Finishing up the first week

Monday is the last day at St. Mary's, which leaves me only 2 more days there. On tuesday morning at 5am, we will be leaving to go to a rural area. I will not have internet access, but I hope to keep a journal to update you when I come back.
Yesterday I was in OB/GYN and I saw a C-section and many mothers getting ready to give birth naturally (we missed both natural births, coincidentally-- once while in the C-section and once while at a lecture on palliative care). I helped a woman get to the shower and cleaned up after she was sutured up (it was her first baby, she gave birth naturally, and she did it quickly enough that there was no time to cut her, so the laceration had to be stitched). She was a quiet, but friendlygirl, but she did not look happy about the baby. The nurse left to take care of the baby (gave him vitamin K and cleaned him up... 6 hours later she would be giving him his immunizations), but I stayed wth the mother. I wanted to see if she would share anything with me. She said she was hungry, so I asked the nurse if she could eat and the nurse said of course... so I asked if we could get her something and she said no, they had to bring their own food to the ward! The same thing happened for soap... if you didn't bring it, you didn't get it. Anyhow, I went back to tell the woman what she already knew, and she added that her parents should be bringing her something to eat shortly. She also said that her boyfriend would come if he knew how to get here. However, she didn't seem at all concerned that the boyfriend had no idea where she was. I asked if she would like to marry him one day and she laughed and said no. She said that in January, she found out that another woman had his baby. She had been "exclusive" with her boyfriend for 4 years, and she is still with him, despite his fathering another child. I found out she was still with him by asking... her response was "yeah, we're together" almost as if it was a strange question... This made me sad because most people that I know would either leave, or if they sayed witht the person, would acknowledge their own sacrifice in staying with them.
I was able to see the same woman today. She looked happier, and she was breastfeeding her boy. Yesterday I was with her when she tried for the first time. She couldn't manage to feed him, and it was actually really special to see her trying to do this for the first time. The reason that I came to see her, was that yesterday as I was reaching to get her bag, I put my hand in some of the blood that was on her bed. Although without an open wound, you cannot get the viruse, I still felt a bit nervous. I didn't know her status, and it was the first time something like this happened. The doctor that I talked to told me to check her chart again the next day, so I was going back to see if the test had been done (it wasn't done yesterday when I was in the ward). Today it was completed, so I was able to see that her status was negative. Anyhow, I walked into the room where she was feeding, in order to see her chart, but she thought I was coming to see her baby! Of course I was excited to see her and her baby, but I felt a mixture of guilt and happiness at that moment when I saw her smile to see me back to see her and her boy.
Today I had a great morning. First I went to the HIV clinic, where I was told about the modules that they use for patients that test positive for HIV. The first module is to disclose your status to one family member, the second is to learn about the virus (its transmission, opportunistic infections, and other important information) and the third is to learn about the medications and start treatment once the CD4 count is below 200. When we walked into the clinic, there were around 80 people who were there to receive their monthly treatment. We noticed that everyone looked so alive and happy. I said that I thought it was partly because they were away from the people who were dying and around many others who were LIVING with HIV... 100% of the people there were infected, so it was almost like a support group of sorts. Everyone looked normal; no one looked sick. After this, we headed out for home visits. Everyone gets a home visit; they visit as many as possible, in order to see how the patients are doing and if they are complying with the treatment. This was great because a couple of the patients could speak english, and they were able to share a bit about their treatment. The fact that they are required to disclose information to one family member is important, because there was always someone there to support them in this time. The people who went out in the van were genuinely concerned about the patients' well-being, and they were so warm. I felt so lucky to be with them today.
I would continue on, but the group is ready to walk home, and I need a walk-home too... I am having a great time here. I think my favorite thing about SA is the vegetation! I love the trees, the flowers, and the grass as well. It is all so tropical (the trees have the shape as i the lion king!!) The most frustrating part is hospital staff who don't want us around... there are some here and there that just don't like us in their place, so they won't speak English to us... there are some who are wonderful though, so I can't say that it has been bad because of that!!
I will try to update you as soon as I can! Please pray that I am able to experience whatever god has set out for me, and that I may do so with an open mind and a willing heart.