KHI Days 2 and 3

Two Great Days,

We’ve had water since Monday and with plenty of pressure. This is Ike’s last week with us. Saturday he’s on his way back to St. Louis. His replacement is supposed to arrive tomorrow and we’ll add an Australian accent to the mix. I used to make cracks about Ike eating fish each evening but I think he’s on to something. I can get a Kilo of fresh fish fillets @ the market for $3600 FRw. There’s nothing to clean and there is no waste. Plus, , I get at least 4 meals from that amount , , , and it’s not tough!

The ride situation has been a bit sketchy. It’s not consistent or dependable. I know I’ll eventually get picked up, but the exact time is a guess. So if I’m on a schedule (like teaching class) where I’m expected to be there at a specific time, it ads a lot of stress. Tuesday I’d made arrangements to be picked up @ 7:20 so when there was no driver @ 7:20 I walked down the street and took the moto. It’s awfully hard to insist that students be on time if I’m not. On the way home, it's not such a big deal to be a bit vague on the pickup time.

The students were on time and back on time today after each break and stayed for the entire day. The classes go quite a bit slower than they would back home because of the language. But we managed to have some fun and cover most of what I’d intended. I switched gears a bit. These students are not expected to pass board exams and most of them will be performing Radiographic examinations, not ultrasounds. So I slowed down with a lot of the detail that is necessary for registry and added more pictures and more interactive questions with the audience response system. Today we talked about attenuation and decibels. I don’t know why but what normally takes over an hour too explain with comprehension only took about 20 minutes. They definitely have an advantage when converting from various units of the metric system (which is always a challenge for my American students)

I've enjoyed the 10:00 - 10:30 tea break each day this week. This also runs on it's own time schedule though. I've released my students for break @ 10:00 and then walked to the tea tent and they are just barely ready. I noticed something today that may be very telling. I've yet to find a clock on the wall, either in a classroom or in an office. This week the look of the faculty canteen has gotten upgraded. Yesterday there were lit candles on many of the table, the food area was decorated quite sharply with cloth and fresh cuttings of branches with leaves. There was a man who I'd not seen before who was dressed in black and white with a vest who appeared to be in charge of keeping it looking good. It felt more like a nice restaurant than a cafeteria.

I felt like I needed to do something to connect with the students better, so today I took my autoharp to class. I was casual about bringing it in and I don’t think any of them saw what it was. During the first break I quietly got it out and started playing. It worked. I’ve made found some fellow musicians and music lovers in the students. I’m trying to learn they’re names and I’m starting to see some of their personalities coming through as they get more used to me and start to understand my accent.

I've gotten e-mails from most of my Coosa Valley students this week. They each expressed their desire for my return which makes me feel guilty for leaving them. Most of them talked about how wonderful their clinical experience has been but a couple are struggling and I'm too far away to effectively help them. The blend between student needs/expectations and clinical site needs/expectations is a delicate balance. Sometimes the issues need thorough exploring from many perspectives before a conclusion is reached as to whether a student is in the right clinical setting. Many times the student is best helped by being encouraged to "hang in there" but you can't tell about the nuances of the situation from the other side of the world. I mentioned my American students to Ezekiel today and said that they were anxious to have me back. He was quick to tell me that he and his classmates are my students as well and that they also need a teacher. I'm torn again because he's right. But I know before I've really begun that this will end.

Tomorrow is my last day with the students lecturing. I've been asked to create and administer a test for them, covering the materials we've reviewed. The class captains come to me and ask If I'll give them a copy each of the notes. They'll then dsitribute to the class members.

I mentioned that Benard had had his clothes stolen off the line during the night. They’ve been returned!! Wet, but he got them back. The night guard had taken them for some unknown reason and then had held on to them for a day and a half. There is a language barrier so neither Patrick nor Benard have been able to figure out why the boy took them, what he did with them during the brief hostage situation or what prompted the return. They report that there’s been some other shady actions on his part so he was they’re prime suspect from the beginning. However the explanation works out, he’s glad to have them back!