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Life Through A Lens

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Medicine in Mozambique: In the Hall of the Mountain Queen

Back from the last week of my medical clerkship, which I spent in and around the town of Gurue. Here in the southern most part of the Rift Valley I got to encounter a new culture, the Lomwe, and marvel at a magnificent nature. Far from the flat coastal grasslands, the area around Gurue is mountainous and filled with rivers and forests. The area is still quite isolated and the remoteness and wilderness does add to the overall charm. From a medical perspective, however, the isolation bodes ill for those who get ill and find themselves several hours from the nearest health posts. It has been a privilege to be able to travel out to this area to learn firsthand about the way medical treatment can be given in remote settings. It has been interesting to see how the balance between emergent care and sustainable development is met, and the different struggles a "jungle doctor" is met with.

The view from the backyard at the house where I stayed. Decent.


Panorama of the hills outside Gurue.

This beautiful panorama shot is taken behind one of the clinics we helped do consults for. Unfortunately, the clinic is overseen by an old man who fancies himself a nurse, without any real training. The doctor I was shadowing made it a priority to try to give this old man some proper medical knowledge, but unfortunately only so much sticks with a stubborn old man. Meanwhile, his clinic was filled with medical kits charitably given by aid organizations such as UNICEF. A common thread in my medical clerkship was seeing the need for sustainable development within the Mozambican health sector, rather than quick fixes. Here is a perfect example, UNICEF and the thousand of people who donated money are surely thinking "great, we have been able to send X amounts of medical kits to remote clinics in Mozambique, changing the world!". Unfortunately, sustainable development is never that easy, it requires time and patience, and ambitious locals willing to learn and bring their country forward; along with the proper supplies. Tragically, it is quite difficult to meet these requirements at once, and thus remote medicine can often be a frustrating balance of scant resources. 



Idyllic Eucalyptus-lined road up into the remote hills.

A makeshift clinic deep in the hills. In fact, this place is so "exotic" that they have their very own queen, who we were honored guests of. Maybe not quite as pompous as Elizabeth II, but I can with full truth state that I have checked the blood pressure of a proper Queen. From the exotic to the horrifying, in this little clinic in the hills a mother came to us with her two small children. Twins they were, but one wouldn't have guessed it. See the thing was, this so-called-mother had only been breastfeeding one of the twins, and had left the other one to fend for himself. The result was one healthy 3-year old, and one scrawly creature that made the Darfur children look fortunate. That is not an exaggeration. I will not show the picture due to patient privacy, but it is one of the scariest thing I have seen. One wonders how a mother can be that cruel, to starve one's own child.... Shudders. 


"Where There is no Electricity"


Invinha, a more proper health post, with proper being a very relative term in this context.


Mualacala, a magnificently named village with stunning views. When we arrived in the morning the nurse on station had just the previous night delivered a baby. No midwife at the clinic, and the nurse just fresh out of nursing school, I say that is quite an achievement. In Mozambique the need for educated nurses and health staff is so great that fresh out of school this young nurse had been sent off to work on his own. A measure more of dire need than efficient planning. The doctor I was working with makes it a priority to teach the local nurses and further their medical knowledge. Yet another step in trying to make health care more sustainable in Mozambique. 



Picture taken out the window of an old Portuguese Tea factory. Keeping with the golden word sustainability, this factory is now used by the doctors who fly out here to educate a group of so called activists. These activists are taught about basic health, malaria, bilharzia, HIV  etc. They then go home to their respective villages and teach the population at home about these things. Might seem like a small thing, but preventative medicine and education could be the difference between life and death in millions of cases.



After a week out in Gurue it was time to fly home again. This young lady flew us quite a bit of the way as well! Not everyone who can say they have been piloted by a 13-something year old, and survived!


After a couple weeks out and about in the African bush my medical clerkship comes to an end. I have learned a lot over these past weeks, and have gotten a deeper understanding of what medicine in the remote really entails. I know this knowledge will serve as ambition and inspiration as I continue my education in Poland this autumn. Not making any promises, but this may not be the last time that I jump into a little Cessna and head off into the wilderness. Vamos ver, vamos ver...

