6/20/06

For all of you who don’t know, I’m in school taking practical nursing (or vocational nursing in the US).

Well, I finished my first practicum for school. They sent me to Salmon Arm for 3 weeks, and I didn’t have anyone to stay with, so I had to stay at the Travelodge. It was kinda crappy though, I was by myself the whole time with  absolutely NO internet. So needless to say I watched ALOT of America’s Funniest Home Videos. That show was on like 3 or 4 times a day. I couldn’t walk to work either, cuz both the hotel and the place I worked were right on the highway that runs through town, so I had to take a cab to and from work. It got pretty expensive, and my parents had to cover the cost cuz I’m a poor-ass student.

The place I worked at was the Shuswap Lodge Retirement Residence, and it was a really nice place. The people were very happy and you could tell that they actually liked working there. I’ve never seen a place like that, as sad as that is.  

Anyways during that 3 week period, I found myself getting somewhat attached to some of the residents. One of them was a lady who was ‘in her second childhood’. The way to talk to her was to bring up either cats or babies. You could keep her talking about it all day, probably. She was very frail and you could tell that she wasn’t all there meentally, and I felt sort of protective of her, in a way. I guess that’s why I liked her, I could see and feel her vulnerability. During one meal in the dining room, as I was clearing plates and dishes off the table, I saw her crying. I felt so bad and just wanted to go over and talk to her, but one of the care aides was already doing that. I wish I could have helped her somehow.

There were a few other people I bonded with as well, but I don’t really have the time to write about it now. I’ll just say the whole experience was awesome, and it was really hard to leave those people. They went straight to my heart, but as a nurse I have to learn how to detach myself so I don’t get burnt out. I only hope I can figure out how to do that before it’s too late.

The other highlight of my trip was my new piercing. I got my lip done finally. Yay! Now I have 17 piercings and 13 tattoos. I’ve got plans for some new ink too, just waiting till I get some money first. Anyways, that’s about all I have to say for now. Toodles!