Student in Mendoza (part 2). A firsthand student blog by Aongola Ngenda

Monday, May 14th, 2012

Today is my first official day in Mendoza.  After a long flight, I arrived and settled into the house I will be sharing with other students.  All are medical students from different areas of the UK and parts of the world, so it´s been interesting listening to their experiences of their placements so far.  Some have been on the maternity unit and I have been assured that there will be plenty for me to observe as the unit, much like my training unit, is very busy.

After being taken on an impromptu tour of the city, we settled down and had dinner. followed by a much deserved good night´s sleep.

I have found that my days are very busy and because of siesta 1-5pm when most businesses close, I am not able to update my blog as frequently as I would like.  So I have taken up writing my experiences in a notebook and then post them on my blog when I am able.

I am usually an early riser, infact, I did wake up at 5.30am much too early and went back to sleep only to wake again to find that I had ten minutes to spare until my Spanish lesson…great first impression, but all was well!  I settled into a four hour session of not just Spanish but Argentinean Spanish.  Each county in South America has a different way of using the Spanish language.  I have been introduced to ´vos´ which is ´you´ when referring to someone one is familiar with, I am relived to find that I can also use the usual ´tu´ which I am used to as well.  The session was intensive but needed, particularly learning medical based words and questions.  Our homework for the week is to create a short paragraph presentation on a medical/midwifery condition.  I picked pre-eclampsia…good luck to me.

(more…)

Nepal – what’s on during your elective?

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Nepal has a hugely varied landscape considering it’s relatively small size. You have the highest mountains in the world leading down into the best river rapids and finally into the steamy heat of the plains. It is a mecca for adrenaline activities and canyoning, trekking and mountain biking are available all year, but also one for spiritualism; there are amazing temples and world heritage sites with some fantastic architecture and history. Weather often dictates a trip to Nepal, but we don’t think you should restrict yourself…..

DSC03533 150x150 Nepal – what’s on during your elective?

The peaceful lake - good for kayaking / boating

Abby 2011 27 150x150 Nepal – what’s on during your elective?

World peace pagoda - Pokhara's best walk

(more…)

Tanzania – what’s on during your elective?

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Tanzania is a great country to visit. Destinations like the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Mt Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria and Zanzibar offer some of the most amazing travel opportunities across Africa and they are all in one country!

The climate is tropical, so some periods are hotter, wetter or more humid than others, but generally whichever month you travel to Tanzania there is something wonderful to see and do!

Dave 2010 173 150x150  Tanzania   whats on during your elective?

Safari- available throughout the year

Scuba Diving 150x150  Tanzania   whats on during your elective?

Scuba diving - available all year

(more…)

Clothes party success! Written by Jenny Gough

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

At the moment I am planning my elective placement to Dar es salaam as part of my Midwifery course. I am so excited to have this amazing opportunity but nervous that I now have less than six months to fund the trip!

I decided that I would hold a clothes party. I had been to one before that a friend held where people take along clothes and then other people rummage around and go home with other people’s clothes.

580373 10150915638030968 774750967 12576470 2012669849 n 150x150 Clothes party success! Written by Jenny Gough

Dig out old clothes, shoes, handbags - anything you don't want to raise funds for your elective!

I thought this was fantastic so I emailed friends and spoke to family and asked them would they be willing to donate any unwanted clothes, bags, shoes etc and I would charge a pound an item for clothing and then a donation of their choice for the rest. It became such a huge event that friends of friends were ringing saying they had clothes for me and would they be able to come. This got me thinking that there was no way I could fit everyone into my home. So I asked the local bowling club if I could borrow there club house for the evening. It had a bar so we had a great night. As it was to raise money they let me have the venue for FREE!!! Fantastic start I thought.

(more…)

The Weekly Question – how do you feel about safety and security on placement?

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

Very often students and their parents (OK, more often the parents!) contact us with concerns about safety and security in the countries we work in. We know that venturing to lands unknown can be daunting and often you just don’t know what to expect. That’s why we’re here to give you all the info, advice and guidance you need before you set off and while you’re away!

Ghandruk trek Nepal 150x150 The Weekly Question – how do you feel about safety and security on placement?

A stunning view on the Ghandruk trek, Nepal

Safety and security is of course a key priority for us too, which is why all of our destinations are in countries considered to be politically and economically stable by the Foreign Commonwealth Office.

