First Day in Ilula

Today was our first full day in Ilula. Because we arrived late last night, this morning was the first time we saw Ilula in the daylight. The view from the back porches of our dormitories is a breathtaking green scenery! For me, this morning as I looked at the mountains in the distance was the moment that I stopped and thought “Wow... I’m actually here in Tanzania.”

We started off the morning with the daily worship service, morning report with the clinicians, and many, many, friendly introductions. All of the Minnesota team members were split up into four different groups to go to different areas of the hospital -  the outpatient clinic, the inpatient ward, the HIV clinic, and the OB ward. The day was packed full of interesting clinical cases, learning from our Tanzanian colleagues, and many discussions comparing U.S. and Tanzanian standards of care. 

After debriefing our day in the afternoon, we decided to take a walk around Ilula in the rain. As if being surrounded by mountains wasn’t stunning enough, a double rainbow painted the sky. 

I can’t wait to see what the next 4 weeks will bring.