Thoughts on Myanmar

We’ve been here a week now. We were picked up at the airport by Shawn who is our flatmate and the other US Faculty at the nursing school. Our first question for her- does the apartment have A/C? Thankfully it does because it is hot here. High of 90-95 degrees everyday. That blast furnace type of heat when you step outside. The apartment has been a nice retreat from the craziness of the city.

My first impression of Myanmar from the little bit that I’ve seen is that is a little rough around the edges. Dusty, hot, crowded, chaotic. Still the people are very sweet and helpful. Quick to smile. We don't see a ton of Westerners so we are a bit of a curiosity. The locals watch us and sometimes try to snap a furtive photo. The brave ones will come right up and ask for a selfie. If I see someone staring I’ll bust out my biggest smile and say Min gala ba (hello!) and they’ll shyly smile back.

School is going well. This is the first term for our students and by December they’ll be Certified Nurse Assistants. Most will continue on to become Registered Nurses in the next two years. They’ve just finished their second full week of school. 

At school we have two local Myanmar nursing faculty and two US nursing faculty (Shawn and I.) When Shawn or I teach, we’re backed up by one of the two local instructors, Mai or Than Than who help interpret. The students have various levels of competency when it come to English so they also get English instruction twice a week.  Mike is helping Mr. Nyan, the English teacher, with his class. Our teaching materials, textbook and quizzes are all in English so we're sure they’ll improve quickly. This coming week I’ll be teaching Anatomy and Physiology so that should be interesting.

We’re still trying to figure this place out. For example- Where to get good, cheap meal in our neighborhood. The closest place to buy a newspaper in English. Getting a mobile phone and setting up a hotspot so we can check in now and then. Mike comes to school on Tuesday and Thursday so he’s been exploring the city on his new bike and taking care of the little chores.

Later this week we’ll have some time off and we plan to take a tour around some other areas of the country. More photos and adventures to follow.

Nursing Faculty- American Nursing Institute- Myanmar

Ms. Mai, Ms. Rebecca, Ms. Than Than and Ms. Shawn