06 June 2010 – Notes from my diary
A WHOLE MONTH INTO MY BSR JOURNEY and I cannot believe how much headway we have made with our studies! I will never look at the human body in the same way again!
We are about to begin Neurology and have already completed Osteology (study of the bones), Arthrology (joints) and Myology (muscles). There is a mountain of work to get through, and get through it we do. Gail is a very patient and explicit teacher when it comes to Anatomy which helps, especially for the folk from Belgium, Holland and Japan who tend to translate everything into their own language and back again, before learning it.
Class starts every day at 9.00 am and is about 12 minute’s drive from where I stay in the Wilderness. It entails heading towards Sedgefield and leaving the national road to drive down a gravel road through the Swartvlei Lakes district through the countryside to the Academy. The locals I think have grown accustomed to seeing the students driving past every day and we even get the occasional wave! Sometimes we have passed people leading their horses along the road. A far cry from the sometimes two-hour traffic I used to sit in to work almost every day!! Some enthusiastic and energetic students (usually the foreigners) sometimes choose to ride to class on their mountain bikes.
Tea break is usually at 10.30 am for half an hour, and we have the opportunity to sit outside in the sun overlooking the lake, enjoying tea and biscuits or Ewald’s “spiralled” water. There are also monkeys in the area, and sometimes they like to frolic on the roof of the Academy! I often experience a heartfelt moment when hearing the call of the Fish Eagles – a unique and rare soulful African sound! We believe even two lynx have been spotted in the forested area.
Class usually ends at 1.00 pm except for Wednesdays and Thursdays when we finish off at 3.00 pm allowing time for technique. We then take a packed lunch along on these days. I’m convinced that my vitamin D supplements will no longer be necessary as I certainly get my daily dosage of sunshine! We are steadily growing accustomed to finding our way around each other’s vertebral columns and even got to do our first release on Ewald which was quite daunting the first time! We are also encouraged to bring “spines” home overnight to practice on – little plastic models of the vertebral column. During this week we have been partnered up with someone in the class and will be doing our first real releases on our partner tomorrow! My partner is Dale, a softly spoken and gentle-hearted curly haired young man who is an avid surfer from Cape Town. We have already made up our records cards for this event, carefully recording a case history of past surgeries, broken bones and sports injuries.
There is usually a build up towards the end of the week as we head towards our 9.00 am test on a Friday. It’s amazing as adults that we put in so much study voluntarily, sometimes even amounting to an additional 10 hours a week! As I am not generally a morning person, I have surprised myself at the energy I have managed to draw on to sometimes wake up at 5.00 am to study! Although the average age is 40, we have some ‘youngsters’ on course which I am convinced manage to absorb the work much easier than us ‘more mature’ folk! There are times when I am sure my brain is going to run out of memory space, but it hasn’t happened yet! Surprisingly I have managed a 90% average for my tests so far.
Did you know that the main muscle of the neck is known as the sternocleidomastoideus muscle?! It originates at the manubriam and the clavicle (shoulder bone) and inserts at the mastoid process (just behind the ear).
I have bonded thoroughly with 3 Dutch ladies who stay in my vicinity. Anyone would smile listening to our lighthearted banter on the road trip to and from class every day, an animated blend of English, Afrikaans and Dutch! We have enjoyed a lovely meal together at the Wilderness evening market on a Friday – I think we were all so relieved it was weekend, that some alcoholic intake was the order of the day! Ivonne has a passion for animals, and I chuckle at how often we have to stop our vehicle along the way to the Academy for her to “bond” and converse in her beautiful Dutch accent with a dog or cat. We have formed a lift club, so take turns in driving to class.
I really missed having my husband around during the first month when I discovered a furry and very large rain spider above my bed one morning! Although I didn’t want to resort to using the can of Doom I had bought for such occasions, I enlisted the assistance of my very enthusiastic Dutch friends who after a thorough search couldn’t find the villain after it had mysteriously disappeared. We gave up the search to continue when we got back home that evening – to no avail. Just before bedtime I spied the furry creature in the same spot again! In the meantime, I had enlisted Daniel’s help – an elderly Afrikaans gentleman from Wellington who is virtually my neighbour – Daniel quickly dispersed of my visitor, much to my relief. On further investigation I realised that my bathroom door is hollow allowing for easy access, so I have since had it sealed – just in case the spider had decided to lay eggs in the cosy and secluded spot! I have also had a little mouse visit whilst I was studying one evening, through my sliding glass doors that lead out into the garden – I just didn’t have the energy or inclination to chase it out with a broom, so asked it nicely to leave – and it did!!
I have found a church to attend on Sunday mornings in George, George is just “over the hill” from the Wilderness, only 15 kms away. We tend to do our grocery shopping for the week at the George mall on Saturdays, and sometimes I indulge in a movie. I cannot but marvel how it can be totally misty and overcast in the Wilderness, and over the hill in George one will find sunshine and blue skies! As the Hollanders have come from winter and will be returning to winter, they lap up the sunshine at every opportunity, often sitting like sun worshippers, their faces bared upwards to the rays. We have experienced lovely weather down here, and only on a few occasions has there been reason enough for Ewald to light a fire in the stone fireplace at the back of the class.
During the first month we did a 3–8 km trail as a group in the beautiful Jubilee Kynsna forest. I encountered complete peace and perfect splendour in the heart of that forest, untouched beauty, golden silence, fresh green fronds and crystal pools. Food for the soul … one almost expected to spot heavenly bodies flying around!
The highlight of my first month was Andrew riding 1221 kms over two days on his motorbike to come and spend five days with me … I had to wonder how many men would drive all that way to visit their lady love?! We felt like true tourists exploring the surrounding areas: Mossel Bay (what a “disjointed” town: you will find quite luxurious dwellings, hotels and oil refineries all combined in the same area!). It is also a town steeped in history. We took a drive via Knysna to the beautiful Plettenberg Bay and stopped along the way to visit Noetzie, a beautiful private beach complete with a castle! We always somehow find our way back to Leisure Isle overlooking the Knysna Heads, a firm favourite of ours where we spent our honeymoon in 2006…
Yesterday I visited my dear grandmother’s sister in the retirement village in Sedgefield – she is all of 91 years of age, and still as bright as a button! As I had visited the well-known Sedgefield market beforehand, she was delighted when I arrived with two still warm pancakes with cinnamon and sugar – a treat that I am sure is a rare occurrence at the home.
Being Sunday today, a group of about 14 of us participated in an Astar Art Class facilitated by Ashleigh one of the students at the Academy for a few hours – what absolute fun to be let loose with paintbrushes, ink, paint, glue, charcoal, feathers, shards of glass, pieces of mirror, fabrics, etc! It’s been a while since I was given permission to make a mess – although the result was perfectly and simply beautiful!
This week we have Neurology to look forward to, spontaneous talks, first partner checks, client management and learning how to release the mid zone.
I have booked my return flight home for the 10 day break between terms on the 24th of June, and return on the 4th of July. We are far removed down here from the 2010 soccer frenzy around the country, so I guess I will be bombarded by all the hype when I get home to Gauteng.
Thank you once again to everyone who has contacted me – I thoroughly enjoy receiving your e-mails!