Today was our first day of clinical. We woke up at met at the hospital to meet all of the nurses that we will be working with for the next couple of weeks. They were so excited to have us there. However, we were told that all of them spoke English….but they failed to mention that most of them speak very little English. It was so hard to interpret them. They talk so fast and can’t pronounce half of the words. It made for a very entertaining day.
We were split up into separate groups: one that would be working in the ICU, and one that would be going out into the community. Me, Sophia, Hayley and Rainy were assigned to the group to go out into the community (which is great because supposedly the first group in community goes out and sightsees instead of actually working J). We were introduced to our nurses and they greeted us with the nicest presents. They gave us really nice books with pictures and maps of Tainan along with stickers (random), and postcards with a little note welcoming us to Taiwan. It was so sweet of them. Once again the Taiwanese people are so friendly and welcoming. They’re always happy and so willing to give. They then immediately sat us down for some fruit. They brought us a whole watermelon, some pickled mangos, and bell fruit (they don’t have these in the U.S. but they’re basically like spongy apples and they’re delicious).
We then split up with our nurses. Sophia and I were lucky because we got put together with one nurse. Our nurse was named Fen ni and she was adorable. She laughed at everything we said and she was so entertained by us. We then met up with Dr. Li and headed out to our patients. Our first patients were at a government run Disability Center. Most of our patients were elderly with some type of chronic disease and just needed NG (nasogastric) tube changes and Foley catheter changes. One of the patients was a double amputee (which means both legs were amputated) d/t a car accident. That was something I had never seen before. This picture is of us with the nurses at the facility.
The elderly people only spoke Taiwanese (which is significantly different than Mandarin) so we had to pick up entire new phrases to be able to communicate with them. Another interesting thing is that the Taiwanese don’t like to use PEG tubes- these are permanent NG tubes. In order to have a PEG tube you have to put a hole in the stomach and stick a tube into it so you can put formula straight into the stomach-The Taiwanese refuse to use these even though they’re more convenient because they don’t believe in putting holes into their bodies. So instead, they suffer through having an NG tube and have it switched out once a month for the rest of their life. If anyone knows what these are you know that they’re extremely uncomfortable to have put in.
When it was time for lunch and Fen ni and Dr. Li wined and dined us. This is a picture of us with them. 
They took us to a random restaurant in the middle of the city and bought us some delicious noodles with pork and some dumpling soup. It was interesting because the owners were out front hand washing their dishes (kind of scary).The portions were huge but it’s impolite not to finish so we had to eat it all. Fen ni and Dr. Li were cracking up at Sophia and I using chopsticks so they videoed us and sent it to their kids! We were completely stuffed afterwards but earlier they had overheard that we loved CuaBing (the shaved ice with fruit) so they took us to a random shop in one of the backstreets on the other side of the city. It was like twenty minutes away but it was their favorite place and they didn’t want us to have anything less! It’s amazing what lengths they will go to just to make us happy. This shop had Mein Mein Ice (which is shaved milk). It’s kind of like a mix between sherbet and shaved ice but with a milky flavor. Once again Jeremy would have loooooved this. It was funny because they bought us three orders of it because they wanted us to try all different kinds! One kind was covered in strawberry jam and a raw egg yolk (kind of scary to eat but we did it anyways) 
Another kind was covered in red beans, peanuts, and raisins (random?). 
After we were done I think I was ten pounds heavier.
We then went back to the hospital and we offered even more food. We didn’t want to refuse so we had to eat even more. I’m pretty sure if I had eaten one more bite I would have popped. Anyways, we paired up with another nurse afterwards named Mei and another doctor (I can’t remember his name but he spoke amazing English). We went to our first home visit. It was amazing what conditions some of the Taiwanese people live in! The house was extremely small and run down. I couldn’t believe that someone could actually live there let alone an entire family. Taiwan is extremely hot and humid but they had no air conditioning. It was so sad. The patient we were visiting was a 93 year old woman with Parkinsons and malnutrition. She was literally skin and bones and just lays in bed all day long. I felt so bad for her. She also had a terrible pressure ulcer on her back. The worst I’ve ever seen. It was wide open and oozing but there really is nothing you can do about it. We really are so blessed in the U.S.
The other patients throughout the rest of the day were basically in the same situation except without fail every time they had us sit down and they offered us some type of food. Our last patient was a cute little old man and he looooved Sophia and I. He wouldn’t stop complimenting on our big round eyes and pale skin. It was so cute because we had to change his catheter and he was so embarrassed to take off his pants in front of such beautiful girls (according to him). Afterwards he served us some fresh papaya and HAD to get pictures with us. So here’s one
We’re now back at our apartment for the night. Tomorrow is another clinical day and then we’re going to a baseball game!!! We hear that they are crazy here so stay tuned….
take pictures of the game....love the stories. Dad
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