In preparation of the Rescue Diver course, I had to get some kind of
first aid certificate, Emergency First Response.
Appointment is on Saturday morning in the Water Sports Centre.
The instructor waits me and introduces himself: I am Abdul Karim, but
you can call me Abdul. And what's your name?
I'm Ilse.
Ah, du kommst aus Deutschland!
No, I'm not from Germany
But Ilse is a German name.
Could be, but do all the people named Abdulkarim from Zanzibar
He hesitates before he says "eeh, yes!" . But, despite his
answer, he understands.
And with this tension the lesson starts. It starts with a movie, as
always with PADI courses.
This is followed by a quiz, I answer correctly on about all the
questions.
Follows the practice. Abdul begins to explain again what I actually just
have seen in the movie, but sometimes in he uses his own interpretation. If I ask
a questions, he is annoyed. He is the teacher, I am the student, I just have to
accept what he says, no questions. It's that simple.
Actually I am not surprised about his behaviour. I have experienced the
opposite in Kenya
Practice. Mouth to mouth breathing and chest compressions. To exercise
this, Abdul has brought a doll along, or at least the upper body of a first aid
doll.
I ask him what her name is. He looks around and then suddenly says
"little Anne".
Hmm, I have my doubts: Little Anne has no breasts. I make him aware of,
"It can not be a woman, she has no
breasts."
In his eyes I see again that irritation: no questions!
The bag of pop says "little Anne", breasts or no breasts, her
name is “little Anne”.
The lips of little Anne get disinfected for mouth-to-mouth breathing and
for the chest compression I have to put my hands between the non-breast of
Anne. These things can not practiced on living persons.
The last part of the course consists of a few other First Aid tricks:
staunching of a bleeding wound, splinting a broken leg or arm, saving someone from
suffocation death by choking. Practical exercise this time is don on living
people: ourselves.
And especially the latter - choking - is again sensitive. You have to push up the
diaphragm.
Abdul is Muslim, and he cannot touch me, being a woman. So he explains
me the exercise first in a theoretical way, than I apply the practice on him.
At the end of the day I get my certificate. But I do wonder what will
happen if something happens to me, and I start asking questions to my
"saviour" ... would he dare to touch me?
