i'm back!

okay, so i've actually been back for awhile now...almost 2 weeks. honestly, it feels like it's been months since i was in nicaragua. it's weird, but the memories seem distant, maybe because being in nicaragua was literally being in a different world. and i'm not just talking about the culture, i'm also talking about the people i spent most of my days and nights with, aka gmt. but the people and the change in environment was not a bad thing at all, in fact it made the experience that much better!

all in all it was an awesome trip and i loved it. going into the trip i expected to learn more about healthcare abroad. i also thought i'd learn a lot about another culture. now don't me wrong, i did learn a lot about those things, but i ended up learning much more about myself. it's nice when things like that happen...expect the unexpected. :)

some basic things i learned about myself are:
1) it takes approximately 4 days for me to grow slightly comfortable around strangers and possibly strike a conversation. which kinda sucked because the trip was only 9 days, so by the time i was comfortable, we were pretty much heading back home.
2) i am not called to be a doctor. i have absolutely no interest in that profession. not that i ever considered being a doctor, but it's just nice to know that i've officially ruled out that career.
3) speaking of not wanting to be a doctor...i love pharmacy. i love reading a prescription, knowing what the medicine is, what it's used for, and how it works. seriously, counting pills never seemed fun until i actually started doing it...haha! (i guess i'm a facts and numbers kinda girl, but i like figuring out different therapies also...hmm.)
4) experiencing the very very basics of pharmacy (which is what most people only end up knowing about pharmacy) has made me realize that pharmacists are bit odd! =P lucky me!
5) discovering that what you love to do actually helps improve people's health and life is a beautiful gift and blessing! :)

okay, the last two weren't necessarily things i learned about myself. #4 is just a fun fact, and #5 was a lovely moment where everything kinda just clicked.

another thing that was pretty cool was writing our own prescriptions. i mean no where in the u.s. would a recent bio major graduate (who isn't even pre-med) be able to prescribe medicine...legally. it was interesting to be able to diagnose patients and think of medicines to prescribe.

anyways, here are some things i learned about nicaragua:
-the weather is a lot like the Philippines. very humid and somewhat hot, but mostly humid. when it rains, you're still sweating. =P
-the land is soo green and i've never see a bluer sky. (why is the bluer sky in nicaragua?!)
-nicaraguans are very hospitable. :)
-true nicaraguan food is extremely unhealthy. very spicy and oily. seriously, you think filipino food is bad?! i think nicaraguan food may be even more unhealthy...lol!
-the nicaraguan food i did eat reminded me of a mixture between mexican food and mediterranean food. but that's just my opinion.
-20 cordobas = 1 dollar...a very convenient conversion.
-lake nicaragua is the 3rd largest freshwater lake in the world and their are reports of freshwater sharks roaming in that lake. (when i saw the lake, it was soo big that i thought it was the pacific ocean)
-nicaragua is one the safest latin american countries!
and finally...
-i actually like their rum. screw malibu...it's all about flor de cana!

and here's my last blog story. it's about a person i got to work with.

the head tour guide, hazel, is 27 years old. she's nicaraguan, but was born in the u.s. she moved to nicaragua at the age of 17 and went to college there. by the age of 21 she co-founded an organization called "ritmo en los barrios" with her husband. it basically provides instruments and music lessons for kids in the barrios. a simple but meaningful program with a lot of heart and love put into it. after 5 years, they handed the program over, but they continue to raise funds for it in Spain, where they currently work and live. she told me that next summer her husband and her are planning on travelling to africa to research for a program they can start there. they don't know what the program will be for, but i'm pretty sure it'll be something that matters.

in closing of this long entry i just want to say that i definitely want to do something like this again. i desperately miss doing what we were doing in nicaragua and i miss nicaragua...a lot! it really is a beautiful and often neglected latin american country. maybe in the coming year i'll be blessed enough to go on another medical training/mission we'll see what happens...perhaps i should start saving up again! ;)

oh, and one last thing. the whole time i was there, i wanted my family to be apart of it. and not just my parents, brother and sisters, but my log family. i wanted to share the experience with them. which is why i think sometime in the future we should really really really consider creating a liwanag mission! not just medical, but a mission that focuses on helping people in all aspects of life...afterall doesn't liwanag have tons of teachers or soon to be teachers! :D

p.s. if you want to hear any stories from my trip (not that i have a lot) just call me. i think i've exhausted frances with my stories...haha!

alright, now i'm done. thanks for reading all the way through! good night!