I have now been here just over a week and have spent 7 out of 9 days at work - working 5 days in 7 which I am finding exhausting!! Getting up at 6.45 am on my days on - roll on retirement again! Still haven't fully understood my role here and guess I probably never will, but am more confident to help out the nurses - a bit - although its probably turning out that they're taking longer to do things with me around! They are very patient! Spend a fair amount of time just 'playing with the children' as that is what you do, it seems. I'm getting to know them a bit better and they are very rewarding. A giggle, smile, reaching out to you is a great moment in time. I was with one blind boy today who had giggled with me for the first time, when another came over and planted a kiss on my nose and patted me - makes you feel life is good! One of the children has been adopted and will be leaving us very soon; she is a live wire and a very determined person and we will miss her. Most of her problems have been sorted out, she just needs regular blood tranfusions at the moment. Another 2 have adoptions going through - all families from the USA. It seems overseas couples can adopt only if there is 'something wrong' with a child, otherwise it has to be adopted within China.
We had a new baby in this week and, because I am the newest person there, I was given the task of giving him his English name (they have an English and a Chinese name and a nick-name) - he's called Luke. He's pretty sick but I'm willing him to be OK. We have no idea what is wrong with him apart from obvious prematurity and he's all bone with lots of skin hanging in folds and 2 months old.
Away from Butterfly, I am looking around Changsha. I walk home (45 mins) unless its raining (and it does this a great deal, but I have only taken the bus once, so far) and try different routes. Changsha is The Most Unprepossessing Place. I can't think of any reason to come here. Just dirty high-rise and low buildings, busy streets, people who look boring. Ordinary trees in some places and a few shrubs here and there. No interesting buildings. Just a general feeling of grubbiness, drearyness. However... someone I met the other day took me out on my day off on Monday and we went to an area where they are trying to encourage tourists!!! (why would anyone think of coming here!!) and they have made a street or two into, what felt to me, like a mini Soho - so some shops with interesting things in, clean houses and streets, and that felt so much better. Then a short walk to the river, which is wide and has a long island in the middle. On Saturdays they have a fireworks display so I am planning to go this Saturday. And Ruth (who took me out) told me of some nice parks I can get to by bus so all is not lost!
Back at the flat, I have turned my room around and scrubbed out the bathroom. The flat is VERY damp but Suisi (who works at Butterfly) told me today that, on 1st May, it stops raining, the sun comes out and we can dry the flat out. I am determined to believe her! We have someone new arriving in the flat next Monday - she is staying for a month. A nurse from Ireland. Although there's not much to do at Butterfly for volunteers at the moment, they are hoping to move back into their proper 'home',which has been 'renovated', in about 10 days time so there will be loads to do then. I'm told I shall be in charge of sorting all the drugs into some kind of order - at the moment they are in plastic baskets and boxes and cupboards - so that should keep me quiet for a while! And Lyn (Big Boss) anticipates that we shall get another 8 or 10 babies when we have sorted ourselves out a bit and have the space - at the moment we are cramped into about a third of what we will have soon. So that will keep us all on our toes. The two nurses I share the flat with are great, they have picked up the kind of care that has been practised at Butterfly and really helpful, but it is just them and Lyn at the moment who are regular nursing staff and with 10 new babies we will have to get up to speed to help them out.
What else about China in general... I continue to dodge around cars and scooters and will have to get out of the habit when I get home! Traders and stalls selling just anything are everywhere - in the streets, in the subways, sometimes on the pavements, they sell pineapples which they skin and take the 'knots' out so they look as if they are spiralled, sugar cane in bits, in the supermarkets there are live frogs and turtles - but I still think a proper French market will be a treat again. I've bought a few creature comforts extremely cheap but am told they won't last long (hairdryer, iron & bedside light for less than GBP 10) but as long as they last 2 months that's great! And a few cheap clothes, although not as cheap as I would have thought - almost equivalent to supermarkets back home and probably not as good. When I went out on Monday we went to what Ruth called Oxford Street, and they did have loads of brand named shops there, and the things there were really not cheap. And there is MacDonalds and KFC just everywhere. I have been out for lunch a few times from work and fried rice with veg (big portion) is 60p. so why go to MacD or KFC?!
Food - Chinese don't go for dairy products so no cheese, butter, spreads, decent milk. Also no cereals, pasta on the whole but... there are a few supermarkets which do 'foreign foods' and I have now found cheese, butter, milk, muesli and pasta - but at a price. Even some bacon. But you do have to grab it when you can. We heard at work that someone had found cream cheese the day before, but it had gone by the next day. And only Liptons tea - that and the funny milk, I shall so enjoy a cup of Tetleys when I get home!
