COUNTRY: Thailand
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Murdoch Nursing & Midwifery
WRITTEN BY: Lidia Palumbo
A whole three weeks absolutely flew by and before we knew it, we were arriving home at Perth Airport being greeted by loved ones. When you first apply to come on this amazing once in a life time trip you have all these ideas on how amazing it will be and yes it will be tough but it won’t be that bad will it? The truth is, the experiences that you will have here will change your life and it truly will be amazing. But the tough stuff, the things that you may have thought about and the stuff you think you’re mentally prepared for, you won’t be as prepared as you need to be.
Being in the city is your first introduction to this brand new country and you think to yourself “this isn’t too bad, what was I worrying about” a tour of the city opens your eyes and you get to see how other people live. The day before heading out to the villages everyone is so excited and ready to make a change, we all said a quick goodbyes to our families over Skype, Facebook and let them know we would be out of touch for the week.
After a long drive that really doesn’t seem that long at all we arrived at our first village destination for the week. We were all so excited about the adventure that was ahead of us.
Then we began our clinics, our first day was scary and confronting. Eventually you get the hang of things, become more comfortable with the environment and the people. I think I speak for every one of us when I say we all had good days and bad days, but by the end of it not one of us regretted our time here. There are days when you see a patient and you have all these ideas of what you could do to help them and then you realise that you’re not in Australia and treatment options are so very different in rural Thailand and you feel defeated. Then the next day you can give someone something that seems like such a simple treatment option but your patient is so overjoyed that they got some vitamins or a new pair of glasses.
The Thai people are the most wonderful people I have come across. They are kind, thankful and very humble people. To think about the amount of work these people do and what their life is like is something to applaud. I remember when they would thank me for the time I spent with them and I would think to myself “Thank me? I should be thanking you for welcoming me into your world”. Throughout the whole three weeks we experience a whirlwind of emotions, frustration, accomplished, tired, overjoyed, humbled, sadness, happiness and it was worth it all.
In the end, no amount of “what will I see” and “will I be able to deal with it?” preparation will equal the things that you will see coming on this placement. It was the trip of a life time and I would not change my experiences both good and bad. The amount I learnt and the way it has impacted me will stay with me and in my practice for a very long time.
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