#53 - Lundi 4th

étudiant(e)

student

Too lazy to go to the shop for bread and make lunch today so had to buy a packaged one on the way... today was the day of medical students! First there were deux, then trois, quatre... cinq... six, sept...huit... et moi (neuf etudients en medicine). Beaucoup des etudients! Hand over meeting with eleven of us and only five medical students (they're split across the wards), I managed to introduce myself without it being too awkward. Long morning, nice to see some new patients... had a chat to one of the medical students too - amazing, I knew what he was asking and could reply!! I didn't dare speak to him again later... but I will try again this week. 

Bang! I went to help a patient, she'd dropped a plastic tub and was trying to get to the loo... I helped as much as possible and ended up getting a nurse (in French)... I was so scared she'd fall. Unfortunately a man I'd seen on Friday had died, I guess it was to be expected he had a serious diagnosis. One man is always tootling up and down with his zimmer, as soon as he spots us watching he goes back in him room... and over and over again!

Lunchtime... spoke a little french.... understood some. We laughed as one of the docs had left the chocolate in her fridge at home... it was funny but the other doc was laughing a bit too much - it was odd, she was laughing because I understood and I got a bit confused.Big handover with all the MDT team... lost a little bit in the middle, it is so hard to stay awake. Did a little work with my trusty Oxford Clinical handbook - which the doc says she loves, she knows how good it is from a correspondant in England, "j'adore ça" - me too!

she had two bowls of her own water!

Home and I didn't know what to do with myself... so I braved a swim.... it was obviously rammed with people - summer holidays.... two attempts to buy a ticket... made it in... nearly made it to the pool with my glasses on (usual error).... showered in ? the male showers.... 

Into the pool, now I find lane swimming awkward anyway, what is the system?! & I didn't want to get it wrong in a different country.... politely stopping at each end incase someone else wanted to go... I got a few glares from this guy... I politely rearranged my goggles to give everyone a chance to go before me if they wanted... only colliding with one person when turning... kicking two others (who I apologised to in French) and hitting one young boy with a ball - from the nearby, heated volleyball game. Managed to breathe front crawl both left and right now!! Fourty minutes was finally up... to the changing rooms. A couple being all mushy with their children around my locker - trying to get to my locker when someone else tries to push in! Now I'm being all polite as its not my country but I was there first... it was the guy glaring at me in the pool... I'd turned away when I heard, "oh you don't speak French..." Oh, that could only be for me... I must have been ignoring him... He wanted to speak to me, we eventually realized in English 'he would like to speak to me after, in ten minutes...' - well sure enough, did he want to ask about my front crawl? (it was indeed looking a bit better) or was I being chatted up? Shower, changed and found the swimmer... we had a brief chat outside, he smelt alot of smoke and had that really handy string on your glasses going around your neck.. not quite the typical frenchman in a stripey shirt... language was obviously a major problem but I learned, he injured himself doing sport and is an artist... despite him offering me his number, and to write to me in England I said, well I am going back to England...  its not everyday you get chatted up by a french artist! 

Cycled home via the patisserie, baguette, almond croissant (looked pretty different, 'flat') and 'pudding' - a chocolatey, almondy, nutty thing! Courgette curry (with a number of types of courgette) inside a courgette.... I have too much food to eat before I leave!