"Oh, he's so cute!!! Are your other children as cute as this one?" This is an actual question a nurse once asked of a parent, and I found myself in the awkward position of having to translate it. For starters, there is no word -- that I know of -- for "cute" in Swahili, and … Continue reading There exists no ugly child | Hakuna mtoto aliye mbaya
Category: Interpreting | Ukalimani
Beautiful health | Afya yenye urembo
One thing I never thought I'd say in this lifetime: I taught a makeup and head wrap class! Last Monday, I ran a Look Good, Feel Better® (LGFB) workshop. LGFB is an American Cancer Society program that I've been volunteering with since 2014; we teach women who are undergoing or recently completed cancer therapies (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) … Continue reading Beautiful health | Afya yenye urembo
How are you doing, pumpkin? | Unaendeleaje, ___ ?
My last post was in March after which I disappeared to take care of business (i.e. school and the MCAT); now that I have completed my post-baccalaureate program, I should be able to post more regularly. If you're still here, thank you for your patience! Children are loved all over the world, but the way that love is shown … Continue reading How are you doing, pumpkin? | Unaendeleaje, ___ ?
The Telephone Game | Mchezo wa Kuambizana
I have just finished watching this video of tilapia skin being used in Brazil as a temporary graft for burns, and it reminded me of a patient I had in late 2015. She was a little girl, then aged five, from a refugee family that had been resettled in the U.S. just a few weeks before the … Continue reading The Telephone Game | Mchezo wa Kuambizana
Why? (Part 2) | Kwa nini tuyazungumzie haya? (Sehemu ya 2)
As I mentioned in my welcome post, this blog was partly inspired by one of my patients; as promised yesterday, I’m going to tell you about the encounter. I met a young East African woman in her twenties, whom I’ll call J, while interpreting for her at a reproductive health appointment sometime last year. The appointment … Continue reading Why? (Part 2) | Kwa nini tuyazungumzie haya? (Sehemu ya 2)
Why? (Part 1) | Kwa nini tuyazungumzie haya? (Sehemu ya 1)
The necessity of this project cannot be summarised in one blog post, but I’m going to try and illustrate it with a concrete example instead. So much work has been/is being done in the area of reproductive health for youth across the African continent, that my small project may seem redundant to some. Tomorrow I will … Continue reading Why? (Part 1) | Kwa nini tuyazungumzie haya? (Sehemu ya 1)
