Norwich bulletin., 1918-12-10
FIRST EXPERIENCE ROUGH
 IN RED CROSS NURSING

Red Cross nurses who go overseas experience some of the rough sides of the service right at the start some times as shown by the following letter received by Mir. and Mrs E. A. Kins- man from their niece, Miss Florence E. Kinsman, who lived in this city with them at one time several years ago. She went from Gardner, Mass, with 100 nurses and is in mobile unit No. Il. She writes as follows:
 1 have floated around all over France and England so much that I have had no opportunity to write be- fore. Had a rather unfortunate trip over as 1 was sick all the way and was taken to a hospital in England just as soon as we landed there. Had the Spanish flu and was in bed for three and one-half weeks with it. They say it is running wild in the U. x. A.. especially in Massachusetts. ! do hope that all our folks have es- capped. Luckily. it was an American hospital we were sent to, with all American nurses and doctors. After l got up, I went on duty for a few days in another American hospital, then we came to France. The trip across the English channel was as smooth as glass and consequently no one was seasick. It was a relief to me as I was very saasicl on the boat coming over from U. s. 4. We had to sleep with our clothes on in case of attack from submarines, but nothing developed and we were allowed to Gl- dress at a. m. and go to bed prop erly and stay until 7Fa- m Had tea served to us. in bed. at 6.30 a. m. Some class,
 We landed in dirty French city 7 l1ox | stay there longer than 24 hours. I | tried to get out in every city I stopped at to see as much as could of it, as l expect, when the time comes to go 1 home, that I will go so fast you wont 1 be, able to see me for dust Only l wish I could walk home SO I would not have to cross those 5000 seasick miles of water.
 | My first attempt at work in France was at big American camp south Of Paris. It is a comparatively new camp, only started in July last, and it 1 Is one great big mudhole, we had to wade around with rubber boots on all the time. The first night we were there we slept two in a bed in a lit | tie narrow army cot, the next night we slept in straw bunk in a build. l ing with no doors nor windows, the l next day we went on duty in ward l with no heat. We all had wet shoes I and stockings. no wa of ,changing into dry ones, this continued for about three days and consequently 1 have 1 been so "rheumatici1y' T have hardly been able to drag my peor feet around We had no light in our rooms except candles and no heat
 three beds, one table and no closet in one room for three>nurses. Believe | I a aeta af there all right. Was only there a 1 short time however before we got or ders to move on. so we came bacl, tc Paris and just now we are located in 8 Red Cross hospital just se,y miles from Paris and like very much. Will probably only be here a short tine however, as we are booked to go there with a mobile hospital, on toward the front. We are hoping that there
 won't be much need of Us longer ' what the papers say is true, seems tor good to be true.
 We have a nice big room where wt
 are now, electric lights and nice
 Dig fireplace which we light up every
 night There are six of us in tht
 room and we have a feed for our.
 selves every night.
 Paris is certainly a wonderful z4t,
 and I only hope I have an cpportUnitS
 to see more of it before I go home
 Find it rather difficult to, talk to ti1t "Frenchies' but manage to get alont
 and it is surprising how mary peo
 pie here speak American, or rather
 as they say, they speak English ant
 understand American.
 was not very favorabyy impressed
 with England, but of course, this is ;
 bad time to judge any place and 0
 course, I was not in London