It's been about a week up here, and I've learned something valueable about the North: it draws the best of people, and the worst of people, up here. There's not much in between.
My guts have been killing me, and I've been working twelve hour shifts ever since I got here. I also switched to nightshift as previously noted, which I figured would take a toll on my health. Maybe I was eating too much red meat. Maybe I was just hurting for a salad. It turns out, that's not the case. When I first got here, I thought the water tasted funny. I shrugged and kept drinking it, figured that the taste and mild discomfort would go away.
It didn't.
I cut back on drinking water, which doubtlessly didn't help the situation. After a bit, one of my colleagues noticed my discomfort, and asked what was wrong. Once I told her my guts hurt, she asked about tapwater. I said I was drinking it, and she shook her head. On her break, she walked home and grabbed me a Brita pitcher. Apparently, every nurse up here got sick off the water. Now, I've been pretty far afield and that only happened to me one place: Egypt. So I asked her, is that common up here?
She sighed, and said 'no'.
Apparently, the man who maintains the water infrastructure (and, as an aside, the clinic) is a notorious drunk. Having come up many years ago, he insinuated himself into the community, and has become a fixture. Literally. An immovable piece of the landscape. He couldn't hack it down south, so he came up here and is now the bane of the medical center. The call bells broke down, and were down for more than three days (allegedly) before he staggered in, reeking of vodka.
Mind you, this is a totally dry place. Possesion of mouthwash is a mismeanor.
These are among the less putrid, and more reliable stories about the man - confirmed by multiple sources. He's going to another town next week for his third DUI trial. By all accounts, including that of his new and qualified employee, his failure to maintain the waterworks are why none of us can drink from the taps. The concensus from the old hands is that short of a major incident, he won't be removed- which is one of the major cultural hurdles up here.
Sometimes, the only way to get rid of deadwood is for it to catch fire, I suppose.
It's been two days since I started to drink exclusively filtered water, and I'm feeling a hell of a lot better. I'm still loving it up here- I've spent the night enjoying the view of a pair of freighters docked about a half mile off of the coast, with a harvest moon rising between then. The Arctic is gorgeous by night, especially- though I still wish I could see the stars and northern lights. I tried muskox and raw, frozen caribou today, so I'm feeling pretty good. I get my first day off tomorrow, so I've got to figure out an adventure for myself.
My guts have been killing me, and I've been working twelve hour shifts ever since I got here. I also switched to nightshift as previously noted, which I figured would take a toll on my health. Maybe I was eating too much red meat. Maybe I was just hurting for a salad. It turns out, that's not the case. When I first got here, I thought the water tasted funny. I shrugged and kept drinking it, figured that the taste and mild discomfort would go away.
It didn't.
I cut back on drinking water, which doubtlessly didn't help the situation. After a bit, one of my colleagues noticed my discomfort, and asked what was wrong. Once I told her my guts hurt, she asked about tapwater. I said I was drinking it, and she shook her head. On her break, she walked home and grabbed me a Brita pitcher. Apparently, every nurse up here got sick off the water. Now, I've been pretty far afield and that only happened to me one place: Egypt. So I asked her, is that common up here?
She sighed, and said 'no'.
Apparently, the man who maintains the water infrastructure (and, as an aside, the clinic) is a notorious drunk. Having come up many years ago, he insinuated himself into the community, and has become a fixture. Literally. An immovable piece of the landscape. He couldn't hack it down south, so he came up here and is now the bane of the medical center. The call bells broke down, and were down for more than three days (allegedly) before he staggered in, reeking of vodka.
Mind you, this is a totally dry place. Possesion of mouthwash is a mismeanor.
These are among the less putrid, and more reliable stories about the man - confirmed by multiple sources. He's going to another town next week for his third DUI trial. By all accounts, including that of his new and qualified employee, his failure to maintain the waterworks are why none of us can drink from the taps. The concensus from the old hands is that short of a major incident, he won't be removed- which is one of the major cultural hurdles up here.
Sometimes, the only way to get rid of deadwood is for it to catch fire, I suppose.
It's been two days since I started to drink exclusively filtered water, and I'm feeling a hell of a lot better. I'm still loving it up here- I've spent the night enjoying the view of a pair of freighters docked about a half mile off of the coast, with a harvest moon rising between then. The Arctic is gorgeous by night, especially- though I still wish I could see the stars and northern lights. I tried muskox and raw, frozen caribou today, so I'm feeling pretty good. I get my first day off tomorrow, so I've got to figure out an adventure for myself.
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