Another weird day...snow storm. I don't even remember what 140 degrees felt like. That was the temperature when I landed here. Today's a nice day if you're a penquin. A foot of snow by morning...oh goodie! The bonus was, it's also too cold for patients and I still had a few that braved the weather to see me. I'm very honored.
I picked up a little Dari/ Afghani language and the locals get quite a kick out of it when I said, Hello! How are you? My name is Maria- ay. I don't think they talk to women very much, but I'm a weird, very friendly American and they are getting over that. It caused a chatter and smiles all around. They started speaking all at once and I said, "Whoa cowboy!" They knew that I using the universal slang for "STOP" and we all had a chuckle. Another reason why I think they are getting use to me, when they came in sick or hurt and I needed to expose the area, it used to be a big deal and they would only show what they thought I needed to see. Women aren't worth much and we're pretty much ignored as is their culture. They have a pain, say in their leg, they would actually pull up the trouser leg and could not understand why I had to see the part above and the part below the pain. Wow, Do you really think I get a kick out of seeing your nasty boo boos. (well I do but that's another story). Now they strip down. You try pantomining that you want to see one leg...and before you know it's oh, oh, here's a blanket. Cover that up for pete's sake!
Speaking of covering...One local man asked me to cover my head. I thought, no big deal. I have my hoodie and it's cold anyways. I said, Thank you" and did it. The response I got throughout was different. One guy said he wouldn't have done it for we are on an American base. Another girl said they never asked her to cover it up. I asked her if she ever talks to them and she was appalled. I fiqure that I'm trying to make a good impression for all Americans. They look up to us and most times we think we're all that too. I just want to get along.
I am getting a kick out of the locals saying hello at all hours of the day, instead of the morning "Hello's" only. It's very sweet. One came up to me yesterday to have a conversation. I try to speak very slowly 'cause I can run on as we all know. He said he likes to talk to me because he can almost understand everything I say. I laughed so hard. If the folks back home could see me now! I mess up the English language on a regular basis and make my own slang words that I can then pass on. Can we all say Col..yes, yes I like to drop my last letter (d) or my word way back in blogs for lots of pus...oh forget it.
I also have some Romanian buddy's that are trying to teach me their words. It's almost like a game. If I say something wrong, they say zero! I met them at their covered, very warm smoking shack. It's fun when I'm walking around and I hear someone yell out, Maria! Hello! I don't know who the heck they are or if I ever met them before, but they're Romanian and what a tight group. They weren't very friendly at first, but they are now!
News Bulletin... I talk to everyone! I now have a couple new names and I can't recall if they've always called me that. They call me Doc. I can handle that, but they also call me "Sir?" Hopefully it's a sign of respect, but just in case Tina sent me makeup. I should be back to Mame anyday now.
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