Cultures, Acuity, and Calabasas

This was a full week.

We worked everyday, which is unusual for us, not just because we've been on vacation for the past 2 weeks, but because we're used to three 12 hour shifts a week, which is a lot at once, but different. You 8-5ers, God bless ya.

Local farm ran by Pierce College selling pumpkins and corn on the cob, I stopped by midweek.

Friday was our first day on the unit so they had us shadow someone to get a feel of the unit.  I followed a man named Juan Carlos.  He has been an RN for 8 years and is originally from Mexico.  He is a great guy and an excellent nurse who really cares about his patients and his job.  When he said my name it sounded like, "Mehan".  He introduced me to people and said (but sounded like), "this is Mehan from Pitsbour. She is a trabeller". He calls every woman "roscolina" and every man "roscolino", which is a variation of "rascal".  

There are so many accents and cultures colliding in the hospital. There's Philippinos, Mexicans, Indians, New Yorkers, and now us Pennsylvanians. I've heard several local people say when they think of LA nurses, they think of women from the Philippines   For my lunch break I got to eat with a group of women, all originally from the Philippines.  They were very friendly and asked me all kinds of questions about "Pennsylbania".  They were especially interested in the Amish.  They were all firing questions and after I answered they would go, "ooohhmyygaahh".  Once they found out I liked Winter, they went crazy. They laughed and said, "just you wait Meegan. You will become a Californian just like us."

sunny day in Cali..

We'll see :)

I always thought that growing up in a house full of women had developed in my the ability to follow several conversations at once.  That was until I ate lunch with these women.  They allllll talked at once. And loud.  And pretty much at the same pitch.  When they started talking to me, my head just kept turning from person to person to try to hear the question and be attentive for their response.

The unit we work in is the only Intensive Care Unit in the hospital, but the patients, as far as Ashley an I could gather in one day, don't seem to be as sick as the ones we had in Pittsburgh.  That will be a nice break, I think.  To see people get better, maybe even back to normal.  The body can bounce back from a lot, especially if the brain is not where the original problem is.

Today I went for a hike in canyons not far from my apt. The area is Calabasas.  It was a beautiful sunny day, in the 80s.

There were few hikers on the trail, which is actually intended for horses. Most of the houses in that area have a lot of land and a horse or two.  At one point I ended up on private property.  All of the sudden I heard this dog barking and it's like my eyes were opened to the various signs that said, "NO TRESPASSING".  I hurried over to a fence (where it started, I'm not sure) jumped it, and then found the trail again.  The few houses along the ridge are gated with long driveways.  They all have emergency buttons for the fire department to press in order to open the gate.  There are a lot of signs that alert us to the high risk for fire. No smoking allowed. No fires, fireworks, or sparklers. The trail rolled over peak to peak, providing an amazing view. On either side was a steep descent into the canyon.  I could see Woodland Hills from the top of one side.  I could also see and hear a local high school football game and marching band.

Woodland Hills is where the big black buildings are

This evening I'm just taking it easy.  Baked some cookies and talked to my family on the phone.  They were celebrating October birthdays, so I got to talk to a bunch of them. I miss you all.

This week should be a good one.  We have two more days of shadowing then Friday we're on our own.  I hope to do some sight seeing the days that I'm off, so stay tuned for tales of madness and romance..

..or  just tales of a little pig in the big city..

photo by LydiaJane