Guate: first update

I got into Guatemala on Sunday night and have either been asleep, on transportation of some ilk, or being overwhelmed since my arrival. Here´s the short version of the last 3 days.

Landed in the City on Sunday afternoon. Got a ride to my hotel and saw my favorite sight possibly ever: an entire family on a motorcycle. As in, kid on the tank, Dad driving, another kid behind him, and Mom bringing up the rear. With her helmet securely tucked into the crook of her elbow. It was the only helmet on board. Ah. Definitely no longer in the US.

First night involved SLEEPING and not much else. There was another lodger there who spoke only French and Spanish, so I got to translate some words for her from French-Spanish so she could communicate with staff. Which was neat, but didn´t help my brain organize itself into the mean, lean, Spanish-only machine I´m hoping for.

(quick note: punctuation on Spanish keyboards is WAY different. Pardon any weird symbols or the like.)

Next morning went to the bus terminal at 5:30 (yep!) for a 6:15 bus. I slept most of the way, thanks to my allegedly less-drowsy Dramamine.

I´m a veritable pharmacopia of anti-nausea meds. Lots of Pepto, taken 4x a day to prevent diarrhea and vomiting. I´m on day 3 in Central America with no GI upset, so I assume it´s working.

I arrived a bit late to my first class - a lecture in Spanish on Guatemalan health beliefs and cultural competency in a medical setting. It was awesome, and i got about 80% or more of what was going on. That was a nice confidence booster.

Then my family came to the school to meet me. This is the part I´m having the most difficulty around: homestay. I´m old. Like, really old. And I´m used to coming and going as I please, NOT having other people in the house who want to know when I´ll be back and such. And it´s for a good reason they ask - so they know when to feed me - but I still hate feeling like such a stranger in the place where I sleep. The family is little old grandma, her daughter, and daughter´s 3 sons. They´re all nice the food is great, my room and bathroom are private, and they help me practice my Spanish skills, but I honestly don´t know if I can hack this part. I like being alone A LOT. So I may opt for a hostel for the rest of the trip.

This weekend I am likely going to a big soccer match in town, just to get a feel for that part of the culture, then I hope to go out and see the town. A nice day of wandering, eating, shopping, and drinking. I feel like if my host family is OK with me being out until all hours, sweet. I can handle another 3 weeks of that. But if they aren´t so down with that, I think I need to live elsewhere. Sunday is a day-long hike to a local coffee farm near a beautiful lake. Lots of photo opps, I hear.

I now have a lecture to attend, which is a great way to passively absorb the language. Classes are intense, one-on-one, 4-hour affairs. Clinic in the morning is NUTS and AMAZING and I worked ¨triage,¨which is a total misnomer because I was basically taking full patient histories. In Spanish. AWESOME. Tomorrow we do a mobile clinic to a tiny village 30 minutes away. Lots of intestinal parasites and such.

I´m adjusting to a very different lifestyle. No work. I haven´t been out at ALL yet. Not so much electronic obsession. I brought my phone but haven´t used it yet. This is about the second time I´ve used a computer since Saturday. I´m sleeping a ton, eating 3 homemade meals a day. I gotta say, some parts are nice. I´m not homesick, per se, but I am looking forward to coming home. I don´t think I´ll opt to extend my trip an extra week.