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Two things

Sjroep — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:18:05 +0000

First of all the screws I had in my ankle are out. A little hiccup occurred though. The surgeon put several needles of anesthetic into the skin and opened the outside of my ankle. The first screw came out.

Then the second came out.

Or so I thought. Apparently the second one is broken off. X-ray showed that the broken screw will not damage the joint. Since I thought the screw that was broken off was pushing through to the other side the surgeon decided to explore the other side as well to see if it would cause any problems in the future. He decided there would be no problem so he stitched me up again. So now everybody is happy. Although I have to say I’m very happy. I complained of not having a man scar before. Now I have two scars plus a piece of metal in my leg. How cool is that?

In the afternoon a dear friend of mine had to defend his dissertation. Miko has work hard on his thesis and has earned his doctorate. After defending his work for an hour in a very eloquent way the assembly of professors and doctors decided to make him a peer.

Congratulations to you Miko.

Diabetes

Sjroep — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:15 +0000

Back in Papua New Guinea I trained with some friends in a kickboxing club. We had an intense training regime. When I started training 10 hours a week I started getting visual disturbances an hour or so after the training. The disturbances would go away, followed by an intense headache. After a painkiller and a night sleep it would go away.
On Tuesdays I train with some colleagues. I’m now on half an hour cardiovascular training and an hour kettlebell training. Two weeks ago I had the same headache again. Luckily we have a physiotherapist specialised in working with diabetes patients at Physique. She has glucose meter I can use.

So now I’m going to see whether or not my blood sugar levels are within the proper limits.

The Headhunter

Sjroep — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:40:08 +0000

Back in PNG I did some kickboxingtraining with some Southern Highlanders. Why is kickboxing big in PNG? Because they have Stanley “the Headhunter” Nandex. And what do you know, I trained with his tribe back in Mount Hagen.
I just read on a blog from a friend of mine that he won another title!

Hard lesson plus adoption in PNG

Sjroep — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:03:17 +0000

I was physically and emotionally not very strong when I came to PNG to say the least. PNG healed my body, even though illness was a big part at the beginning of my stay in PNG, and soul. In February I had my last kickboxing class, because the instructor wasn’t receiving any compensation for his efforts. Since then I tried to keep myself fit with a homemade boxing ball. The last two month however I have been working form 7.45am until 5.00 or 6.00pm. Usually Saturday mornings were dedicated to some work as well.
Two weeks ago I started to get headaches after doing exercises. This had a negative impact on my emotional wellbeing. I thought that because my time in Mt Hagen was almost over I was looking forward to leave.
But no, it was the fact that I was doing too much without proper relaxation that was doing me in. Two times before I was unable to let go when things got tough; now I’m ready to not let that happen again. I’m going to relax from now on even if it’s going to kill me.

Now it is time for this story on adoption in PNG.

To stay or not to stay 3

Sjroep — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 02:22:29 +0000

Sunday and the “words of God” are floating in the air much like the pigeons on big squares in Europe. I’m in my office trying to put together an update again that makes sense.
What I want to get across is that although PNG has stolen my heart I’m not rushing into a decision. True enough PNG has saved me. The work, the kickboxing, the people, other volunteers and sometimes travelling around PNG made me a happy person again. When I came to PNG I thought that happiness was merely a shroud pulled over ones eyes. Something that was not real. Now I know again that happiness is the absence of heavy philosophical thinking about the meaning of life, and the presence of a blissful state of being in harmony with my surroundings.
BUT… still PNG has to offer me a good deal as a developmental physiotherapist. By the looks of it I can get a three-year contract with the government of PNG and work in Mt Hagen Hospital as before. I would get a ticket back home once during this period. House, insurance, medical evacuation, repatriation, etc. would of course be arranged as well (yes Dad, I’m a good son of my father).
If I after this period decide to extend again I would like to be able to educate myself further and maybe have a higher position in the hospital. The further studies would be something general like a masters of physiotherapy, so that if going back to the Netherlands I could still do something in the field of evidence based physiotherapy.
So yes, if PNG does not want to indulge me before the second week of April and accept my contract under these conditions I’ll return back home.

