Rat Tales by Stephanie Kinsey & Alex Stouffer

Last day of clinics in Ca Mau and we must say it was a special day. All started with our usual ambulance chauffeur to our clinic site. We must say we have a special animal bond with our driver. So let us fill you all in.... Helen decided one day on our trip home from clinics that she would make a goat sound. Then we all started making animal noises.... from moo, to pig snort to horses to meows then all a sudden we hear a muffled goat sound from the drivers seat. Yes it was our driver, and yes we all laughed hysterically. So basically the animal game continued and next thing you know all the officials were in on our game, I guess you can say it became a way of communication among us. The new language in Vietnam called Animalanese trademarked by a wise group of people. When you don't speak the same language its crucial that you find another way and a way that makes others smile and laugh. The funniest part was when Stephanie got barked at and she meowed back. Also cannot forget about our ambulance pet, Jacob who literally he was petted on his arms and the driver was fascinated with his blonde hair. Vietnamese people rarely have arm hair or facial hair as we found out quickly from Shane and Jacob being petted constantly. I guess you can say Animalanese is a great way of communication considering we all are petted and poked like we are part of a public petting zoo. So our rides home do get better but we cant share all our experiences but we can say between Jacob, Vian, Helen, Alex, Steph, Shane and Sarah we have probably shed a few pounds from laughing.... which we need considering rice is a staple here in Vietnam.
Its Friday so we decided this entry should be full of funny stories that all of us have experienced:
Lets try to rewind to the begining of the trip.....
Alex and Steph have encountered several battles with the bathroom and lets say bathroom has conquered us every time. I promise we are actually really bright but some how another stephanie managed to turn the shower on waiting for the right temperture and next thing you know the shower hose was flying around like a wild snake and managed to flood the bathroom and soak Stephanie.... We were laughing so hard we forgot we should probably turn the shower off. Another night Alex flooded the bathroom in ankle deep water and all we had was a wash cloth to soak the water up. I promise we really are intelligent... we blame jet lag.
Sarah had some technical difficulties as well... however her's managed to cause a little harm to Helen's skin. Sarah had the water scorching hot and screamed for help and of course Helen ran to help and ended up with burns in some random areas.
Freida is wonderful with children and truly connects with them in a way many people could not. She always gets the crying kids to stop with her cute little games. However today after she stuck a otoscope in a child's ear the child revenged and peed all over her. At least we know the child is well hydrated.
Critters are our friends in Vietnam. First night in Ca Mau Alex and Stephanie got all cozy in their hotel room when something awoke us from our sleep. Something was scurrying across the floor and next thing you know we are screaming and standing on stop of furniture. Yes it was a rat... or as others say a mouse but we claim it to be a large mouse or a small rat. We always thought that rats would run the other way when they saw a human but no ours is a brave sucker and ran straight for us... and ran Stephanie into the hallway screaming bloody murder. Thankfully our good ole neighbor friends came to the rescue. They lifted our beds, mattresses and everything else you can imagine to try and find this critter however no success. Our friend the rat only likes to come out in the presence of Alex and Steph... leaving others thinking we are crazy but its okay we sleep with chopsticks and a flashlight as a source of protection. Rat 2, Steph and Alex 0....
Funny Friday from Vietnam.... Stay tuned for more Rat tales.
With love,
Stephanie Kinsey and Alex Stouffer Nursing candidates May 2011