Today was the big day. My first insight in to the government run healthcare system of South Africa. I woke up bleary eyed as I didn't sleep particularly well due to the sound of my fridge making gurgling noises throughout the night. Always a downfall having a fridge 3ft away from where you sleep. However, on the flip side, if I ever feel peckish at night I don't even have to get out of bed.

I arrived at the Med school by uni shuttle bus despite it only being about a 500m walk. That is a 500m gauntlet I am not willing to partake in. After dealing with all the admin I was sent on a wild goose chase of Jo'burg general hospital. Acquiring scrubs, gaining a security pass, saying hello to all the wrong wards and departments. My last task was meeting Sister Kate who is in the running for the grumpiest woman in South Africa. Our meeting was bigged up to being the solution to all my admin queries but was nothing less than a few grunts and being told to come in for a meeting at 7am tomorrow. Brilliant!

My last part of my treasure hunt was to get to a nearby mall which I was reassured by the Elective lady was fine to walk during the day. She provided me with a map but I was warned not to look at it as I would look like a tourist. I don't think I could have stood out more as a white man on holiday. I was trying to blend in at uni so decided to wear a cable-knit jumper, orange chinos and boat shoes however, this is not the current fashion trend in South Africa. On this walk I was getting funny looks from the locals probably thinking 'he has some balls' or more likely 'he is definitely going to get mugged'. Anyway, with a few covert peeps at this map and a couple of snap ambushes I arrived at this mall. Safety at last!! After a few failed attempts to acquire a South African credit card I moved onto the supermarket, where I spent 2 hours doing mental arithmetic calculating the cost of each item in sterling then moaning to myself about how much more expensive it was in SA. Once finishing my family weekly shop I quickly dismissed the idea of walking back and was straight on the blower to my trusty taxi service.

After a solid gym session. I am trying out my SA curry powder making a chicken and yam curry and then off to bed for my early start tomorrow.