This morning, I woke to a swollen finger that I could not move without pain. I thought I might have slept on it wrong so let it be for an hour then decided, something is not right with this finger. So I thought and thought, what could I have done to have injured it? Nothing came to mind - until I recalled the day before I left, I grabbed a rose bush and a thorn broke off in my thumb. I tried to tweeze it out - but to no avail. So, I let it go and it healed over....well, that healing over, did not mean the thorn was over!
I asked Barb what she thought and said it not look too bad - see how it goes. So after riding my bike into office, I took a picture and sent it to Mary Jo and asked her for an impression. She said, its infected, get to a doctor. A doctor??? No clinic is open on Sunday??? So, I called my host, Grete and she told me to call the hospital in Ski. I spoke to the nurse and she said, yes it sounds like an infection, you better come in and have it looked at. So I called Grete back and asked her where and how do I get to Ski Sick Haus - she explained. I rode my bike back to my apartment building up the courage to go see a doctor and when I arrived, Barb and Chuck took another look at it and said they'd help me get to hospital. Boy was I relieved! So Barb set off calling their friends to see if someone could drive us Ski - she found a colleague of Chuck (Geir) who came a got us and took us to the hospital.
There Chuck and I took a number, and waited to talk to receptionist. As soon as we sat down, our number was called and I was in line to see the doctor. Chuck and I talked (well I talked because I was so nervous about seeing the doctor) for about 45 minutes. I was called into the office and waited again to be called into the exam room. Of course the hospital was filled with sick children so there was screaming and crying come from all sides - did not help me with my anxiety.
Finally the doctor called me, but as I was walking in, the nurse grabbed my hand and pop - took my blood - after she said she was testing for infection. I was dazed. I sat down and the Doctor looked at my thumb and said "yes, you have an infection" then he proceeded to write me a prescription. Done! Whew. What a relief again.
We get the prescription and bring to the pharmacy for one days worth and then I get the rest in As. After I pay $60.00 for the exam and medications with cash and leave the hospital with Chuck. As we were walking out the side walk, a nurse stopped in her car and gave us a ride to the train station.
From there, Barb had contacted another friend and so they came and picked us up from the station.As we enter into As and I am thinking how grateful I am to these people who came to my rescue and helped me through this ordeal and how am I ever going to repay them - when Barb says, I will come with them to her friends house for dinner, where I ate shepard's pie, fresh salad greens and apple cake for dessert. Talk about humility and gratitude!
I am still trying to figure out a way to return this favor - but as Barb says, paying that goodness forward may be the best I can do.
Sept. 12
This morning, I teach class - I am anxious to do the class because I have not been able to organize the items for the activities - instead, I met with Ellen up in the greenhouse and she put it all together for me. I was very happy to see everything organized just the way I would have done it myself.
That class is for master's level OT/PT/Nursing students who come from Oslo to UMB for a cooperative course. There are about 15 students plus staff. Of course, I had planned this class session for undergraduates in horticulture - so I had to make some immediate changes to the presentation (an example of being lost in translation). I did so and actually, it allowed me to go much deeper into the activities because these students had education/experience already.
After my ppt. I we went to three stations - plant propogation, japanese dry gardens, and Webscapes guided meditation. Each station had a different case study (Sally with Down Syndrome; Mary with severe and persistent mental illness; Elli with Anorexia). We did the activities and then students were to think about how the tasks in the activities would benefit each case study. The students were great and really enjoyed the class.
Sept. 13
Today I get up at crack of dawn to meet Grete at train station to Oslo. I am met by a group of young men selling cardomon buns and coffee to raise money for a field trip.
In Oslo, we will meet with Grete's class of master's level Public Health students for a lecture and field trip. I give another presentation - this time only 30 minutes and no experiential learning. Afterwards, five students came up to talk to me about how they could get more information into HT/NBT and if there were any other courses or trainings. This was a good thing because I am helping Grete to formulate her training curriculum and these students will be great resources to determine what kind of continuing education do they want and what do they want to learn.
We had a break for lunch and then loaded up a tourist bus heading out of Oslo about 1 hour. As we are driving along, the scenery is getting greener and greener and mush more pictureeque. We arrive to the farm, called "Kirkerud Gard" where the purpose is to teach music and horticulture both, to people who are not in the work force (have not been for many years due to illness) and people with developmental disabilites.
The farm is a 5th generation farm where the parents and children together are doing this "farm-care" type programming. The father and son are both mucisions and that is how the whole idea started. The program consists of cutting wood from their forest, teaching music and musical performance; and gardening. They use to have more fields in cereal crops, but now the father is the only one doing that and participants are more involved with the logging , music and gardening.
We arrive and the first thing is a talk about the place. Then we move to another location and there is more talk about the program. Then they lead us down a hill into an old manure silo that has been cleaned out and made into am amphitheater/HT program space. The father and son play Louis Armstrong 'what a wonderful world" and there is brownies and coffee to eat.
After the music, they talk more about the program. Of course of this talking is in Norwegian, so I cannot understand any of it - but the gist I get from Grete.
We arrive back to As by 6:00 and I get a call from Erligh, who is going to take me to Tjome for a teacher training. He tells me he cannot come to get me so I am instructed to take a train to Moss and there, I am to find him and take a ferry to across fjord and from there, we go to Tjome.I arrive in Moss and we are just in time to take the ferry.
The ferry ride is a beautiful! The sun is just setting and the ferry is moving across the water with ease while I am listening to Bruce Cockburn's "All the diamonds" playing on my iPod. Perfection and near heaven.
The drive to Tjome is about one and a half hours further and so we get to the place after 10:00 pm. All were just wrapping up the evening events and heading to bed; except, because we had just arrived we had to meet and greet and have apple cake and laugh and talk till 12:00. By the time I get to my bed, I am about to faint, I am so exhausted - my head is reeling as it hits the pillow.
I wake to the sound of what I think is Tarzan - but I look out my window and come to find out it is their rooster.
I take a morning walk into this sanctuary of healing. It is so beautiful and the people are so kind and warm - I feel like I am in heaven.
The people who own this farm are Marianne and Rolf. She is an artist/Horticultural Therapist and he is an Architect.
We eat, teach and eat some more.
My presentation here was on the Learning Center and the Arboretum's children's education program because the participants are all teachers. They are very impressed with what Sandy and her staff have (and are) doing - so lots of questions and conversation after my talk.
This is picture of Erligh in the classroom
After all is said and done, Erligh and I head back to As while the others stay one more day of training. En route home we take a different route that goes through a tunnel under the fjord. It goes down steep and comes back steep. Lots of pull offs for people who are claustaphobic. Get back to my room and fall into bed!
Sept. 16
Which brings me to today! It is another sunny and lovely day and I have a bit of time do some planning. I will talk to Tim on Skype this evening and get caught up with all that's happening back on the farm. More to come ......
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