What a wonderful day! Alan and Glynis have organized a marvelous trip.
Some thoughts on the day:
- Met with the American Ambassador. I was able to ask a question about road safety (as I promised to Rochelle Sobel). I was pleased that she began her response by confirming that road crashes are the number one killer of Americans traveling abroad.
- I was somewhat disappointed by one of the answers given by the Ambassador. Commenting on the elections, she shared her opinion that Hillary Clinton lost because she did so well in the early voting that the average voter didn’t show up on election day to support her. Where she got this information I am not sure but, in any event, it totally discounted the importance of the Donald Trump vote and how, perhaps, it represents a broad segment of the United States public. To ignore this population is, in my opinion, a bit chauvinistic (perhaps too harsh a word) and discounts one of the important lessons of the election….we are, in fact, a divided nation that needs to recognize what is important to each other.
- The teaching went very well. I did a lesson on triage. I started by talking about my grandfather who, appropriately, was a soldier during WWI in the Austrio-Hungarian army. As a child, he told me stories of his job in the army. After the battles, he would go into the fields and have to collect the bodies….the dead bodies for burial and those still alive to be given medical attention. Concerning the last group, he had to make a triage decision. Who should he bring back and in what order? Essentially he divided these soldiers into three groups: 1) those so severely injured they would dies in any event; 2) those who were lightly injured and could wait for treatment; 3) those with serious injury that would dies without treatment but would likely be saved by medical attention. This latter group was the one he concentrated on. Concerning my lesson, it was a good introduction and a way to share my common history. Who would have thought that the nightmares I had as a kid because of my zeyde’s stories would one day be used in a positive way!
- My counterpart, Gabor, is truly my double! We seem to share the same educational philosophy, political perspective and more. We have had similar experiences and education, as well. I look forward to developing a strong friendship with him and working close together on this program.
- I am not going to lose any weight on this program! The food is plentiful and good. Lunch at the school was particularly tasty and rather tasty.
- The school is very impressive. The architecture of the physical facility is exquisite and conducive to learning.
- The afternoon tour was very interesting and we had a great guide.
- In total, a great day and a wonderful start to what I am sure will be a highlight of my life, as promised by Alan (truly!)