You are now up to date! Next Sunday and Wednesday I have days off and I am going to try and sort photos out - see if I can get them 'blogged' to you. If anyone has Skype we can get it here, so let me know. Otherwise I can now get regular emails until 2nd June.
With love to you all and thanks so much for reading my blog.
We had a new baby in this week and, because I am the newest person there, I was given the task of giving him his English name (they have an English and a Chinese name and a nick-name) - he's called Luke. He's pretty sick but I'm willing him to be OK. We have no idea what is wrong with him apart from obvious prematurity and he's all bone with lots of skin hanging in folds and 2 months old.
Away from Butterfly, I am looking around Changsha. I walk home (45 mins) unless its raining (and it does this a great deal, but I have only taken the bus once, so far) and try different routes. Changsha is The Most Unprepossessing Place. I can't think of any reason to come here. Just dirty high-rise and low buildings, busy streets, people who look boring. Ordinary trees in some places and a few shrubs here and there. No interesting buildings. Just a general feeling of grubbiness, drearyness. However... someone I met the other day took me out on my day off on Monday and we went to an area where they are trying to encourage tourists!!! (why would anyone think of coming here!!) and they have made a street or two into, what felt to me, like a mini Soho - so some shops with interesting things in, clean houses and streets, and that felt so much better. Then a short walk to the river, which is wide and has a long island in the middle. On Saturdays they have a fireworks display so I am planning to go this Saturday. And Ruth (who took me out) told me of some nice parks I can get to by bus so all is not lost!
Back at the flat, I have turned my room around and scrubbed out the bathroom. The flat is VERY damp but Suisi (who works at Butterfly) told me today that, on 1st May, it stops raining, the sun comes out and we can dry the flat out. I am determined to believe her! We have someone new arriving in the flat next Monday - she is staying for a month. A nurse from Ireland. Although there's not much to do at Butterfly for volunteers at the moment, they are hoping to move back into their proper 'home',which has been 'renovated', in about 10 days time so there will be loads to do then. I'm told I shall be in charge of sorting all the drugs into some kind of order - at the moment they are in plastic baskets and boxes and cupboards - so that should keep me quiet for a while! And Lyn (Big Boss) anticipates that we shall get another 8 or 10 babies when we have sorted ourselves out a bit and have the space - at the moment we are cramped into about a third of what we will have soon. So that will keep us all on our toes. The two nurses I share the flat with are great, they have picked up the kind of care that has been practised at Butterfly and really helpful, but it is just them and Lyn at the moment who are regular nursing staff and with 10 new babies we will have to get up to speed to help them out.
What else about China in general... I continue to dodge around cars and scooters and will have to get out of the habit when I get home! Traders and stalls selling just anything are everywhere - in the streets, in the subways, sometimes on the pavements, they sell pineapples which they skin and take the 'knots' out so they look as if they are spiralled, sugar cane in bits, in the supermarkets there are live frogs and turtles - but I still think a proper French market will be a treat again. I've bought a few creature comforts extremely cheap but am told they won't last long (hairdryer, iron & bedside light for less than GBP 10) but as long as they last 2 months that's great! And a few cheap clothes, although not as cheap as I would have thought - almost equivalent to supermarkets back home and probably not as good. When I went out on Monday we went to what Ruth called Oxford Street, and they did have loads of brand named shops there, and the things there were really not cheap. And there is MacDonalds and KFC just everywhere. I have been out for lunch a few times from work and fried rice with veg (big portion) is 60p. so why go to MacD or KFC?!
Food - Chinese don't go for dairy products so no cheese, butter, spreads, decent milk. Also no cereals, pasta on the whole but... there are a few supermarkets which do 'foreign foods' and I have now found cheese, butter, milk, muesli and pasta - but at a price. Even some bacon. But you do have to grab it when you can. We heard at work that someone had found cream cheese the day before, but it had gone by the next day. And only Liptons tea - that and the funny milk, I shall so enjoy a cup of Tetleys when I get home!
You are now up to date! Next Sunday and Wednesday I have days off and I am going to try and sort photos out - see if I can get them 'blogged' to you. If anyone has Skype we can get it here, so let me know. Otherwise I can now get regular emails until 2nd June.
With love to you all and thanks so much for reading my blog.
Just catching up myself on my blog which has been neglected for a while so it was great to see 2 blogs from you waiting form me. I still have the other waiting to read, I will do that in a moment. Anyway. we have a skype phone which I will get Peter to re install ... with any luck it will work. I am now going to read your other posting... sounds a different world completely out there....nothing but doom and gloom over here... more goings on in Parliament.... and a double dip in the recession is not funny now... I am noticing less work (not surprised at that) but food is rising and rising and sales everywhere.... not really sales anymore just trying to kid us we don't really know the price things should be....so put off buying anything until I have done my research....what a drag...but it seems to be the only way. Right off to read the next blog
ReplyDelete