I got back a few weeks ago and have been busy since then! It was a great trip. I learned some Spanish and even having just basic Spanish skills I can already see will be helpful. One day when I was volunteering at Children’s Memorial I had a six-year-old patient that spoke English but his mom didn’t speak a word of English. I was able to ask her if she wanted me to play games with him and how to play bingo to win a prize. Even though the first words that came out were, um, French and she just kind of looked at me, I got better from there and I could tell she was happy to see I was trying to communicate in her language.
I went with three other nursing students and we all got along great. I climbed two volcanoes and one was at night and was some of the toughest hiking I’ve ever done. But it was so rewarding when we watched the sun rise over the mountains! We stayed mostly in Xela and traveled to Lago Atitlan and Antigua. The only bad things were that we got sick the first few days we were there and the bus rides were terrifying. The roads are very windy and some of the drivers don’t take it slow at all.
Now I’m back into school mode but I’m really liking my new quarter because I have my labor and delivery clinicals. I really, really like it!
For pictures, visit my online gallery.