Be warned- this will be surprising.
My flatmate, Yanina, is interning with a gynecological surgeon here in Yerevan. Yesterday was her first day. Luckily she speaks russian and doesn't have much trouble communicating. Needless to say, this didn't deter her "shock & awe" reaction to her first birth.
Arriving in the morning she was told that yesterday included 5 natural births, 2 cesarian sections and 1 siamese. Siamese! How exciting, she thought, and asked to go see the new babies. They said they would show her soon. Then, they walked around the hospital, showing her with pride their small and bustling hospital. She saw an enema, things were going swimmingly.
The doctor took her into an office and opened a mini-fridge next to her as she continued rattling off in Russian facts about the hospital. The doctor pulled out a grocery bag with apples and fruit on the outside. She opened up the bag, reached in and pulled out a leg. The leg was followed by not one, but two others and a body. The partially-developed conjoined twins were stillborn. Language barriers persist, it seems, when two are communicating in something other than their mother tongue.
In Armenia many customs are different from those in the States. Sometimes tax is included on the lunch tab and sometimes it is not; sometimes dogs quiet down come midnight and sometimes they do not. At times, there are so many people on the streets that you can't see 25 yards in front of you when walking down a sidewalk through a bazaar. At other times, the streets are so quiet that the city seems stuck in transit. And sometimes, there are frozen partially-developed conjoined twins lurking in the mini-fridges in doctor's offices.
From the ATDA office and a 9 hour time difference,
Samantha
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2 comments:
Would you like some yogurt with those twins? WOW!
I love the the casual way that peoples learn from each other. These are the moments when the lightbulb goes off; when someone decides that they want to make a difference or they want to keep searching until they find common ground. This is what makes the world go round.
Thanks Yanina and Sam for sharing with us and for taking our arrogance down just a notch.
There is more than one way to preserve a specimen, and see the world.
Keep the awe coming!
Mama
I find the twins deleicious in a light cream suace.
I'm going to hell for that remark, I already know it, so no need to remind me.
What do people do for fun there? I suppose the same thing people do anywhere - hang out, talk, laugh, eat, look at beauty, listen to music...
My first few weeks in NYC were very odd and isolated. I knw nothing about the city and Mary was very busy so I spent my first few weeks just being alone, a very unusual experience for me. I walked around a lot just staring at the place, unable to believe I actually lived there.
It is crisp and sunny in VT today, and the fridge has few surprises...
Love you!
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