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Medicine in Mozambique: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Yet another week in my medical clerkship here in Mozambique, and this time I was in the little town of Chiure. Not too far from Pemba this place, just a 2hr drive or so. What is interesting with Chiure is that although it may only have 2 paved roads, it is quite a populous place. In fact, the district of Chiure happens to be the most populous in the Cabo Delgado province. Thus Chiure hospital sees quite the number of patients, all coming in from the surrounding towns and villages. Also, alternatively, some medical teams go out to the health posts on the country side and provide care more locally. I did a bit of both this week, working in the hospital and going out to the remote health posts. My hosts for the week were a lovely British/Brazilian family in which the mother was the OB/GYN I was working with for the majority of the week.
There is a real need for proper maternal health care in Mozambique, since a lot of women in this part of the world still die from pregnancy related problems. Such things like regular ante-natal checkups that one is used to in the developed world simply are not that common in northern Mozambique. The result is that problems that could be avoided early on in pregnancy are left undetected and can eventually become life-threatening. Thus the work within maternal health care in Mozambique involves both solving the grave cases that do occur, and also working on preventing them by getting mothers to do regular check ups. It is a interesting field of medicine to be sure, and I have been glad to have experienced it for this week. Now for some pictures!
On the road to Katapua, a remote health post.
Katapua Health Post
Doing Consults with Patients in Katapua
Getting ready for surgery in Chiure. Lots of C-sections (including twins) some hysterectomies, sterilizations and one case of a unicornuate uterus. Also a quite tragic case of a woman with a massive placental abrubtion, yet another example of how early intervention can be the difference between life and death.



An interesting week and lots of new things seen and learned. Next week I fly off to Gurue, (of drinking water fame) the more mountainous region of Mozambique not far from Malawi. Look out for a post on that at the end the coming week. Till then, cheers.





Saturday, August 24, 2013

Medicine in Mozambique: A Flying Start


As many of you know, last summer I did my medical clerkship in Olsztyn. It was an experience filled with russian toiletselectrocution and random crazy patients. This time around, I am in the jungles of Mozambique, a rather stark contrast to the Polish wilderness. Just last week I was in the small town of Topuito, which, although remote, is the location of the world's largest titanium ore mine. Using the mine as a base, we would drive out into the surrounding villages each day to provide medical care to people who sorely need it. Thought I'd share some of my experience. Right, let's start from the beginning.

 The first part of the journey was flying from Pemba to Nampula, a 40 min journey which easily trumps the alternative 6hr drive there. A small Cessna plane, courtesy of the MAF, then took the medical team from Nampula to Topuito. The medical team being me the medical student, the Dutch doctor I was shadowing, a Dutch nurse and a Portuguese dentist. That was my very first time in such a small plane, and after the 45 min in the air I was both amazed and slightly nauseous. It really is the real deal as far as aviation is concerned, but the ride can be rather bumpy from time to time.
The little Cessna plane.

The Doc and I getting ready for take-off.

View from the plane.

Getting out into the surrounding villages was different from day to day. Sometimes it was a drive of various lengths in the Land Rover, other times it would involve crossing a river in a boat powered by a man with a bamboo stick. Upon arrival, we would each set up our stations and see the patients one by one. People came with various problems, ranging from complaints of headaches to faces filled with massive boils.
During the days I learned the details of proper history taking, i.e. how to ask a patient what their problem is. I also learned a bit of auscultation, and how to do chest and abdominal exams. To me it really feels like the core of primary medicine, being able to hear and feel what is wrong with a patient. It is a skill I think I will need to practice quite a bit over the years. One thing that I would do on a regular basis was to give HIV tests to patients we suspected had the virus. The region we worked in has been hard hit by the virus, and more than once we had to give the bad news to patients. Some would break down and cry, but the majority would just shrug it off as just bad news. One wonders if they have a superior way to cope with their struggles, or don't fully understand the implications of the disease.
At the clinic in Topuito
The clinic in Topuito, just a short drive from the mining complex where we stayed, is a newly built medical center. It has a maternity ward and a wing for the general consults. In maternity we did quite a few ultrasound checks on ladies with complaints of abdominal pain, as well as some pregnancy check ups. The morning consults were usually dominated by kids with fungal infections, HIV patients, and patients suffering from hypertension.
Strained selfie at Topuito clinic.

