Though it’s gotten to be pretty routine by now, my normal workday is still quite a bit different than when I’m in Charleston.
8:00: First, I start out with my dolmuş ride to work (see earlier dolmuş blog), and since I never know when the dolmuş might arrive, I never know exactly when I’ll get to the hospital – but it is generally about a 30 minute ride.
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| Balloon Man |
8:45: My entrance to the hospital is through the children’s emergency area, and it’s always a colorful entrance, as every day --rain, snow, or sunshine – there is a man at the entrance who has enough balloons to fly several little children all the way to İstanbul! I move through the children (who these days are so bundled up in snow suits and blankets that they look like miniature Michelin men) past Kardioloji and Radyoloji, down 2 flights of steps past Üroloji (always a lot of old men sitting in the waiting area), past Plastik ve Rekonstrüktif Surgery (always sad on Mondays when it’s children’s clinic), and into my office in Psikiyatri.
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Serdaniye
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9:15: After a few minutes, Serdaniye, whose job it is to serve coffee and tea (çay), has brought me a little glass cup of Turkish çay. Though she speaks not one word of English, she and I always greet each other and she brings me special treats like cake and simit (more about this yummy Turkish version of bagel in a future food blog).
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| Erdoğan Bey |
12:00: A few minutes before noon, everything stops – and I mean shuts down – for a full 90 minutes. All of the faculty go to the faculty restaurant where we sit down (cloth table cloths) and eat a hot meal. Every day the menu is different, but always soup, salad, meat, and a vegetarian selection (and never over $5.00!). Psychiatry faculty always sit together and at the same table, with Erdoğan Bey as our waiter. My colleagues truly consider it their right to have a hot meal at lunch and to enjoy the pleasure of their friends’ company. Many of my colleagues who have been to the U.S. say that the one thing they abhor is our short lunches with cold sandwiches (and I'm beginning to see their point). After lunch, there is Turkish coffee and more çay, which on most days (even when sub-freezing) is taken outside on a terrace (Turks are crazy about al fresco dining!). We return to Psychiatry a little after 1pm (the door is locked to patients until 1:30), and by 2pm or so Serdoniye has a new pot of tea followed by Turkish coffee (these people seriously drink gallons of coffee and tea).
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| My Colleagues |
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| çay |
Afternoon: Many afternoons are broken up when a grateful patient brings in a homemade cake or some other treat, or when it is someone’s birthday. All this talk about food might lead you to think that my colleagues are heavy, but not so. The Turkish diet (will cover in the future food blog), combined with lots of walking seems to protect from weight gain. And speaking of walking, though there are many elevators in the hospital, everyone takes the steps. I have even seen patients with canes hobbling up the steps. (Mercifully, both Kardiologi and Orthopediks are on the ground level!) Stairways in most Turkish buildings are really attractive, wide, and inviting as opposed to being an ugly unfinished afterthought as they are in most American buildings. And it seems to result in greater use.
5pm: As I leave the hospital for home, I am always amazed to see the balloon man still there!
