Yo estoy estudiando todavia.

Whelp, Cell Bio done with. Now on to Biochem.
Thought I'd let you all in on one of my study breaks though. Rosa heated up some champurrado with some galleta type thingys for the three of us.

(Please ignore the mug. It's the one Rosa gave me to use!)

Hasta!!

yo estoy dejando mi tarea para mas tarde.

hello everyone,
i am procrastinating. I just looked out my window and saw it dark outside. When I started procrastinating it was still light. I think I've been playing mahjong a bit too long. Oops!

I've got my first exam coming up on Wednesday. It's my cell bio final. I've got a set of 250 questions to start going through. I'm not as motivated because I have a good basic knowledge of textbook cell bio already. It's the whole medical cell bio approach that I've got to study for and that's a bit confusing and daunting. Don't exactly know how to go about that. I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later.

I'm a bit tired of the rainy season here in Gdl. I've never lived in a place with a "rainy season" before. I think there's about a month more of it.

I'm coming up with a lack of stuff to say. I'm pretty much in a routine now so everything seems ordinary now, and nothing really sticks out.

I was in Ixtlan again last weekend. Some of the sisters were coming to Gdl, leaving on Monday at 5am and offered me a ride. unfortunately my classes start at 8 and I would not have gotten home in time so I just rode the bus back. Another comment about the rain....rained hard during the trip that by the time we arrived at Gdl the low roads were flooded. Praise the Lord for huge heavy buses because at one point the water was really, really high. Any luggage under the bus was wet if not ruined.

I brought a piece of Jan's Texas cake home with me yesterday. It was very, very good! Excelente!! Rosa is a healthy person so dessert is very rare other than fruit. Man I miss my sweets.

Okay, maybe I should attempt once again to be a good medical student, peace out.

hasta!!

I forgot to mention..... Mexico has two medals now. This second was a gold. First olympic gold for Mexico since 1984. The country's pretty excited!!

Yo estoy a casa.

The word 'home' finally slipped into my vocabulary today. I haven't been able to use it since I moved. I've always referred to it as Rosa's house or my host mom's house, but today I called it home finally. I take it as a good sign to be able to be where you are.

The other day I made a trip to the center with one of my classmates. Started raining when we got to the PMC office. by the time we left the roads were flowing like a river. Thankfully my friend drives a truck. No way could a car have survived. Then the smell hit us. The sewers were overflowing with so much water they had pushed open the manholes and were spurting upwards. It looked like water fountains dotting the roads. We made it through and home. I just wish I'd had my camera with me because my words don't come close to describing it.

Funny side note. Everyday in Anatomy, Ponce opens class by asking questions, in other words you got to know the material for the day ahead of time. I had left some studying to do during my break today, but unfortunately had forgotten that today we didn't have a break but rather our IPM class so I was not prepared to answer questions in the depth that Ponce likes them. Of course he calls my name from the list...
"Stoller...Christy?"
Crude I say under my breath. "Here!" accompanied by a half-hearted raise of my hand.
Ponce looks down. "Tawill...Patrick?"
and that was the end of it. I couldn't believe it. It makes me laugh even now. Ponce's never let anyone off the hook like that before. Thank you Lord!! (said with extra emphasis on the last word).

I've got to go study Anatomy now. Ponce decided to combine some of his lectures, so in other words I've three days of work to prepare for tomorrow. ugh!

Yo estoy una surfista!!!...o una alemana.

The other day during a class activity I was talking to some of my classmates. They were surprised to hear I was from Illinois. According to them they thought I was a surfer from California. Sweet!! But then a bit later a taxi driver asked if I was from Germany and was surprised to hear I was from the US. hummm... All in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Things are really getting busy. One of my professors/doctors keeps telling us that there should be no reason for us to not get at least 6 hours of sleep a night. Who is he kidding!!! How did he pass med school getting that much sleep. There's way too much to learn and to put it simply...not enough time to learn it in. I'll be glad when the Olympics are over. Then I can stop wasting time on the internet looking up results. Go USA!! Mexico has one bronze at the moment. Go Mexico!!