Let’s presume for the sake of argument that I do get to stay in PNG. I’m well aware of things I’m going to miss out on.
I’m thinking of:
- Friends and family
- Good health system
- Further education/specialisation within the field of physiotherapy
- Pension plans, insurances and the likes
- A good school system for the kids I haven’t got yet
- The beer in cafe Jos
You have to be aware of the fact that I’m a person with great personal strength, energy and enthusiasm when I’m in a situation that my heart desires. I can be in PNG or in the Netherlands it does not really matter. What matters is that I have to be where I feel happy. Not following up on this opportunity would give me lifelong doubt of whether or not I could have stayed in PNG. People around me know what happens to me when I’m not in the right place.

Now that is sorted out, I want to give to you the latest “wereldnieuws” from VSO Netherlands (sorry, it’s in Dutch) and maybe you’ll find someone familiar. Look at wereldnieuws for this.

Using funds

Sjroep — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 03:46:44 +0000

I mentioned before that my former school (HAN physiotherapy) donated a 1000 euro for my department. Next to ordering some books from Australia I bought two mirrors today.

I asked a local company to make a frame with castor wheels underneath it so we can move it around. Some patients need to see themselves in order for them to correct their movements; e.g. walking.

My toe is getting better, although the antibiotic seems to be killing my good intestinal flora too. I feel a little weak therefore. But hopefully I’ll be kickboxing in no time again. There might be a problem there by the way. The priest of the church where we do our training said we had to go elsewhere. He said the boys were pissing around the church. Damned, we’ll have to find something else.

Sigh…

Sjroep — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 02:23:23 +0000

Why oh why? I thought my body would be tough by now. But…alas, PNG seemed to be able to throw a new bacteria in my direction. And just to warn you, this story is not for the faint-hearted.
While kickboxing I found out that my big toe could not keep up with the production of calluses; all the time the skin underneath my right big toe was peeling off. Five days ago I started to feel a little pain and yesterday my toe was so full of pus that I could not walk anymore.
You know when you are in the supermarket? And your always try to pick the biggest potatoes, because they are the easiest to peel? My toe was now the size of such a potato. Come to think of it, why does the word potato end like it does?
Time for medical intervention don’t you think? After the doctor’s assistant had injected several litres of anaesthetic fluid into my toe, it felt like a dead weight on my foot. Even when the doctor opened my toe up with a scalpel I did not feel a thing. I had to lie on my stomach so I could not see anything, but suddenly I felt a feeling of relieve flowing through my right first digit. This relieve was short-lived unfortunately, since the doctor said he had to stuff some iodine-soaked gauze into the wound, because he wanted to prevent further pus formation. This being done he tightly bandaged my toe and finished the procedure in less than five minutes. Thoroughly sedated I was limping to my department; ready to pack up for the day. After half an hour the pain came back with a vengeance. Luckily Dylan came by with a newly arrived friend from Australia, so I had some distraction. We decided to go to his place in the hotel and watch a movie. By 9.00pm the pain was starting to be excruciating. Even some very strong painkillers Dylan’s friend Mike gave me could only make me drowsy. They did not do what they were intended for; KILL THE FRIKKIN’ PAIN. At long last I had to undo the bandage from my toe in order to remove the gauze that was lodged inside the wound. By now this gauze felt like a knife sticking onto my flesh and my toe was throbbing like crazy. Sitting on Dylan’s kitchen floor I was taking out the gauze. After what seemed like an eternity the gauze was finally out. My body decided to follow it up with a steady stream of blood, which messed up the kitchen floor and almost made Mike sick. Luckily Nurse Dylan was by my side with new gauze to cover up the wound. After bandaging it tight, the bleeding stopped and fortunately the pain stopped as well.
Now, the next day, I’m sitting behind my desk in my office doing some computer work.
I guess that deciding where to go for my holiday suddenly became very easy.

LOL

Sjroep — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:53:31 +0000

For not internet nerds the above expression is internet slang for Laughing Out Loud. So when does one laugh in PNG until your head hurts? Easy…you just take a book about the Netherlands (I can’t thank you enough Petra) out to the communities and you sit down with the people.
Up until now I’ve had these comments:

One older woman:
Plis bai yu painim wanpela lapun bilong kantri bilong yu na salim em kam long PNG. Mi bai maritim em na go olgeta long ples bilong yu. Em mas heven long hap.
Please, send an old man over from your place to PNG. I’ll marry him and we’ll go back to your country. It must be like heaven over there.

