Alone…

Today marked the day that Trace was leaving to go back home, so it meant that until Jesse comes back on Sunday we would be all alone. This was actually welcomed by us. We were exhausted from just having to go, go, go since we left. It would be a nice break from long dinners. As much as we all like Trace and Jesse around, sometimes a little peace and quiet is necessary. So, we now had it.

The van seemed eerily empty with only 3 of us in it. The driver was blasting Chinese talk radio. Talk radio is horrid in English, and much worse when you can’t understand the language. So, we all piled as far back as possible to get away from it. Dave and Paula caught up on some emails, and I whipped out the mp3 player for some long overdue dose of catchy American pop music. You all know what that means concerning me! I did also get some Metallica in though, kinda balance it out!

We had also reviewed the agenda for the day, and thought there not enough things to do and too much time to do them in. It was train the trainer day. They would take all their information we had just taught them over the last 4 days and teach each other specific algorithms, treatments and skills. This would not take all day. We guessed half the day. So Dave grabbed an interpreter and marched into Dr. Ho’s office. Ok, he didn’t really march, but you get the point. Dave is without question our leader. They wanted a manager type person to be here, and they picked a good one. He just takes care of anything and everything, and quite efficiently too, I might add. So, in he marched with the hopes of them agreeing to our proposal of having today be a half day. About 10 minutes later, he emerged and his face told a tale. It was not a good face. Uh-oh.  He said that he hoped we weren’t going to be too disappointed….. long pause…. Because we had the afternoon off! Well played, Dave! He also said that day 5 and day 10 for both classes would be half days. Victory! Let’s just call Dave the General. Have a battle? Call the General! Although, Paula and I aren’t quite soldiers. More like…. Lieutenants? I hope I have that hierarchy right! We can throw our weight around too! Especially after eating A LOT of the Sichuan cuisine! So, it turns out we don’t need Jesse or Trace or Mark! We got this! But it would help to have someone speak their language with us at all times!

Train the trainer went very well, again these students just get it. We have developed a very good relationship with all involved. Students, interpreters and directors. I don’t think we could have imagined such a positive outcome thus far. ACLS is done! High five!

We returned to the hotel about 1 pm China time. Was able to skype with Jenn for about 45 minutes, and the General and I went to the gym. Paula had had quite enough of us, and who could blame her! She said enough car talk and certainly enough Britney talk! She comes up about once a day, mostly because they tease me for being somewhat obsessed with the pop princess, now queen of pop! So, Paula has kicked us to the curb in just a week!  I’m not sure if it is good we made it that long without being annoying to the female in the group, or bad that it was that fast. Either way, she got her peace and quiet and we got our workout. After showering I was trying to update my ps3 when the General called me saying he and Paula were at the bar, and Paula needed us to hang out for a bit. It turns out that she received some not so good news concerning one of her best friends, who is really part of her family, from home. Despite her needing to get away from us earlier, she now needed some friends, and we were all she had here. Lucky for her, we are fantastic company and have mastered the art of turning frowns upside down! It was also happy hour! So, after a couple beers and shots she was back to smiling. By the way, it has also now been 8 days for Paula without having a cigarette! Stay strong, Paula!

Dave and I went to the western restaurant, where he had the Chinese buffet and I had another burger. The burger is a nice break from the Sichuan food, and it is nice to have a break even though it is delicious! As we have been for a few days, we were  exhausted and needed some good sleep. Goodnight!