Light sleepers

This is what what it looks like to try to fall asleep at 10.30pm in Whitehorse these days:

 

I think I have successfully transitioned into a 7-hour a night sleeper now, and who knows how little sleep I will be able to function on later in the summer!

I've had some other experiences at work that have made it feel like we're on a different planet here. The backgrounds of the people I meet in the mornings who come in to the hospital for surgeries, and the causes of the injuries that I see in the afternoons... well, you have to hear some of them for yourself:

- A youngish man came in with multiple fractures, and was in so much pain he couldn't use one of his arms. Even though he could barely do anything for himself, he wanted to leave the hospital right away so he could get back to his lonely cabin in the woods and guard his claim. His gold mining claim! 

- An old man with a serious neck condition was advised by his doctor to start taking it easier and rest more, and when I asked him what he had done on the weekend to aggravate his neck pain, he said he'd gone hunting and bagged an enormous male black bear

My next two days at work will be spent at a cross-cultural workshop to enhance my knowledge of local First Nations cultures, which is mandatory for all WGH employees. I don't know if they provide lunch, and whether that lunch will be from the Traditional Diet meal program, but just thinking about Colin's caribou stew from Teslin makes me hope so!

In related news, Colin finally found a local street-meat vendor, the first one since leaving Toronto. He sells elk and caribou, as well as the old favourites!

Bye for now,

Lauren