darwelcome

I love my job. So don’t misinterpret my intentions. But I’ve decided to write some of my observations and experiences down for a few reasons.

1.     To share some of my insights from life in the Territory.

2.     To make me famous because I am sick of Drs Andrew Rochford and Chris Brown on The Project. This together with an appearance on the Amazing Race surely must work. I guess there is also My Kitchen Rules if all else fails.

Some assumptions I held before I arrived:

1.     Darwin is a small town

2.     It’s somewhat humid

3.     Nightcliff if the place to live ie funky

The truth I have since discovered:

1.     Darwin is well and truly spread out.  The hospital is about 25km from the centre of town and the city consists of a series of suburbs connecting them like a string of pearls but very much not so in reality. One of the suburbs is called Fannie Bay. This has had Brenda in hysterics since day one.

2.     It is not as humid as I expected. Nonetheless due to the very sensitive and sophisticated thermoregulation system I have been blessed with, my existence here is characterised by a constant fine sweat that is present even pre dance floor. My T-shirts are always changing colours.

3.     Before coming I was told Nightcliff is the place to live. I thought it was Darwin’s Elwood/Collingwood.  A Nightwood then? It certainly isn’t.  There are no trendy cafes or hip cocktails bars. People do ride bikes but they are definitely not wearing skinny jeans. There is however a great market with delicious laksas and smoothies and a glorious coastline with a pool right on the foreshore. It has a tropical flavour. Hopefully I will be able to call this suburb home soon. Its name doesn’t lend itself to a subupun for a farewell party but I’m working on it.

Newly developed phobias:

1.     Crocodiles: The media here is obsessed with being crocwise. Crocs are definitely what my father calls unnecessary risk. I didn’t really care much for being afraid of crocs. This is until one was found in a park people swim at ie a place it shouldn’t have been. Since then, I go into some slight sympathetic overdrive whenever I pass some dense bushland with water near by. When I shared this fear with my intern he said the only crocs he is afraid of are the ugly shoes. Pfft.

2.     Mould: apparently it is coming, unavoidable and unstoppable. Food, clothes, cupboards, everywhere. God bless penicillins.

Some initial thoughts from my first week and a bit at St D’s (most of which will be explored and elaborated further in the future):

1.     Everything works completely differently up here.

2.     There is a semi trend akin to bow tie Fridays of Hawaiian shirt Fridays. It was my fashion comeback prediction of 2012. Please let me know if it makes it to the Southeast coast…

3.     I have never experienced the cultural and language barriers in communicating with patients like I have here. 

4.     You make life wherever you are but sometimes it just takes time. And frisbee.

And finally…

As I left the hospital on Friday, one of my patients whom, like most of the other patients, spend their days sitting out the front of the hospital, came up to me to thank me for looking after him this week. When the covering female doctor came to see him over the weekend he said to her, “You are not my doctor. My doctor is a man.”