Nica Day 4

Woke up today tired for some reason.... the heat makes it hard to sleep, and its much cooler up here in the mountains of Jinotega then it will be down by Managua in Los Cedros ( We head back down the mountain for the 3+ hour bus ride on Thursday morning). Had a fun time bonding and sharing stories with some of the team last night.... it was hard to be quiet when we were giggling so much!

This team has come together really well.... there has been little to no complaining about anything. A few minor injuries or sicknesses here and there (a luggage cart to the back of the leg/ankle, bug bites, a hammer to someones face, pulled muscles, sinus infection, tummy aches, etc). Ya so the hammer to the face... lol, the guys working on the patio soffet (sp?) or what I call the ceiling of the patio, have had some interesting stories. Taking down the current ceiling exposed them to termites, dead rodents and birds, and tons of animal fecal matter up there from the last decade or so - several INCHES thick! EW gross... glad I didn't see it. Putting up the newly stained new wood ceiling panels has been interesting as well... You don't always have all the tools and things you would in the states to complete these jobs.... Needless to stay where we would use a nail gun (:D heheh) they are manually hammering above their heads, its hot & humid, so they're sweaty and SLIP SMACK CRACK a hammer to they eyebrow. Split it open pretty good - the retired nurse and I got to doctor him up... probably shoulda stitched it.... but supplies are few and far between... we didn't even have gauze!

Today started with gallo pinto (red beans and white rice with lime n cilantro leftovers), tortillas, watermellon, and hard boiled eggs. A short Team meeting was set to finish the patio today, work on finishing up vbs prep, me making the schedule and assigning tasks, etc.... Lunch was some fried chicken and white rice (see a theme yet?), some salad, and pineapple. The afternoon began with a walk thru the local barrio to invite the children to tomorrow's VBS - We handed out 60 tickets... as we went down the streets, some of the children already invited would run to find their friends and then follow us to get more tickets! So cute! So tomorrow from 9-1030 will be the children of the orphanage, and from 2-4pm will be the 60+ children from the town - we had to limit it because 300 kids live within walking distance! Dinner tonight was hard shelled tacos with rice n beans n pineapple. Afterwards had our team meeting n sang some awesome songs. Shout to the Lord filled my soul. That's all for now.

Nica Day 3

6am (5am home time) did not seem early for once. Got up and got ready with no problems.... but then again Im wearing sports clothes and not really wearing make up so its not like I had to "get ready" for anything.... Pancake and watermelons for breakfast... team meeting. Today we decided to re-ceiling the front porch/patio and work on VBS stuff. We also played with the kids, basketball, volleyball, piggy back rides, etc... i swung in a hammock with one of the little girls named Daisy for almost an hour napping/for siesta... so cute! For Lunch we had salad, pasta with sauce, rolls, and pineapple. Dinner was Gallo Pinto!!1 Mi Favorito! Add in another meeting - preparing for VBS songs, games, crafts, and that sums up today.... singing out for now... until tomorrow....

Nicaragua Arrival

Saturday was a zoo of last minute errands, packing, hanging out with Brandon and snuggling with the pups....Because that day I left for NICARAGUA!

After a 4.5 hour layover in Seattle and a 3.5 hour layover in Houston - we landed in Managua Nicaragua.... muddled our way thru customs to hop on a bus for a 4 hour trek up to Jinotega....

Add in a trip to the local Tip Top fast food (think Chik-Fil-A), driving through a horse show, torrential down pour, winding mountain roads, etc... arriving at the Globe International Orphanage at dinner time (more than 24 HOURS after we began this journey), the Life Center Four Square Church Nicaragua Mission team 2012 arrived safe and sound, all in one piece, AND without complaining... All in all great start to the trip...

My spanish has already been tested several times today and I am rusty :$ - but somehow the little ones always bring out the best in me.... running around giving piggy back rides, playing volleyball, and chasing goats with the kids while screaming at the toad/frogs (called sapos NOT ranas here) was catching me up on my children level espanol.... finish the night off with homemade tortillas, worship, devotionals, getting ready to runa VBS and quiet time brings me to this 11th hour.... the last one awake... big surprise. The goats on the patio are keeping my entertained as in the toad i keep eyeing across the dining hall where i sit.... google map Jinotega and look for the orphange, its sprawling crop fields and the beautiful lake nearby.... I am working on a poem of how i felt today.... hopefully tomorrow i will finish it and share more of this wonderful land and people.... for now signing off.... Keep Calm, Carry on.... and Trust God :D NIGHT!

