Malawian wedding!

Yesterday we went to traditional african weddings where my friend was a bridesmaid. In africa weddings starts usually about 8am in a church ceremony and then there is a huge break untill 2pm when the wedding really starts. Well, of course they are so different than in Finland! First of all in some weddings all bridesmaids and a bride are wearing same clothes and they are dancing one at a time. They all are having a fruitbasket and they are ”trying to sell” the fruitbasket (and their self) to a husband. Of course a husband refuse untill a bride comes. Then when he have accept a bride and her basket then a bride will go to change her clothes – some fabric what a husband is wearing. And my friend told me that the one who is deciding the fabrig is a husband's parents. This wedding where we were they wasn't so traditional, a bride was wearing a white dress just like in Finland. But of course there was much and much of dancing, and throwing money to the baskets or just throwing money to the air where some ppl were collecting them. In these wedding they were ”selling” bridesmaids,flower girls and boys. And when somebody have ”bought” them then they can go to sit down. These malawian wedding was all about just throwing money. They don't bring any wedding presents this money throwing dancing thing is ”the present” for the couple. One part of the money is going to the wedding place rent, one part for guards and rest they will keep for theirself :) Wedding started about 2 pm and ended smth like 5pm. So it was 3 hours just throwing money! No food, no snacks, no drinks, nothing like what we think that wedding is about! So so so DIFFERENT! But it was very nice to see how it goes here! And of course even that malawian ppl doesn't have much money they will save many many months so that they can buy really nice and fabulous dresses to weddings! There was so many ppl who was wearing like really nice dresses or suits! Just AWESOME! Malawian people are really investing to weddings that everything is going to be perfect. They will save money for dresses, they will take photos of married couple + bridesmaids + flower girls and boys. I can imagine how long time they have to save money so that they afford to have the wedding.

Past week have been quite cold after +35°C degrees (when I did burn my scin first time). I think that it has been smth like +20°C past week and first time in this whole trip I had to use a big blanket! I have use like 1,5months only a small blanket but now even that we did keep our windows closed I had to use my thick socks! When outside is cold then water is also really really cold, almost like icecold water. I didn't wanted to even wash my hands when water was so cold. But ah how great water felt yesterday after showering in a cold water when we finally got hot shower! Ah, that was just so great. But of course ”cold weather” is not only bad things!! After 1,5 months we did went to a aerobic, and of course because I am always doing every excercise really seriously so I did that too so I had really REALLY painfull stomach muscles! I think that maybe I haven't got so painfull stomach muscles after work-out! :D It was so painfull that I couldn't stand with staight back or lay down and strech after it! :D We also went for jogging at Friday morning (8am) when it was so nicely cold. I had went to walking once before at 6.30am but it was so so hot after half hour that I decided that I could not do it untill it's really cold. So at Friday we went to jogging and we did found out that here in malawi ppl are not really jogging at all! They were all just stairing us when we jogged. So maybe if we would go at 5am when sun is rising then there wouldn't be so much stairing eyes! :D But it was really nice to jog after not doing almost anything for past 1,5month. And I am pretty proud of myself when I did have strengt enough to jog for about one hour! :)

Last week I started my clinical practice in hospital adults wards. First I was in surgery ward, well of course there was some confusing things when I didn't have any clue where is students so I tried to find out and when I finally found out it had took already 2 days, but it was ok to me. I went to male surgery ward (yes, here in malawi they have classify some wards for female and male). There was studying first year nursing group so I found out when they did some mistakes what I wouldn't done. But it was nice to see that I have learn something :D (and of course say it to them when they did something wrong) It was very nice when one student wasn't able to fix iv-line so we had to put a new one. And I had to try it first, it was my first second time in my life so my hands was just shaking and I was so nervous (I don't really understand why they were like that! It always happens when I do smth for first times) So then iv-canula didn't went to vein so we had to stick that poor man twice and even thirt time untill I made it ! WUHUU! :D Oh, you should had to saw my face after it, I was so proud of myself :D :D I found the vein even that he was black man! :D hahaha. Onyl one thing what I didn't like it in surgery ward with this group was just that they spoke most of the time chichewa and I understand it only couple words so I missed very much of their conversasions. This week I am in burns ward and at least this group is very nice and they are speaking much more english than the other group!. It's really nice place to be in burns ward. I can have a change to do lots of wound dressings, playing with kids etc. Even today there was some really cute little boy who did follow me. First he was a bit shy but when he saw me second time he just yelled ”AZUNKU!!!!” and run to me :D Then he took my hand and rub it to his face and hair :D hahaha. I think that he just wanted to feel how doesn white skin feel like :D Ah, how cute! :) <3