The 1AM ER Visit: Or How I Witnessed Another Lesson in Privilege

I had my first free and reduced clinic experience, and it was... an experience. 

The experience starts with me sitting in my room when my flatmate bursts through the door with a deranged look in her eyes and breathing heavily.  She told me she couldn't breathe; she thought she was having an allergic reaction to the medicine she was taking.  (She has been sick the last few days, so she went to a pharmacist and got some drugs to make her feel better.)  I told her to sit down with her hands over hear head and concentrate on breathing, while I grabbed us some jerseys and some water and prepared for a trip to the ER.  We got out to the street and found a cab, and we were off. 

When we arrived at the "ER", the first thing I noticed was the smell.  Inside held that fantastic smell of stale cigarette smoke.  There were people standing outside (of course), and that smelled like fresh smoke.  But inside the ER smelled  worse than the Tobacco Bowl... and staler. 

Checking in was no problem, and neither was waiting to get in to "triage".  (I put triage in quotes because the room we were in ((which was labeled triage)) was like an elementary nurse's office.)  We had to wait less than 10 minutes.  There were people in wheel chairs and a man covered in sweat going to the bathroom every 5 minutes, but my friend only had to wait about 5 minutes to get in.  There could be two reasons, and you can pick your favorite: 1. The gringa recieves special treatment.  They don't want gringas dying on their watch.  2. My friends descriptions of her symptoms of feeling like she was dying were taken seriously, and they really thought she was dying. 

Once in "triage" my friend sat in a chair and talked to the doctor (who spoke fantastic English).  We learned that the drugs she took were nothing more than generic Tylenol spiked with caffeine.  I was not able to go any further with my friend on her adventure through the hospital (where she would learn nothing was wrong, making the whole situation rather humorous), so I went back to the waiting room. 

When we were leaving I grabbed my iPod, assuming the wait would be hours long and require more paperwork than I was willing to think about.  (See my previous entry, Por Favor, Espere for more details about waiting.)  I have been having this issue lately of not knowing what to listen to, but I settled on some (crappy) random Kanye/Ludacris mix I made.  As I bobbed my head, I started looking around at the people that were also waiting. 

There was a family sitting in front of me.  The father went to the bathroom a few times between our arrival and our departure.  I could see the beads of sweat around his temples, and his wife had a wet cloth for holding against his forehead, neck, chest, and inner elbow.  He did not look like he was having fun, and his kids looked like they should be in bed resting for school in the morning.

A nice young man, who I would guess is about my age, was hanging out in a wheel chair behind me.  He never appeared to be in much pain, and I am not entirely sure why he was there.  I think he had something going on with his leg.  I was trying not to stare at anyone, so I could only check it out from the corner of my eye.  He asked me to hand him a bottle of soda sitting on a chair half way into the row and smiled nicely.  He couldn't have been in much pain, but still, he was there before us and he was in a wheel chair.

 The final person I noticed and observed was a (I assume) homeless man that usually hangs out between my metro stop and the next one down.  He has poofy hair, wears a suit, and has a backpack and briefcase-like bag.  You may or may not know who I am talking about.  He was "doing paperwork" while he waited.  I have absolutely no guesses as to why he was there.

As I checked out the happenings of the Salvador ER waiting room, listening to my Luda-ye (or would it be Kan-acris?) mix, I thought about how crazy lucky some of us are that that is not our everyday reality.  Although that is where I would end up if anything happened to me here, I know I have access to much better care than that if I need to. 


Currently listening to: The crowd of gringos outside in my park playing guitar and loudly singing Cee Lo Green songs.

Putzy Cat

First of all, I miss Kitty.  However, I am sure he has long forgotten about me since he only loved me because he had Stockholm Syndrome.  :(  There was a kitty on the metro the other day, and it reminded me of Kitty.  (Critters ride for free on the metro, don't ya know?) 

Neither of these are Kitty, but they look a lot like him

Putzy Cat is the name of a pet shop I walk by on my way to and from one of my classes.  I 1. Love the name, and 2. Love looking in the window at the pets and pet accessories.  Not to mention the fact that it is really fun to say "putzy cat"- it will put a smile on your face. 

Today as I walked by Putzy Cat, I thought it would be really nice to be a putzy cat in this city.  I would have soft pads on the bottom of my feet instead of having callouses and blisters.  Plus, it wouldn't matter that all of my shoes literally have holes in them (and the fact that I can't afford a new pair) because I wouldn't have to wear shoes.  Today I walked holes into yet another pair of shoes.  So now, no pair is safe.  I also walked my heals into a lot of pain; the skin feels like it is being burnt off.  I don't think I would have these problems if I was a putzy cat. 

Peace

I am currently listening to Kanye West.  Fuck you Kanye.  You just make such catchy tunes, I can't help but listen sometimes.  Especially when you let me download them for free, legally!

Nerding Out

I have been nerding out like whoa the last few days.  Well, it probably started about a month or so ago, but it has gotten intense the past week or so.

First of all, I have really been wanting to watch the original Star Wars trilogy. I have been wanting to since shortly after I got here.  (I am guessing it was because I was playing LEGO Star Wars, but now my charger won't work, so I can't play and I am having Star Wars withdrawal.)  It really didn't help that I woke up the other day, looked out my window, and felt like Luke Skywalker when he crashes in that bog after that Hoth battle.  It was all foggy/smoggy out, and I couldn't even see Cerro San Cristóbal from my window.

View of Cristóbal or Dragonsnake Bog on Dogabah?

Another way I have totally been nerding out is my excitement for Africa.  It's not just that I am excited to visit Africa, but the fact that I will be unbelievably disappointed if I don't end up getting to see some hominid fossils.  I have been looking up tours, how much they cost, and how I will be able to get there.  The fact that I might get to go to the Cradle of Humankind and see where Mrs. Ples was excavated gets me all sorts of excited and giddy.  I just wish I had my Human Origins book with me so I could do some reviewing. 

One thing I do have with me for reviewing are the readings from my Spanish American literature class.  I got on ICON yesterday, and I started re-reading some of the stories.  I felt kinda nerdy for going back and re-reading things from school, but at the same time, I really kind of liked some of those stories.  Besides, I had to remind myself what the word for bat was.  (It's murciélagos, in case you were wondering.)  I still think my favorite story from that class was Monterroso's El dinosaurio.  (It used to be considered the shortest short story, but now that title goes to El inmigrante by Luis Filipe Lomelí.  I quite enjoy this microcuento as well.)  

I also miss debate sometimes.  I do enjoy reading Melanie's status updates that let know her kids records and about her aff voting streak.  I was kind of hoping it was going to last all season, but I knew it wouldn't.  It is really weird for me to not be surrounded by debate right now, and I feel really left out of it all.  I don't even know what the LD topic is right now. 

Peace and Love

Current Tunes:  Kanye West (Fuck you, Kanye. Why do you have to have such catchy beats and "fuckin' ridiculous" ((He has this series of free downloads, and the most recent, called "So Appalled" just keeps repeating how everything is ridiculous.)) rhymes?)