In my last post, I wrote about my progress in this country, the United Kingdom, since I moved here to work, which was on or around the 16th of November in 2015. That post was about my professional progress, my personal stuff and so on.
In this post, I am going to mention my social advancement. I have made hundreds of new acquaintances; many of these have slowly grown into friendships, although I do admit that very few have led to household-friendliness. I have had my friends bring me or send me Christmas and festival cards, buy me a cup of coffee, help me do stuff I find difficulties doing, and sending me glowing testimonials about my work. I have been invited only once by a parent of a child I treated - but I did not go as I wasn't free that afternoon. I made an acquaintance with a patient's grandfather that led to membership in a local Indian cultural group that I am proud to be a part of. I made a lot of birding friends, but lack of time has led many of those friends to fall by the wayside. The one person I am still friends with - and whom I do meet from time to time - is very dear to me as he took me on a lovely birding trip to a local area.
Among doctors, I must mention some of my doctor colleagues whom I really treasure the friendship with. They include many who were only in Blackpool for a short while of about 4-6 months as they did a stint here before moving to do posts elsewhere. I should also include several doctors I met and still meet when I do locum jobs in other trusts. There are agency workers with whom I have a very good relationship. They are my friends on social media and we do wish each other on our significant days.
My well-wishers and admirers include domestic staff, nurses, doctors, dieticians, ward assistants, administrative staff and patient parents in the hospital. Outside the hospital, I have similar people at places I frequent, including coffee shops, restaurants, hobby shops, retail stores and so on. There are at least 3 workers at the Blackpool North railway station who always nod/doff their hats/ acknowledge me; one of them trusts me completely and waives his right to even check my ticket on my way to boarding the train.
I have to say this: people from India think the British are tight-lipped and do not freely interact with others. My experience in this regard has been totally uplifting. I do think though that there are certain boundaries we should never cross. The Brits are very open-hearted if you stay within those bounds. For example, there is a polite way to hug that would be completely wrong in India, but very acceptable in the U.K. You could end up hugging someone within minutes of meeting them - and it would still be socially acceptable. A mother of a sick child once spontaneously rose off her chair and hugged me with gratitude at a hospital I had gone to do a one-off duty in - in almost total darkness at 02:00 a.m. when I went in to review her child! Only today, I was with my consultant, when a female colleague I had worked with a year ago came to visit the Paediatric ward for something else - and she came over to us and gave me a friendly hug in front of my consultant.
To be honest, as a married male, I am not allowed to do the same to a woman - and this can be quite unnerving and unsettling - as I was warned by my educational supervisor on one occasion when I reached out to go close to a co-worker of the opposite sex. This is where I have occasionally foundered and worried, but things are improving as I am getting used to the culture of this country.
As I cook my own food and take it to the hospital every day, I have found many admirers who marvel at the smell of the food I open at lunchtime and heat in the microwave. I was pleasantly surprised when I met a GP for the first time at a social function - tells me he has heard about my culinary skills! When I asked him how he had known about this, he told me one of his GP trainees who had once worked with me in the hospital had told him about this!
There is so much to talk about but I will end this post for now. If you know me in the U.K. and are reading this and know I am talking about you, do smile. Readers, please comment. Thanks.
In this post, I am going to mention my social advancement. I have made hundreds of new acquaintances; many of these have slowly grown into friendships, although I do admit that very few have led to household-friendliness. I have had my friends bring me or send me Christmas and festival cards, buy me a cup of coffee, help me do stuff I find difficulties doing, and sending me glowing testimonials about my work. I have been invited only once by a parent of a child I treated - but I did not go as I wasn't free that afternoon. I made an acquaintance with a patient's grandfather that led to membership in a local Indian cultural group that I am proud to be a part of. I made a lot of birding friends, but lack of time has led many of those friends to fall by the wayside. The one person I am still friends with - and whom I do meet from time to time - is very dear to me as he took me on a lovely birding trip to a local area.
Among doctors, I must mention some of my doctor colleagues whom I really treasure the friendship with. They include many who were only in Blackpool for a short while of about 4-6 months as they did a stint here before moving to do posts elsewhere. I should also include several doctors I met and still meet when I do locum jobs in other trusts. There are agency workers with whom I have a very good relationship. They are my friends on social media and we do wish each other on our significant days.
My well-wishers and admirers include domestic staff, nurses, doctors, dieticians, ward assistants, administrative staff and patient parents in the hospital. Outside the hospital, I have similar people at places I frequent, including coffee shops, restaurants, hobby shops, retail stores and so on. There are at least 3 workers at the Blackpool North railway station who always nod/doff their hats/ acknowledge me; one of them trusts me completely and waives his right to even check my ticket on my way to boarding the train.
I have to say this: people from India think the British are tight-lipped and do not freely interact with others. My experience in this regard has been totally uplifting. I do think though that there are certain boundaries we should never cross. The Brits are very open-hearted if you stay within those bounds. For example, there is a polite way to hug that would be completely wrong in India, but very acceptable in the U.K. You could end up hugging someone within minutes of meeting them - and it would still be socially acceptable. A mother of a sick child once spontaneously rose off her chair and hugged me with gratitude at a hospital I had gone to do a one-off duty in - in almost total darkness at 02:00 a.m. when I went in to review her child! Only today, I was with my consultant, when a female colleague I had worked with a year ago came to visit the Paediatric ward for something else - and she came over to us and gave me a friendly hug in front of my consultant.
To be honest, as a married male, I am not allowed to do the same to a woman - and this can be quite unnerving and unsettling - as I was warned by my educational supervisor on one occasion when I reached out to go close to a co-worker of the opposite sex. This is where I have occasionally foundered and worried, but things are improving as I am getting used to the culture of this country.
As I cook my own food and take it to the hospital every day, I have found many admirers who marvel at the smell of the food I open at lunchtime and heat in the microwave. I was pleasantly surprised when I met a GP for the first time at a social function - tells me he has heard about my culinary skills! When I asked him how he had known about this, he told me one of his GP trainees who had once worked with me in the hospital had told him about this!
There is so much to talk about but I will end this post for now. If you know me in the U.K. and are reading this and know I am talking about you, do smile. Readers, please comment. Thanks.
