After a day of frantic last minute goodbyes,
I set off at 4am from the airport. I had forgotten that hour existed. Dubbo
awaited…
Warm and friendly is an understatement for
Dubbo. Flying over a patchwork quilt of varying shades of brown and red, I landed
in the middle of a heat wave when a lot of the state of NSW was suffering from
wild fires. The temperatures are in the 40s, with the expectation they will get
higher this weekend. I had left behind my family and the green lush pastures of
Willowbrook to work in a burning desert – this is not what the tourist
brochures had shown!
Standing at the baggage carousel I wondered
how I was going to get into town.
“Excuse me”, I said to the lady next to me. “What is the best way for me
to get into town - I need to go to the Base Hospital”. “Well, you could call a
taxi, but we are going near there, so we can drop you off. My Name’s Coleen and
this is my husband Barry”. And so it was
that Coleen and Barry kindly dropped my from the airport to the doors of the
ED, giving me a guided tour of Dubbo on the way.
The staff at the hospital are all very
friendly. Still, I am filled with trepidation about taking my first real job as
a specialist, running a Emergency Department, taking weekly teaching sessions
for all the junior doctors, and becoming au fait with how the health service
runs in a different county. There is no option but to embrace it all with
fervour and hope for the best.
I have been given a lovely air conditioned
2 bedroom apartment and a new Nissan X-trail for my stay here. I spent the
afternoon cleaning, rearranging the furniture, and stocking the cupboards with
a few staples.
My job this week is to try to sort out an
internet connection and cell phone. Not having a credit history in this
country, and only having been with my current employer for ‘0 days’ was not
what most of the telecom providers wanted to hear yesterday. We shall see
whether they can step up to the same level of trust and kindness as Barry and
Coleen.
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Delighted to hear you are off to a flying start in dear old Dubbo David. Sorry about this horrendous weather, although on the upside, after 35C. even the snakies run for cover to somewhere quiet! The Base is lucky to have you.
ReplyDeleteMillie xx
P.S. My boss Harvey is the tech support guru for the LifePak/LifeNet system which I think you guys have just installed. No doubt you'll be chatting to him at some point, so get him to hand over the phone to me, it would be lovely to speak to you!!
Meanwhile here it is freezing!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that friendliness and helpfulness is one of the things I really like about country Australians. That and the fact that my partner is one of them!
Stay cool
Kirk