Yo estoy esperando la plancha.

This semester has not slowed down one bit. Late Sunday night/ early Monday morning Shabnam went to the hospital with a headache. Tests showed nothing so she was able to come home yesterday. Incoming first semesters have their orientation this week. So hard to believe I was in their place just a year ago. I've no desire to ever be in that position again. Whenever I see them I have to fight the urge to stare as I'm wondering how they're handling the unknown. I wonder if I would see the same scared look of lost and confusion on their faces that I'm sure was evident on mine a year ago. Actually now that I think about it, my friends have told me that those first days I had no expression on my face. I just stood there expressionless and watched what was going on around me. The incoming 1st semesters have 167 in their class! In Neuroscience we've got a visiting professor, Dr. Rofals phd. When the name was first said to us without having seen it on paper it sounded like Dr. Ruffles, and so now I fear I shall always think of him as a potato chip. I do like Dr. Rofals though. Normally the Phds that come down to teach us are the definition of boring and just cite a bunch of research at us. In addition, neurology being my least favorite, causes it to also be a rather intimidating subject for me. This guy's teaching method is so easy to follow that I am really excited by the prospect that I could maybe understand what he is saying to me. In addition, he uses many clinical correlations while teaching (his favorite being a stab wound to the back). My iron has heated up and now I've got to iron a pair of my scrub pants. Veronica had two ironing boards which she stored at my apartment over summer. When she moved her stuff back out she left one of the ironing boards with me. Afterall she really had no need for two.

Hasta!

Prayer request: Bible studies will start again tonight. Lord willing we'll be able to keep the same schedule this semester of 9:00 pm Wednesday evenings. Any prayers for the direction and content of the Bible studies would be appreciated. Also be prayerful for the individuals that come that they could hear truth.

Yo estoy cansada!

Tis late on a Sunday and I'm alone in my apartment with leftover chicken from Ixtlan and my computer. Oh the endless possiblities of what I could do. Eat the chicken then check email. Eat the chicken while checking email. Check email while warming up the chicken, then eat chicken. Whatever shall I choose!!

Well turns out I had no emails, and that the chicken needed both hands to eat rendering both rather greasy, both factors forcing me to be creative. I put some chicken between bread and then was able to eat with one hand and do some research on the internet for Marshall with the other. Booyah!! Take that chicken grease!!

Now my chicken is gone and everyone but the neighboring dogs are calling it a night and I soon should follow suit, but first, and last I guess, I'll do a quick blog.

Me and my soccer playing buds finally made it out onto the field again last Friday afternoon! I hadn't played in months and boy could I feel it. It sure was great to be playing again though.

Saturday left earlier than usual for Ixtlan as testimonies were to be at 12 noon. I personally have never seen Ixtlan so packed with people before. Jan and Marshall have 3 granddaughters, 1 niece, and 1 nephew visiting. Mike Leman and his wife are there for the baptisms. Then of course Regg and Grant are there. As a result beds were all taken up and overflow onto the couches was begining. I stayed with the Sibaja's (Issa & Lupita.
Those who were baptised today were Rosi and Guille (watch in the Silver Lining for a summary of their testimonies). Family members and friends of them were also present for the weekend.
After testimonies and before Bible study Issa, Lupita,me, and the three granddaughters (Amy, Anna, and Amber) went to the geyser! Issa was the only one to get wet all the way. I just stuck my legs into one of the pools. It was hot with the sun streaming down and the water felt more like a hot tub. No wonder Ixtlan citizens don't need to bother with boilers. There's no such thing as naturally cool water there.


This is a close up of where the boiling hot water shoots out of, unfortunately not on any schedule known to man.


This is a view, of which the camera angle was thoughtfully calculated, which includes one of the hot springs (in the forefront of the picture) and the swimming pools in the back.


As we were getting ready to leave the geyser suddenly decided to go off. We watched as it thought about it for awhile and then grew to full size as seen in the photo! I was rather excited to be able to witness such a wonder of nature. Issa and Lupita on the other hand couldn't have been more bored. As the geyser erupts some of its water is diverted via pipes to fill the surrounding swimming pools.

Bible study had a record 42 people in attendence. After Bible study we split up into groups and walked the streets of Ixtlan handing out invitacions to VBS which starts this Monday in Ixtlan. Rudy Troxel suggested that I skip my classes this week and join them. I laughed. Nice thought as I'd love to be there, but not really a good idea.

