December 14, 2006: Is this for real?

Just as my time in Peru was beginning to exhibit some hint of normalcy, here I surreally sit wondering, ¨Hmmmm…is this really happening?¨ Today I was supposed to meet with my counterpart from 1pm-4pm in the Puesto de Salud, our towns makeshift hospital. Upon my arrival, the secretary told me that she had to leave immediately and that my counterpart may or may not come back in 3 hours. Are jobs optional here in Peru? If this were the case in the states, I have a feeling that ¾ of the population would be infinitely happier, and the world would generally be a better place. It took me a few minutes to calculate that if the secretary left, and my counterpart didn’t come for another three hours, I would be running the hospital BY MYSELF. Well, that is technically a lie. There is a stray tabby cat that hangs out in the Puesto de Salud who probably knows the ropes around here better than I do, so maybe between the two of us, we will be able to tackle any emergency situation that comes our way this afternoon. I have every crossable body part crossed in the naïve hope that no patients come in while I am here alone, because their visit may lead to my town disowning me in response to my sheer incompetence and inability to function in panic situations. I wish that I at least exhibited either the fight or flight reaction when panicked, because while the flight response is rather spineless, at least there is a psychological explanation for it. I, for some unknowable reason, neither fight nor fly when I am startled. Instead, I stay very still hoping that I might just blend in with whatever backdrop envelops me, praying that no witnesses to my cowardice ask, ¨Hey, why isn’t that imbecile helping?¨ This brilliant strategy is going to get me nowhere quickly today, because every wall in here is painted blue and my sweater is pink so camouflaging is an impossibility. Great…and that worked SO well before! ¨Oh, hello sir, I see that you are profusely bleeding from a knife wound. Have a seat. I expect the nurse back in 2 hours, or maybe not at all. Let´s just sit around and play a little game of chance in the meantime.¨