Transitions

For eight months, my life has gradually been changing from what was my life in the United States to what is now a new life in Guatemala; radically different, yet with plenty of similarities. Since April, and likely until my third or fourth year in school, my schedule has changed to one where I am blessed with getting up at the same time everyday. It's a big contrast to running non-stop, as I did during my college education followed by MCAT prep. Surrounded by people who live to work, instead of working to live, one is inspired to work, work and work. I can't quite explain what I mean by the former phrase -- maybe you need to live in two countries to really understand it. In Guatemala, people are working nonstop just to get by, as went the argument today, but my point was that poverty drives people to work so hard here (working to live), whereas it's a culture of working in the United States (living to work). Escaping from that, along with anxiously awaiting all other new ideas and attitudes coming my way, encompasses a series of transitions that are really going to test my limits in the next few years.

This blog started as an email I was composing in my head for my father. His (justified) concern over the curriculum at UFM amuses me, as it's been made clear I'll never have to agree with it. I may need to understand the theories of Mises and Hayek; it's even possible I'll be required to argue in their favor. As someone fascinated with argumentative writing, economics and new ideas (the former two only from a distance -- only as much as a molecular biologist can handle), that's okay. It'll be hard to convince me that the Koch brothers, the Heritage Foundation, the Tea Party or anyone else in that arena belongs in politics, though. No mention has been made of these groups, but the connection between them all and the mission of my university are all intimately connected.

Today after class, I officially enrolled in courses for next year. Very exciting...nothing was as exhilarating in this whole process as when I received the email telling me I had been accepted, but each step I get closer to being a physician, the happier I am...each passing day brings me even closer. :) But I digress...

After enrolling in class, I was pretty hungry, so I headed to the library. Contrasting with Free Speech Movement Cafe in Moffit Library at UC Berkeley, I dined at the Bagel Factory inside La Biblioteca Ludvig von Mises (the Ludvig von Mises Library). Instead of attending lectures in Wheeler Hall, home to many Free Speech Movement events and now Occupy Berkeley events, I'll be trekking to the Milton Friedman Auditorium. Toto...we're not in Kansas anymore. I'll leave it to my father to draw the link between the likes of Bancroft, Moffit, and Wheeler with Mises, Hayek and Friedman (give him a week, perhaps a Tea Party talking point, and it'll be there), but, needless to say, it's pretty striking to have gone from a school so liberal as Berkeley to such a conservative school down here.

The other striking characteristic is the demographics in class. High school was upper-middle class rich, white kids from the suburb I grew up in. UC Berkeley was a mix of mostly upper-middle class kids from the suburbs of LA. I then went out to the real world where, between work, my friends and just living in Oakland, my day to day interactions were as diverse as it can get. Upon moving, my interactions were limited to patients more than anyone else -- poor, working families. I have since returned to high school, but even more exaggerated. Not only do they have vehicles, but for many, it means a BMW. They are still accustomed to the "high school life" where there's enough time for plenty of party. At least this is the impression I'm given. We've been lectured constantly this month about how tough medical school will be and, to top it off, our parents are required to come January 5. Yes...parents are required to come, that means YOU Mom and Dad. Granted, the average entry age is roughly 18 instead of 25, but it will be tough adjusting to being babied so much. After conquering UC Berkeley, the MCAT and seven seasons of Golden Girls, I can handle anything.

There's no doubt that with such a big change, the good, the bad and the ugly will come to me. I suppose I'm just hoping the bad and the ugly will at least treat me as an adult. I can't wait to see how the first year goes. Writing essays and participating however I'm required to in rhetoric will be especially interesting. Who's game for proofreading my horrible written Spanish?

first week and a half in class

As my previous blog mentioned, I finally started school last Thursday 11/3! Naturally, it was quite stressful and everybody was speaking Spanish with a different accent than I've become accustomed to. Nonetheless, the first eight days of class have gone great.

Unfortunately, it takes an hour and a half to two hours each way, but it’s possible I'll get a “carrito” to drive to the capital (although that's going to take some courage!). Let's just say that Manhattan looks like a quiet country road compared to here...

While it takes forever to get to the capital, I'm happy to say I'm finally comfortable navigating my way around Guatemala City. It's HUGE, has a HORRIBLE reputation, and is SUPER busy. When you get past that and realize it's just another big city, it suddenly becomes more manageable. The first day I left at 5:30 and the trip was pretty fast, but leaving at 6am, the traffic was crazy. With time, I'll get myself into the groove.

The first day started off with a few of the big wigs talking about school and the most entertaining part was how they really drove in that we're no longer in [the Guatemalan equivalent of] high school – this is the university and it's TOUGH. Apparently about 30-40% of students don't survive the first year. Upon hearing that, I suppose I can agree with the MCAT's tactics a little bit more than I used to (although I still hate it), as it predicts success in the first year of medical school quite well. So instead of screening beforehand here, the class will just shrink a bunch the second year I guess. If I heard correctly, there are only about 1000 graduates from the school which makes 50/year. This year there are about 100 in my class.

