How Was Africa?

Abstract

I am at a loss for words when people ask, “How was Africa?” Where do I start? It was overwhelmingly different with regards to the mechanics of living, yet absolutely consistent on a human level. Communication between individuals was highly valued. Expressions of joy, fear, humor and curiosity seemed to go beyond the boundaries of language and were easy to understand. These were my observations after staying and working as a PA on the small island (1 km x 1km) of Chole, next to Mafia Island off the coast of Tanzania. As part of the University of Utah’s PA program, a second-year PA student, my partner, and I spent five weeks in Tanzania. Most of this time was spent practicing medicine at Chole Health Center, an outpatient clinic serving the rural inhabitants of Chole and surrounding islands. My first lessons were in letting go of any desire to control and organize my environment and beginning to accept and explore a rich land and culture. This began when we went to Dar es Salaam airport to fly to Mafia Island, only to learn that the local airline no longer flew there as the Mafia runway was considered too dangerous to land upon. Fortunately, we were with an Australian doctor who had helped start Chole clinic and was familiar with ways of negotiating alternative transportation. We made it in a somewhat daring crossing in rented small planes, but luggage was left behind. This was our first opportunity to “do with less.” As fortune would have it, luggage arrived about a week later and a change of clothes was cause for great celebration. Chole is a land where the call to mosque and the crow of roosters are your morning wake-up call. There are no cars or electricity on Chole so the only sounds are of people and wildlife. Greeting others as you pass on your walk to work takes on an intricate pattern of respect and relationship. Once at the clinic, the number of patients arriving is affected by the tides, as many walk from a neighboring island through knee-deep channel water at low tide. Time of low tide varied, so clinic hours more closely followed a lunar cycle than a set schedule. At the clinic, feelings around illness were similar to Western culture: people got anxious when they didn’t feel well and looked to the “doctarri” for guidance. Mothers How Was Africa?