Quality Day-2nd Time Around

This week was another lesson in taking life’s bumps and grinds and enjoying the day anyway!

This year the KwaZuluNatal Zululand District Health “Quality Day Nov. 29” was a day to remember for Mountain High Hospital. Last year the Hospital attended as observers at the government hospital’s displays and award roundup. This year Mountain High “put forth its stuff” with photos, graphs, “Problem, Solution, Results” displays, patient handcrafts, and plenty of red, yellow and blue, the Hospital colors. For me the day was a culmination of a year of collecting photos of events (AIDS Day, Patient Fashion Shows, Before and After pictures) and telling the story behind the photos.

“Quality Day” was held at a District Hospital in Ulundi, a 1 ½ hour drive over dirt roads from Mountain View Hospital. The event was supposed to start at 9am, so I tried to round up the driver, vehicle and participants at 7:30am to be able to set up the displays before the speeches began. It has rained almost continuously for the past 2 months so the condition of the road was unpredictable. (The day before the nurse responsible for quality was stranded for 3 hours due to impassable road). The truck was loaded with the display materials and the diesel fuel for the trip was funneled into the tank from plastic carboys. At last we were on our way. In spite of the muddy potholed soaked road, we made the trip without a hitch and arrived at the hospital, which was formerly a Catholic mission. Our display was quickly assembled and we were all proud of our pictorial story with its theme “Mountain High Hospital-Advancing to Quality.” The speeches, dancing Zulus, choirs, and awards went on all day. This event caused a more severe case of TB (Tired Bottom) for those whose Zulu is not what it should be-even the lighthearted jokes were missed, except for a jab by an MC about the excesses of “Quality” exhortation-Even his smile was a “Quality Smile”.

After the last speech at 4:30pm and refreshments (which always consist of beef, rice, squash, curry) it was time to hurry home to do the potholes before darkness set in. I grabbed a large stack of fabric, photos, and handcrafts and headed to the truck. Alas the grassy parking area was full of holes and I felt my left foot twist down into the hole. The stabbing pain prevented me from walking any further so I called to Brendon and he helped me to the truck.

Thus I have spent three days in our one room flat behind the Hospital thinking about our experience here and what we have learned. Such confinement in America to my four bedroom home would have set off depression and anger. However, here I was happy to read – The Poisonwood Bible is an interested parallel to Peace Corps service; the missionaries sole purpose is to evangelize-Peace Corps volunteers are prohibited from proselytizing. However, Peace Corps volunteers and missionaries both make impacts based on relationships with others. So many misunderstandings occur each day but friendships and rapport do develop. Peace Corps service has provided me with a lifetime hobby-Zulu beading- which can be done anywhere, anytime and makes the hours fly. Beading is also a great way to meet people and teach Zulus how to create their culture. Who can resist an invitation to learn how to bead a ring in 2 minutes? So with the added pleasure of space radio and NPR the days have pleasantly drifted by and my foot is healing. A good lesson for the future when Father Time robs one of mobility and health. Happiness is not dependent on circumstances. This experience has produced an improvement in the Serenity prayer which requires one to accept the things that cannot be changed-it is better to not just accept circumstances but relax and enjoy the opportunity! Other Peace Corps volunteers agree that as soon as one realizes that they are stuck at home every night in this country, they develop new interests and learn to make bread, play cards and board games, and even write letters to friends back home.

Several other “calamities” occurred after the foot injury-a major storm knocked out the electricity for 20 hours on Friday and today we have no water (probably due to the electricity issue). However, it is a beautiful spring day and the water will come when it comes.