Clinic in Briganha
The clinic in Briganha was about an hours drive away from the mine, so pretty much smack in the middle of nowhere. Here the nurse turned ambulance driver as a critically ill lady had to be rushed to the nearest proper hospital, which was about another hour and away on a poor excuse for a road. Good thing we had Land Rover. Here there were quite a few exotic disease, including elephantiasis due to lymphatic filiarisis (caused by the wuchereria bancrofti, for my fellow Parasitology survivors) more intense fungal infections, eyes destroyed by bacterial infections, and many weird skin conditions. Of course you had your usual HIV and hypertension patients here as well.
Clinic in Larde
Larde was a special place. It was quite a big town, giving the circumstances, but we had to use a boat to get there. Once the boat had crossed the river, the medical equipment was carried by a couple bikes and mopeds to the clinic itself. In fact, I believe train and hot air balloon were the sole modes of transportation not used on this trip, all in all.
                                     
Crossing the Larde river.
Medical Supplies in "safe" hands.

The boats likewise safe.
Much learned from this first week, and I have really grown to appreciate the need for medical care in the remote reaches of Mozambique. Next week I'm off to Chiure, which is a medium sized town not to far from Pemba, to continue my medical clerkship at the hospital there. Will try to write up something about it next week. Until then.









Sunday, July 28, 2013

New House and New Adventures

A decade ago my family packed our bags and moved from Sweden to go to Mozambique, to work as missionaries. Swapping snow for sand, we left our little house on the country side and moved to the capital of Mozambique. Since then, we have moved to the less developed part of the country, to the northernmost provincial capital: Pemba. When we first came we lived in an old Portuguese house in town, which at that time was vital if one wanted to have somewhat regular water and electricity. Four years on, we moved from that house to a little bamboo house on the outskirts of town; a place which when we first came had been nothing but bush. Times change, and with increased inhabitants in Pemba, the cost to rent increases steadily. Therefore, almost exactly 10 years after we left our house in Sweden, we laid the first stone of our very own house in Pemba.



Friends and family gathered for the ceremony, to lay the building of the new house in the hands of the Lord. Land ownership and building in Mozambique is very much a hurdle race, with lots of obstacles that need to be overcome, so the fact that we could start building was a big reason for praise.



The corner stone ceremony for the new house quite fittingly took place on the 17th birthday of my little sister.  To further celebrate this occasion, at the end of the week we indulged in one of Pemba's many treats: snorkeling. To make it a bit more special, we got together with some other snorkel enthusiasts, hired a boat and a captain, and set sail for the far side of the bay. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the geography of Pemba, it is located on a peninsula that juts out to create a massive inland bay. In other words, make a G-shape with your left hand, Pemba is the thumb, where we snorkeled is inside your index finger. We saw quite a bit of fish and corral, and it was overall a very enjoyable experience.



Lots to do then, all with the house building and summer clerkship and a bit of this and that going on. Looks like my summer, quite unlike Arsenal's, will be quite busy. Looking forward to seeing how they both will develop.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Location: Pemba

I have now been in Mozambique for about a week and I am enjoying the cool winter we are having currently; A casual 25-26 degrees instead of the usual 34-35, so it’s quite pleasant. I have obviously been down to the beach a number of times, both to snorkel and also just to laze in the sun. The Mozambican sun has treated me well, and I am now several shades darker than I was when I first arrived. Speaking of change, the little town of Pemba that I grew up in has since changed quite a bit, while at the same time stayed exactly the same. I am feeling this has tended to be a reoccurring theme during my return to Africa, perhaps there is something in that.
Having been away for 2 years and 3 months, when that sorry excuse for a commercial airplane landed in Pemba I was both relieved and excited. Pemba had started to change right before I left, with big oil and gas findings bringing in established companies from all over the world. Hotels were being bought up on long year leases to house workers, massive ships started coming to the humble harbor, in short little Pemba was getting noticed by the world. A result of this change was the lack of an airport as I landed; instead a temporary party tent had been raised to accommodate travellers.  The old airport was in the process of being torn down to be replaced by a bigger and better one, all due to the increase in visitors.
The population change in Pemba that these new faces brought was quite evident on the drive home.

 So. Many.White.People.

