Medical Emergencies

Working at a hospital school – not a school for the patients, but for the kids of doctors. School is on the hospital premises. Medical emergencies shouldn’t be a problem. Hell, it shouldn’t even be happening. Can’t recall ever having had so many incidents in such a short period of time.

·         Playing basketball. Ahmad had a bad catch and bent his middle finger 90 degrees backwards. (bent in the middle) Before I could vomit, he had pulled it straight himself. I have seen rugby players (big men) do that, but not a child. His mom took him to ER. They bandaged it and told him to be careful.

·         Playing football. Ibrahim made a tackle, tripped and landed on his knee. He was in agony and couldn’t walk. I carried him back to school. He was taken to ER. They bandaged it. Two days later he was running x-country and sprints!

·         Ahmad was also running x-country. His knee packed up and he stopped running. He’s been limping since. He refuses to stop playing games. He insisted on playing football. He stood in the middle of the field and blocked the ball when it came his way. (He was not the worst player on the field!) Week later he was playing tennis (still with that leg not healed) Told his mother I didn’t think he should be doing any sport and that they should have it checked out. (Father is a doctor – what do I know?)

·         Ahmad ran back after break, tripped and hit the pavement with his hand. Thumb immediately swollen. By now, I’ve had it with all these accidents and surely doctors should know how to take care of their own. I pressed a pack of frozen peas in his hand (Discovered the peas in the staffroom fridge/freezer – I now know why it’s there!) His father took him for x-rays. Nothing broken. They bandaged it. Day later, bandage is off. Handwriting dodgy but normal.

·         Ahmed not feeling well. Lies on his arms. Looks pale. Wants to vomit. Phone parents to come fetch him. When they pitch, he’s at midday-prayer. First time this year! Either he thought he was being punished and had to repent, or he was trying to impress them coz he knew they were on their way over. This happened today. I am not concerned. He will be back tomorrow as if today never happened.

Closing note – I have twelve boys in my class. Six of them are named Ahmad.  Above incidents happened to four different Ahmads.

And for future reference: Keep the frozen peas handy, make sure the problem area is bandaged and wait 24 hours. After that, return to normal. Guaranteed to work. 

No Problem

And how is it now, being back?

I checked in all by myself at the Airport. Got myself a Cappuccino and muffin and relaxed. When it was time to board, I walked to the gate and met the others. There were eleven of us who knew each other – teachers and nurses from various places. Teachers have same holidays and flights are limited so you actually meet regularly travelling between Saudi and wherever. I was so relaxed that I almost scared myself. Watched “Happy Feet” during the flight. (own choice) “What’s wrong with being  different? I like different.” Had to spend the night at Jeddah airport, waiting for a connecting flight. Everybody was getting agitated and excited because they should have provided us with a room. I simply found myself a suitable corner and slept as soundly as the pilgrims. Then the flight got delayed and two more hours were added. No problem. And it has been my attitude ever since: No Problem!

Had to get a hospital id. (employees have to) Sounded like schlep and I kept postponing it. Re-energized, I decided to get it done and ran across to security during break-time. Was told to come back later. I asked if I could bring my class along and make them quietly sit outside. They thought it was funny. (I was actually serious.) Got the art teacher to look after my class and promptly returned. Was then told I should get a signature from head of security, “next building, turn right” – Looked at the one with most stripes on the shoulder and said: “Please, can’t you send someone with me to show me? I have gotten lost so often in this place I’ll end up at the Souk” Obviously I amuse them cause someone did walk with me – totally against the norm.  Then it was photos and computer-work (typing very slowly with one finger) and only the senior guy that can do it. I indicated with my fingers that I was looking for the guy with 3 stripes. The junior pointed out that it was actually 5 stripes. Low and behold, I got it done and felt so proud.

Next mission was buying a 3G card for the internet. The 3G adaptor, toggle, dongle, dangle, whatever, was a mission. After work, bus dropped me off at Panda, aka The Store for All. (Busses run every hour.) Got to the counter with four youngsters ahead of me who wanted to look at cellphones, cameras, camcorders etc. Before I could talk to the assistant, it was Sala – and off to prayer they go! An hour later he reappears, taking his sweet time and then starts with the youngsters who had also been waiting. At that point I lost it. “Please, I don’t want to look, I don’t want to test, I don’t want to ask questions or compare. I SIMPLY NEED SOMEONE TO GIVE ME A BANDLUXE STICK SO I CAN GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS FUCKIN SHOP!” That certainly got his attention. “Oh, I saw you an hour ago.” “Yes, and at this rate I’ll be here for another hour cause I’m gonna miss my bus.” I should have had that little outburst sooner because after that things happened quickly, except that I did miss my bus and did have to wait the extra hour. Oooooh, Patience! Got plenty of that now. Shopped for groceries. Read my book. Made the bus (and the others) wait whilst I uploaded my bags (same as all the Filipino ladies) and arrived home, still in one piece. Just to find that my key was now missing. Left everything on the doorstep and ran back to the gatehouse to get spares. Upon my return, found the whole neighbourhood’s cats trying to get to my food…. Still unmoved, still in one piece. One hectic day in the Kingdom! (Couple of days later when I was putting on my running shoes for PE, I found the missing keys!)

The rec. centre organizes weekly outings (free of charge) There are only about four places worth visiting, and I’ve already been to one. I asked around as to how one should go about joining, but none of the veterans seemed to know and had clearly never been. After four years! So kan ek waaragtig nie sit en vrek nie! I’m not like that. Went to the rec. centre. Got introduced to the manager. Booked a place. And it’s as simple as that. (Almost) The outing will only take place if there are at least ten people. My first effort got cut short because there were only nine takers. But I put my name down for the next one and I’ll just keep booking until it one day happens.