I wore an ISU shirt on campus today and walking to class I got booed at by some guys in my class. Apparently one of them had attended Creighton in the US. Definitely was not expecting hostility and it caught me by surprise. They were only joking, but I think I'll wear my shirt more often from now on.

Hasta!!

Yo estoy escuchando a la musica de los vecinos.

I've actually got some stuff to write about for once so hold on to your pantalones.

We started cutting the cadavers yesterday. It took me a second before I could actually start. I mean, the man laying on the table in front of me had a name, had a life once upon a time. Once i got started it was no problem. One is so intent on the task ahead of them that peripheral peaks to the man's face cease and all of a sudden time's up.
Ironic thing though. When I got home, Rosa had some chicken for supper. It's not polite to use your hands so I picked up my knife and fork and hacked away for the second time that day. jaja! okay, that was a bit crude wasn't it? Please for give if I offended. It was certainly not intentional.

Today I had my CIAP course in the morning. We got the results from the psych exam we took during orientation. You know, the one's that told us we are all crazy for thinking we could do something like this :) My results kind of surprised me and I've got some disagreements, but for the most part it nailed me right on the head. I'm going to quote my favorite part for you.
"Their private reactions are often vivid and intense, and sometimes quite unpredictable to others. These private reactions seldom show in their faces, and even when dealing with a crisis, they can look calm and composed. Not until you know them very well do you discover that behind their outer calm they are looking at things from an intensely individual angle, often a delightfully humorous one."

So I started my PMC today. Went to the hospital, Hospital del Angel Leano (HAL). So apparently this hospital is out in the outskirts of the city, plus it's a teaching hospital so I saw a grand total of 2 patients. Oh well, I practiced some vitals and got to know some other UAG students and some of the doctors. Oh my word though. In general I am shocked at what I saw today. Shocked. The doctora that is supervising me is a mess. If I saw her on the street, not in a million years would I guess her to be a doctor. But most of all the whole drug situation was what really did it. Dra. Martinez opened the drug cabinet. Bags and boxes of drug samples just thrown in on the floors no organization whatsoever. Boxes old and smashed (given to the patients in that condition too). When Dra. Martinez couldn't find some drugs she was looking for she went over to her purse and started pulling out box after box of drugs. i mean what is she doing with all them? Handing them out to her friends......I wouldn't be surprised. To top it all off both Dr. Iberri and Dra. Martinez loaded their patients up with drugs. Dr. Iberri gave his patient about four prescriptions for a bit of acid reflux, probably the start of an ulcer. Dra. Martinez loaded her poor patient who couldn't even see well enough to read the boxes up with six different drugs. She's not going to remembering what she's supposed to do (being she can't even read the boxes let all the doctora's instructions) take the wrong one's at the wrong time and die. Either that or someone on the street will she her walking by, bag bulging with drugs and rob her. The whole time I'm thinking....what am I getting myself into?

Interesting and very ironic tidbit. The black market can be found on San Juan de Dios. Talk about polar opposites. My friend had her side mirrors stolen off her car and was wondering where she could find them again.

Well, I'm going to stop cuz I want to sleep before i have to get up. No that's an exaggeration, but it's been a long day and I want to sleep. Got lots of thinking and mentally planning to do.

Hasta!

Yo estoy emocionada.

I got a phone today. Well, I figured out how to use the phone I had, let's put it that way. Delta helped me out. Those voice machines that you get on the phone.... yeah couldn't understand it so that's where a native speaker came into play. i feel like I have a new toy now and neglecting my studying just want to play with it.

We were about to start on the cadavers in lab today, but they hadn't been set out to drain/dry in the morning so were still too wet. Oh well, tomorrow.

Campus is so much more busy and crowded now that the Latins have started.

I've got to study.
Hasta!!

P.S. If anyone has a specific question about something post it in a comment or email me. Feel free. Love ya all!!