Just a couple of years back, my family knew all the foreigners in Pemba. It was quite easy seeing that they were all either missionaries like us, entrepreneurial South Africans who frequented the same restaurants as us, or Indians and Chinese that owned the shops we bought from. All very simple. Not now though, they were so many on that single drive I think I lost count, and yes, I was actually trying to count. Many new people and cultures all attracted by the prospect of gas and oil wealth. I was always one for the international scene though, so I am definitively not complaining. I just hope most of the potential riches eventually trickle down to the locals, nobody wants to become like Nigeria when it comes to oil wealth and corruption.
It is fair to say that Pemba is on the brink of something big, and one can just hope that the poison that is corruption and greed is kept at a minimum. However, much is still the same. Internet as fast as a crippled tortoise, no water supply from the city (we have to hoist it from our 18m deep well) and still no raspberry jam in the shops. It is tough, but one takes the good with the bad.

In the coming weeks I’ll be starting my medical clerkship, so that ought to be fun and interesting. I’ll try to get something compiled on that when I get started. Now to hoist that water…

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Coming to Africa

Many of you might have noticed that I am indeed in Africa at the moment and that I am most pleased to be back here. It is even more beautiful than I dared to remember, they do say longing makes the heart grow fonder. I have been up to quite a bit, about time I’d share some of my adventures with the world.
On my way down from Warsaw to Nairobi, I made a little 12hr stop in the UAE. Since I was spending half a day at the airport, I thought it a shame if I didn't have a quick look around to see what this Dubai fuss was all about. I saw the Burj al Arab and the Burj Khalifa, both very cool structures, and did a bit of general sightseeing from the window of the cab on the way. The thing that struck me about Dubai is how much it resembled a lunar space station, with everything located indoors and air-conditioned to escape the horrifying heat (I mean, they even do their skiing indoors). Even the train stations looked like something positively out of Star Trek.
With that experience at my back it was time to head to more familiar venues. Just as midnight Dubai had been surprisingly hot, so midday Nairobi was peculiarly cold, and it only got worse as I headed up to good old Kijabe. Although the weather was cool and the oxygen very scarce (the school is located 2200m above sea level), it was good to be back to Rift Valley Academy. My first couple of days back I thought the place had changed so much, everything seemed different than it had been when I had left, all but the caf food of course. Although there had been a bit of change, as the days went on, I realized RVA was pretty much still the same, the change was rather with me. The musical talent on show at concert still held high class, the awkward clapping between every silent moment still there, the science pond’s ecosystem continuously ravaged by intruders, the scarfing just as uncomfortably brutal as ever etc. RVA the place hadn't changed, but RVA the people had. No wonder then, as the days went by and the alumni poured in, that RVA started to feel more and more familiar. My RVA was back, having flown in from all corners of the world.
The following couple of days were filled with catching up with old friends and seeing how each person had adapted to becoming a college person. Plenty of stories and laughter were shared, with a couple new great memories being made in the process. The greatest new memory that all of us who had made it back got to share was undoubtedly witnessing the marriage of two of our classmates. The two high school sweethearts had chosen a lovely location for their special day, and it couldn't have suited their personalities better. Under a grand African tree, with the wildebeest, zebras and giraffes grazing in the distance, and the birds hunting for fish in the lake behind us, the beautiful barefoot couple took their vows.  The after party was held at a charming bungalow by the lake, where we were treated to entertainment as varied as Masai wedding blessings and German folk music. In honour of RVA and its rules, after the feast we all paired up and danced around the newlyweds, as un-choreographed and freely as we possibly might, there was even room for some Azonto! As the sun began to set over the lake, it was time to send our newly married classmates of to their honeymoon. With rice still in their hair and a smile from ear to ear, they drove off into their future atop a white Land Rover, proper MK style.

