Days blur with insufficient sleep - Wall 'o text
So today, even though it's theoretically only the third day of my elective, I decided to take the day off and catch up with my childhood friend, Noach, in Jerusalem. He said it was practically the only day he had off in the next eight weeks, and thus I told one of who I think are registrar-level doctors I wasn't coming in, he said ok, and I wandered off.
Originally I thought I'd have a lift in, but ended up having to take the bus in cause it all fell through. 'Fortunately' I have a lift home though, so I didn't have to rush back to Beersheva to catch the 10pm bus to Metar (that would have required me to leave Jerusalem around 7:30ish to ensure I made it). The inverted commas are because I'm writing this in a friend's place (I'll explain later) as I wait for the lift, which is only coming at 12:30am.
Note - I'm continuing this on what is 'tomorrow night' now, cause I started panicking my lift wouldn't find the place and so went to wait outside in the not-actually-that-cold night. So, to continue:
I ended up getting into Jerusalem around 10ish, and hung around the station to meet Noach enjoying coffee and a doughnut (the entire country goes doughnut-crazy at this time of year) and then having to run for another bus as we headed off to a protest (against the Health Ministry over unfair tests apparently aimed at shutting down the faculty) which, despite all my fears, ended up being quite a lot of fun. People were shouting things in Hebrew and waving signs and while I occasionally joined in trying to copy the slogans, more often I was just yelling stuff like 'I agree!' and 'I don't know what you're saying, but I'm sure you've got a good point!' and 'The cake is a lie!', the latter which was taken up by several members of the crowd.
We then messed around the bus station and had lunch while waiting to hear from Noach's girlfriend, who's studying in an art school called Betzalel. So we caught a bus to meet her which wandered through both East and West Jerusalem for a good hour or so. At one point we passed another bus, and our driver handed his newspaper through the window to a passenger to be given to the other driver. It was a bit of a o_O moment. We eventually got to Mount Scopus, then got lost looking for Betzalel, but found a very nice view of Jordan on the way. We then looked at a student modern art exhibit before wandering into Dalit's (Noach's girlfriend) class. *sigh* Fine Arts students. I don't mind them borrowing books, but the class contained an awful lot of ego stroking. (My parents are reading this, so I'm being polite ;-) ) There was one guy who was very 'artier-than-thou' (he was wearing one of those fedora-like hats, started leafing through someone's sketchbook without asking permission, and although he criticised everyone's art, one in particular was singled out as being 'too generic') despite the fact that personally, his piece looked more scatological than sepia toned.
Okay, enough with the ranting about the attempt to impose objective value on something which is so clearly subjective.
After the class, we wandered off to the Old City and the Western Wall, which was wonderful as usual. Except for the bit where my mobile went off with its jaunty ring-tone (honestly, who's going to call me?!) when I was half-way through the evening prayers and another woman was crying next to me...I still feel guilty.
Then we went to get some dinner and ran into Tamar and Sarah Wilner (friends of ours from Perth: we got Perthed in Jerusalem - although to be honest, that's probably easiest of all Israeli cities) and after I walked Noach most of the way back to the bus station, I rejoined them to wait out my lift. We watched some guys who'd set up speakers and were doing street dancing on a chessboard inlaid into the road, which was pretty cool, especially since one of them looked like a yeshiva-boy! I'll put some photos up on facebook. And then it basically picks up back at the top!
Addendum on today's activities: Newsflash! Clinic in a foreign language is even more boring than rounds, cause at least on rounds you're walking and you can doodle and pretend you're writing stuff down. Although we did have a soldier come in at one point with a possible UMN lesion or a brachial plexus injury (difficult exam, conflicting signs) and I was once again reminded of the difference between Australia and Israel as when we were running late, patients crowded in after the last had left, each insisting they were to be seen next. (I didn't mention that when I was in the ED, patients' families would treat the ONLY ONE ACCOMPANYING PERSON PER PATIENT as more a joke than even a suggestion and as the ED became more crowded they'd come up to the flight deck to insist their family member/friend be seen next or to find out what was happening (in case there was something new in the last five minutes since they last asked) or just to glare at the doctors and medical students). Oh, and I successfully took blood (I hope, the vein dried up on the last few tubes and I really had to work for it - I'm not certain there was enough for the TSH and the bloody Russian doctor wouldn't tell me) from a patient, despite my ~4 hours of sleep. Maybe I'm getting ready for internship?
I had thought about walking down to a mall or the old city of Beersheva (which I've since found out apparently consists of ~2 old buildings and the rest is new) but a dust-storm blew up as I was leaving (the air is still thick and visibility's right down) so I just went home. In the evening I went to a concert of an Israeli singer with the Pinchas family who live down the road. It was a huge mistake because I was exhausted and had wanted to be going to bed an hour after it started, I didn't know the music and couldn't understand the words or what she was muttering between songs (when she stopped at all, over the whole 2 hours) and I WAS EXHAUSTED. I dozed fitfully for most of the first 40 minutes of the concert, was holding out for the end after the first hour and spent the encores mentally wishing death (or at least maiming) on her for each word of her waffling story. I DON'T CARE HOW SWEET YOU THINK SOME ANCIENT RABBI WAS. I mean, the music was great, to be honest. And if I was in the mood for it, I probably really would have enjoyed it. But I wasn't, and I couldn't be bothered trying. Don't tell the Pinchas'!
