What is it like to work with the CKHV 2016 group?
It’s insane. Absolutely insane. I knew it would be trouble from the first group meeting when there was just as much laughter as there was discussion. Let me tell you a bit about our group.
Chau is the fearless leader and why we are here in the first place. Her easy going attitude as the captain of this ship has let each member stay alive and thrive in this intense experience in a foreign country. There’s so much that could go wrong yet Chau is constantly at the helm, ready to steer the ship off the rocks. Don’t get me wrong. She is human. She has no sense of direction and needs her partner, Christian, to do the actual physical guiding when the group is headed somewhere. Many a times we’ve had to call her back from heading out the wrong door. Chau also gets motion sick very easily. We’ve been subject to a few loud retches in closed quarters. Still, we love Chau to bits. Her language interpretation and easy laughter has made this trip an amazing experience.
Christian is Chau’s husband, and like he says… Chau’s in charge but he’s in control. Christian is a human compass. We can be in the middle of nowhere, never having been there before, and he will lead us all in the right direction. You will be subject to off colour jokes while he’s doing it, but that just adds to the flavour. Christian is also the dad deposit for any child that is tired of walking. His everlasting good humour attitude has kept the group on even keel. We get the sense that ‘things will work out’ no matter what we’re dealing with during our travels. Christian is one of our cameramen and his equipment is huge! He’s often the instigator in getting us to try new experiences. We all have clean feet from his convincing us to let tiny fish give us a pedicure.
David “I need a haircut” Easton is on his second mission. He’s a group favourite and comes in for quite a bit of teasing over his hatred of a specific bridge in Can Tho. Dave’s a great straight man to Thu, Chau’s mom, though his own snappy comebacks are legendary. We all wait to hear what he’s got to say when Thu asks him a question. He’s also a cameraman with big equipment. He brings an individual twist to the uniform dress with his signature argyle sweater and nonconformist pants.
Stasa is a favourite both with the group and with the Vietnamese people we meet. Her ultra curly hair is a fascination for them and they often reach out a hand to touch her coif. She takes it with a smile and easy grace. Her easy laugh and enthusiasm is a boon for us. If there’s any food or experience to be shared, Stasa is an easy partner to hang with. You need Stasa on board for any snack run as she always finds the best stuff.
Aaron stirs up action. We’ve all got bruised shins from joining him in the bumper cars. He’s also part of the crew who won the kayak race and the three-legged race with Joanna. We suspect that he cheats a lot, considering he’s always winning things. We almost lost Aaron when he decided on an impromptu beer run during a traffic road block. We got him back, though, much to the group’s relief.
Joanna has taught us all the extra verses to the Wheels on the Bus… trust us. You don’t want to know what the dads on the bus do. In our afternoon teaching demonstrations, she’s been a traffic accident victim, a heart attack, and a negligent mom. She started out good but left the stage briefly to ‘go get a coffee.’ We love her… dare we say it?… almost as much as Louis and Aaron do.
Anne started the whole group reading a book called “Turning Breath into Air.” It’s a book about a neurosurgery resident that dies of lung cancer. It’s been a bonding experience to read the same words and discuss the commonality of residency and death. As a counterpoint, Anne is usually in the middle of anything with laughter involved. She’s a great seatmate in any long-hours van trip, regaling the crowd with stories of her family and crazy new dog. She has a soft heart and we are suspicious that her carry-on to home will contain all the stray pups we’ve come across.
Stephanie has taught the whole group the good, the bad, and the ugly about fertility. She’s had the most intense group sessions as the obstetricians at the conference refuse to leave her until the absolute end of each day. Stephanie is one of the moms of the group as well, making sure we all have mosquito spray, sunscreen or toilet paper. She’s encouraged the group to embrace the squat toilet and all its wonders.
Brent can walk anywhere and find anything in our host city. He’s also the only one with the claim to fame of making it to Ho Chi Minh city and back in 4 hours on a medical transport. We had bets on how long it would take and the prize was Brent giving a massage. Dave won. Brent’s easy going smile in face of hunger pangs is an inspiration to us all.
Hareishun has the best pirate head coverings, mostly in camouflage pattern. Don’t know what you call them… a babushka is what Dave suggests I say. He can eat. Man, can that guy eat. If there’s left over meals, it’s automatically assumed we should give it to Hareishun. He is one of the jogging crew, and has a soft heart for the pups he sees on the runs.
Sarah is our blogger of the group. Without her, I don’t think we would have reflected on this experience as much or realized how much we mean to each other in such a short time. Her laughter is infectious and often keeps the giggling going. She’s one of the CPR Disco Dance Party crew with Lisa. Her station is often the noisiest from the laughter and fun learning her students enjoy.
Lisa (me): I don’t know what they make of me. I’m sure it’s something not repeatable here. <Written by Chau: Lisa’s positive energy and enthusiasm to embrace all things on this medical mission was heart-warming…not to mention her sassy quirkiness.>
Darlene and Thu are Chau’s moms. Tieng is Chau’s dad. They have made this tour a smooth running operation full of interesting things to do and great restaurants to eat at when we are off work. We love them to bits.
Gabriel, Sébastien and Louie: We call the children of the group the ‘Ambassadors of Emotion’. Their shrieks of laughter as they chase each other or their tears as they struggle with growing pains during a trip abroad are a “heart part” of our group. It’s been a joy to experience Vietnam through their eyes.