I've had a wonderful time coming back to Kenya and getting to see so many of my old friends and getting witness a wedding as charming as any I've seen. My time in Kenya draws to a close, but my stay in Africa continues, as I board the plane to Mozambique on Wednesday, having not been back there for more than two years. Looking forward to seeing my parents, snorkeling in the ocean, and realizing how much Portuguese I have forgotten!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Passing Over and About

This holiday I have been at a number of different places, experiencing a number of different things. From family feasts to hysterical expats, here is a short review of my past week.
Easter itself I spent with my grandmother and my uncle and aunt and their two little kids. With my parents and siblings currently in Africa it is good to have relatives that are only a days travel away. It also being my grandmother's birthday it was a perfect time to head up and celebrate it all together. Always nice to catch up on Swedish happenings and vocab and eat well with my uncle and aunt, and listen to old missionary tales from my grandmother. Of course it was lovely to see two of my smallest cousins as well. The amount of energy that can be kept within two little human creatures is indeed amazing, and there was never a dull moment with them in the mix. Reminded me a bit of how it was back in the day taking care of my two younger siblings, except that my siblings were about twice as crazy and wild when they were that age, which made things much easier this time around. Still love you guys, I learned loads of patience from you two Jennifer and Joel  =)
Cousin bonding time

Flying back to Warsaw after my time in Sweden I bumped into a fellow classmate taking the same route, and we were both just as taken back by the snow chaos that welcomed us in Poland. One should never experience more snow on the destination than the origin when flying out of Sweden of all places. It is April now, mind, enough of this snow already! 
Making my way through a snowy Warsaw I arrived at my B&B to find it closed and all the lights switched off. Marvelous. Fortunately this is the capital of Poland, and not Bethlehem, so there was lodging for a weary traveler elsewhere (perhaps wrong season for that reference). 
In the morning I went to the embassy of Sweden to pick up my new passport. It is not that grand of a place as one might imagine. It is very Swedish though, I'll give it that, reminded me of the old church house (missionshuset) in my little village of Hagafors, at least on the inside, maybe not so much on the outside. 
Hagafors Missionshus

As I was waiting for them to get my passport ready, an elderly man stepped in, and started conversing with the receptionist. What caught my attention was that he spoke his English with a distinct South African accent, but was still reasonably fluent in both Swedish and Polish. Naturally this multi-ethnicity was bound to have a great story behind it, and being the curious person that I am I was meaning to ask him about it. Good thing I didn't, because what happened next was something I've never witnessed before. He was struggling with the forms, not getting anywhere. He started getting really annoyed at the receptionist as well, and made a lot of noise. I was still sitting there at the back, feeling very uneasy at having to witness this increasingly awkward situation. His frustration eventually turned into a full blown nervous breakdown and the old gentleman almost started weeping and was very distraught. There is nothing quite as socially awkward as a grown man crying and making a scene about having to fill out forms, nothing at all. Eventually he managed to collect himself and settle down, and everybody could continue on with their now slightly scarred lives. In the end, he came back and apologized to the lady, explaining he was suffering from some sort of memory loss which made filling out such forms quite the ordeal. All I could think of was I wish I had some sort of disease that would delete that particular recent memory. Perhaps a distasteful thought given he might actually have been telling the truth. As such, his potentially exciting background story was replaced with a rather unwanted experience. 
Oh well, I guess one can't always win.

Cheerio.

Monday, March 4, 2013

21 Questions

Today it is my birthday. It has been 21 years since I came screaming into the world, clearly unhappy about the fact that I from now on had to actually use my lungs. Many a thing has happened since then, both good and bad, and all served to teach me something about life. So I decide to quickly scribble up a list of 21 random little things I have learned this far. I think everyone can relate to at least a handful of them.

*Football, not diplomatic skills, is the key to Universal Peace and Understanding

*The need to study is the single greatest motivator to do just about anything else
*At RVA, how to eat enough on Tuesday lunch to last until Asian Friday.
*That supporting Arsenal builds more patience than watching grass grow.

*Be careful who you trust, most of all taxi drivers.
*The amount of sugar in chai and mandazi is an amount better not known

*Work hard, then play hard
*Sleeping and pooping are two necessary evils. Imagine how much time we spend on that!
*Swedish pizza and Swedish candy are undoubtedly the best in the world in their respective categories.

*Juggling may be as hard as it seems, shame the same can't be said about eggs.
*Frosting is hopelessly overrated.
*When making the Swedish chocolate ball, expect the fact that they were formerly and more colloquially known as "nigger balls" to be brought up. Never fails.

