Ferry Riding

The new quarter feels like it has already begun... I went to the clinic where I will be doing my clinicals this quarter. My preceptor wanted me to figure out the ferries, and come and see the place before my first day. A long trip for that, but I want to make a good first impression so I went. 2 hours to get there, the same to get back. That is what I am looking at once a week for this whole quarter... ugh.



But I think it will make for some interesting stories. Like today I learned something about ferry riding culture. When I was boarding I saw a lady make a bee line for the trash can. They have a newspaper recycling bin, and she went over and blatantly removed the lid and started pilfering through it. I have been dumpster diving before so I am not one to judge, but it was interesting to me. Strange lady I thought. Then on my way back this perfectly normal lady with a husband and children started doing the same thing in front of a whole ferry full of people. She even dropped the metal lid of the can on the ground making a loud noise, and didn't seemed phased at all in her task. So I have come to the conclusion that this is a regular occurance on the ferry and I think I like it. It makes sense because newspapers are about as clean coming from the recycing bin as they are from the dispenser, it saves paper, and money. Maybe by the end of this quarter I will be a trash can thief again as well...
Another thing I heard rumors about the ferries, is they have amazing popcorn on board. I walked by it, but refrained from trying it because it cost about $3 for a small bag. It did look good though.
I also had my first strange person encounter. This guy started talking to me while I was waiting to board. He was a bit strange then, and I don't like talking to people in those situations so I was already wary. He made it stranger when he moved over several seats to sit closer to me to continue our conversation, breaking the small talk etiquette of such situations. The clincher was after we had already boarded the ferry and I had taken appropriate actions to lose him in the crowd and sit in a different place. About 10 minutes into the ride he finds me though, and sits right next to me. There were only about 10 people on board the whole ferry. I was glad when we finally pulled into port. Overall though I think the people that ride the ferries are going to be much more normal than the people that I have encountered riding the bus here.
So I met my preceptor as well. She seems nice, can't quite make out what kind of teacher she is going to be yet. I usually get a good take on people right away but am witholding judgement on her as of yet. I see some things that make me wary, and I see some things that could be really good. Either way, it will be pretty low key because she only sees 10 patients a day. A good place to ease into this thing.
I am starting to really rethink this path I am headed down. Don't know that I actually want to be a midwife. Don't know if I should waste any more time, stress, or money trying to figure it out. I am thinking about doing something drastically different and non-medical. If I can find something else that is reasonable for me to do I can see myself easily leaving all of this behind. We will see, the world is open to me in a way.