Lonely Orientation

4th August (Monday) - I said I am excited, fully? It would be a total lie. Who wouldn't be nervous, at least, on their very first day of job? For me, it's a really big step. I couldn't even manage my breakfast, just a cup of malt chocolate with oats will do. I arrived early to beat the highway traffic and sat in the cafeteria til time's up. Then we were taken to the little conference room to the side to get briefed.
There were the usual speech about the place, what to expect and such. I won't bore you with all the details. First, our documents were collected and we needed to scan our thumb and index to get our attendance. That's something new. I used to sign in and out. The reason is because that way no one can escape or do something equally sneaky. Then I was taken to the department which I am assigned to. It's an absolute shock to find out that I'm the only person who got into ward. Apparently many had applied for OT, or clinics and some others, but ward...zilch. I thought being a nurse is all about ward if not OT.
After lunch, I was taken to the manager who did a Q&A session with me. Starting with my personal history. The reason, she said, was to get a clear idea of me so that I could plan my leave. She even jokingly asked me whether I'm going to get married any time soon and I answered I'm too young to marry, and I don't have a boyfriend. She then said there are some at my age who are planning to get married and that I shouldn't be so surprised. Because she's worried that if I have to take leave, she may get her hands all full. Oh, okay. Got it. Then she asked me tons of stuff what I learnt and I try to explain as best as I could, seeing how I have to dig up 3 years worth of hell to answer. She said she needed to know because it's the first time she's getting employees from another place. Then she asked me a lot of questions whether I know about the benefits, bonuses, parking rates and etc. The one thing that impressed her was when I answered leaves because I read the whole benefit booklet just to make sure I avoid getting tricked. Then, she took a look at her list and shake her head, saying that there were suppose to be five, and I was the only person who turned up. I must've shown I feel kind of sad, cause she hastily said, "Well, working in OT makes you robotics cause all you do is stare at the tools. No communication with patients." I think she's just saying it to cheer me up, but it does little, since majority are in groups or pairs.
Then I was taken to my department and the first thing that registered my mind was, "Holy..I'm the only Chinese here." But that was bounced out off my mind when the staff there were kind to greet me warmly. The manager warned me to be humble and polite and nothing can go wrong. She also asked me to prepare myself for tomorrow. Being in a new environment, I will be thrown around the entire place to get to know each departments so that I won't get lost.