Ear Problems and Non-Starting Class worries

Saturday 4th April 2009
I've just got out of bed, and unable to get to sleep easily I thought I'd get writing this.

The ear problem is still bugging me. Having endured a full Friday of “monophonic sound”, and then having woken up this Saturday morning still blocked, I had to go once again to see the doctor. What would he do or say this time?

Well, first of all, it seemed that – even though I was there last week and the week before for various things – they had already mislaid my medical records. They could not find me on the medical records section of their computer!

So .... before I could get my ear looked at I had to go to the 'Patient Affairs' desk of the hospital (which is not labelled at ALL as such!) and give him what I had of my 'temporary White card' in order to get a proper White Card done and my status as an employee-proper restored as far as hospital records goes. Actually, I had some help to find this since I had looked a few times before without success. And, having had help to find it, I am SURE I would have NOT found it myself. And that would have got me even MORE worked up and frustrated and cursing the whole system EVEN more. But luckily I DID find it, gave in the details I had, and after the obligatory waiting period I once again WAS on the medical records and I HAD my White Card.

So back to the medical center for what I originally went there for. Yup, and after explaining to the nurse and receptionist what my problem was, I was sitting down in the waiting area and .... well, you've guessed it ..... WAITED for the doctor to see me. Oh, and of course the standard blood pressure and temperature checks which seem to be standard for every time anyone comes to this place.

My time came, and in I went to the, by now, familiar setting of the doctor's surgery. Explained the problem yet again. Oh, he noted, where had my medical records gone because now he had no record of what prescription he had given me last week. Well, I didn't remember the actual names of the three pill types but I described them as best I could and said I had finished two of them now since the prescribed dose was over. So he had another look in both my ears. Yes, he said this time, you have a lot of wax in your ears. Hmm OK .... did I NOT have this last week? Did he not SEE this last week? Why, after one week, had all this wax appeared? Or wasn't it important last week? Or did he just want to fob me off with some pills as many doctors do? Why IS IT that doctors never get to the root of the problem straight away but go round the houses like this and waste valuable time? He could have made this diagnosis LAST week, given me the prescription for drops LAST week and potentially saved me this second visit to his surgery and saved us all valuable time and worry. Ah, but there's no reasoning with such people! So off I trotted to the hospital pharmacy to queue up with the Saudis at the Pharmacy counter window to give in my prescription, take my number and wait (!) till it was ready. How did I know it was ready? Hmm good question since there is no screen to display a queue number anyway, but instead there is a loudspeaker which seems to give out names every now and then. I didn't hear my name, but maybe that was due to either my impaired hearing or their bad pronunciation. Anyway, after a while, I got my bottle of drops.

I find waiting in that hospital and, indeed, walking through it a rather stressful affair. Saudis in full white smock and red checked head-wear everywhere together with burka'd women all over the place. It is a big and confusing place with four or five places marked 'Reception'. Quite how you are supposed to know where to go is beyond me. Well, I am not familiar with hospitals anywhere and certainly have not been to one without help before. It all adds to the stress of the unfamiliar environment which I seem to be suffering more than I expected I would. Well, the stress of hearing from only my right ear also doesn't help!

Having got my drops, I tried to find my way out of the place. I was trying to find the way back via the hospital canteen, but with corridor after corridor ending in a a dead end or a women's waiting area, I gave up and went out the front. Although this is the long way around, it is the way I know and so better stick to it.

This all took half the morning.

I had already signed in on arrival. However, when I arrived back to the staff room I was met by our HoD. And he had news about the classes. Can you guess what it was? Go on – have a guess ....

Ohhh you've picked up my cynical ways I see, because yes, you're absolutely RIGHT! He had been to see the main Course Director who had been away on holiday last week. On asking him about the courses, he was told approximately this: “Ohh, well I think the classes will probably start in about a week's time”.

A WEEK'S TIME!!??

OK, I know I shouldn't be thinking about such things in a non-gambling country. However, on 'Grand National' horse racing day back in the UK, I am wondering now what the odds are on this class actually NOT STARTING AT ALL! Hard to judge I'd say, but the odds are surely getting shorter as the weeks go by. Place your bets now please!

Yet ANOTHER week of nothingness. With this, and combined with the stress of my lack of hearing in my left ear, the day was never going to be a good one. And so it wasn't. I just could NOT concentrate on anything for any period of time. This was more so listening to the other new teachers who were being given information about THEIR new classes which either had ALREADY started or were DUE TO START by the end of the week. So how is it that two new teachers – both of whom started after me – ARE being given classes to be getting on with? And I have NOTHING and little prospect of anything meaningful this week or next week! Paid or not, this “doing nothing” lark is getting out of hand. And I am rapidly losing patience especially seeing those others GETTING classes.

OK OK, so the ear problem has made everything today seem twice as bad as it probably is. But the ear problem merely goes on TOP of what exists. Yes, I suppose I SHOULD be taking it easy, and in the current economic climate I am glad to have a job at ALL I suppose. But I just want to feel useful and not feel like my time is wasted out here. I have said it before and I'll say it again – after having sat on my ass for three months in London doing absolutely nothing and not knowing what was coming or not, I am NOT happy about repeating the same procedure out here. Yes, OK, it is out of my hands and I “should” be sitting back and just enjoying my leisure time and generally 'chilling out'. Well, I'm trying to – really I am. But so far the year 2009 is turning out to be the Year That Nothing Happened.

Another thing that is at the back of my mind. Since I am doing nothing, and given that my first three months is the 'probationary period', who's to say that at the end of this 3-month period the powers-that-be could decide that they have no further use for me and decide to send me home? No, no, NO, that must NOT happen. I don't WANT it to, I can't AFFORD it to, and it would be very bad indeed. AND, of course, it would be yet another failure in my working life and my life in general.

It is not likely to happen of course, but my instincts are on full alert in any case. And I listen to what they say ....

OK, enough of that. So, did anything exciting happen yesterday or today? Not much. Yesterday was washing day as it always is and, apart from trips down the corridor to the laundry room, I spent the whole day in my room resting, trying to 'unplug' my ear with my fingers and water and the 'peroxide' drops I'd been lent by my colleague, the other new teacher. None of those was successful, I suppose I should have left my ear alone and not kept sticking my fingers in it which probably swelled it up more.

Oh, but I had great success in my 'Railroad Tycoon' game in which I chose the “China” scenario and built lots of great routes, tracks, stations and trains and achieved 'silver medal' status by amassing a $7M fortune in my railroad empire across the planes and mountains of the orient. Well, as it's one of only two games I have on here, I gotta give it a go!

Ah, I've just remembered one piece of good news about today. My music player – it LIVES again!! Yes, I took it in to the English Department to see if it would charge up on the internet computer there. And, sure enough it DID! How weird is THAT!! But, as I see, it STILL will NOT charge up plugged into the USB port of THIS laptop. Why that is, I have no idea at all. But what a relief – my music is SAVED after all!! PHEWWWWW!!

OK, the last thing I did today was to write some of my “Eastern Province” postcards to send to a few people back home. If any of you want a postcard from this part of Saudi Arabia or from Riyadh or other assorted Saudi places then I'll gladly oblige! Hey, they're not so bad, you know! Camels, bedouin tents, sea and beach shots, oil refineries, ..... All you could ever want for the “true” Saudi experience!