Working with students is an adventure in itself. There is a huge range of abilities and I never know who I will encounter on any given day. They are here to become optometrists, ranging in age from 21 to 35. I am supposedly imparting my wisdom on them, since I have seen at least 20,000 more patients than they have.
What I hope I'm teaching them is confidence in themselves, listening skills, responsibility and clinical thinking. I hope to be one of those to whom they can ask any question, no matter how stupid it seems. And I hope never to be the one to beat them down or treat them poorly. God knows most of us can point out our own flaws.
Last night after work, I realised my shoulders were not tight. In fact, I was not sore anywhere. I was relaxed. And it was nearing the end of the week. I used to carry so much stress that my fingers would go numb sometimes, or my shoulder would barely move.
The internal relaxation is something I have been feeling more and more of since I've arrived in New Zealand. There are things about this job that might seem to be negatives. Maybe they are just differences again.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Waitangi Day and thoughts
Holiday #2. What do you do with a Wednesday off? Well, here you go to your colleague's house for a BBQ. It was one of those hot summer days and Wanda (optometrist from Canada) had about 10 of us over for grilling and drinks. It was fantastically sunny, so we mostly sat indoors to avoid melting, but a lovely day all around.
I was looking at my last post, and the one before where I asked you guys to write what you would do if you knew you could not fail. Only two brave souls posted a response, but I was impressed with the idealism and thought, am I grateful enough for all that I have? Do I let people just be? What great thoughts.
Earlier toay, I was sitting in the coffee shop waiting for Nick and Ursula (I was hitching a ride) and thought about it all. The guy behind the counter treated me like an old friend and it was my first visit. There were little birds walking around on the ground inside and Huey Lewis and the News was overhead playing "The power of love." The windows were all open, no screens, sort of blurring the line between outside and inside.
I guess the beauty of Auckland is many things. If post a negative, it's really just a difference. It's kind of like living in a large beach town. Pretty laid back and with a few blocks walk from anywhere, you can probably see the ocean, which is quite remarkable.
The vibe is laid-back, open and kind- all things I'd like to take home with me.
I was looking at my last post, and the one before where I asked you guys to write what you would do if you knew you could not fail. Only two brave souls posted a response, but I was impressed with the idealism and thought, am I grateful enough for all that I have? Do I let people just be? What great thoughts.
Earlier toay, I was sitting in the coffee shop waiting for Nick and Ursula (I was hitching a ride) and thought about it all. The guy behind the counter treated me like an old friend and it was my first visit. There were little birds walking around on the ground inside and Huey Lewis and the News was overhead playing "The power of love." The windows were all open, no screens, sort of blurring the line between outside and inside.
I guess the beauty of Auckland is many things. If post a negative, it's really just a difference. It's kind of like living in a large beach town. Pretty laid back and with a few blocks walk from anywhere, you can probably see the ocean, which is quite remarkable.
The vibe is laid-back, open and kind- all things I'd like to take home with me.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Dreamy Days (weekend recap)
Ursula and I walked home from work on Friday to her house (about one and a half hours) and picked up a bottle of wine on the way. And sat in her backyard waiting for Nick to come home from work.
We rewarded ourselves with dinner at a gross Indian restaurant (called Sitar I think). I ended up crashing on their couch (not that I was drunk, the transport situation leaves a lot to be desired here). The restaurant scene is the same as the transport- luckily I am not too big on going out to eat.
Saturday we got up early to go to the Otara market- which we thought would be a cultural affair, but was more for the poor folks. My landlady had a nicer way of saying poor, but I can't recall what it was- oh, "impoverished area." But we got some produce anyway (from China probably) so if you don't hear from me, you'll know what happened. Then we wandered through shops at Mt Eden (a suburb of Auckland) and had a lovely lunch at a cafe. They have the best coffee here- even in places that are highly suspect. After that, we searched out two used book stores, one of which was so disorganised, I got nervous just looking in the window. Luckily it was not open.
On our way to the beach suburbs, we passed by an organic grocer, Huckleberry Farms, where Ursula and I had a heyday smelling the various organic laundry detergents and frolicking among the bulk bins. I'm sure her husband Nick was sorry to hear what he had missed (he was off sailing).
Our last destinations were Mission Bay and Pt Chev, two more suburbs of Auckland on the beach, decidedly NOT impoverished. We parked the car and walked along the beach and boardwalk for 2 hours, watching the surf and sunbathers. Finally Nick called for us to pick him up from the marina. It took some major elbow twisting to get us to sit down for a beer with the sailors at "Swashbucklers." I went girly-girl and had pink wine. I don't quite have the taste for NZ beer- even the dark stuff tastes sort of like Bud Lite to me. It's funny, they all look like they should taste different, but they don't...
We rewarded ourselves with dinner at a gross Indian restaurant (called Sitar I think). I ended up crashing on their couch (not that I was drunk, the transport situation leaves a lot to be desired here). The restaurant scene is the same as the transport- luckily I am not too big on going out to eat.
Saturday we got up early to go to the Otara market- which we thought would be a cultural affair, but was more for the poor folks. My landlady had a nicer way of saying poor, but I can't recall what it was- oh, "impoverished area." But we got some produce anyway (from China probably) so if you don't hear from me, you'll know what happened. Then we wandered through shops at Mt Eden (a suburb of Auckland) and had a lovely lunch at a cafe. They have the best coffee here- even in places that are highly suspect. After that, we searched out two used book stores, one of which was so disorganised, I got nervous just looking in the window. Luckily it was not open.
On our way to the beach suburbs, we passed by an organic grocer, Huckleberry Farms, where Ursula and I had a heyday smelling the various organic laundry detergents and frolicking among the bulk bins. I'm sure her husband Nick was sorry to hear what he had missed (he was off sailing).
Our last destinations were Mission Bay and Pt Chev, two more suburbs of Auckland on the beach, decidedly NOT impoverished. We parked the car and walked along the beach and boardwalk for 2 hours, watching the surf and sunbathers. Finally Nick called for us to pick him up from the marina. It took some major elbow twisting to get us to sit down for a beer with the sailors at "Swashbucklers." I went girly-girl and had pink wine. I don't quite have the taste for NZ beer- even the dark stuff tastes sort of like Bud Lite to me. It's funny, they all look like they should taste different, but they don't...
Sunday, February 3, 2008
What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?
Post your answers under "comments"
(Feel free to be anonymous.)
(Feel free to be anonymous.)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Evidence of my downsizing.
My place. I live above the garage!
My room/house.
From the other side.
The shower.
Bathroom. Duh.
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