Anna, Postcard Transcript

 Anna, Postcard Transcript  

Anna: Experience so far so good. I don't have anything to complain about because I'm here for my, the rest of my life, you know. [Children at school]  I taught everything from kindergarten to, uh, grades 13. And I love the kids because I love to teach and the kids are great.  

I'm 72 and I came here via the hospital in Hamilton. Yeah, because I had a stroke in the middle of my head.  

Researcher: Oh, okay.  

Anna: Yeah. And that's about it.  

Researcher: Okay. Yep.  

[Ticking clock] 

Anna: The clock, yeah. I hardly hear the clock. When somebody mention it, I will hear it. But other than that, I don't really hear the clock. I've been here for so long. I've been here over a year. I don't even listen to the clock.  

[Call bell] Oh, you hear the noise of the buzzers?  

Researcher: Yeah. 

Anna: I hardly, hardly-  

Researcher: Sometimes you don't hear it.  

Anna: Yeah. 

Researcher: Yeah. And I've heard that some noises from the bathroom? [Toilet, pump noises] Some... 

Anna: No, I don't. 

Researcher: You don't even hear it. 

Anna: No, I don't. No. 

Researcher: Okay, cool.  

[End of clock ticking] 

Anna: The nurses or whatever, they make noise, but I don't, I don't get used to it. Because when I'm sleeping, I don't want to get used to that. [Hallway sounds] In the early hours of the morning or late at night, they talk it so loud. And it's very disturbing. So I usually fall asleep after when they slow down, but they still continue to shout and laugh loud and stuff. It's very disturbing. It's something they do quite often. And I cannot get up to go tell them to be quiet. I could use this and call the nurses and tell them to stop. But I don't want them to guilt trip me if they coming to take care of me (laughter).  

Researcher: Oh, so you don't want to upset them?  

Anna: No, I don't want that at all. I, you know, I don't want to. I don't even tell my children. If I told my children, my daughter would go and she will go in the night: "Keep quiet. My mom wants to sleep." She's that bold, yeah.  

Researcher: Yeah, sure. 

Anna: Oh yeah. They're great, great- I have great kids. I have two children. Every day they come and check me out. I love when they visit. They come to visit me. To make me laugh because they know I love laughing. [Laughter] So it's good. They're good kids. Yeah.  

[Phone ringing] I have one special friend. We've been friends forever. She'll call me to see how I'm doing. Yeah.  

Researcher: So you chat on the phone?  

Anna: Oh, we chat on the phone, yeah. I love her. She loves me.  

[Orchestra tuning] Music, I love music. I love music. Oh, I come from the Caribbean, so it will be Calypso. You ever hear of Calypso? [Calypso playing] Yeah, I don't have a good voice. (Laughter) I don't have a good voice. I sing when I'm in the bathroom (laughter). And my kids always say, "Mom, will you slow down?" They used to tell me, "You make noise, you're not singing." (Laughter) 

Researcher: Do you find there's much opportunity to sing? 

Anna: While I'm here?  

Researcher: Yeah.  

Anna: Not really. We have music playing and stuff. I'd listen to it. I would, and I would be shouting. I would be singing and rocking myself. But that's about it, yeah. My daughter could tell me, "This is my home here." And I keep tell her, "My home is in Hamilton." And she keep saying, "No, your home isn't in Hamilton. Your home is here. This is your home now." She tells me that forever. That's not home for me. That will never be home for me. Any, any- Anyhow I look at it, totally different from my home, totally different. I, this is a room. [Music bedding] You know, that I have- I still have a bed to sleep on. I have a TV I can watch. This is okay. Yeah.

 

Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

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