A Well Deserved Lull ...

So this week has actually been fairly uneventful compared to the rest of our trip! Kate and I have been doing a lot of reflecting and its funny how time passes.. looking back it seems like we have hardly just arrived, yet we are 2/3 of the way done! Crazy! And we accomplish so much each day that usually I look back on a week and can only blog about the true highlights and even then my posts are nearly novels! This week has been no different really; just as busy as usual, but a bit less chaotic maybe?

We spent the first part of the week getting everything from our car accident sorted out. Long story short; we are incredibly lucky no one was hurt and we have to pay the damages. Our concept of how lucky we were was even further confirmed because there was another accident involving tourists on a scooter and one of them died and the other was in critical condition. So we were reminded over and over, that money can be replaced.. friends can’t. And I think it also shows a bit of Troy’s character that as we were on the way to deal with all the details of our accident, a random stranger approached us on the street and asked if any of us were A+ (blood type) because the survivor of the other accident was in critical condition and needed a blood transfusion but without a blood bank here, they needed immediate donors. Kate & I didn’t know our blood type off hand, but Troy knew he was A+ so he immediately (well after we assured him we could deal with the car stuff without him) jumped in a cab to head to the hospital and donate blood. (When he arrived, they told he they had already received enough donors and didn’t need him.. and they shortly med-a-vac’d her to the mainland anyway. But it’s the thought that counts right?)

Troy left to return to PEI on Wednesday and we tried our best to not let a car accident ruin the rest of the vacation… does put a damper on things, but we made the best of it. Troy seemed to have a blast helping out at the clinic and we really enjoyed having his help! Its good to get a new perspective every once and a while to keep things efficient and fresh. Simple things like fixing the paper towel dispenser that we have long since given up on.. he managed to figure it out for us! And he came to tutoring with us a few times and worked with Oscar, one of our regular kids. Oscar took a real liking to Troy and he brought a chunk of cake to share with everyone on Troy’s last tutoring day! :) Overall, he made quite an impression and certainly livened things up around here!

Kate and I now have a bit of lull because for the first time since we arrived we don’t have roommates or guests visiting us. It’s a bit bittersweet. I really enjoy roommates and guests, but this week at least, its been nice to just rest and relax after coming home from clinic. I’m working to catch up on my sleep and I’ve taken to power napping in the afternoons! :)  Not that anyone really said I couldn’t nap before, it just seemed rude and I didn’t want to miss out on anything.. but now, I can nap as I please!

Friday was a big day because it was the local Science Fair! Our tutoring kids have been working on their projects since we arrived.. so months of preparation and helping them with their experiments and project boards, has all come down to this one day! We took turns leaving clinic for an hour to run over to the school to see the projects and I was so impressed!! I felt like a little mother hen, going around to all ‘our kids’ projects and seeing how well they had done! And they were all dressed in their finest clothes and looking so professional!! I was bursting at the seams I was so excited and proud of them!!

This weekend has just been resting and re-charging as always. A big storm blew in on Saturday night and our 3^rd floor apartment is basically a wind tunnel! Nothing will stay on the counters or  anything because the wind just blows everything around. I tried to pick things up and put them back originally.. but I’ve since just resigned myself to wait until its over and clean it up then! It was so windy this morning that Kate and I couldn’t hear each other talk! And the internet has been down too which is annoying. And we’ve not yet seen the waves so angry, pounding the reef with huge white spray!  This is the kind of weather that reminds me of beaches at home with surf and wind/breeze… both of which are very rare on this island.

And last but not least, we have a baby overnight in the clinic, so I’m working my first overnight shift down here. I volunteered to do the overnight because I have done many nights home on Unit 1 and figured I was up for the challenge of staying up (although I’m used to it being busy and hardly having time to be tired.. ). This was a pretty easy shift though, two patients: a mom and 1 day old newborn. They have the newborn on antibiotics and we are watching her as preventative measures because the birth happened so quickly that she didn’t make it to the clinic but was born at home instead (apparently as the cab driver arrived!). The mom is a natural and therefore I’m not really doing much; just providing support; giving a few medications and checking vitals routinely. But a fun experience either way! :)