Bed now.
Originally I thought I'd have a lift in, but ended up having to take the bus in cause it all fell through. 'Fortunately' I have a lift home though, so I didn't have to rush back to Beersheva to catch the 10pm bus to Metar (that would have required me to leave Jerusalem around 7:30ish to ensure I made it). The inverted commas are because I'm writing this in a friend's place (I'll explain later) as I wait for the lift, which is only coming at 12:30am.
Note - I'm continuing this on what is 'tomorrow night' now, cause I started panicking my lift wouldn't find the place and so went to wait outside in the not-actually-that-cold night. So, to continue:
I ended up getting into Jerusalem around 10ish, and hung around the station to meet Noach enjoying coffee and a doughnut (the entire country goes doughnut-crazy at this time of year) and then having to run for another bus as we headed off to a protest (against the Health Ministry over unfair tests apparently aimed at shutting down the faculty) which, despite all my fears, ended up being quite a lot of fun. People were shouting things in Hebrew and waving signs and while I occasionally joined in trying to copy the slogans, more often I was just yelling stuff like 'I agree!' and 'I don't know what you're saying, but I'm sure you've got a good point!' and 'The cake is a lie!', the latter which was taken up by several members of the crowd.
We then messed around the bus station and had lunch while waiting to hear from Noach's girlfriend, who's studying in an art school called Betzalel. So we caught a bus to meet her which wandered through both East and West Jerusalem for a good hour or so. At one point we passed another bus, and our driver handed his newspaper through the window to a passenger to be given to the other driver. It was a bit of a o_O moment. We eventually got to Mount Scopus, then got lost looking for Betzalel, but found a very nice view of Jordan on the way. We then looked at a student modern art exhibit before wandering into Dalit's (Noach's girlfriend) class. *sigh* Fine Arts students. I don't mind them borrowing books, but the class contained an awful lot of ego stroking. (My parents are reading this, so I'm being polite ;-) ) There was one guy who was very 'artier-than-thou' (he was wearing one of those fedora-like hats, started leafing through someone's sketchbook without asking permission, and although he criticised everyone's art, one in particular was singled out as being 'too generic') despite the fact that personally, his piece looked more scatological than sepia toned.
Okay, enough with the ranting about the attempt to impose objective value on something which is so clearly subjective.
After the class, we wandered off to the Old City and the Western Wall, which was wonderful as usual. Except for the bit where my mobile went off with its jaunty ring-tone (honestly, who's going to call me?!) when I was half-way through the evening prayers and another woman was crying next to me...I still feel guilty.
Then we went to get some dinner and ran into Tamar and Sarah Wilner (friends of ours from Perth: we got Perthed in Jerusalem - although to be honest, that's probably easiest of all Israeli cities) and after I walked Noach most of the way back to the bus station, I rejoined them to wait out my lift. We watched some guys who'd set up speakers and were doing street dancing on a chessboard inlaid into the road, which was pretty cool, especially since one of them looked like a yeshiva-boy! I'll put some photos up on facebook. And then it basically picks up back at the top!
Addendum on today's activities: Newsflash! Clinic in a foreign language is even more boring than rounds, cause at least on rounds you're walking and you can doodle and pretend you're writing stuff down. Although we did have a soldier come in at one point with a possible UMN lesion or a brachial plexus injury (difficult exam, conflicting signs) and I was once again reminded of the difference between Australia and Israel as when we were running late, patients crowded in after the last had left, each insisting they were to be seen next. (I didn't mention that when I was in the ED, patients' families would treat the ONLY ONE ACCOMPANYING PERSON PER PATIENT as more a joke than even a suggestion and as the ED became more crowded they'd come up to the flight deck to insist their family member/friend be seen next or to find out what was happening (in case there was something new in the last five minutes since they last asked) or just to glare at the doctors and medical students). Oh, and I successfully took blood (I hope, the vein dried up on the last few tubes and I really had to work for it - I'm not certain there was enough for the TSH and the bloody Russian doctor wouldn't tell me) from a patient, despite my ~4 hours of sleep. Maybe I'm getting ready for internship?
I had thought about walking down to a mall or the old city of Beersheva (which I've since found out apparently consists of ~2 old buildings and the rest is new) but a dust-storm blew up as I was leaving (the air is still thick and visibility's right down) so I just went home. In the evening I went to a concert of an Israeli singer with the Pinchas family who live down the road. It was a huge mistake because I was exhausted and had wanted to be going to bed an hour after it started, I didn't know the music and couldn't understand the words or what she was muttering between songs (when she stopped at all, over the whole 2 hours) and I WAS EXHAUSTED. I dozed fitfully for most of the first 40 minutes of the concert, was holding out for the end after the first hour and spent the encores mentally wishing death (or at least maiming) on her for each word of her waffling story. I DON'T CARE HOW SWEET YOU THINK SOME ANCIENT RABBI WAS. I mean, the music was great, to be honest. And if I was in the mood for it, I probably really would have enjoyed it. But I wasn't, and I couldn't be bothered trying. Don't tell the Pinchas'!
Bed now.