of the nurses and the way the poor mothers have to get in our out of bed. For example, I had to take a lady to the operation room for a c- section. I found myself a strecher with of course had to be soaked, but this was needed because it was full of birdpoop. How come? The hospitals here are open. You don't really have a hall the rooms give out on a balcony.. So birds and every other animal can get in.. The hospital is even that big that there is a road between two buildings. Anyway, this lady was ready to get on the strecher, she was standing up so I asked her if it would be easier to get on it in a standing position. 'NO!' said the nurse this lady has to get back in bed and from the bed we will get her on to the strecher. Poor lady back in the bed and we helped her on to the strecher wich wasn't easy because they don't even use a blanket or a bord the move her from one bed to the other.. So she got on to the strecher hands close to the body and the she gets tucked in so she can't move anymore.. We manage to get her safely downstairs.

Afther she wakes up we go and get her again. The nurse is quit brutal and doesn't really considers the fact that this lady is in pain. She really pushes the strecher in a firm way... We arrive in her room and we have to put her from the strecher to the bed. Not easy at all, luckily another student is there to help, at one point we are trying to calm down the poor lady, who's c-section was painfull and she was put under compleet anasthesia... So she was stil groggy and in pain.. Anyway the nurse looks at my at the other student and says: 'you have blue eyes, and yours are blue gray, so funny' and she laughs.. I think to myself just carry on with you work this lady is suffering.. But that 's the suriname way of life I gues...

Some other intresting facts: women only stay 2 days, if you had a c- section 4. You have to be able to wash yourselfs, there is one sink for 10 beds this is in the room. The showers and toilets are in the hall.. Babies aren't allowed to be fed during visiting hours, 10.30 - 11.30pm 16.30- 17-30am. Also you aren't allowed to pick up your babies or even let the fathers hold them. You don't see any father, only during visiting hours.

This week I finaly got to give education! :) And it went very well, I really like to do this and this is what my job is about as social nurse. They really listen and you really learn them stuff!

I told you about the lady who was in hospital to give birth to her 8th child. Sometimes miracles happens and she was in the hospital last tuesday! :) She gave birth to a littel girl and was so proud and happy! I was so happy to see the lady again and to know she had a babygirl. Her life was compleet this is what she wanted.

This was it about the workexperience.. The city here is full of life.. I told you about the traffic, no lights, or almost no lights.. The rubbish in a basket at the corner of the street, who smells terribly...

The bus, you hop on in the city you ring wherever you want to get out.. They aren' very strickt on busstops.. They also drive in a circle. So you get out somewhere you just stand where you got out and you hop back one afterwards. Easy as can be ;)

Soon I will tell you more about my weekend trip to Bigi Pan!

Love, x