Friday 3/27

The first day of the official practicum started with a bang. Leigh and I headed to Monte Sinai hospital and hung out with the surgeons.

We started the day with a kid getting her tonsils out. That was a good warm up. Afterwards was the grossest surgery I’ve seen. You must remember, I’m more noise sensitive than anything. It was a woman with sinusitis. The surgeons used the camera thingy to show the inside of her nosie on the screen. Then they drained the pus out. Afterwards the snapped out chunks of her nasal septum, (that being the nastiest part). Lastly, while they were in the neighborhood, they gave her a nose job. That was mildly disgusting but mostly fascinating, once her nose was broken and they were wiggling it around.

Our last surgery was kind of funny. It was a middle-aged woman who had already had a tummy tuck, breast augmentation, and breast lift. Now she was coming in for full body lipo, (which apparently only costs 5 grand), They used a different method. First she was marked and given an iodine bath, during which the surgeon made a really funny joke in Spanish. The patient commented that, “Será más duro por atrás,” (it’ll be harder in the back, meaning, to take the fat,) to which the surgeon responded, “Todo es más duro por atrás” (everything’s harder from the back).

Then she was given a sedative and some painkiller shots where they made the incisions in her skin to insert the tubes. Then the surgeon shoved a long metal tube filled with local anesthetic all under her skin where they were taking fat. Supposedly that was the most painful part, and she’d have enough amnesia afterwards to not remember it anyway. Then they brought out the vibrating tubey thingy and went scrapey scrapey everywhere. First they collected vials of fat to inject into her boo-tay, which apparently was lacking. The rest got sucked into a jar. The surgeon estimated 7 liters of pure fat for this job, but they can take anywhere from 5-12 L. Sick-Puppies.

In the afternoon we had our self-lead devotional which was on the topic of Hosea and was really good. After that we attempted to have a “study sleepover”. Guess how much studying got done. At least I’ve finally seen Twilight.

Saturday 3/28

After picking up her present, Leigh, Jenny, Sarah, and I went to Katy’s birthday party, which was rockin’. We gave her a one-eyed goldfish which we named “Chi-Chi”. Yes, we were fully informed of it’s condition when we bought it, and I even asked the pet store lady for a discount, which she declined. It’s quite the fish though. Rumor has it it can swim backwards. The gringos were the life of the party. It was about 10 white folks and 20 ecuadorians since it was a double birthday party for Katy and her Ecuadorian bro, David. We played ridiculous games like musical chairs, limbo, and a version of the HA game for awesome prizes like giant plastic rings, paddle balls, and fluffy tiarra’s (of which I was the proud owner). We tried to start the Macarena, to no avail. Afterwards we all just hung out and I finally made some friends, albeit all dudes, but what can you do . . .

When I came home I’d planned to hole up in my room and study, but we had a family party instead. In the spirit of sociality, I made a brief appearance which stretched into about an hour of chit-chat. They were super nice folks, so I didn’t mind. I don’t get their concept of time though. Parties start at 8 or 9 and end at 12 or 1. Oi vey. I met what I think was my second cousin, a 3ish year old named Anthony who I have fallen in love with and plan on getting a green card. That’s cool with you, right? Parents?

Sunday 3/29

New favorite quote from my mom, “No, más seeexi!”. She said this in regards to my outfit for church. I’d planned on wearing a blue shirt that has an elastic neckline. She loaned me a cammi to wear under it, and I came back saying that I didn’t need it since you couldn’t even see it, to which she pulled my shirt down past my shoulders and said that I’d look sexier like that. Oh moms . . .

After going to church in the morning and hanging out with Jenny’s brother, Mocho, I came home to study, (which consequently got me out of being stuck all day at our grandma’s house). I ended up studying and watching the Ecuador-Brazil soccer game, but only because I had a bet going with Mocho. Since they tied, I’m going to say with both win, so I owe him a dollar and he owes me a serenade.

At night Darla and I taught in the nursery, which went well.

Monday 3/30

Physiology Final Exam day. Ugh. I got 5 hours of sleep and woke up at 5:30. For all of my studying, the test was a booger. It was 20 questions, some with multiple answers and almost all were application. I felt like death.

In Spanish we read Lil’ Red Riding Hood in Spanish and then worked with synonyms. We got the prof talking about Ecuadorian romance for a good hour. My homework is amazing: rewrite the story with Grandma and the Hunter being lovers and Lil’ Red and the Wolf victims. The wheels are already turning . . .

Tuesday 3/31

We had to do a presentation in physiology about some pain pathway inhibitor drug thingy first in Spanish and then in English.

In Spanish we did hardcore grammar stuff. I was not a fan. Afterwards I went to Jenny’s and taught her and her brother Mocho taekwondo. He promised to teach me to dance if I taught him to fight, so it’s on. We also made a bet on the Ecuador-Paraguay soccer game tomorrow. If Ecuador wins, he and his friends serenade the song of my choice outside my window on some random night. If Paraguay wins, Jenny and I cook him dinner.

I stayed at her house for home group, and everyone laid hands on my back—again. I’m not sure how effective this method is, because I’m pretty sure it’s like the fifth time I’ve had it done since I’ve been here.

Wednesday 4/1

In physiology we toughed out translating a technical medical from Spanish to English. After class we actually made friends. BREAKTHROUGH! They invited us to hang out and party and such.

With a few swift phone calls, we got out of Spanish class to watch the soccer game with our new physiology friends. We piled 8 of us in a car and went over to someone’s house, decked out in our new Ecuador jerseys. They were a slightly rough crowd, but fun. Ecuador was kickin’ tail the whole time, but tied in the last 30 seconds. There goes my serenade… luckily, after my last bet with Mocho, I made a provision for ties; thus, I still have to cook him dinner and he gives me a normal serenade in his house. After the game we had a spontaneous reggaeton dance party and then they serenaded us with our favorite Spanish love songs—and Jason Miraz, which was weird in a cute kind of way.

When I got home I explained to my mom the concept of April Fools. She was intrigued, and I owed Gabby big time because the little rat is always lying to me and hiding my food and stuff. So I put an orange in the bottom of Gabby’s bed and Marcela helped me short sheet Isa’s.

When Marcela went to check something outside, Gabby and I turned off the lights and locked her out for a good 5 min. Once we’d reached the point of her flipping me the bird, (which was absolutely hysterical), we let her back in.