Brazil Day 2
It’s true! The water does go down the plughole the wrong way. That’s just weird. It makes me wonder at what exact point on the planet the water starts going the other way. Presumably this is somewhere around the equator but how suddenly does it happen? Is there a zone where the water just goes straight down without spinning?
Breakfasts are great here
We had a more or less free morning today because the other five members of the group were still arriving. Me and Victoria and Aalok all found ourselves on UK time taking breakfast at about 6.30 am having been up for an hour or so already. Victoria wants to take MGDS at Edinburgh so we sat around and talked about some potential cases. I’m really enjoying the cool temperatures here after the heat in the UK. Victoria and I sat in my room looking at cases whilst I had the balcony doors open and the air conditioning on. She had to leave when her limbs became numb.
The guys discovered a free wireless network and set up an impromptu internet cafe in the dining room. We got chucked out when they wanted to start getting ready for lunch. Victoria, Aalok and Nadeem
Aalok had brought some DVDs of implant surgery from the US. Later on we sat in the hotel with Nadeem and talked through them. Nadeem was able to be quite critical of the some aspects of them which was very useful.
Fez and Arminder newly arrived this morning
The course proper began in the afternoon. There is a short minibus trip of about 10 or 15 minutes to the University and we were introduced to our programme for the week. There are a lot of 8.00am starts so I’m going to try and keep at least one foot in UK time so that I can function in the mornings. I am told that some of the finish times are flexible depending on what happens in the clinics so we may finish quite late. I hope I still have time to keep my diary. If I run short of time I’ll just carry on with text only. It’s the pictures which take the time.
Our luxury transport
The course tutors are very charming and helpful. I think I must have reached the age where policemen start looking like teenagers because the course tutors seem very young indeed. Strangely all the female staff seem to be having orthodontic treatment. We revisited quite a lot of the basic information that we have covered in the course already. I guess the tutors want to ensure that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet which is understandable. We also had a presentation from the Director of the Titanium Fix company. This is a Brazilian implant system which is manufactured near here in Pindamonhangaba and which we will be using on the course. I haven’t quite worked out the relationship between the company and the University yet but I suspect they are one and the same.
Dean of the Dental School Prof Luís Otávio Palhari and tutor Marcelo
Later we were taken down to the clinic and introduced to the asepsis protocols. For non dental readers this is like infection control with knobs on. A lot of people were taking photographs of the lectures and the clinic. It’s mostly me and Nadeem though. Deirdre now refers to us as “The paparazzi”
Course tutor Kelly and Monalisa "The Enforcer". Arminder and Raj look on concerned
The clinic is brand new. Not even the university’s own students have used it yet. Everything is set up for asepsis which makes things easier. It’s a fantastic resource. The clinic enforcer for asepsis is called Monalisa. Through a translator she demonstrated the protocols. Quote of the day from Deirdre….. “I can’t believe she’s called Mona Lisa!”. It may well be that this Monalisa also has an enigmatic smile but it was difficult to tell underneath her surgical mask.
The brand new facilities in the clinic
Following the clinic visit we took the luxury transport back to the hotel. Aalok was desperate for take away pizza so the hotel phoned up the local pizza delivery guys for us. Early to bed now so that I’m prepared for the early starts!