*It is not always the biggest mango that makes the most noise when it plummet onto the tin roof.
*It is indeed possible to use a new pen all the way until it dries out without losing it first. Med school taught me this.
*If loving the Lord is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

*When an opportunity arises to make a cheeky racist joke, take it. Use the black card if anyone gets annoyingly offended.
*If someone asks you what the capital of Thailand is, don't answer. Ever.
*The question, "Where are you from?" is not the problem, it is the amount of lying you have to do to avoid having to tell your entire life story. MK Problems.
*Talking to oneself is considered weird by some people, luckily my ego/insanity is big enough that I find it most enjoyable.
*If ever in an awkward situation, just start laughing at how funny you must seem. It works.
*If it is easy, it either has been done before, or it is not really worth it.



Friday, March 1, 2013

Sabbath

 If one so absolutely inexhustable as God himself took a break and rested after he had created the world, surely we as humans should take note. Taking a day break is not such a bad idea.
As a med student, it becomes increasingly hard to pull such a seemingly simple task off. Indeed, students of many different fields struggle with the pressures of school, and rarely find time to do the things they love. Furthermore, if they do, they usually do it with a sense of slight panic that they are wasting time. This is far from healthy, and one of the unfortunate responses to this is not taking a day off.
I have also been caught up in this, unfortunately, but recently I have decided to try to have a full 24hrs where I do whatever I want. Be it cleaning, playing football, or learning how to cook new things. Note, I have learned that personally, Sunday is not such a good day or me to take off, so I have decided to take another day off. Whatever works out the best. Here is to hoping that all goes well!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Realistic Caution out the Window

Life can be very hard as an Arsenal fan. No trophies, top players leaving the club and joining rivals, losing to lower division opposition, you name it. In the midst of it all though, there is always the hope that one day it will all be better. A light at the end of a dark and dreary tunnel. Tonight is Champions League, a luxury that is  a current uncertainty as far as Arsenal is concerned, with 4th place in the EPL not currently secured. Thus, it is only understandable that I approach this coming match with more than a hint of caution. I don't want to get over hyped just to get sucker-punched by a Mandzukic header or a beautiful Ribery golazo. Caution and modesty is the way I planned to approach this game. This, however, is football, and there really is no room for being luke-warm. So screw that approach.
As the kick-off approaches I cannot help but being overcome with a feeling of positiveness  and a belief that the "impossible" can be done. Even though my brain is telling me that this is not going to end well, my heart holds on to the smallest of hopes. For once, my heart is absolutely right, this is football, this is Passion. There is no room for half-hearted support or pessimistic caution. Supporting my team all the way tonight, hope lots of you guys will be able to watch what will undoubtly be a great game. Up the Arsenal!


In other news, found another great mix I thought I'd share with my fellow Chillstep fans. Great for studying, relaxing etc.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Alright...


Solid H20

Things are looking up these days. That is mostly down to one thing and one thing only, it is getting warmer. It might very well just be a false alarm, it is after all just the beginning of February, but I like to think the worst is over now. It all happened quite fast though. In fact, just last week it had been around -10 to -15 degrees Celsius for a while. The lake outside my dorm was frozen, and during that extra cold week me and two of my friends ventured out on it. No chance of the ice breaking under us, the lake was frozen solid. One could probably have driven a car over it, had one been so inclined.

Evening ventures on the lake

This week though, it has been around 1-3 degrees Celsius, and the ice on the lake is wearing away slowly but surely. Not exactly the time to go out on it now, that's for sure.
In other news, I am now a owner of a tablet. Felt it was time to cash in on one, as it helps a lot in my studies. Imagine, instead of having to drag 15kg worth of medical books, I can just carry that tablet. This will make travelling A LOT easier. Plus, I guess it is the thing to have nowadays, and I shouldn't be left behind by the times. Took me quite a while to get that tablet though, but through some hassles it finally arrived. I think both me and the receptionist lady I had been constantly bugging were equally happy that my parcel had finally arrived. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Awkward Stereotypes

