Full to bursting...

Well, another Monday rolls around and another week in the busy life of the hospital in Maumere gets going. At the moment the hospital is full to bursting - BOR (Bed Occupancy Rate) is 98% and there are about 15 patients lying on trolleys in the A&E department because there are no beds in the wards to admit them to - sound familiar ? However, the reason for this overcrowding is a little different to what we are used to at home - in this case, most of the patients are children rather than elderly patients with 'flu. This is apparently an annnual phenomenon which happens when the mango season starts and the hopsital is inundated with children with severe diarrhoea, partly from eating too many mangoes but mainly from poor hygiene practices.

Office hours here are "officially" 7 am to 2 pm Monday to Thursday, 7 am to 11 am on Friday (to allow Muslim employees time for prayer) and 7 am to 12.30 pm on Saturday. However, the first event of the day every day except Friday is Pagi Apel, best compared to a school assembly. This takes place at 7.30 am (or is supposed to, it usually gets going at about 7.40) and so guess what - the number of employees who turn up at 7am, start work and then present for Apel at 7.30 is approximately nil. For me, this means getting up at about 6.45ish, having a wash, breakfast and 100mg of doxycyline (my daily antimalarial), leaving the house at 7.29 and arriving at work at 7.30. Living on the hospital campus has its advantages, it's easy to go home for a coffee break mid-morning too !

The week just past was not patricularly eventful - we had a visitor staying in our house for a couple of nights as a volunteer friend from Ende (about 150 kms west of Maumere) was passing through on his way to and from Singapore for visa renewal. One of the unexpected benefits of becoming a volunteer, apart of course from the opportunity to experience living in a very different culture, has been the chance to meet fellow volunteers from many different cultures and backgrounds and this is one of the memories I will treasure when I return home.

As well as Stephen's visit this week, the other notable event last week was the town's Pameran (exhibition). This is part of the Independence Day celebrations and comprised a collection of trade stands - mostly from government departments, of which there seem to be hundreds - and a nightly display of cultural exhibits such as local traditional dances. I visited twice during the week and was very impressed by the display put on - the local dances are quite spectacular and the costumes very impressive. Sorry, I have no photos to share as I'd lent my camera to a friend that day (very boring I know).

More later this week....