We woke up Sunday morning to find out that the town water supply had not been turned on. So bucket bath for me once again. I think I'm starting to get the hang of the whole bucket bath thing. It's amazing just how little water a girl actually needs to be able to fully clean herself AND wash her hair. Next time try showering with a gallon of water. It is possible!

Jan bought 9 chickens for la comida after church today. After the numerous mouths had ceased their feeding and the napkins had been tossed only the remnants equal to about one chicken remained. Some of which made the journey with me back to GDL. Although they didn't really get to enjoy it much as they were eaten soon upon arrival.

Now my tired brain is making it rather difficult to think coherently so I best call it a night. God Bless!

Hasta!

Yo estoy sorprendida.

This semester definitely hasn't started out boring.

Our third semester class has lost a couple of our original classmates, but actually grown in size due to the many additions from previous semesters who have been held back due to failure to pass classes.

Yesterday I had all afternoon free, which gave me reason for excitement as I could get some serious studying done. That plan went out the window when my friend, Adrian, knocked on my door (or rather yelled at me from outside my window). He told me the doctor on campus was pretty sure he had appendicitis. The fact that Adrian was on my floor holding his side in pain...I thought it was safe to agree. So appendicitis led to an appendectomy and my entire afternoon and evening spent at the hospital.

Being a med student has got its perks a couple of which I used today. Free doctor consults and discounted drugs... very nice!

Hasta!

Yo estoy comiendo Skittles!

Our semester started off true to form....none of us had a clue what was going on. Yesterday we pick up our schedules and noticed that this morning we were supposed to start at 7 for our classroom clinical but, only certain groups. Of course the first day of classes drew to a close without someone in charge letting us know our groups or where we were supposed to go. Word finally got around that we were all supposed to be at the Latin program at 7 in whites. Once again true to form.....as vague as possible. Anyways, this morning, donned all in white, I headed off to campus and then in the direction of the "Latin program"; once close enough you just follow the crowd. We arrived ready for the unexpected to find out that half of us weren't even supposed to be there. The funny thing, which I came to realize after the fact, is that no one was even upset. We just shrugged it off, turned around, and busied ourselves for an hour till class started. I guess we've come to expect such disorganization from UAG. If nothing else UAG is making us into the most flexible doctors out there. (After a year at the UAG we've learned that hardly ever do things work out as planned, and that even when you have no clue what is going on if you smile and keep going eventually it'll come, and that in the end you're just you trying to survive like the rest.) A trait which I'm sure will come in handy.

Veronica moved her furniture and appliances back out of my apartment. I'm back to nothing more than my table, 4 wood chairs, and my bed. Though it was sad to see her comfy couches vanish out my door I realize that sitting here with my few pieces of sticks I still have more than so many in this vast world of ours.

Hasta!

Yo estoy en Mexico!

After a wonderfuly relaxing week back at home I find myself back in GDL trying to get some things done during my one hour break for lunch.

Yesterday after Carrie dropped me off at the International terminal I made a new record. From the time that Carrie dropped me at the curb to the time I walk into my gate's waiting area 10 minutes had elapsed. Safe to say I absolutely shattered my previous record of 20 minutes. It's got to be perfect timing. Had Carrie dropped me off 10 minutes later it probably would have taken me 30 minutes or more to get to my gate. Oh well, I enjoyed my last bit of Illinois watching cars, people, and planes go by outside a terminal window.

Hasta!

Yo estoy esperando.

I'm at the clinic again. No patients yet this morning. Something must be up though as my doctor has been on his phone practically the whole time, and the nurses keep whispering. I've got all my write-ups and research ready to hand into my doctor just waiting for the time now.

The medical spanish students that had been coming got infected by the Mexico bug (a.k.a. laziness). It makes me laugh. I've seen it happen so many times I was not surprised. It takes a strong determination to attend class on a regular basis in Mexico. Their number was different every day: Monday - 4, Tuesday - 5, Wednesday - 3, Thursday - 2, Friday - 0. Those last two put up a fight but in the end, Mexico won out!

Now today, two 4th semesters are here to complete their clinical hours. They're currently sitting across from me buried in their books. Fourth semester classes start on Monday. Boy am I glad I'm not 4th yet. I still need a vacation!!!

I'm back from turning everything in for my doctor. Had to walk down to a papeleria to make some copies. My walk took me past the big Catholic church here in Santa Anita. There were some cute little pink balerinas and cute little boys in their karate uniforms. Parents were carrying huge bouquets of flowers. Mexico knows how to celebrate!!

My doctor said I could go!!!! I get to go home, do wash, clean my apartment, and pack!! He said he'd clock me out at 4 and the extra hours were a gift from him for doing such a good job at getting everything done!!! Sweeeeeeeeet!