A younger guy:
Yu bai giaman wokim wanpela kikboksing gem long hap na yu bai tok save long mi. Ol bai salim wanpela tiket bilong balus kam long mi na mi bai kam long ples bilong yu. Mitupela bai giaman pait (tasol noken paitim mi strongpela tumas) na bihain mitupela bai raun long kantri bilong yu.
You have to organise a fake kickboxing tournament over there and your country will send a plane ticket to me. I’ll come over and we’ll have a fake kickboxing fight (please don’t fight me for real) and afterwards we’ll go and see your country.

A little girl:
Yu lukim; ol raun antap long wara.
You see; they walk on water.
(I told her that it was ice)

Another woman:
Ey, yupela sa lotu tu?
Ey, you people go to church as well?
(I had to explain what kind of churches we had and how many people attend to mass. Like I know all this. But just say something and pretend you know.)

A little boy:
Yupela igat kumu, sipsip, meme na planti plaua. Mipela igat dispela tu, tasol long dispela jelopela raunpela samting mi faul.
You have vegetables, sheep, goats and a lot of flowers. We have this as well, but this yellow, round thingy here; what is it?
(He was pointing at a full cheese at our cheese markets)

There were a lot more remarks, but I forgot most of them. I’ll do it again and tell you about the next remarks.

Infuriating week

Sjroep — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:11:36 +0000

After five days of harassing the accounts people I finally got the internet working again. I do have to say it was one of the most frustrating weeks during my time here. It almost seems like people are seeing past my skin. This means I don’t get looked at (not as much as before) and people stop giving me chairs all the time. But it also means I can’t get things done anymore just because I’m white. And being white was an advantage here in Hagen. Now I have to wait for things and the reasons for why I have to wait are very infuriating.
And just now I found out that yahoo is not working. Raaaaaaaaaagggggghhh, the entire world is conspiring against me.

Anyhow…some facts now. Did you know that;
- I have read 84 books over the last year?
- my wantok family still wants me to marry a sixteen year old after I told them NO for four times?
- intestine of chickens can be addictive?
- during the coming kickboxing tournament in Kundiawa I’m going try to win from PNG people in my weight class if I can fight in the weekend?
- drunk Papua new Guineans can understand and talk Dutch?
- drunk Dutch can understand tok ples
- corpses lying in the sun will start to stink very bad?

Things I’m going to do the coming week:
- Tomorrow: Birthday in Kindeng (little village close to Hagen)
- Sunday: Stay at Penda
- Monday: Go to Madang for a VAC (Voluntary Advisory Committee) meeting
- Come back somewhere during the week after crying over the fact that Froukje is going to leave PNG prematurely. She found out that lecturing wasn’t her hearts desire.

Contradiction in terms

Sjroep — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 23:08:47 +0000

Sometimes when talking to friends you seem to find a new truth or you link things. Friends help you do this. I know I’m an external thinker, which means that I use a friend in a conversation as a medium to verify or to think along with my thoughts. This weekend I did this with Dylan and we found out a funny thing.
Hagen is the safest place in the world for us.
Why? Well, that’s easy.
1. The hospital management keeps the outside world of my back.
2. VSO pays me enough to get around.
3. PNG people respect me, but I will never be true family. So no claims can be made to my address.
4. My father does my paperwork back home.
I can put all my energy in my work. Perfect arrangement.
But hat to do when coming home? The big angry outside world will be crashing down on me. No it will not, because I’ll be ready for it. Whether or not I’ll be staying in the Netherlands does not really matter then.
So far for this revelation. On other news;
- The battery of my camera died on me. So until I find a solution for it; no pictures on the website unless they’re from other people. If you have per change a battery for a DSC-P1 Sony camera, please let me know.
- The kickboxing instructor told me that I’m the fundraising committee. On my own. This will be fun. Don’t know anything about fundraising, but I guess I’m going to learn.