Prior to my arrival, I didn't fully appreciate how isolated the hospital & my accommodations would be. RDH is located in the Tiwi suburb of Darwin. You can see downtown Darwin in the distance from the upper floors of the hospital, but it's a $25 cab drive away & not within walking distance. The hospital has small cafeteria with an assortment of drinks, a cafe, & a limited selection of food (mostly fried) & the hours are fairly limited. The area surrounding the hospital on one side is residential with streets of well-kept houses then the other side of the hospital is surrounded by the Casuarina Coastal Reserve with miles of uninhabited coastline & mangroves.
Luckily, Darwin's major shopping center, which is the equivalent of a mall in the US, is located in the adjacent suburb of Casuarina. However, it is a $10 cab drive away, but it's my closest source for buying groceries. On my second day here, I caught a cab to the shopping center & bought myself some food staples at Woolies (Woolworths) & made my two major, essential purchases: a mobile phone & a bicycle or "push bike" as they call them here.
I bought the bike a Kmart, which is considered a major department store here, & it only cost about $100 ASD which comes to about $65 USD! I got a prepaid mobile phone for about $50 ASD which comes to about $32 USD. I'm extremely lucky in that the Australia dollar has fallen considerably against the US dollar despite our miserable economy, so everything seems relatively cheap by comparison.
I'm still waiting on the bike--Kmart is assembling it & it should be ready for pick-up today. This will significantly improve my life here as most people get around on bike & the cities streets are safe & easily navigable by bike. I haven't made it to the downtown area yet, but I'm told it's about a 25-30 min bike ride--I may venture there today if I get my bike in time.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Staff Village
While working here, I'll be living in the the Staff Village, which is on the hospital grounds. As I mentioned earlier, Darwin is full of "transients" like myself who come to RDH for a brief stint to rotate & study at the hospital. Many of them end up living in the Staff Village. It's pretty "bare-bones" dorm room style accommodations.
I have a one-room flat comprised of a twin sized cot, which a surprisingly comfortable mattress & pillow, a closet, built-in desk & bookshelves, a small table, three mismatched chairs with one very threadbare armchair. There's also a small kitchen area with a two-range stove, small oven, small fridge, & an assortment of utensils, dishes, pots, & pans. Luckily, I also have my own private bathroom with a stand-up shower & small washing machine (no dryer--there's a clothing line set up outside my front door). The bed has hospital issued linens on it & they've provided me with hospital issued towels.
I will admit that I was in slight shock when I first walked through the front door, which only reflects how "soft" I've become over the years. Compared to the dorms at Beaufort, the Staff Village is luxurious. I've settled in nicely now & am quite comfortable. Plus, the "village people" are quite a social bunch since they are all from somewhere else & looking to make friends. Also, the hospital is a stone-throw from my front door--about a three minute walk from my stoop to the hospital lobby. Plus, there's a nice swimming pool & squash & tennis courts on the grounds & a medical library with Internet access.
I have a one-room flat comprised of a twin sized cot, which a surprisingly comfortable mattress & pillow, a closet, built-in desk & bookshelves, a small table, three mismatched chairs with one very threadbare armchair. There's also a small kitchen area with a two-range stove, small oven, small fridge, & an assortment of utensils, dishes, pots, & pans. Luckily, I also have my own private bathroom with a stand-up shower & small washing machine (no dryer--there's a clothing line set up outside my front door). The bed has hospital issued linens on it & they've provided me with hospital issued towels.
I will admit that I was in slight shock when I first walked through the front door, which only reflects how "soft" I've become over the years. Compared to the dorms at Beaufort, the Staff Village is luxurious. I've settled in nicely now & am quite comfortable. Plus, the "village people" are quite a social bunch since they are all from somewhere else & looking to make friends. Also, the hospital is a stone-throw from my front door--about a three minute walk from my stoop to the hospital lobby. Plus, there's a nice swimming pool & squash & tennis courts on the grounds & a medical library with Internet access.
The Hospital
While I'm here, I'll be working at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH). RDH has about 363 beds & is the only major hospital & major referral center for the entire Northern Territory as well as South East Asia. It's a teaching hospital & is affiliated with Flinders University of Southern Australia, the University of Sydney, Charles Darwin University, & the Menzies School of Public Health. Because of its university affiliations, there is a large population of "transients" like myself who come to Darwin for brief stints to rotate & train at the hospital. In fact, the vast majority of the residents & medical students I've met are not from Darwin & only recently arrived within the last few weeks to months. More about medical system & training program later.
Darwin
Darwin is the capital city of the Top End of Australia or the Northern Territory (NT). It's a port city situated on the Timor Sea & is in close proximity to Indonesia & East Timor. It's the largest city in the vast NT but even so is comprised of a population slightly under 100,000. The rest of the NT, which occupies over 520,000 square miles, is sparsely populated with a total population of slightly more than 200,000 for the entire territory. With half of the total population living in Darwin & the other half dispersed among the other major settlements, Kathrine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, & Nhulundbuy, & multiple smaller remote communities.
Over 30% of the inhabitants of the NT are Aboriginal Australians with the remainder being primarily of European descent & a minority of Asian descent. There's a surprisingly large Greek community in Darwin of about 10,000--that's 10% of the population of Darwin! As a reflection of this, there's a large Greek Orthodox church in downtown Darwin, which I plan to visit.
The climate in Darwin is tropical with distinct wet & dry seasons but otherwise very little variation in the temperature year round with lows in the 60s & highs in the 80s. I'm catching the tail end of the wet season which runs from December through March. It reminds me of Durham in June & July (though it never gets quite as hot as Durham can get) with mostly sunny, humid days marked by sudden, brief rainfall.
Over 30% of the inhabitants of the NT are Aboriginal Australians with the remainder being primarily of European descent & a minority of Asian descent. There's a surprisingly large Greek community in Darwin of about 10,000--that's 10% of the population of Darwin! As a reflection of this, there's a large Greek Orthodox church in downtown Darwin, which I plan to visit.
The climate in Darwin is tropical with distinct wet & dry seasons but otherwise very little variation in the temperature year round with lows in the 60s & highs in the 80s. I'm catching the tail end of the wet season which runs from December through March. It reminds me of Durham in June & July (though it never gets quite as hot as Durham can get) with mostly sunny, humid days marked by sudden, brief rainfall.
Getting There
The trip to Darwin is arduous. I departed on Tuesday 2/24 in the early afternoon & arrived in Darwin on Thursday 2/26 in the afternoon. Granted, Darwin is about 14 hours ahead of North Carolina. Even accounting for this, be prepared to travel a full day-&-half to get here. I flew Raleigh to Chicago, Chicago to LA, LA to Sydney, & Sydney to Darwin. The hospital was a short $15 cab ride away from the airport.
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