I finally posted my contract, signed and completed, to accept my new job with Carrot&Bush in London when I return to Europe in November. I've realised that the money I've been promised in Kyrgyzstan is actually better than what C&B have offered me in London, once you take living costs into consideration. Apparently, if I perform well, I might be asked to stay on for longer in Bishkek at an improved salary. It's something to think about.
Another journey overseas, another saga with doctors and vaccinations. In the UK they provide you with a list of vaccinations you need for your chosen destination, and most of those
vaccinations are free too. Not here in Germany. Oh no. There's a charge just for them telling you what you're going to need. "Is there a charge for you to tell me that there's going to be a charge? No? Well, I'll get the list of jabs I need from the UK, then."Not good enough for German doctors.
They will only administer what they deem necessary, not what my own research indicates. "But this list is from your own Foreign Office's department for necessary vaccinations when travelling to Kyrgyzstan," I protested in vain. So I have to pay for them to confirm my research is correct. And of course I have to pay for most of the jabs. And for them to administer the jabs. Thieving sausage-eaters.They did suggest that I ask my company to pay for the vaccines, but I can't see Carrot&Bush doing that unless it complied with company directive #45264/1/1/05.
The good news is I am already immunised against Hepatitis A and B for life. This is especially good news: when I asked the doctor how much those jabs cost, she
told me it was too much for one person to pay. So all I need is Diphtheria, Typhus and Tetanus. I'm not sure what the first two are for, but I learned once that Tetanus is something you need if somebody stabs you in the back during a French lesson.Anyway, Diphtheria and Tetanus jabs have been added to the puncture wounds in my left arm, and after going to the Pharmacist to order the Typhus shot myself (I can't believe I had to go and order it myself), I'm due to be jabbed with that tomorrow morning. I will then be charged for the pleasure of being jabbed, for the cost of the vaccination, and for the "consultation fee" of asking the German doctor to confirm that yes, I need the jabs I thought I did.
I've also been emailed a few photos from the school I'll be teaching in, which you may have noticed dotted around on this post. It's an American-language school, hence the American flag beside the Kyrgyz flag in the picture above. It remains to be seen how they will react to my British English. I should probably refrain from mentioning that American is simply a sub-dialect for
idiots who can't speak or, like, spell properly. When in Bishkek, do as the Bishkekians do...I've not idea what to make of this photo though: a man holding a nappy, and a poster of the United States of America on the wall behind him. Any ideas?
3 comments:
Tetenus (or coloquially known as Lock Jaw) can aslo be contracted by being 8 years old and your "best friend" repeatedly stabbing you in the hand with a rusty metal ruler. It cannot, however, be contracted through eating raw bacon.
No idea. Maybe he has "Jackass" humour of eating chocolate pudding off a nappy...
Anyway... All of these shots you mentioned are obligatory here in Croatia (btw, you should have some antibodies left from your last trip to the "stan" countries... heheh...). Chances are, they probably are there too, so, maaaabye ;), you should have risked a vaccination there and then ... before they stick a needle (owch) into your vein (owch, owch - hope you appreciate my effort in commenting such topics as needles in veins, when you know I tend to faint just from the thought of it) and you actually have to pay for it (oooowch), try and see if you can do that instead (just a suggestion - I'm probably too late).
Raw Bacon, I like your name, but it's hardly going to encourage practising Muslims to my blog. I'm glad you have learned that best friends, like best men, are never to be trusted. Just look at Lords Blackadder and Flashheart.
I was there on that fateful day when you indulged in your raw bacon experiment. A Tesco-value hock if I remember rightly, fried for all of 90 seconds, then sandwiched between two slices of Tesco-value white bread. And we English are famous for our cooked breakfasts.
I was talking to somebody today who had never heard of fish and chips. So I described it to him. Understanding dawned. "Ah, chips fish!"
Anita, thanks for your advice. My immunisations against Hep A and B are still valid from my trip to that other 'Stan, but the others expired in March of this year. And yes, you were too late. ;-)
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