Where are we going & why?

Welcome to the Adventures in Swaziland blog, the web-based journal that we will be using to chronicle our time in Swaziland, for your reading pleasure as well as our own education and reflection. It will be a way that we can share what we are seeing, doing, and learning with our professors back in New Orleans as well as all of our family & friends. Hopefully we'll also be able to share a few photos along the way!

First things first...a few notes about the blog in general for those of you who aren't particularly familiar with the format: 

(1)There will be two of us posting our thoughts: me (Kate) and one of my favorite med school classmates & friends, Carter (who is kind of like a long-lost Spanish-speaking, adventure & travel-loving twin). Please read everything, from both of us, because you will probably get way more information & a more well-rounded idea of how things are going. You may not know who has written which entries until you get to the end of the post (where it should give the time, date, & author).

(2)If you follow the blog everyday, you probably won't miss much or need to maneuver the webpage too much. However, that doesn't mean you need to check it everyday...the most recent entries will be at the top of the page & as you scroll down they will get older. You can go back and look at older entries at any time (either by scrolling down or using the menu on the side of the page). 

Now...on to the more interesting stuff. What are we doing? As you all know, Carter & I are finishing up our last months of medical school at Tulane in New Orleans. This trip to Swaziland will be a 4-week international rotation with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. We will be working in one of the program's "Children's Clinical Centers of Excellence" in Mbabane, Swaziland. Although we do not yet know the specifics of our duties, we will be working largely with the pediatric AIDS population of the area (as well as with their families). It should be an incredible learning experience!  Use the following link for a little more information about the specific clinic site where we will be working: Mbabane, Swaziland: Children's Clinical Center of Excellence.

Now you have some idea of what we'll be doing, but you may still be wondering why Swaziland (or even, where is Swaziland)? Unfortunately Swaziland has been estimated to have one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (which is itself a global region of very high HIV/AIDS infections). (Try not to worry too much - we will be very careful in our work!). Swaziland itself is a very small country (about the size of New Jersey) surrounded by South Africa on 3 sides & Mozambique on 1 side (the East). 

While some of you may be worried that Africa is very dangerous, Swaziland is actually a very peaceful and stable country. They are ruled by a King (his mother-in-law is traditionally one of his most important advisors - - how about that!) as well as a Parliament. Beyond the work that we will do in the clinic, we are both excited to see the wildlife of Africa. Swaziland is home to all of the "Big Five" of the gaming world: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo. We are planning to visit one or two (or more - who knows?!) of the wildlife parks (this is one of the networks of parks that was highly recommended to us: Big Game Parks - Swaziland).

Our trip is rapidly approaching...in just a few short weeks we will have our Match Day in New Orleans (and find out where we will be doing our residencies). The following day, Friday March 19th, we will be heading out for our adventure. From New Orleans we'll head to Atlanta for a short stop & then fly overnight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We will spend the night there (arriving in the early evening on Saturday the 20th) and then take a short flight to Swaziland the following morning. Our clinical responsibilities will extend from Monday March 22 until Friday April 16 (with weekends free to explore the area). After a few more days of exploration time, we head back to New Orleans on Wednesday April 21st, arriving a day later just in time for the great New Olreans Jazz & Heritage Festival!