I've been in Brunei for one week and have a few observations to share.
First, the people here are truly gracious and kind. Before coming I read that even though this is a conservative Muslim country, they are extremely tolerant of others--I find this to be true. I'm obviously not from here, but everyone I meet is interested to know where I'm from, why I'm visiting Brunei and if I like rice (Really, I don't know why they ask that). People are even polite in traffic.
Second, this is an easy place to live--especially if you're a permanent resident. In that case, your housing is heavily subsidized (my attending pays only $150 per month), health care is free and food is cheap. Plus, the roads are impeccable and the public schools are very good. I have not seen one homeless person and I'm told they are rare. And the country is free of malaria and many other infectious diseases common in SE Asia. How do they do this? Well, oil money helps, I'm sure. Plus I wonder if these are the trade offs for some personal freedoms. For example, if you want to move to Brunei you cannot have HIV, hepatitis or TB. They will know because you will be tested. If you want a job, you'll need to be drug tested. That's just how it is.
Third, women are not as "oppressed" as one would think (having to board last on Royal Brunei Airlines aside). There are more female doctors in Brunei than male doctors. All the country's ministry heads (i.e. the Ministry of Health) are women. It's true women don't really venture out on their own here, but they do receive a lot of support from family and community.
Finally, one would think that a country so close to Indonesia would have amazing coffee. Not true. I've been drinking Instant Nescafe since I arrived. I REALLY miss Seattle coffee.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Welcome to Brunei! Ladies Last, Please!
It first hit me that I was no longer in familiar territory while boarding the flight from Singapore to Brunei. I was in the pre-boarding area watching the final days of the Olympics when my row was called to board--so I got in line ready to hand over my boarding pass. I looked around thinking, "Wow, seems mostly men go to Brunei!" Apparently, I didn't hear the announcement that said, "Men may now board rows..." That's right, ladies last. The man collecting boarding passes was very polite. He smiled at me and said "Sorry, ladies go next." I think he felt bad, he then said, "you can go now if you'd like." I declined. The flights on Royal Brunei Airlines begin with a prayer to Allah. The pre-flight instructions included a reminder that the penalty for importing illegal drugs into Brunei is death. I was asked twice upon my arrival in customs if my bags contained alcohol.
Despite my airline introduction," Brunei feels like a modern, progressive country. The big difference being that EVERYONE drives everywhere in very nice cars (on the left side), no one walks, and tea is served often. There are several beautiful mosques and government buildings scattered throughout the city. Key word being "scattered." The city seems designed to encourage driving. I learned that the Brunei government will give almost anyone a very low-interest car loan. Did I mention Shell Oil employs a large percentage of the country's population?
I arrived on Monday,
March 1st and was greeted at the airport by Dr. Balalla (my primary adviser) and the lone female doctor in the group, Dr. Yin. Both are wonderful! They took me to my room at the SEAMEO VOTECH house (see previous blog). It's a little more third-worldish then as photographed on their website--but perfectly acceptable!! It is pretty larg
e with hot water, TV and wireless internet access. I have a view of an amazing mosque from my balcony. The guesthouse is across the street from a large shopping mall and many restaurants. During my first night in town Drs. Balalla, Yin and Khin took me to dinner. Dr. Yin brought her beautiful 11-year old daughter, Thin Kyi, who speaks perfect English and is the the Burmese version of my niece, Lexie! I wish they could meet.
My first day of clinic was
anxiety provoking--I had to drive myself there! I had a nice rental car delivered to the guest house, but with Brunei being a formal British Colony, steering wheels are on the right and I was to drive like everyone else on the left. This was not the real issue. The issue for me was the 4 lane traffic circle I had to pass through to get to work. I learned it's easier then it looks--so far. Luckily the rental car includes insurance.
My first day of clinic included visiting the Min
istry of Health (see photo left) to complete paperwork and interview with one of the deputy ministers. She was a lovely woman who insisted Dr. Balalla give me a Saturday off so I would have time to visit Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia--the highest peak in SE Asia. Only private companies get Saturday off. Government worker "holidays" are Friday and Sunday. 