You know those people who are just so awkward when it comes to stereotypes that they seemingly walk on glass when they are around you? Well, I had such an experience today. Though it is of course in their interest not to hurt you and try to be polite and politically correct, said persons usually overcompensate.
Take for example our biochemistry teacher. She has had a tough year with us, and she is trying to win us back, much against the odds. Her English isn't great, thus she can sometimes say things in very funny ways.
Take today for example, when she was explaining to us vitamin D's importance to the human organism. The point she was trying to get across was that people with fairer skin tone have an increased production rate of vitamin D in exposure to sunlight. Reversely, darker people have a reduced production, and thus need more sunlight to make the necessary amount of vitamin.
She somehow managed to twist this into a very funny situation. See, I was sitting next to my fellow Swedish classmate who happens to be platinum blond, so the teacher instinctively turned her as she mentioned how the "blondie race" have a higher production rate of vitamin D, due to lighter hair and "purer skin". Those words exactly. We all just started laughing in the class at the situation, my friend felt comically targeted and singled out. Then of course the teacher had to explain what happened to the other "race", i.e. the darker people.  As she was fumbling over how to best explain the opposite of the "pure skin" people without sounding horrible, I quickly intervened, anticipating the train wreck about to happen. I jokingly confirmed that I was having terrible problems with my Vitamin D production in this Polish winter, with there being no sun and all. The teacher gave a small sigh of what probably was relief, and we carried on.
I think this little story is a good example of how we should treat these situations with awkward stereotypes, not as personal insults, but as opportunities for humor. Especially when, as in the case with this teacher, there is no intention to hurt, but just an honest mistake/language barrier. In my class we all laughed, we are used to these things and just find them funny now. This is a fine line though, being able to laugh at racist jokes/mis-sayings, but still making sure that it is all kept alright. It very much depends on the people and the situations, so the accepted norm seems to change from time to time. Then again, it is only awkward if you make it awkward... right?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Ode to the Tune

I feel the time has come to talk about something very close to my heart. Something that has been with me since my early high school years, and continues to be a big part of my day. It is the reason I get up every morning. I do not resent it for bringing me out of my sleep, rather I thank it for bidding me welcome to the world of the living. Without it I would not be the person that I am today. Thus, let me take some time out, and give my dear morning alarm tune the praise it deserves.
This is no simple tune, pre-installed by the powers that be Samsung Electronics, no, far from it. This is an actual full length song which became quite famous when it was released in 2003. Indeed, it was even used by the Polaroid Group to revitalize people's fading perception of those self-developing film cameras. Even though it might not have been able to single-handedly resurrect that industry, it certainly breathes new life into me each morning. Personally, I think its purpose is duly fulfilled.
Bet you want to know what song I am talking about. Maybe you have already figured it out. We'll, good on you, Sherlock Holmes! For the mortals in my audience, bear with me just a while longer.
As in the case with Pavlov's Dog, everytime I listen to this song I immediately associate it with waking up. I get a slight burst of energy every time I hear those lyrics: "One, two, three,uh!". I do not know if this is strictly normal, it may even be borderline mental, conditioning myself with the use of tunes like that. I have yet to salivate profusely though, so I think it is alright for the time being.
Figured it out yet? Think you've got it? Well, let me tell you. Got it just don't get it till there is nothing at all.
Ok. I have toyed with you enough, and if you have made it all the way down here without losing interest, you deserve your reward. I shall now share with you this tune that has been my steady companion for many years. You know what they say, nothing is forever, so what makes (what makes) this song the exception? Guess you'll find out.

*Warning* this brilliant song has been known to cause spontaneous dancing of joy. Listen with caution  especially if you find yourself at a boarding school where such movement of the body is highly frowned upon. 

As you were. Here it is. Go on, click it (song starts at 1:01) ===> http://bit.ly/V8BWIj

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Steez Monkeys

Everyone has that one thing that they like a little bit too much. For some it is Nutella, others have an excessive obsession of Justin Bieber, and some people cannot think of a better spread than Marmite. Whatever the case it is usually a bit odd, but for the person themselves it makes complete sense.
I have this too I believe, but for something arguably more eccentric. I happen to think that Steez Monkeys might just be the coolest thing on the planet. I am not wrong either, think about it, name 5 things cooler than a  chilled out monkey in headphones. I know right? I couldn't think of many things either.
It started out with me having one of these monkeys on my notebook. Beautiful notebook that, and I think it is from this the fetish, if you will, started.
I also have a poster with the most epic Steez Monkey. It is that one with the monkey listening to some tunes and being generally awesome. Great poster.
In honour of that which is Monkey Art, I decided to include some of my favorites in one collage. Some Steez, some not. All fabulous.