Will and I resumed our Thursday (read Saturday) walks to town. I put on my abayah, cover my head (not that I have to, but I’m sure it helps) and off we go. Saudis shop at night so when we go early morning, it’s very quiet. The walk takes us an hour either way. We do it to get exercise, we talk all the way, and sometimes we buy stuff just to make it seem worthwhile. I bought myself blue salad spoons to celebrate the New Year. (Any excuse, as I always say.)  (Don’t worry about Will. He’s a colleague and a friend and offers a degree of protection as a male chaperone – when in Rome…)

My villa has windows on three sides. The fourth wall is joined to the neighbour’s. I have only ever opened the curtains of the sliding door. It opens onto my patio from the bedroom. Totally private. The next window, in the lounge, is by the side and then the front windows look out on the street. I don’t have net-curtains so have kept the curtains drawn. After having returned from my holiday (and four months into my stay), I felt more at ease and more comfortable in my own skin, and opened the side curtains. I realized it was still private and that I could see the mango tree.  And all this time I was missing the beauty of looking at a mango tree!  Then one afternoon I opened my front door to let the sun in. And finally today, I wanted to watch the rain and so opened the front curtains. It’s a secure compound. No strangers prowling around. I’m not scared of “beyond the garden wall” anymore. I live my own life. I let the light in. I find it very symbolic and nurturing. I have weathered the storm and have found calmer waters. I am experiencing my own peace on earth. It may not last. I may encounter new storms. But I’m okay with that. I consider myself exceptionally blessed. What will be, will be.

“I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‚ movie

Laughter

My New Year’s resolution: 

Laugh as much and as often as possible.

So what has been funny, thus far:

      *Old Year’s Eve: Youngster singing along with Jack Parrow, swearing like a trooper, then looking at me apologetically saying: It’s no me, it’s the lyrics. “Dans, dans, dans. Ek wil fokken fokken dans!” I think it is hilarious, even when nobody else does.

-         *Walla (fat boy) jumping in the only puddle on the playing field and splashing water all over the headmistress.

-         *The headmistress holding up clothes from lost property, except the box got mixed-up with clothing donated to charity – lots of pyjama pants!

-         *Staff meetings, more aptly known as briefings, cause your input is not required. Normally quite outspoken, I picked up on this early on and now shut the fuck up. It serves me well. It is the interaction of the others that I find amusing. A quiet observer, I watch their futile efforts as they offer suggestions. What follows is predictable, harmless and bloody funny. Funny because it’s repeated every day and they still don’t get it.

-         *The kids’ bizarre hats. One day these kids (currently dressed by their parents) will grow up, see pictures of themselves, and be mortified.

-         *Watching the Filipino ladies get on the bus with their month’s groceries.

You are all beautiful. You are all magical. Deserve to be adored. - Parlotones

Day of Reconciliation

Thursday 16 December 2010

Forgiveness is not a choice one should ponder. Just something we should do. Even when the forgiveness has not been asked for. Even when it doesn’t come easy, for it never does. Did the man harm me? Of course he did. Did he hurt me, take from me, insult me, humiliate me, anger me …. yes, he did all of that too. But guess what, I choose to move on. I have a life and my life is worth living. I choose to live, therefore I choose to forgive.

Bloedrivier. Dingaansdag, Day of Reconcilliation…

Lights or Tinsel

“What goes on first – lights or tinsel?”

I love xmas trees. In fact, I love everything about xmas. The decorations, the lights, the music, the spirit, the atmosphere, the food, cards, gifts, shops. I just love celebrating xmas for an entire month!

I’m stuck in Saudi. Not exactly xmas territory. None of the above to be found in abundance, if at all. And yet we celebrate.

On the first day of December, a young British family invited me over to help put up xmas decorations. My help was limited to being there, untangling some bobbles, taking pictures and commenting on how beautiful everything was. They didn’t need help. They invited me because that is what xmas is about – sharing.

Last night we had our xmas dinner. Had to be early because most people are leaving to celebrate the season with family back home. As I made my way across to their house, it was time for evening prayers. The amplified voice of the Imam tore through the evening sky and mixed with the Boney M song coming from their house. This describes the contrasts of my life exactly. I could listen to both sounds without conflict in my heart.

I could tell you all about the food, the music, the celebration, the people – but you know most of it already. It doesn’t change that much. The virtual fire on TV was a bit of a novelty. It even made a crackling noise! Only drawback was that we had to keep rewinding it so as to avoid Mickey Mouse’s consistent interferences.

And by the way, even the kids know this: The lights go on first. 

Catching the Sun

During the week, I have to get up too early, but over week-ends, I can stay in bed and wait for the sun to find me! This picture was taken at 08h00.

Creating Space

Changed my room today. Not exactly the extreme make-over. Just moved some furniture around. All by myself! So proud. Didn’t feel like inviting the gardener in to help. The furniture included a king-size bed,  a cupboard and drawers (hangkas en laaikas would be a better description). Remember the bedroom that faces East? Well now the bed is also facing East – like some Native American Indian – which I’m not. And you know what happens when women start moving furniture - they discover holes and gaps that need to be filled. I need paintings against the wall, a set of bedside lamps, a large rug and some scatter cushions. (And that’s just to start off with.) I have created a Bedouin space in front of the bed – by accident, I think. I could fit another king-size bed in there, but the Bedouin interior seems more appealing. I think I’m in the market for a Persian carpet right now. You’d think I’m in the right region to buy one, but trust me, I’m not. Apparently there use to be carpet-sellers who frequented the compound, but then the Pakistanis complained and said it was a rip-off. Hello, not when measured against Western prices!  I should make enquiries and have them come back – at least once!

PS - Couldn't add photo's cause there are too many open spaces that first need to be filled. Wonder whether I did the right thing....?