Lava las manos por favor!!

One week down kids! Ha thats what I kept thinking all week, not so optomistic right? I don´t want to try and pretend that this week was amaing, because honestly, this past week was rough, to say the least. I was so frustrated, exhausted, and just frazzled for most of the time, but all in all I survived. So that´s the first step.

Redima was tough--the language barrier presents a huge challenge for me every moment that I´m there. Initially they were asking me to do things that I was not so comfortable doing, like just starting all of these IVs without pumps, without gloves, and without supervision. Needless to say I just gave them this petrified stare of, you´re kidding me right? And after that first day incident, I think they´re trying not to overwhelm me, but at the same time, now I´m on the brink of boredom. Honestly, I think i´m still figuring out my role there-I need to be comfortable wtih the tasks they ask me to do, and they need to feel confident that I can perform these tasks without freaking out. After the IV gig, I think they questioned my statement-soy una enfermera, ha! But I tried explaining that I was new and just graduated---still didn´t seem to be an excuse here.

With time, I know Redima will be rewarding, but for now it´s a lot of unlearning everything I ever learned in nursing school haha. Sterile fields---pfff, hand washing---out the window, confidentiality---does not exist in Ecuador, and yes people here give every shot in the butt, despite the fact that research has proven you can paralyze a person if you hit the sciatic nerve....(or at least i´m pretty sure I learned that at BC)....I´m going to be okay, i´m going to find my place---I need to be patient both with myself and them because this is still so new. I´m just so anxious to "help" which is really the root of the problem. However inefficient I may think this clinic is, it´s still running and operating with or without me. So I just need to relax, take a step back, and find out where I fit in this whole scheme of healthcare.

Semillas on the other hand is a complete one eighty. Absolute madness, complete chaos. For two hours everyday I have screaming kids literally launching themselves at me begging for my attention. There are these two brothers Abran y Luis and although they are two of the cutest kids I have ever seen, they are like leaches. I usually have one on one leg, and one on the other. They´re so silly though and just laugh and smile-- so as much as I want to get annoyed I really can´t help but think maybe this is where they get their daily dose of attention, and let it go as I drag them around the compound. By the time Semillas finishes at 5 I am absolutely beat. Sooo tired, and I think that´s why this past week was so hard for me. I haven´t yet figured out the best rest schedule for my body. I need to find a happy medium where I have energy for both jobs, and don´t deplete myself--because our days don´t end at 5 either, then we have to cook, clean, and three nights a week have either a community night(games-fun stuff), spirituality night, or community meeting (where we talk about all of the stuff that´s either going well....or not so well in our house)...The days are long, but again, with time, i´ll get the hang of them. I´m usually passed out by 10 oclock every night and feel so old, but I guess this is what adults do? Maybe?

So there´s a brief look at my past week---and a few other things I wanted to let you know:
1. I will NEVER get used to taking cold showers---they are awful, and if I had to say I hate anything about Ecuador, this would be it.
2. Buses don´t stop here, you kind of have to get a running start to get on, and then hop off a moving bus when you want to get off--it is so crazy, and i´m just praying to god that i don´t eat it one of these days.
3. I have become the master at jumping rope--aside from futbol, it is my only source of cardio here, and i kind of feel like Rocky as I get up at 6:30 every morning to get a little work out in.
4. Our house is becoming famous for baking banana bread, Dan´s mom has the best recipe, and low and behold there are a lot of bananas in Ecuador, so we usually make it at least twice a week.
5. I am reading The Shack right now--and would love to hear comments if any of you have read it because I still don´t know what I think about it.

and lastly 6. I still miss you guys all so much, some days are just harder than others, but I try not to get too weepy when I think about you all. Sometimes I just feel like I´m going to be missing out on so much this year, but then I have to put a year into perspective and think, it´s going to be okay---i´m going to have amazing memories too.

I love you all so much, and am trying to do my best to work on my snail mail. Oh and also, I figured out that I can send text messages for 7 cents, so if you get a text from a strange number it may be me just saying hi and letting you know that i´m thinking about you.

Thats it for now--Karla´s birthday is tomorrow! woohooo--so I have to go clean and get ready for people to come over! We´re making a cake too, so exciting!

Hasta luego,
Con mucho amor,
Lupita