Well hello everyone....2 weeks and no news from me...I'm terribly sorry! Since arriving, I have been running around non-stop without a moment to spare to update my blog (only time to call Mom and say I'm still okay). I hope to be taking more pictures in the next few months, but lately I haven't had time to do much of anything except all my day to day stuff that allows zero time for much of anything. (Mainly I'm crazy-busy doing nothing...you kind of have to be here to understand what that's like. I can't describe it, especially after 25 years in the bay area, even if I was in the suburbs for the first 18 years.)
So what HAVE I been up to, you might ask? Well................
I arrived Sunday, 4/3 and rested for two days before leaving for the state of Petén, Guatemala, where I now live, right on the lake (Petén Itzá). I have a few pictures of it in previous blogs from a few different towns around the lake; I'm near the island of Flores, which is where most tourists stay. I have been working in the pharmacy at the local "Centro de Salud" where I give out medicine and explain the dose of each one. There's about 60-80 patients a day between the two of us in there. Weekends I usually help take care of Wendy's niece and nephew. Both are two and it can be very tiring. :)
This week I had to run down to the capital (about an 8 hour trip, which I make as rarely as possible) to get started arranging my visa. It looks like everything will work out and I'll come back down to turn in some paperwork in the next month or so. On the same trip, I'll take the first of three exams I take to get into medical school. The first is a basic exam ensuring I've learned roughly what is learned in high school in the states. Following that is an exam on physics, chemistry and biology. After that, there's a test comparable to the verbal section on the GRE -- completing sentences, analogies, etc. After that, an in-person interview and hopefully I'll start school in January. Naturally, all of this is in Spanish, so I'm reading a lot, but any other advice about how to boost my skills would be appreciated. (ahem...Karen...)
As I said, minimal photos so far, but I'll leave you all with this one. Taken the other day showing my arrival to Guatemala, Ally Action-style. It was so hot that the first one was with my shirt off which seemed fine until I saw it on the computer so here I am -- fully-clothed.
I miss you all and can't wait for you to come visit me!!!!
:-)
ReplyDeleteBoost your skillz, eh?
After this year, I totally recommend working with Gypsies.
But really, try to think to yourself in Spanish and (if you´re like most of us Maasses) talk to yourself in Spanish, too! I think that helps the most. Watch TV, listen to radio, read in Spanish.
And if you want to obsess about learning vocab, use Anki. (google it...it´s a flashcard program that works pretty well for learning stuff.)