All God's Children....

My brother, Mark, had told me before I left that the Filipino were the slave class in Saudi Arabia.  I didn't take that very seriously until I have seen it for myself here.

First, just after I arrived here, my friend, Moni, and I had gone to the IKEA store to pick up a few "creature comforts" to feather our new nests.  While we sat out front waiting for our driver we saw a Saudi man being helped by a Filipino store worker.  Now this Saudi had purchased a lot of things and they were big things like bookcases and such.  After the worker had spent quite a lot of time lifting all of those heavy boxes into the back of the fancy SUV, arranging and re-arranging, the Saudi man just drove off.  He never acknowledged the worker,looked at him,  offered a tip or even thanked him.  The working man just stood there looking so .....I don't know...dejected.  It was very sad.  If Moni and I could have figured out a way to give him a tip we would have.  I don't remember ever seeing that before.

At the hospital there are many Filipino sitters with the patients.  The families hire them to be company and care for the "loved" one.  I was caring for a patient the past two days who had such a sitter, named Esther.  I asked Esther how often she went home and what kinds of things she did her on her days off.  She shared with me that she doesn't get days off even if she is ill and hasn't been home in four years.  She told me she was a widow and had four children back home she was trying to support.  She had not seen them for four years.  She started to cry at that point.  She is exhausted.  She stays with this woman who has been in the hospital more than a year.  Other than for food and hygiene purposes Esther never leaves her.  She is terrified of being fired.

At work you hear the Saudi female physicians talk about their nanny and maid problems.  One doctor admitted to locking her nanny in the house and demanding she carry a cell phone that she must answer by the second ring.  The nanny escaped through a window and hasn't been seen since.  I hope they never catch her because the punishment will be terrible! There are stories about physical and sexual abuse toward these woman.

OK I realize America has had it's share of these kinds of crimes but I didn't grow up during that era and had never witnessed it.  I can say I have never seen a more dejected, hopeless, whipped people in my life and it is heart wrenching.

Christine xx

Queen of Za Dezert!

I know it has been a whie since I blogged.  I think the 7th of January was the last time but nothing new or interesting has been going on.  I have found my routine and have settled in it.

The exciting new news is: I AM GOING TO EGYPT FOR 16 DAYS IN MARCH!  When I was in the 8th grade I wrote a paper on Egyptology and have always had an interest in ancient cultures and mythology.Who knew I would lay my own eyes on the Pyramids, Sphynx, the library in Alexandria, St. Catherine's Monastery and climb Moses mountain (the one where he got the 10 Commandments.  We do it in the middle of the night and watch the sun come up). WOW!  We are celebrating my (and Shelly's, a friend from Australia) birthday in Sharm El-Sheik.  I have the leave, I have the travel package and finished booking my flight from Riyadh to Cairo and back so it's definitely going to happen now! WOOHOO!  Cruise down the Nile, felucca boat excursions, a camel ride in the desert, light show at the Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings (and Queens)...

Work is good.  I have applied for my Saudi nursing license pending receiving my employment verification from CCMH. I have to have it to work more than one year here.  My boss seems to like me OK and I get along well with the doctors and residents.  My co-workers have become like family and we look forward to working together.  Everyone tells me the hospital is based on the American system but I can tell you it is the American system 20-25 years ago.  We are just now moving in to computerized charting and will institute the bar code method of giving medications in the next year or so.  I am on the safety committee for Critical Care. Some people still struggle but when I talk to them the struggle is about the culture in which we work.  I don't struggle.  I quickly learned to accept things the way they are and gently nudge and hint at another, possibly better way.  One of the things I pointed out to my head nurse is that while the hospital is run on a Western system of some kind we run into problems when we forget to accommodate the population and culture that we serve.  I completely believe in the body, mind, spirit connection to promote healing.  When we tell people that their customs have no use in the hospital we are taking away from them an important part of the healing process.  I think I see another committee membership in my future.

Anyway things are going well and I am still enjoying it here. Looking forward to a little belly dancing in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheik!

Christine xx

Warm? Cool? Cold?

When you have so many people coming in from different parts of the world you get to see many different perspectives on the weather.  It is in the 70's here.  I feel just right coolish, no need for a jacket or sweater...very comfortable.  The northern Europeans are out in their bikini's, shorts and tank tops.  The South Afrikans and Saudi's are in heavy weight jackets, knit caps and heavy sweaters.  It is quite the conglomeration of fashion statements I'm telling you!

Not much to report this week.  We did go to the top of the Kingdom Tower at night.  As soon as I can find out what the computer did with my pictures I will show you Riyadh at night!

Having some friends over for dinner tonight.   I found an Arabic Monopoly game! :)

Christine xx

Happy New Year!!

I've been really busy mostly with working.  Sometimes I have to admit I struggle a bit with some of the cultural aspects of living here.  There are differences in medical practice (and nursing) that are sometimes very frustrating for me.  STAT at home means STAT!  Here it means we will get to it sometime today which is a real pain if you have a very sick patient.  No amount of pleading will get it to you any sooner.  I can advocate for my patient all I want but when I talk to the doctor and he is unwilling to advocate with me then it will not be done anytime sooner.  I have learned that if they end the conversation with inshalla (which means god willing) there isn't any hope for it to be done in a timely fashion.  An unusual thing that I have been counseled about is not taking breaks!!  I have never had so many breaks ever!!  We are supposed to take half hour in the morning, an hour for lunch, and another half hour in the afternoon.  If I have a sick patient I am not leaving him!  This has caused some to remark that if I don't take MY breaks then THEY will LOSE getting breaks .  IMHO I feel the nurse taking care of a critical patient should stay at the bedside and communicate with the doctor.  Who knows better than the one who has cared for the patient since the beginning?  Also I don't want to be lost on what happened while I was gone!  Now mind you...there are not that many real ICU patients in that unit but I get one and I want to stay with him!  I will just have to remember why I came here and do the best I can.

The weather here is beautiful!!  I love snow and I am sorry I am missing the blizzard in Oklahoma.  In the summer here everything burns up like at home so in the fall they plant all kinds of flowers and shrubs.  It is funny to me to see petunias and cannas blooming this time of year!  I think I am going to have a quiet day today and read a book and watch TV.

Take care!

Christine xx