The medical program is paying off, although the first week or so was tough - I was usually over in triage, where I'd take a vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature, blood sugar [if the patient was diabetic], height, and weight), as well as get a chief complaint. The problem was, and still very much is, that I speak hardly any "medical" Spanish, so giving instructions was, um, difficult. My shining example was the first time I had to ask someone to take off their shoes and stand with their back against the wall so I could measure their height. When it came time to ask, I realized I had none of the right words at my disposal. How do you say, "Stand over here"? I knew "shoes", but how do tell someone to take them off? And I knew the word for "back" but how do you tell someone to put it against the wall? And for that matter, what was the word for "wall"?! So I ended up saying something like, "Please come here on your feet. Stop your shoes. Er, come without shoes. And your back against the cement blocks. Now make yourself very tall. Thank you." The rest of the vital signs went about the same: "Now I will take your weight. On your feet without shoes come to the white heavy machine." It was horrid, hilarious Spanish, and immediately afterward I went and rifled through my medical Spanish book for the right commands. I'm getting better with each clinic, but I still have a long ways to go.
In terms of events from last week, it was pretty "normal": clinic in the mornings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, classes in the afternoons, Thursday dinner in the school (ratatouille, fava bean pasta and strawbery shortcake [yum!]), and "cultural competency" lectures, running, chores, and homework filling the gaps. I spent all of last weekend studying and working on my MSA (which is unfortunately more tenacious than bed bugs). I'll probably do the same this weekend.
The new house is still good, although the little one gave me a bad cold (probably while he was snotting/climbing all over me while I was doing homework this weekend). The food is great - plenty of comida tipica. I don't have pictures, but here's what I ate yesterday, for example:
Breakfast:
Toast with peanut butter and pineapple jam
Corn Flakes with a banana
Papaya slices
Nescafe
Lunch:
Carne asada with chirmol
White rice
Tamalito de chipilin
Dollop of black beans
Nescafe
Dinner:
Fried plaintains
Refried black beans
Dollop of "crema pura" (like sour cream, but a bit lighter in flavor)
Corn tortillas
Nescafe
In general, food in the cities is very carb-heavy. My family is pretty good about getting in fruits and vegetables, but some of my friends here used to joke about how they were served the "Big 5" at almost every meal - corn, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. (This is probably one of the reasons why diabetes is more common in the cities than in the villages). But I've been liking the food - it is simple but filling. And my host moms have been teaching me how to cook :)
Also notice the Nescafe. Every family I've stayed with drinks it with every meal, usually with enough sugar to make it sweeter than pop. No me gusta. Luckily it is usually prepared to be about as strong as weak tea, otherwise I'd probably have heart palpitations from how many cups I drink a day (it gets cold in the afternoons!). It is on my To Do list to find a local co-op that grows, harvests, and roasts their own beans, buy a pound from them, and grind a bit each week so I can have enjoy tasty coffee once again. Soon, I will find them.
I'll leave you with a picture of Doña Marie working on a faja. I only have a couple pictures from last week. Next week I'll post a bunch more, though :)
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