Out of place

It's been a long time since I was in an unfamiliar environment, a place where I don't know a single person, let alone how to get around the building.

So you can say my first day as a hospital volunteer was mentally and physically exhausting. It's a whole different world there, with its own language and uniform and hierarchy. Taking all that in was pretty overwhelming, even though all I actually did was find various hospital departments in a scavenger hunt type thing and make a bunch of copies.

I've been placed in a nursing department that takes care of people staying in the hospital for a short time, like after a stroke or a car accident. I didn't have to deal with patients today, which was fine with me since it was all so very new and scary.

At this point, I can't say whether or not I like it, but I am happy that I'm giving myself the opportunity to find out.

And in case you've been wondering about my cooking experiment, I won't go into details but I did make something fresh every day except for the day my brother got married. Some highlights include homemade whipped cream and champagne pomegranate punch. And, yes, there was real food in there, I promise.