Stardate 4:10:08, Captain's Log
Trip Start
Jan 23, 2003
1
9
14
Trip End
Ongoing
Beersheba, Israel
Thursday, April 10, 2008
So I have settled into a niche of some kind here in Be'er Sheva, exactly in time to leave the country again. I will be going to Egypt to visit my sprightly young father. Ironically, I may be in Egypt during part of Passover.
I have learned a few things here at the station in Be'er Sheva, and my Hebrew has improved. I can now say "myocardial infarction" (otem beshrir ha'lev) in Hebrew, but I still struggle with some basics like "spoon" (uhhh?). I know which drivers I should avoid (Shlomi, Sami, Eyal, Natalie, Little Boris, Big Boris, Yossi), and which ones are willing to entertain the possibility that I'm worth their time (Yakir, Nerdy Boris). I know who I can beat at sheshpesh (nobody, unless I get lucky), where to find ten bananas for a buck fifty (Bedouin market), what kind of humus gives me nasty gas (the cheap, good tasting kind), and what is the tastiest breakfast food ever (sesame baracas with potatoes, pickled egg, and cheese).
I still don't know what I'm going to do for the next five years.
In addition to a couple of mediocre car wrecks, a whole bunch of old people, asthmatics, unconscious kids, and one guy who was found sitting on a park bench at six in the morning, in the midst of a full barrage of sprinklers, I've had one truly memorable call.
In the early morning, my roommate and I were called to a car wreck. When we arrived we assessed the scene story: It looked like a man had attempted to drive his semi truck across the desert, perhaps to shave time off his route. He hit a ravine next to the road, jackknifed, and was in dire straights when we arrived. The cab of the truck was in the ravine, resting on one set of wheels, and the man was partially spilling out of his seat sideways. The door was partially opened, and a sheet of broken glass and perhaps a trapped leg hindered the man's eventual slide onto the ground. There was gasoline spilling out from some hidden leak in the truck, and the smell was everywhere. A crowd of Israeli bystanders had gathered around, smoking nervously. Smoking?! The fools! We immediately made sure everyone had safely gotten rid of their cigarettes, and an Israeli medic prepared an IV (incorrectly). A team of bystanders and fireman peeled the glass away, while we inserted the IV. For some reason (bad preparation) the IV was not flowing. This meant that we had to take turns holding the IV up and squeezing IV fluid into the poor dude's arm. Whatever. We're volunteers, not professionals. Tremble in fear, ye citizens of Israel. After securing a backboard, slapping on a neck brace, and beginning to ease the man out of his truck, the Natan (big, badass ambulance) showed up, and booted us off the scene (probably saving the guy's life). And that was that. I'm actually pretty sure the guy was fine. He showed signs of head trauma, but it didn't look like he was headed for shock, so my guess is that the part of him not visible wasn't bleeding heavily, and any internal bleeding was not immediately life threatening. Rest assured.
