To market we go and other things!

Yesterday, Sunday, Kelsey and I ventured out on our own to the market and the mall. We got very good directions from some of the other girls here and hopped into a jeepney to take us to the market. It is a huge open air market with fruits, veggies, pastries (YUM), second hand stores, arcades, and a HUGE meat market that sells beef, pork, goat, clams, chicken, etc.

Jack fruit

Kelsey and I felt pretty proud of ourselves when we arrived at the market without hiccup, some of the other people in the jeepney helped us finalize when to get off (thank goodness). When it was time to get off, we clicked our coin on the metal rail to signal the driver to stop. We kind of took a back alley into the market but once we arrived we were not disappointed. It was a wonderful experience, and everyone was so nice in telling us what the fruits and veggies were. We tried jack fruit for the first time and it was pretty good. I can't imagine having to cut it up though, it is pretty intense! I feel a little bit like I am on a constant episode of Chopped while I am here because of all the new things we get to try!

Kelsey's first jeepney ride

Meat market

The mean market was a totally different experience than anything either Kelsey or I had ever seen! The booths were packed next to each other, meats were hanging here and there, and there were just stacks of meat hanging out on counters. One of the girls told us that it was a good thing to experience and boy was she right!

After we wandered around the market for a while, we decided to go to the mall. Which offered an entirely new task. We were up for it though! We've been told that when asking for directions, ask ten people and average their answers so this is the approach we took. We asked a few men how to get there and they were pretty vague but we asked a very nice woman and she flagged down a tricey for us and told the driver how much he would charge us. It is good that she talked with him because typically tricey drivers overcharge white people. Our first tricey ride was eventful. It is basically a moped with extra seating attached to it and a cover. As I mentioned previously, traffic laws are purely suggestions.

At the mall we went to the department store, which has everything you can think of except food and is three stories. Side note- they don't have stand alone stores other than small family owned ones so everything from cell phones to grocery stores to McDonalds to dermatologists is at the mall. It is enough to tire a person out for the day! Kelsey and I wandered around for a while and then headed home again via jeepney.

When we got home, we hung out and then had dinner. We helped our roomies prepare dinner which was AMAZING chicken, asparagus and mashed potatoes. I took a two hour nap after dinner to prepare myself for night shift after having been up since 6am.

Shift was good, I got to watch a suturing for a postpartum mama and do a newborn assessment for that baby too. Unfortunately another baby had to be transported to the medical center because its delivery was difficult and was having problems breathing. We are all praying that the baby will be okay. A labor came in and we kept her to observe for a few hours even though she wasn't very far along. She ended up being sent home around 4:00am to progress further.

Around 4:15am was when the action started! Two women came in in pretty active labor! They were very uncomfortable and ready to have their babies. Because I am still in the observing phase, I was not assigned to one of them but was able to float between the two of them and see the way that two midwives work. It was great! One of the missionary's moms is here from Africa, she is also a midwife and is a GREAT teacher both for the women and for me! I am sad to see her leave today. She helped me stay on top of the two labors and I was lucky enough to see my second birth at 5:31am! Baby and mom were doing well and resting when I left the clinic this morning.

Our journey to baby catching is carefully thought out and planned. For each step, we have a midwife that was present or handling the situation sign off on the task. First we must  observe 5 births including pushing, birth of baby and the initial 30 minute checks after birth. Then we have to chart for 3 births for pushing and until the midwife is ready to take over again. After that, we get to assist. This means we get to dopple the baby's heart during the birth, dry the baby off, give the mom pitocin (a drug used to help the uterus contact after birth to prevent bleeding), cleanup, restock the cart and clean the instruments. We also need to provide care and charting for admission of a new patient and also chart for four hours after labor two times each. Finally we need to provide entire postpartum care from birth until they are moved into the postpartum room and do paperwork.

I am excited to progress through these steps and learn while doing so, and move closer to getting to catch babies! So far, I have two observes down and am getting the hang of charting, cleaning up, and the role of everyone in the room during a delivery.