Day 317, This is the time of year when new people from overseas come to work and as such I’ve had a few enquiries about what they need to bring. I thought it would be useful to go through a few of things that I’ve found most useful.
A flashlight is essential. I was fortunate enough to be gifted a wind up one as a parting gift and I’m sure it has saved me from harm on more than one occasion. Though the sound if it being wound has become a running joke, it has helped me stay snake free to date. Most snake bites in this region are from the lazy puffadder, they seldom move out of the way and tend to bite when stepped on. A light is a must to make sure they don’t dig their fangs into you.
In my career prior to coming to South Africa, despite the reams of notes I would write every day, I have never had to purchase a pen. For the non-medics this is because of the sheer volume of pharmaceutical reps and their very generous donations of pens. Drug reps are few and far between in rural Kwazulu Natal and a steady supply of pens is a necessity, not just because everything is written manually but also because they have an uncanny ability to vanish.
Driving licence, those without are severely disadvantaged. Whether one buys a car or not, the ability to drive a car and carry proof to that effect is a big bonus. The hospital’s eight satellite clinics are all significant distances away and lie on a mix of sandy tracks, gravel roads and proper tar ones. On a weekly basis if not more frequently, it is required to take one of the hospital vehicles, offroading or otherwise out to one of the clinics. Add to that sharing in driving duties for one of our weekend forays into various parts of the country and it becomes a handy skill to bring to the community.
Always useful to have is a sleeping bag. Whether its bedding down in the middle of a big five game park, setting up a tent with an ocean view, or even just in a field next to a major music festival I’ve gained much more mileage from my sleeping bag than I could have anticipated. Of course, even in the confines of the minimally insulated parkhome residences it doubles up well as a duvet in the winter months.
Plenty of entertainment. We do make a lot of our fun in this place but it helps when you’re backed up by games, movies and music. Movie nights are always fun, if more for the arguments over what to watch rather than the films themselves! A constant supply of music can turn long car journeys from tedious to raucous with the choice of the right choon. And nothing works as well as a bottle of pinotage and a game of 30 Seconds to find the last person in the world never to have heard of Nelson Mandela.
The list is clearly not exhaustive and a million things could be essential here but we often get by without much. Above all the most important thing to bring here is one that cannot be bought at any store, and that’s an open mind and a positive attitude, probably the one thing that will ensure you survive here (and don’t forget chocolate, easiest way to make friends!).
NO. PHARMA. PENS.
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