After our visit to the Ministry, Dr. Balalla gave me a clinic tour and introduced me to the staff. They graciously provided me with my own office/exam room. The clinic is fairly large and filled with educational material on worker safety. I think the poster with the partially amputated limbs sends a clear message.
Occupational medicine has grown rather quickly in Brunei. Since 2002 the clinic staff has expanded from one physician to six. Their clinic performs pre-employment,
periodic and foreign worker exams for the Ministry of Health. They provide consult to other services when an occupational exposure is in question, and they follow-up acute injuries. There are no certified industrial hygi
enists on staff, but the clinic performs work-site inspections led by one of the attending doctors. Except for Shell Oil, they serve the entire working population of Brunei.
The next two days of work were quite busy, but always interesting! I'll write more tomorrow. I feel so lucky to be here, but really miss talking to my friends and family--so I would love to hear from you!
Despite my airline introduction," Brunei feels like a modern, progressive country. The big difference being that EVERYONE drives everywhere in very nice cars (on the left side), no one walks, and tea is served often. There are several beautiful mosques and government buildings scattered throughout the city. Key word being "scattered." The city seems designed to encourage driving. I learned that the Brunei government will give almost anyone a very low-interest car loan. Did I mention Shell Oil employs a large percentage of the country's population?
I arrived on Monday,
March 1st and was greeted at the airport by Dr. Balalla (my primary adviser) and the lone female doctor in the group, Dr. Yin. Both are wonderful! They took me to my room at the SEAMEO VOTECH house (see previous blog). It's a little more third-worldish then as photographed on their website--but perfectly acceptable!! It is pretty larg
e with hot water, TV and wireless internet access. I have a view of an amazing mosque from my balcony. The guesthouse is across the street from a large shopping mall and many restaurants. During my first night in town Drs. Balalla, Yin and Khin took me to dinner. Dr. Yin brought her beautiful 11-year old daughter, Thin Kyi, who speaks perfect English and is the the Burmese version of my niece, Lexie! I wish they could meet.My first day of clinic was
anxiety provoking--I had to drive myself there! I had a nice rental car delivered to the guest house, but with Brunei being a formal British Colony, steering wheels are on the right and I was to drive like everyone else on the left. This was not the real issue. The issue for me was the 4 lane traffic circle I had to pass through to get to work. I learned it's easier then it looks--so far. Luckily the rental car includes insurance.My first day of clinic included visiting the Min
istry of Health (see photo left) to complete paperwork and interview with one of the deputy ministers. She was a lovely woman who insisted Dr. Balalla give me a Saturday off so I would have time to visit Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia--the highest peak in SE Asia. Only private companies get Saturday off. Government worker "holidays" are Friday and Sunday. 
After our visit to the Ministry, Dr. Balalla gave me a clinic tour and introduced me to the staff. They graciously provided me with my own office/exam room. The clinic is fairly large and filled with educational material on worker safety. I think the poster with the partially amputated limbs sends a clear message.
Occupational medicine has grown rather quickly in Brunei. Since 2002 the clinic staff has expanded from one physician to six. Their clinic performs pre-employment,
periodic and foreign worker exams for the Ministry of Health. They provide consult to other services when an occupational exposure is in question, and they follow-up acute injuries. There are no certified industrial hygi
enists on staff, but the clinic performs work-site inspections led by one of the attending doctors. Except for Shell Oil, they serve the entire working population of Brunei.The next two days of work were quite busy, but always interesting! I'll write more tomorrow. I feel so lucky to be here, but really miss talking to my friends and family--so I would love to hear from you!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Where the *&%# is Brunei?
This blog begins a journal of my one-month clinical rotation in Brunei (more on that later). I’m sending this link to my family (see prior blog entry), friends and coworkers. First, I want to say this trip would not have been possible without the support of my primary advisor, Dr. Matt Keifer, my program director, Dr. Victor Van Hee and my Brunei advisor, Dr. NP Balalla. Thank you!!
