In which our villainness meets a Hero (or at the very least, a Doctor)
It turns out that 'upper respiratory infection' does indeed mean 'something that can be treated with drugs.' I have not been so relieved in ages. I will now relate the history of some doctors in the Peace Corps in Strana.
As this country supports the largest number of PC volunteers in the world, there are four doctors or medical officers, leading to the acronym PCMO. (The Peace Corps is as dependent on acronyms as a government, if you can imagine.) Three of them have been here since I have arrived. They are men. The fourth position, reserved for a woman, has had something of a Defense Against the Dark Arts, revolving-door feel to it, but finally, someone seems to have filled it, and she is very nice.
Although one might expect the doctors in a Peace Corps country to be questionable, I can firmly attest to their excellence. They know what they are doing. They pay attention. (Okay, yes, I've heard from irritated people that they do NOT pay attention, and I'm sure that's true, too. But they paid attention to me.) And when you feel poorly, they give you drugs to make you feel better. Most mysteriously, they actually remember you from the first months of your training all the way to the close of your service. Impressive, no?
Also, I feel a wayward impulse to speak of one particular doctor. We shall call him Doctor Why, in the style of the British TV programme. Unbeknownst to him (I believe), he has gathered a dedicated faction of followers. They are of both genders, but the flame burns brighter amongst the female ones. My first impression of him is from training, when he came to vaccinate us against various ailments- I thought he was enjoying his work a little too well. However, he clearly had a wonderful sense of humor, teasing us all the while. Not until this bout of illness did I understand why it is that people like him so much: he is knowledgeable, he is attentive and unlike my initial impression, he is genuinely sorry to witness our pain. Add only that Doctor Why is a single man in possession of a decent fortune and countenance, and the reasons for his popularity are more than clear.
If I am truly a villainness who has met a doctor, then perhaps my name should be Ludovine of the Low Countries .
As this country supports the largest number of PC volunteers in the world, there are four doctors or medical officers, leading to the acronym PCMO. (The Peace Corps is as dependent on acronyms as a government, if you can imagine.) Three of them have been here since I have arrived. They are men. The fourth position, reserved for a woman, has had something of a Defense Against the Dark Arts, revolving-door feel to it, but finally, someone seems to have filled it, and she is very nice.
Although one might expect the doctors in a Peace Corps country to be questionable, I can firmly attest to their excellence. They know what they are doing. They pay attention. (Okay, yes, I've heard from irritated people that they do NOT pay attention, and I'm sure that's true, too. But they paid attention to me.) And when you feel poorly, they give you drugs to make you feel better. Most mysteriously, they actually remember you from the first months of your training all the way to the close of your service. Impressive, no?
Also, I feel a wayward impulse to speak of one particular doctor. We shall call him Doctor Why, in the style of the British TV programme. Unbeknownst to him (I believe), he has gathered a dedicated faction of followers. They are of both genders, but the flame burns brighter amongst the female ones. My first impression of him is from training, when he came to vaccinate us against various ailments- I thought he was enjoying his work a little too well. However, he clearly had a wonderful sense of humor, teasing us all the while. Not until this bout of illness did I understand why it is that people like him so much: he is knowledgeable, he is attentive and unlike my initial impression, he is genuinely sorry to witness our pain. Add only that Doctor Why is a single man in possession of a decent fortune and countenance, and the reasons for his popularity are more than clear.
If I am truly a villainness who has met a doctor, then perhaps my name should be Ludovine of the Low Countries .
posted by Life Called | 4:54 AM
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