That department is a three-storey building in a big hospital… the top floor is a special place.

There’re more than 20 members in our group, almost are girls with 4 boys only. When we came that department, the boys were assigned to work on the third floor… but they were there rarely. We’re told an unwritten rule: " Do not go to the third alone"… It made me thought of the haunted houses in old stories…

That place for patients with Aids only, that was something like a hidden and awesome place in my mind. Sometimes, the boys told us that someone died, sometimes we heard crying sound… I went there, I saw no many differences with beds, patients, and patients’ family… But it’s the only place I could see the patients who’re prisoners…

Working a part time job every night and instead of night duty, I did my duty on Saturday and Sunday’s days. Weekend’s days off, there’re only 2 nurses and 2 students worked for all patients… When we worked on third floor, I could see the patients closer… They almost were young… Two of them were prisoners, they’re youngers…

One usually sat on his bed beside window…It’s a green garden of view from the window with a big milk blosoms tree… I could see a clever face with something wildcat… He’s older than me 1 year… Sometimes I saw a man there with him… I thought that’s his father… They spoke rarely… They seemed waiting for something… I didn't know really what it could be, but I hadn’t felt fear them like before…

One lay on bed in another room, half of his body was full of injuries, his face’s too. He couldn’t move and I thought he couldn’t see. A man was always with him to sever… When we closed to him, he asked the nurse if whether she feared him… The nurse said if she’s scared, how she could do her job… And he asked me: "I’m young like you but I got Aids, do you feel sorry for me?"… I couldn’t say anything… It’s one of the hardest questions to answer… But it’s really a meaningful lesson…

Sometimes... life is so short………?!!

In my training courses at hospitals I met many people, some of them give me very strong impressions. Maybe a day I will forget them all, I don’t like that bad day so that I try to keep that. Hope it works…..

"You look prettier with smile". I heard people told that, I read this sentence somewhere and perhaps I said it sometime. However I hadn’t seen a true beautiful smile until once I worked in Pediatric Hospital.
That was the first terms I spent in hospitals and was not convenient to see some hard things there. Frequently we stepped around to take an over view of a department. At first day I went along the passageway, dropping look into the wards. The patients were children. Almost of them looked lovely even they’re ill. They made a mixed noise of crying, shouting, playing, laughing, and sleeping… It’s like the sound of water in boiling or raining. Incredibly, I didn’t feel tired with this noise at all, but a little comfort.

It might be a little shock when I went by the intensive care hall and saw a boy with a bright face. It’s due to the shape of his body. That creature looked like a compasses was wrung out of its axis. He’s lying on bed, 14 years old but all he could do is lying. It’s something too cruel from something named War. Keeping stepping I was not brave enough to enter the ward. I don’t know detail of Dioxin neither what War was. All I got is an obsession from a imagine of a victim. He’s not on TV or Internet or a pic, he’s close to me some stepped distant…

The next day, we went in the ward to get a Care plan. I wondered why he had such a nice face when his body suffered something called genetic defeats from toxic chemicals. I could see him longer but with a heavy mood. That boy was more special than I had thought. He looked at us while his mother’s answering our questions. I found some joy in his black eyes as through if he could speak he would have shared them with us. Surprisingly, he smiled when the mother said: "Smile… smile to them, son." And all of us smiled too. His smile took my bad mood away… That’s the brightest smile I’ve met, it showed me how charming we are with smile…

Thank you… thanks you, boy!

I’d never guessed that a day I would work in hospitals. Nurse is not my interesting job. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but with 2 years of studying Nursing Program I had met some people who gave me lessons of life.

Have you ever compared price of some things…?

Two years study at school costs about 4T, if you’re lucky you can pay 40T for a job that you can earn 400K/month after 2 years working without a pay… ?

A licence he got for 12 years study could be cost 1T in a pawnshop… but he can earn that deal by "helping" someone pass his or her exam for 2 or 3 days… of course, he has to leave his exam and do it next time if his chance still there…

Back to our story of Salary and Fee… it’s a vicious circle…

He tries to pay his fee at school,… Leave class time to work and work for fee ??? It sounds funny and crazy… He can’t do it…

He hears some friends said that they can’t bear their study anymore, but they needed the licences. They paid 200K for a subject… and some other Ks for a licence of Eng. or Com. It’s one of the ways to have money for his fee, but he could be expelled from school…Cheap or expensive…???

Now, he can pay his fee, but later if he can pay his job…? And the people who ask him 40T, had they ever done something as he’s doing for a faint hope about future…???

Is it a circle of life…???

 

Last night I came to a friend’s home, she’s ill, and met some old buddies at high school. It’s 4 years since we graduated, the memories of a dream time comes back. Time goes by fast, some rains fall, and we’re apart then met on way, laughing, talking and back to own life……

As the melody of a song "As we go on, we remember all the times we had together and as our lives change come whatever, we will still be friends forever!" Leaving high school and striving for own dream, facing the facts, we become adult. Every thing is not like as we imagined or planed. Some ones go on studying, some ones work and some ones married……

Looking back the past and we wonder if it’s just yesterday or a sweet short dream? Will we can be back a day? Will we still be friends forever? Will all ours dream come true?……

The busy days, editing a short essay to finish the last module at school, and preparing for my graduation this October. Being short of money and wondering how hard to find a real job, I applied for some jobs. It's not easy to find a suited job, but I've got some experiences.

A nice day, I sent my resume to a Singapore agency. I knew they would never think a student as I am could do something there. Temporarily, I still have no confident certificate but I hoped my resume (written in English) could helpul in touching their attention. Luckily, the next day I received an email, someone who named H. asked me to come to his or her office for an interview. It's really cool, but it took about a week to schedule, the reason is he seems busy and me too. Finally, last Monday I came to the office. A big Singapore man, about 30 years old was the interviewer. He asked me many things, but with my poor memory, I just can remember a hard question. " Medical, medical…. You're a medical student, and it's very different from our business. What do you think you can contribute and how can you work when you've not finished your study at school? ". I was so confused, I almost told him the beginning reason that I was there. I just want to try how my ability is, and if I can do some other jobs except becoming a nurse. My mind is always going empty when I'm in disorder. I can't remember what did I say until he asked me the last question that if I agree their regulation I can join full or part time, depended on myself. Of course, I agreed to become a collaborator and given some documents about the corp.

My study at school takes almost of my time. I just can be free in the evenings (in case I don't have to attend at the hospitals), and being a collaborator means "marketing". You earn nothing if you don't find out some clients. I need a job to have some pays directly.

Another seek, I came to a Japanese house-wine. Maybe this's a chance for me to learn something about Japanese. It seemed that I was welcome there, because I can speak foreign langue, they will pay me about 2 millions VND/month (so cool!) , the working time is from 19h to 23h30' (it's late night but seems suited to my poor time), the uniform is " Ao Dai" (I like wearing "Ao Dai" very much) . But, almost the problems are from the word "BUT", overview my duties are pouring out the wine and talking to customers. I don't understand exactly what " talking" means, and I fear the drunkards. Although they emphasized that's a " clean restaurant", I left that place without a promise of coming back, but I can't get " two millions VND" out of my mind. Hix, am I too greedy?