PS: here's the link for the video

about the volunteer ambulance corps.  I highly recommend watching it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFwwaB9n_x0

What I'm Up To These Days

This is one of those "been-meaning-to-write-this-for-a-few-months-now" posts, but, yay, I'm finally writing it!  

I started (in July. Did I mention I've been meaning to write this post for a while now?!) taking a course to be a volunteer EMT.  Israel is a country FULL of volunteer EMTs.  Here's a nifty video by a popular "Israeli-Palestinian" vlogger that explains the concept:

The course I'm taking is for a local organization (ie similar to, but not the one in the video) that wants to start an all-female unit that will respond to calls where women and/or children need help.  Why is this important?  Because our little town is about 40 minutes (okay, 30 if you're in an ambulance, but it's still not close) from the nearest hospital.  And there is a very high birth rate here.  And lots of people here don't own cars.  And people tend to err on the side of waiting longer than they might to go to the hospital because they know they may/will get charged for the ambulance ride if they don't get admitted to the hospital in active labor.  

When calling for an ambulance here, there are three different all-volunteer organizations one can choose from (and there is no other option, so choose your favorite volunteer organization).  I still haven't quite figured out the differences among the three, and lots of EMTs are certified by more than one organization, so let's just say they're all good.  I feel that an all-women's unit is pretty crucial around here, given the number of women not-on-purpose giving birth either at home or in an ambulance.  BUT, until now, that meant a woman suddenly having 4 or 5 of her (usually male) neighbors who are volunteer EMTs be in attendance.  In my mind, it's one thing to have a male Ob-Gyn and quite another to have your next-door neighbor who has some medical training help you through birth.  Penina has a friend who was trained through one of the organizations (that accepts teens at age 15 (!)) and her first call was for a woman giving birth.  When she showed up, the all-male crew that was there basically pushed her forward to the woman saying, "you're female--go!".  I ran into her and her mother not long afterward and my jaw was on the floor as I said, "that's a pretty intense introduction to birth for a 15 year-old!"  

The course is all in Hebrew.  Fast, intense, hour (upon hour) of medical Hebrew.  I said I was doing this course instead of going to Jerusalem for a medical ulpan and I got more than I bargained for in terms of new terminology.  I am the most recent olah in class (the next most recent has been here 7 years, which is twice as long as we've been here) and definitely couldn't even give this a whirl without my medical background.  Seven months in and I wish I could say that I understand everything (or even most things), but I really don't. I spend hours and hours per week reviewing material and sitting with Google Translate trying to get a jump-start on the material the teacher is about to present (although I'm frequently stymied when she sends out her slides mere hours before class, when I need days of translating in order to be able to keep up in class). Frankly, it's been kind of a stinker for my self-esteem because I worked SO HARD in ulpan for three years, and now it almost feels like starting at the beginning again (although not quite, of course.  And there are moments of hope.  Like the few times that the teacher said something funny and I laughed at the same time as everyone else instead of 40 seconds later....).  

I'm not sure how this will play out with actual patients in real emergency situations, but I'm hoping it will be okay because: 1) my area contains a lot of English speakers 2) many emergency situations are not so intense verbally (it's not like I'll be doing psychotherapy in Hebrew) and 3) I'm planning to only sign up for shifts that my (fully) bilingual friends sign up for ;).  I'm studying intensely for the final exam now (February 20th.  Please send good vibes) and we'll see what happens....After the exam we have several months of interning on ambulances and observing in hospitals before they send us on calls, so I've still got time for my Hebrew to improve (I can hope, can't I?!)

The other big thing in my schedule is that I went back to work!  I work part-time for a company that runs healthcare clinics in seminaries and yeshivos in the Jerusalem area.  It's really a perfect fit for my background and I'm enjoying both what I do (I love the post-high school age group), where I do it (one school is in the Old City which means twice a week I get to daven michna at the Kotel--talk about a work perk!) and the general concept of being back at work.  It's all in English, although that's a mixed blessing, since it means my Hebrew definitely won't improve during work hours.  I came home after my first day and said it had been wonderful feeling competent at something again.  I hadn't quite realized to what level I had felt incompetent in just about every area for the past 3 years.  But give me a throat to look at, some lungs sounds to listen to and, yippee, feel the confidence!