This month, I'm only taking a review of math, chemistry, physics, and biology. In the spring, the real classes begin. So far, they’ve all started off well. Chemistry looks like it's going to be especially easy. As for biology, I'll start with the initial arrival of the professor – I could tell her Spanish was a little different and even struggled to understand her at times. When I went up to her after class to ask a couple questions, it turns out she's American, but has been here since she was 12. She went on to explain that most professors are bilingual and I'll be able to answer in English on the tests if I'm not sure how to say it in Spanish...boy I wasn't expecting that kind of special treatment!

We talked quite a bit Thursday and Friday and it appears I'll likely be able to skip chem, physics, and math, but it'll probably be a good idea to take biology even though most of it will be review. Since it's cell bio, they go into detail of some things I somehow skipped at Berkeley. Kind of odd, if you ask me...I read it over today, though, and it doesn't look too bad.

So we'll see how the rest of the month goes, but in any case I'm very excited and know it will turn out well. I'll keep everyone posted on any new updates. :)

Starting School Soon 11/3!

After almost a year and a half of anticipation (and over six months of running around like a chicken with my head cut off), I’ve finally managed to be accepted to medical school. I suppose the anticipation had been building for nearly ten years, since I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but the prospect of doing it in Guatemala has had me going full steam to try to do the impossible since June of last year. November 3 marks my first day of classes at la Universidad de Francisco Marroquin (UFM). It’s a review course, covering things like chemistry, physics, math and biology. Regular classes start in January.

It’s a seven year program, although the first year will be lighter because I’ll be skipping what’s equivalent to pre-med classes in the United States (pending their approval, of course). Naturally, it’s all in Spanish, with the exception of some textbooks and possibly guest lecturers. Volunteering in the public health department has prepared me well, so I’m not worried. (I even scored 100% on the chemistry assessment test, in Spanish, at the other school I was applying to!) As I’m getting to know the school (and the country) more and more, I realize that it will be an extreme challenge for many reasons, based on the politics at UFM. Part of their mission statement is to create Free Societies. I’m still working on being able to define “Free Society” in the first place, but the easiest way to put it is that it’s a utopia for capitalism. Business has so little regulation (none, in fact) that it does whatever it wants. Consumers are allegedly benefiting, pushing prices down, innovation up and everyone is so well off that the need for government assistance is null. In fact, there practically is no government. Out of the seven years I’ll be studying there, six semesters will be devoted to these theories -- Austrian economics -- but to keep it in a positive light (and fortunately, economics already fascinates me), I’m looking at it as a big sociological study where I can people watch. Kind of like the gay evangelical church I did a speaking gig in three years ago (ask me about that, sometime). In any case, I’m very excited to see what you talk about for six semesters when the basis of the theory is that you don’t do anything (i.e. deregulation/free-for-all).

Most likely, I’ll be living in Antigua, about an hour outside of the capital. It’s much safer and cheaper. If the commute is too long, however, I’ll be moving nearer to the school to a teeny tiny room I can afford. For now, it’s an 8-5 kind of schedule, but within the next 3-4 years, I should be starting the 24 hour turns you take in the hospital. As most of you know, my plan is to do family medicine, which is what you graduate in after 7 years, without having to specialize, fortunately. It’s also possible I’ll rotate through an American medical school for a month or three once I start what’s comparable to rotations. Wendy and I are talking about that and it’s likely she’ll come with me.

I’m very ready to start school, as it means I’ll be done that much quicker, but I’m getting VERY nervous. My Spanish is good, but I’m still shy when speaking, so I’m scared of how to make friends there. We’ll see how that goes. I haven’t heard mention of student groups on campus, but I’ll look into that as well. Other like minded, social service oriented folks would be nice to get together with.

As always, I invite everyone to come visit me. I’ll have weekends free and various holidays here and there. Where I stay in Antigua is a great place to stay, as my friend makes great food and doesn’t charge much. Otherwise, there’s a bagillion hotels everywhere.

Here are a few links for your general amusement (I think there are options for English on some of UFM’s website):

• UFM Medical School
• Article about correspondence between one of the Koch brothers and Hayek: Hayek wrote for years about how horrible social security is, yet gladly used Austria’s socialized medicine when he had problems with his gall bladder. Fearing he wouldn’t get such good care in the US, he couldn’t come to work at the Koch brothers’ think tank. They wrote back reminding him his work in Chicago advocating against social security qualified him for it, so “come on down!”
• Random article on Austrian Economics, if I read it correctly it’s saying that the analogy about broken windows (or disasters, in real life) are good because the money goes toward industry for making the window and pays someone to fix it…hooray! Except that money was always there and could have gone to something more productive, otherwise we’d want to destroy the city so someone could make money rebuilding it!
• And on last article I found tearing apart Austrian economics explaining why it's wrong