Hasta!

Yo estoy feliz!!!

Just an add to today's post...

I stopped by the main campus office once again today after clinic to see if by chance my FM3 would be ready, and it was!!!! I was almost shocked!

This means that they are going to let me leave the country on Saturday! Hurrah!!!

Yo estoy a la clinica Santa Anita.

I've got about another hour here at Santa Anita before I call it a day, and after being gone for about 5 hours my doctor finally showed up again! Where he was....who knows.

I thought I'd be alone at the clinic this week but to my surprise I wasn't. Turns out that the medical spanish class I had contemplated taking is two weeks in the classroom and two weeks in a clinic, hence students at the clinic with me. I feel a bit bad for Lindsey, Kaitlyn, Laurel, Casey, and John. They get dropped off in the morning, sit in the study room for 4 hours and then get picked up again. They were never put with a doctor, and since they aren't used to how Mexico works, they just sit here not used to having no one tell them to do anything. My doctor said I could go to the nearby nursing home to get some of my work done. I asked the others if they'd like to go, everyone said yes, so I'll be making another trip tomorrow. I didn't think my car would survive 6 people AND topes.

I did something horribly embarrassing today at the nursing home. I picked up the otoscope instead of the fundoscope to look at a paitent's eyes. John curiously enquired as to why..... Thankfully all were able to laugh about it. I then picked up the fundoscope and looked at the patient again. Oh dear!

Hasta!

Yo estoy escuchando iglesia de Gridley.

I was able to listen to Gridley's morning services this am via the Gridley AC church website. Worked like a charm, but I must say I was rather disappointed that the congregational singing before the sermons are not included in the live streaming. I want to sing too!! Now everyone is eating lunch and fellowshiping. I think I'll have some of the tuna I made yesterday.

Last night due to the rain/stormy weather we'd been having all afternoon my electricity went off....but not completely. It was rather interesting. Turning the lights on would produce light, but it was dim. Not enough voltage was being produced to effectively charge my computer so I turned it off. I decided to try to do something for the 4th of July holiday. I had heard rumors of a store nearby having a supply of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, so I thought I'd investigate. I was happy to find the rumor to be true and picked up a Cherry Garcia. Spent some extra time in the store trying to find something else that would help me celebrate. I found some insence sticks and contemplated using them as sparklers, but in the end left without them deciding my Ben and Jerry's would suffice.

I'll be tuning back in for afternoon service!!

Hasta!

Yo estoy lista para regresar.

Happy 4th everyone. I have to keep reminding myself of the holiday, don't exactly have the Stars and Stripes to display, but I guess I've got a little white in my...um, black shirt I've got on. Oh well, my visa and passport say I'm American that's all they care about down here, and the fact that I say soccer instead of futbol.

Here's a few pics from my week in Ixtlan.


Amber (Marshall & Jan's granddaughter) is spending her whole summer in Ixtlan with her grandparents. Monday morning we donned some of Marshall's old shirts and helped Grant Hermann glue carpet (a.k.a. sound absorbers) to the walls in some of the school rooms. Here in the photo, fully high off of the glue, Amber thought it'd be funner to glue my face instead of smile for the photo.


Tuesday, Lupita, Issa, Amber, and I rode bikes for a couple hours. I borrowed Matt Gerber's bike to ride, and as his bike seat is so high I found myself in a postition where my arms were locked at the elbows completely straight. Let me say there was Pain when I was able to bend my elbows. By the end of the ride my pinkys were numb due to the increased pressure on proximal medial area of my palms which included the ulnar nerve, hence numbness of the pinkys.


We turned around and headed back after a short rest at the plaza in Valenciano.
On our ride back to town we noticed the geyser started going off. Took a picture from a distance including both Ixtlan and the geyser, but it's at such a distance one can only pick out the geyser if they know to look for it as it's almost hidden by a tree. See if you can find it...




Wednesday, Lupita, Amber and I headed into Zamora to buy Amber a birthday present from her grandparents. First we stopped off at the graduation ceremony for Lupita's school. Although not graduating, she needed to receive her certificate for completing her semester. Also seen in the picture on the right is proud sister Elsa taking a photo. :) (On a side note, both Issa Sibaja, and Lupita Cabrera graduated from prepatoria and have been accepted to nursing school in Zamora)


Walking towards the cathedral in Zamora.

Hope all are well and happy. Light an extra sparkler, and eat an extra BBQ for those of us who can't!

Hasta!