Thursday: Shadow Dr. Gordian Fulde at St. Vincent Hospital Emergency Department
Attend Louise Pow's 18th birthday Party
Friday: Visit Edmund Rice Centre
Check out the Vivid Festival in Sydney
Saturday: Sightsee in the City
Go out for drinks and to watch the Australia versus Wales Rugby Match
The Details:
Compared to United States Emergency rooms the Emergency department at St. Vincent's was not as loud and not as chaotic. Maybe it was the time of day or day of the week but I actually got to witness a patient be brought in from an ambulance and while very fast paced and tense, everything seemed to work smoothly and the doctor never raised his voice. To me this is just another example of their laid back style which is one of my favorite characteristics of this country. Dr. Fulde was such a great person to shadow. Having been at St. Vincent's for over 30 years, he knew everything about the hospital, graciously sharing tidbits with me as he took me on a tour. I hope someday that I can emulate his friendly nature with his patients and staff exemplified when he would take a seat with the patient on his bed in order to chat. Also, Dr. Fulde brought me along to visit a couple of patients that had come through on his shift the day before that were now in other parts of the hospital, something he is not required to do. His compassion and care was such an inspiration to me.
At Louise's party, I heard the loudest "Happy Birthday" I have ever heard sung by over 60 high school girls. I hung out with Emily, Sarah Vaccari, Laura Vaccari, Rachel Pow, and Sarah Pow. Sarah Pow was manning the bar and probably the best part of the night was when a couple girls mistakenly took shots of water instead of tequila but showed no sign that they realized the mix up! (I may or may not have had something to do with that)Edmund Rice Centre works to help refugees, aboriginal people, and victims of climate change through social outreach, advocacy, and awareness programs. Em, Sr. Rosemary, and I met with the climate change committee who explained how the rising sea level threatens to swallow up many small pacific islands sitting only meters above sea level and the centre tries to raise awareness to the world about the necessity of reversing climate change. After that we sat in on a staff meeting which gave us a sense of what everyone at the centre does. Later, we met with an aboriginal woman who explained some of the issues facing her people. The center was amazing in the scope of people that they help and projects that they complete.
The vivid festival is in the city and it involves art through lights and images projected onto the city buildings surrounding the harbor, including the opera house. We had some drinks at the opera bar, watched the show, walked around, had a bite to eat at an italian joint and ended up at Cargo Bar. A whirlwind of a night but an enjoyable one.Em and I took the train across the Harbour Bridge and then walked back over to take in the amazing views from the bridge of the opera house and the City. Finally, saturday brought some sunny weather after almost two weeks of rain. We wandered down to the Royal Botanical Gardens and saw some rather exotic looking plants which I'm sure look even more colorful and stunning in the summer. Following our trek through the gardens, we took a quick shopping trip to Paddy's Market where we picked up a few souvenirs and saw the bustling Australian economy in action.
Saturday night started with a Jack and Coke at the casino's sports bar while watching Australia take down Wales 27-19. After watching the match I think I still like Rugby union better than league, but I am going to the State of origin game on Wednesday, which is like Rugby League's all star game so we will see if I can be swayed. The nightcap was another Jack and Coke and some dancing at a nightclub on the harbor.
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