(more…)

The Weekly Question – why did you choose to do your elective placement with Work the World?

Friday, April 6th, 2012

It’s a fact of life; everyone likes to ‘big themselves up’ from time to time! And while we can go on until we’re blue in the face about why you should choose to do your overseas placement with Work the World, the best people to ask are those who did choose us and are on placement right now.

This week we asked students in each of our destinations “why did you choose to do your elective placement with Work the World?” Here are some of the responses…

dental students argentina 150x150 The Weekly Question   why did you choose to do your elective placement with Work the World?

Students on placement in Mendoza, Argentina

In Argentina the leading answer was the opportunity for students to brush up on their Spanish with our fantastic week-long Intensive Spanish Course. Amanda Woods, a medical student from Alabama said “interacting with patients in a Spanish speaking company is definitely the best way to improve my Spanish…the programme has everything I was looking for.” Amanda also found us to be one of the only companies she researched offering placements in South America and to include the placement, accommodation, food and in-country support in the total cost.

(more…)

Fundraising for Ghana, by Megan Mancinotti

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

With only two and a half months left until my nursing elective in Takoradi, Ghana, I have been coming up with different ideas to raise money for medical supplies. I have come up with three different ways that will hopefully be a success!

  1. Music Benefit
  2. Supply Donation Box at the Ohio State Medical Center
  3. Italian Bake Sale

On May 14th, 2012, I will be having a benefit at the bar that I am a server at.  I arranged for a musician from Ghana to sing at the benefit. I have invited family, friends, and patrons to come out and support the cause for a cover of $5. I will also leave a jar for any extra donations people would like to make. Additionally, I will be donating all of the tips that I make for the night.

italian food 150x150 Fundraising for Ghana, by Megan Mancinotti

Megan will be baking up some Italian treats to raise money for her placement

(more…)

Packing essentials, by Katie Scales

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

In Nepal, I found I these items the most useful, least useful, or couldn’t have done without:

Essentials

A torch of some variety (for the scheduled power cuts that will catch you unawares!)

Sun cream (it sure is sunny)

Nepal Holi 150x150 Packing essentials, by Katie Scales

Getting messy at the Holi festival of colours!

Lots of warm clothing (in winter)

(more…)

The Weekly Question – is your placement what you expected or full of surprises?

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Every week we send a key question about placements, destination or Work the World houses to the staff teams in each destination. They then ask the students currently on placement for their thoughts. It’s a great way for students to hear firsthand stories and read current feedback about their destination, as well as providing a good comparison for those still unsure of which Work the World programme to choose.

Preparing for an overseas placement might be a little daunting and you will probably find yourself trying to imagine what it will be like. You might wonder if you will see similarities between the environments you’re used to and the ones you’re going to. What will the noises, smells, sounds and people be like? This week we asked the students in the Work the World houses “is your placement what you expected or full of surprises?”

Dannika Buckley who is doing her medical placement at a paediatric hospital in Mendoza, Argentina said, “The biggest surprise is that they use a lot of similar charts to those used in England. I have also been surprised at how willing the doctors are to teach me.” Well it is often commented on that the staff our students work with in Argentina are incredibly warm and friendly!

(more…)

Preparing for my elective – fundraising, by Caroline Corcoran

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

I’m a student midwife at Staffordshire University, I’m off to Ghana in 6 months, and have started fundraising (help!). It’s tough fitting everything in at the moment! I’ve tried a few different angles on the fundraising, and they all take a bit of time. If I’m not working on an assignment, I’m writing a blog post, organising a fundraising activity, or writing a letter asking for sponsorship. It’s been overwhelming, and I’ve had times where I can’t see how I’m going to manage to do everything without compromising my studies.

IMG 06442 150x150 Preparing for my elective   fundraising, by Caroline Corcoran

Caroline and Jenny (and cakes!) raising money for their electives.

When I started to panic, I sat down and did a timeline, I put all the fundraising activities in different months, and put the steps needed to organise things into different days. I never get a day off, but I’m only doing one thing per day, whether it’s writing a couple of letters or a blog post, or a presentation. It makes it look manageable and I’ve promised myself never to think about the total amount I need to raise, but only to look at the amount I’ve raised so far!

(more…)