When Matt asked me if I was interested in doing occupational and environmental medicine for a month in Brunei, my first thought was “Where’s Brunei?” I had heard of the Sultan of Brunei and imagined it was located in the Middle East. Not true, it turns out. Brunei Darussalam (the official name) is located in Southeast Asia on the north side of the island of Borneo. Borneo was famous for its headhunters—I’m assured that practice has ended. Here’s a link to their tourism website—very detailed:
So, today (2/26/10)—after a fair amount of preparation—I’m on a flight from Seattle to Tokyo, then to Singapore for a night and finally Brunei on March 1. Darren, my sweetie, took me to the airport this morning in the Seattle rain (Thanks Darren☺). Ahh, two and half days of nothing but writing, watching movies, eating snacks and napping. I’m making the most of 25 hours in flight.
Brunei is a progressive, developed country with a national healthcare system—which includes an occupational and environmental medicine division. The coutry’s population is about 400,000 and the clinics where I’ll be working serve the country’s entire working population. Brunei’s Ministry of Health has a detailed website about its clinical and public health services:
Dr. Balalla has graciously created a clinical/educational schedule for me based on my goals and objectives for the rotation. Looks like I’ll have plenty to do. When I get to Brunei I’ll be staying at the SEAMEO VOTECH International House. Another link:
That’s it for now. The next entry will be sure to have some photos!
When Matt asked me if I was interested in doing occupational and environmental medicine for a month in Brunei, my first thought was “Where’s Brunei?” I had heard of the Sultan of Brunei and imagined it was located in the Middle East. Not true, it turns out. Brunei Darussalam (the official name) is located in Southeast Asia on the north side of the island of Borneo. Borneo was famous for its headhunters—I’m assured that practice has ended. Here’s a link to their tourism website—very detailed:
So, today (2/26/10)—after a fair amount of preparation—I’m on a flight from Seattle to Tokyo, then to Singapore for a night and finally Brunei on March 1. Darren, my sweetie, took me to the airport this morning in the Seattle rain (Thanks Darren☺). Ahh, two and half days of nothing but writing, watching movies, eating snacks and napping. I’m making the most of 25 hours in flight.
Brunei is a progressive, developed country with a national healthcare system—which includes an occupational and environmental medicine division. The coutry’s population is about 400,000 and the clinics where I’ll be working serve the country’s entire working population. Brunei’s Ministry of Health has a detailed website about its clinical and public health services:
http://www.moh.gov.bn/medhealthservices/environmentservices.htm
Dr. Balalla has graciously created a clinical/educational schedule for me based on my goals and objectives for the rotation. Looks like I’ll have plenty to do. When I get to Brunei I’ll be staying at the SEAMEO VOTECH International House. Another link:
http://www.voctech.org.bn/vih/vih.htm
That’s it for now. The next entry will be sure to have some photos!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Christmas in Georgia
I got to spend a week with family over Christmas. This pic was taken at PF Chang's after a 3-D, IMAX viewing of Avatar! Thanks for arranging this Steph :-) From left to right--Stephanie (sis) and Lexie (niece), my dad (Jerry), my mom (Sandy), Kim (sis), Jessica (neice), Steve (almost brother-in-law) and Anthony (THE brother-in-law).
These two goof balls are my nieces and the most awesome girls in whole wide world. We had jump roping contests and both of them easily made it to 100!
It's pretty great being an aunt.
My Dad doesn't mess around, he's building an airplane! An RV7. Every time I go home he's a little further along. This time he was working on the instrumentation. Hopefully, that went well so he can fly this thing Seattle...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Darren's bouncey birthday celebration in Bellevue
"What else would you do to celebrate your 41st birthday? Thirteen of us got together Sunday to wish Darren happy birthday and bounce around for an hour--it was a blast! Definitely the best way to play dodge ball. The festivities then moved to a little nearby pub for some food and beverages. All in all, a great way to spend the afternoon. Happy birthday Darren!
Darren's prior career as a college diver became evident at the sponge pit. Here he's just showing off.
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