Berkley Center

About two weeks ago my university in Stellenbosch, South Africa went on March holiday, which lasted for about 10 days. I planned to fly to Johannesburg and take a tour from the city to Kruger National Park, where I intended to spend three nights camping in a tent and seeing many wonderful wild animals, like lions and giraffes and cheetahs and squirrels. It was my opportunity to have the stereotypical African adventure but also to experience a part of South Africa that I hadn't encountered before.

However, about a week before my holiday began, I started having severe pains in my abdomen. I was a little concerned, but I was sure that it was nothing serious. I waited for them to pass as I allowed for my excitement for my trip to build. After two days of increasing pain, I decided that it might be best to go to the student medical center to make sure that everything was alright. I had to get some anti-malarial medication for the park, anyway. I found out that I had kidney stones! Obviously, I was overjoyed at the news. I wasn't too worried, though, because I still had five days before my trip. Before I was to leave I was planning on participating in a three-day community service home-stay in Kayamandi, the closest township to Stellenbosch. The doctor at my university's medical center recommended that I not go to Kayamandi if I didn't have assured transportation out of the township in the case of an emergency. She expressed some fear of my being required to go to the medical clinic in Kayamandi, making it clear that she did not believe that it was a wise choice. I made the decision not to go, which was a good choice, as I wouldn't have been of much assistance as a result of illness.

Three days after my student medical center visit, I ended up spending some time in the emergency room being treated for dehydration, pain, and nausea (apparently the doctor wasn't kidding when she said that kidney stones weren't a lot of fun). I was taken by my director to the private hospital in Stellenbosch when I went to the emergency room. It was not even a consideration on his part that I go to the public hospital. The emergency room was very clean and orderly, and I thought to myself how similar it was to what I would imagine an emergency room in the United States to look like.

Later in the week I had a conversation with a student about my field trip into the medical world of Stellenbosch (made possible by my skipping my trip to Kruger due to still being ill). I mentioned that I had gone to the private clinic instead of the public hospital, and I expressed some disappointment in not having the experience of seeking medical care the way that most people in the area did. He, a not-disadvantaged Afrikaner, told me, “"You don't go to the public hospitals,”" referring to anyone who can afford not to. His brother was currently working at the public hospital in Stellenbosch, as all South African doctors are required to work for two years in such a situation after graduating from medical school. The public hospital provides free services to people who cannot afford other care. However, that care is not always even close to ideal. The student I spoke with told me stories that were related to him by his brother about people with serious injuries who were required to wait for hours to receive treatment, because there were simply too many people for the staff to treat.

The information and experiences that I gained while being sick in Stellenbosch made me more aware of the conditions of medical facilities in the area, and of the fact that not nearly everyone had access to adequate medical care. I found it very sad that even while I was in the process of trying to experience as much of South African culture as I could, there were still experiences that I was kept from in order to preserve my health and safety. It shows that however much one wishes to fully immerse oneself in another culture, that is not possible while the resources of your home, often money, provide you with privileges that others do not have.

I was very thankful of the fact that I had access to adequate medical care when I needed it, but I almost felt guilty for having taken advantage of privileges that other people would never have had access to (though I do acknowledge that if I had gone to the public hospital, I would have compounded the problem of over-crowding). I do feel, however, that it is just as easy to learn something new about your host country by just getting sick as it is to travel far away on a safari, so I do not regret too much the fact that I had to trade the latter for the former.

Love from Stellenbosch,
Vicki