Yo estoy debil.

I was glad to be back in Ixtlan again this past weekend. Jan greeted me Saturday with a big smile and a "Welcome Home!" And then followed it with a questioning nod of her head to which I responded with affirmation that indeed 'Welcome home' was appropriate. Since about second semester classmates have refered to my trips to Ixtlan as "Are you going home this weekend?" It's such a blessing to live in another country and yet have a "home" a little over 2 hours away.

After using the excuse that "I was getting into the swing of things" all last week I finally had to make myself get down to business Monday. It worked, not with as much success as I had hoped, but I can't complain. This 'getting down to business' included me getting out on the streets again. After a five week exercise break due to sickness, vacation, and 'getting into the swing of things', I was going to start out with an easier, slower, and shorter jog, but then rethought that as I realized that I'm going to be climbing a mountain in just three months...I don't have time to go easy, slow, or short. So instead I took off up the hill. And....can you guess....yep, you guessed it. Boy was I sore! So what did I do the next day? Ran even longer. I've been limping around since! One would think I never run! In addition, the way I wheezed Monday during the run, and the way my lungs burned for longer than normal afterwards reaffirmed my worries of developing asthma. Sometimes I wonder which aspect of running in a smoggy city is stronger, the benefit to the cardiovascular system or the detriment to the pulmonary system. I'm just going to keep going hoping it's the former rather than the later.

My sixth semester class is becoming a buzz with ideas like step 2 CK, step 2 CS, co-op, when to study what, how to balance Surgery (our current rotation). In attempt to not get stressed by my not knowing what's going on I've reverted into my 'serious' facade on multiple occasiones already this week. It's brought to my attention when a classmate suddenly stares at me and concerned asks if I am sick. It's reassuring to know that Jesus is going to be driving for me, but still can't help being stressed by the fact that I've got to first pick the right car out of the tens of possibilites lined up before me, find the right keys, actually unlock the door, get in and buckle up! That's quite a bit of figuring out to be done! Whew! Note to self: Smile!

Hasta!