Training

One of the questions I got asked a lot as I was getting ready to go was "what kind of training will you have??" Today was a first aid training course-- the first half covering everything you'd get in a high school health class (CPR, etc.), and the second half being first aid in a conflict zone (how to apply pressure bandages, tourniquets, assess injuries when there is critical bleeding). The training was put on by the German consulate, and the trainer was a medic in the German military. 

The training was geared toward NGO workers, and taught with a bit of a military spin. It was definitely interesting, informative, practical, and something that the hope is, you never have to use, but better to have at least a cursory knowledge of. In fact, the reality is, it's something more people should have, considering the same skills are just as relevant in car crashes as they are in conflict zones.