Day six: 7/25

Duration: 1(0.6x1, 0.2x1)

Inhales

exhales

How do I even say this...

At numerous times I cannot fathom how the universe works.

My alarm rang for a full fifteen minutes before I finally got up. Needless to say, I was running a bit late. I managed to catch up as I rushed to the MRT station. I estimated 7:58 when I arrive at the destination- I'll have two minutes to spare, I thought as I stepped out of the train and transferred to another line. Just my luck, I missed the train by a second. I originally thought Welp, there goes my two minutes, I'll just catch up later,  but when I looked up to check the electronic timetable, I ditched the thought almost immediately. 

The next train arrives at eight minutes. Eight. Minutes. Literally never in my life have I seen a train take so long to arrive at the Taipei MRT. I instantly went from comforting myself to being dead inside. All hope was lost.

Out of all days, my metro card chose to have problems precisely today when I arrived at the station gates, and out of all days, there was no staff at the counter, and I have to wait for someone to appear. Someone's definitely laughing from above. I arrived at the swimming pool fifteen minutes late and set a new record. Suffice to say, the head coach was not pleased. I hate my life.

I already missed half the routine, so I did my best to catch up. Because this course and the course after in particular lasts from 8 am all the way to 6 p.m., the people at afternoon class, or the yellow caps, are here as well to compete and learn with us. 

We finished, and instead of giving us a break, the head coach added another different routine to the set, which is basically revising stuff we learned before, but in a more tiring way. After the gathering, we were instructed to pack our things – then five minutes later I found myself in an office room. The head coach announced it's probably going to rain, and we're safe here if it does.

Then seconds later the weather went from idle to raining bullets. The clatter outside of rain hitting the roof made normal conversation almost impossible. I looked out of the window, watching everyone frantically scramble out of the pool. That was a typical case of thundershowers in Taiwan – normally it'll clear off in a bit.

The head coach brought four AEDs and Little Annes, and it became obvious to me that we're learning advanced CPR. I was half right- we started off learning the resting position, then the Heimlich maneuver, and then CPR. Advanced CPR isn't really different from normal CPR much, except add a few more branches in which you prepare for more circumstances that might happen.

We were divided into four groups, each with a set and we took the test. Almost everyone was yelling hints and instructions at the first person, even if they're the wrong ones. The same applies to every other group. I hovered by, trying not to laugh. When it was my turn, I rushed it too much and while the other groups were stuck on their first or second routine, I was already on my fifth. In the end, the Little Anne that I finished working on ended up half a meter away from the blue cloth it should be in the middle of. I got some points docked off for that, but I passed nevertheless.

After another times two routine, it was already noon so the team had lunch and we had forty minutes of free time. Everyone went to their phones. I did nothing.

At 2:30, the team moved to the pool and learned how to carry a victim with possible neck or spine trauma onto a spinal board. And then we gathered under the shade next to the canopy to learn how to bandage wounds and fractures. Everyone had trouble with it, including me. Fortunately this won't come up in the lifeguard test. At 5:45, The coaches announced something for the afternoon class, and we finally get to go home. 

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* Additional notes:

* The most popular mistake in AED+CPR in our group is not applying enough pressure and pressing too fast instead. Also not remembering to take a glance at the victim's chest and check their breathing after every given breath. Take these two mistakes in mind when you're learning CPR someday.

* Be mindful of the victim's neck and head when applying every resuscitation method. If there's a need to change hands, do not drop said victim's head on the floor then scoop it up with the other hand. Any case of second trauma to the neck or head can most likely cause fatal damage to the victim.