There’s an excellent book I recently finished reading, called “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder. It’s a biographical account of Dr Paul Farmer, an American doctor who became involved with a poor community in Haiti during his medical training at Harvard. Since then he has become a Professor at Harvard, a consultant at a Harvard … More Judging Disadvantage
Very funny morning today. Maria (nom de plume, as are all the other names herein) – Mathew’s aunty who I like but drives me nuts – knocked on the door at around 6am. WB (7yo foster child) woke me to tell me someone was knocking (I don’t let him answer the door). I opened the … More Another Limousine Adventure
This title describes perfectly, the existence of living with another culture. Most people, it turns out, will forgive you for being human. And nowhere is a person’s humanness so prominent, as during time spent with those from another culture. Misunderstandings abound, and only a minority of these misunderstandings relate to conflict. Most of them are … More Miscommunications Abound, as does Forgiveness
Last week some money was stolen from my bag by a patient who I left in my car, alone, with my handbag. Only about $20, and I know that he was hungry. I get why he did it, and because I can’t be sure of anything, as I only suspected something after he’d walked away, … More A Week in the Life
It’s ten years now, since I became involved with some local indigenous families. The first four years of my life, I lived in Alice Springs and had contact with indigenous people, some of which I have vague memories of; and for about four years in the 1990s I worked with indigenous people in hospital settings. But … More My Adoptive Family
A few days ago while visiting a camp, a woman I know called out to me from across the dust some way, to call an ambulance. I went over to the house and was waved in to the verandah, where I was confronted with the picture of a woman sitting cross legged beside a sheet … More Stumbling into Domestic Violence
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