9⽉14⽇ - 14/09/07; しごと – Work

Aaaah, Friday evening! No work for three days (Monday is a national holiday, remember). Man, I don't think I have appreciated the weekend as much as this. The first week of work at the Nagasaki Red Cross Genbaku Hospital was really tough. The tasks that I had to perform were not all that challenging but it was still nine hours at work each day however you look at it. I started work at 08:30, had lunch 12:00-13:00, then finished at 17:10 and had my dinner in the hospital cafeteria. May and I have been given a weekly timetable which is as follows:

Monday
AM – Medical Matters Section
PM – Nursing Department

Tuesday
AM – Test Department
PM – Nursing Department

Wednesday
AM – Nursing Department
PM – Free (Japanese Language Class)

Thursday
AM – Nursing Department
PM – Pharmacy

Friday
AM – Nursing Department
PM – 1:00 – Radiology
3:00 – Medical Office

I should probably explain what everything is: Medical Matters is the reception and records department; Nursing Department is the nurses stations on all of the wards; the Test Department is the lab; and the Medical Office is the staff break room, on-call rooms, doctor's offices and so on. For everything but the 'Nursing Department' May and I are together. It's good when we are separate because it gives me more of an opportunity to practice my Japanese. When I'm with her I just let her do all the talking and translating because she's two thirds of the way to fluency whereas I am miles off that target yet. However, the work can be very boring on the wards– making beds, folding towels and bandages etc. - so it's much more pleasant for both of us when we are together because we can chat. The 'Test Department' and the Pharmacy are my favourites, if the first week is anything to go by. The staff gave us coffee and cookies in each of these departments, so that immediately put them in my good books.



Here's what the hospital looks like as I approach it in the morning. This is actually the back, but I have no reason to go round to the front because the staff entrance is on the near side of the building as you see it there. It's about a 10 minute walk from my apartment which you would think would make the walk home after a long day at work nice and easy, but....



Yeah, I have to tackle this monster of an ascent if I want to get home (that yellow building top/centre is mine). Swings and roundabouts, eh?



The hospital provides both lunch and dinner, which is awesome. It has certainly given me the opportunity to try a lot of authentic Japanese food. So I just have to find my own food on weekends and for breakfast, for which I'm having cereal every day as I did in England. The only downside of the hospital providing so much of our food is that May and I get the same meals as the patients, which are of course designed for people who are spending a large proportion of their day in bed so they're low-cal, low-fat, low-sugar. Very yummy, just not quite enough for two growing girls. To make up for this, I treat myself to a snack from the convenience store in the evenings. I usually end up choosing something that comprises more then 75% sugar! This was tonight's snack:



These were actually quite a lot like Chocolate Squares, as in the cereal, but with a softer outer shell. They were really good with a glass of milk on the go at the same time too. Oh, and no, I don't know what the stalk-like bird with trainers on is about.

I think overall my current diet is very healthy, even taking into account my evening indulgences. At least that is what I am telling myself, lol. Hey, if I put on weight because I eat too many Chocolate Pillows then so be it. If you're going to gain weight because you're eating too much of one thing it may as well be something will a ridiculous name, right?