2 month catch up - roast, cadavers, boyfriend, best friend, and seattle... whoa!

Two months have flown by since the last post. It was only a month ago I was finishing up finals and was ready to post.... but clearly that didn't happen... So what HAVE I been doing these last 8 weeks??? Well Let me tell you.

After Spring break and its madness I started Musculoskeletal anatomy... Upper extremities and then lower extremities.... rocked both! AND extremity anatomy has a TON to do with orthopedics (the current speciality winning my options). Shortly after that I finished up ICM (intro to clinical medicine) with a full head-to-toe physical exam in 25 minutes or less - rocked that too :D This was rewarded with free dinner from my physician teachers and drinking all around at the Elk :D Sometimes it's good to be a medical student!

This brings me to the first week of May - the start of 2 weeks of finals!!! The Dream Hell that is year one of medical school had a light at the end of a VERY L O N G tunnel.... I rocked all my finals and finally feel like I have the swing of medical school down.... now that I get a break lol, I am no sure what to do with myself.... Oh wait - summer vacation isn't for vacationing, it's for projects.... more to come on that in a second.

First - at the end of every MS1, the directors of the program and some of our teachers get to Roast the students. My Roast speech had something to do with me being the biggest spokane fan of the class, the prom planner, crazy hair dye/feathers, and the fact that I always wear heels.... not too bad if I don't say so myself.... The roast went pretty well and led into the End of the Year Gala (dessert reception etc)....

Around this same time, my class decided to have a Cadaver Memorial Ceremony to honor the bodies donated to our education and their families. We had several speeches and many people said words. We had a plant dedicated to the bodies of 2011 and lit several candles with a moment of silence. I decided to write a poem for this event:

"Immortality"
The Great Mystery of Life
How to live forever?
From ancient Egypt to modern religion
People seeking immortality

A life lived
some story
the manuscript remains
a host
an empty vessel
a foreign land yet discovered
some were unsure how best to meet you
discover your story
traverse the land
but somehow I arrived

I searched and I found
I learned from you
Things not from talking
not from hearing
not from reading
but from the very parts of you

I know your skin,
your organs
your muscles
highways of arteries, veins, and nerves
crossing your land
the very system that ruled your world
I know things about you the people who knew you didn't know
I saw the parts of a whole
I know if you battled disease
And how you found your way to me
And how in the end you knew
found immortality
because knowledge of your vessel
your land
your body
it now goes with me
living on and touching others

I really think that sums up how I feel about cadavers, the experience and how grateful I am to the knowledge I recieved from their bodies.... such an experience!

This brings me to the end of MS1 and another new adventure in my life... This awesome guy fell into my life and I can't seem to get enough of him. Hence I spend a lot of time with him and his family.... so while I couldn't be with my family on Mother's day, I sent gifts to my mother in advance, called her, and then spent the day with Brandon's family.... had a blast BBQing and hanging out... Love his family!

The week after that I began my research project... Remember that whole summer vacation thing... ya not for University of Washington Medical school.... I am participating in a medical student research training program. I am studying the pharmacokinetics of nicotine in e-cigarettes in regular smokers, opiate dependent smokers and meth dependent smokers.... we (the research team and I) are also looking at CO2 levels, cotinine levels, urine analysis, heart rate, bp, blood samples (which I get to take :D) and more... hoping to get the FDA's attention to have e-cigs regulated more and cite our study! All very cool and exciting....

The summer has continued with lots of volleyball, some golfing, hanging out at Brandon's parents house, etc etc etc....

And then my Maddie came to visit too!!! We walked the MAC just like old times and wandered through ArtFest, finishing with our favorite and traditional Ethiopian dinner at Queen of Sheba.... MMMMMMM (boyfriend didn't agree but we'll work on it :D)

Last but not least was the trip to Seattle with my mom..... from space needle, chihuly glass museum, house hunting, Nordstrom outings, Pike Place Market, the orginal starbucks, and more we had a full weekend.... WE also found our new favorite hang out - The Wild Ginger!!! OMG a must eat and drink! A delight for all the senses - and ask for Scotty - best bartender ever - great server with lots of cool stories he shared with my mom, Hannah (MS1 bestie), and I.... So much fun..... Now on to the next adventure... and a double post :D
(pics are having an issue loading from the ipad - any help on this would be appreciated as I have a ton of pics I would like to post!)