This was a very big day for us. Day 1 of the classes. Day 1 of 10 straight. Day 1 of the first international class involving GMR and NCTI. No pressure, right? Early wakeup, quick breakfast and it was off to the 120 center for the day. They were to have a big opening ceremony that would be have the American consulate general and several Chinese government officials in attendance, as well as the normal plethora of hospital directors and physicians. Yes, we have now been on Chinese TV. I hope my hair looked good! This was to last for approximately an hour, but ran a bit long. After everyone was introduced and all the important officials wished much success for the class we were lined up for a picture. We all received a copy of it as well, so that is pretty cool. It all ran very smoothly and we were well received. In our experiences so far we have been very well received and they have all been very gracious towards us. I had known that this was kind of a big deal to all involved. I didn’t realize how big it was to the Chinese. Again, no pressure, right??
Everything was set up, everyone was there and we were ready. It was go time. We all filed into the cold classroom for the beginning of this very big deal. It all began nicely and just as ACLS classes in the states begin. Everyone was shy, didn’t want to talk and was very reserved. No worries, we will bring them out of it. Our main interpreter, Sara, was great and can easily convey any humorous tendencies that we may have. By the time we hit lunch, everyone was getting involved. Fantastic. Exactly what we want out of this class. Involvement. It is essential. Because of the opening ceremonies, we lost a significant chunk of time and would sort of play catch up for a while. Lunch was considered fast food, and it was a box full of food. Good food, too. Rice, bok choy, roasted pork and chicken, with some Sichuan peppers, of course. Chinese fast food was alright with us!
After lunch we broke off into groups after some short lecture. Lecturing through an interpreter is a very odd thing. You say a few sentences, then wait while its being translated. While you wait you think did I get that right? Did I say what I was supposed to? Of course we did, we are the experts from the USA! The skills stations were quite interesting. We all had an interpreter assigned to us and we were told later that they weren’t as good as we needed. Paula’s was about 60% good, mine was 25% good and Dave’s was about 20% good. Dave and I had very technical stations so this was not good. Apparently the interpreters are students. It isn’t their fault; they are just not as advanced as we need. I suppose we will make it work. What choice do we have? I just hope that it doesn’t tarnish our reputation in the process. Jesse later informed us that he was not happy about it, it wasn’t what he expected when he hired them and that it would be taken care of. Excellent. Using an interpreter is also very stressful. The students were all having discussions when she would try to tell me something they just said. Since some of my information was lost in translation I also had to repeat the same thing differently several times. It takes a loooong time. We finished a little behind schedule for the day, but again were behind the 8 ball when we lost anb hour and a half for the ceremony.
The ride back to the hotel was filled with lots of discussion about the day and problems we encountered and how to rectify them. We all agreed to meet for dinner at the western restaurant, and I had a very unglamorous burger. It was good, though. Paula had fish and the rest had the buffet. We then talked about non work stuff, and we all learned more about each other. In addition to Dave, Paula and I, we had Jesse, Mark and Trace. It was nice to just relax, and we shared a couple bottles of wine in the process. All in all, the day was a success, and Mark and Trace were very pleased with us as instructors. We will all take a bow for you now!!
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