Cheers

28 June 2013

            They say you only cry twice in Bloemfontein. Once when you first arrive and see how pitifully mundane the city and surrounding landscape look compared to the grandeur of Cape Town or Johannesburg, or the scenic views of the mountains and coast. Then you cry again when you leave after having laughed, danced, and shared life stories with the people you met during your stay. After my four week experience, I have to say “they” were absolutely right.

            The theme of this trip was ambiguity. When I first arrived, I had no idea what my accommodations would be like or even what I would be doing for my Sports Medicine Internship. Every week was a mystery in that we had no idea what was scheduled for us until we walked into the Sports Medicine building on Monday and were handed a freshly printed copy of our schedule for the week. Also, how to go about making friends and getting around the city to experience things off campus were a bit puzzling. Most students were away on holiday leave, and we had no car and were told that walking around the city was not the safest option. At first I was uneasy and frustrated with all this lack of detail, but time and time again everything worked out perfectly.

            We first met Tracey, who was an absolute angel and life saver. She is a wonderful friend and would give us a ride wherever we needed to go. Through her we met Lisa, another great friend and the life of the party. There was never a dull moment with Lisa. She and her family showed us boundless generosity when they had us stay at their house and showed us the natural beauty of the Drakensberg Mountains.

            The program itself even introduced us to new friends. For example, Marna, a student phisio, took us to experience the South African game cuisine at the WildsKOSFees. She also took us to the Cheetah Experience to interact with the big cats of Africa. Additionally, the program introduced us to Christine, the phisio for the Cheetah’s Rugby team, who invited us to her church, Every Nation in Bloem, where we gained a South African church family. We were also able to meet Brandon and Antoi, and several other medical students, while shadowing doctors at the University Hospital. They invited us to watch our first rugby game at the Brazen Head Pub and kept my social agenda full for the remainder of my stay.

            The program was superb, giving me opportunities and experiences that I would have never seen in the States. In addition to working alongside some of the most talented and honored professionals in their respective fields, it was incredible to be in a hospital setting to observe the similarities and differences between medical care in South Africa and the United States. It was great that the program gave us the opportunity to see the broader spectrum of medicine in South Africa outside of sports medicine specialists. The private practices that I saw were exactly the same as what I have observed in the States. The public hospitals do not receive enough funding; therefore, the buildings are old and rundown, the equipment is not state of the art, and sometimes the staff is not as qualified or hard working as you would like them to be. Also, the shortage in medical staff means medical care is not readily available to everyone, so doctors are overwhelmed by the numbers of patients.  Regardless, you have to work with what you have, and for what the doctors in the state hospitals have they are doing an incredible job providing medical care to their patients. They work diligently and efficiently to attend to as many patients as possible.       

 

            I would like to thank the staff in the Sports Medicine Department at the University of the Free State, as well as Dr. Jones and the faculty at Appalachian State University for providing me with this incredible experience. I would also like to thank the medical professionals for their generosity in welcoming us to work with them, as well as their exceptional job in serving as teachers for us. Most of all, I want to thank all the friends among the students, faculty, and medical professionals that made this experience one to remember. It is rare to find a place in our world where foreigners are accepted so immediately with smiling faces and welcoming handshakes. It was incredible how nearly everyone we met was instantly willing to set aside their personal agendas to make sure we felt comfortable and that our needs were satisfied. It was as if everyone wanted to be your new best friend after saying “hello” to one another for the first time. Although it can be numbingly cold at times, Bloemfontein is the warmest place I’ve ever been.