When I was in hospital in Corsica I was given pills at intervals. I was in pain and asked if I could take the pills myself.
They brought me the pills and told me to take them every four hours, but not every two hours, because that was dangerous. They repeated the instructions, every one very two hours, or two every four hours, but not two every two hours because that was dangerous. The instructions were in French, the second language of the nurse, who spoke Italian, and I spoke French as a second language because my first language was English. I was thinking about this, and distracted by people walking in and out of the room. I then looked at the instructions on the bottle. They did not seem to match what the nurse said.
Not only that, but when was I supposed to take the next pill? I had no clock, no watch, and did not know when I had taken the last pill. In any case I had been knocked down by a car and had multiple injuries. I could not move. My right clavicle was broken so I could not raise my head. I could not lift my right arm. So I could not look at a wrist watch or reach for the pills (on my left). So I had to call a nurse, in a dialect of Italian, discussing pills and time.
I had two broken ribs. I had bleeding from my ear which meant I had a brain injury. The nurses on the tour bus had thought that if I recovered I would be brain damaged. And I was trying to speak to nurses and make myself understood in Italian.
Time In Other Languages
I could ask the time, but times are different in different languages. A quarter to, a quarter past, a quarter after? In German it is different to English. In English six thirty means thirty minutes after six (English) but in German half sext means five thirty, six minus half an hour, thirty minutes to or before six.
Then there's the twenty four hour clock. Take the next pill at eight, eight in the morning or eight in the evening? Eight today or every day? Eight or eighteen (which means 6 pm). About five thirty or about five thirteen?
Tips
If you are going into hospital, take with you the packets for the medication you take at home.
Take a dictionary and a device for translating.
Keep not just the number of the hospital, but the number of a translator, embassy, or friend or family member who can ask for an interpreter. A translator is better. Your friend or family member may be like I was in hospital, prone to misunderstanding.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker, language teacher.
They brought me the pills and told me to take them every four hours, but not every two hours, because that was dangerous. They repeated the instructions, every one very two hours, or two every four hours, but not two every two hours because that was dangerous. The instructions were in French, the second language of the nurse, who spoke Italian, and I spoke French as a second language because my first language was English. I was thinking about this, and distracted by people walking in and out of the room. I then looked at the instructions on the bottle. They did not seem to match what the nurse said.
Not only that, but when was I supposed to take the next pill? I had no clock, no watch, and did not know when I had taken the last pill. In any case I had been knocked down by a car and had multiple injuries. I could not move. My right clavicle was broken so I could not raise my head. I could not lift my right arm. So I could not look at a wrist watch or reach for the pills (on my left). So I had to call a nurse, in a dialect of Italian, discussing pills and time.
I had two broken ribs. I had bleeding from my ear which meant I had a brain injury. The nurses on the tour bus had thought that if I recovered I would be brain damaged. And I was trying to speak to nurses and make myself understood in Italian.
Time In Other Languages
I could ask the time, but times are different in different languages. A quarter to, a quarter past, a quarter after? In German it is different to English. In English six thirty means thirty minutes after six (English) but in German half sext means five thirty, six minus half an hour, thirty minutes to or before six.
Then there's the twenty four hour clock. Take the next pill at eight, eight in the morning or eight in the evening? Eight today or every day? Eight or eighteen (which means 6 pm). About five thirty or about five thirteen?
Tips
If you are going into hospital, take with you the packets for the medication you take at home.
Take a dictionary and a device for translating.
Keep not just the number of the hospital, but the number of a translator, embassy, or friend or family member who can ask for an interpreter. A translator is better. Your friend or family member may be like I was in hospital, prone to misunderstanding.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker, language teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment