I'm at the midpoint now
I just completed my 6th week and I have 6 more to go. Time really flies...I'm excited that I have 6 more weeks here, but excited to come home too. I miss everyone so much. I try to keep myself as busy as possible so I don't dwell on it too much. I just hang out with my family a lot. I haven't really made too many friends at the school as some are interested in finding love, partying, etc. I just want to experience the culture and learn as much as I can during my time here. I am going with a girl I met online who lives in Chicago tomorrow for a walk around the city. I want to go to this point where you walk up and there's a restaurant on top where you can look out at an entire view of the city. It's really beautiful here with the mountains, hills, lush vegetation, and the surroudning volcanoes. I really haven't taken many pics since I've been here. Only about 100. I guess because I was sick and because I frequently forget to bring it. Other times the places I go I don't feel comfy bringing it because pick pocketing and robbing is prevelant. I would die if my journal or camera was stolen. They hold my memories. I know I'll take a butt load of pics when Nolan and I travel for nearly 3 weeks.
So after I wrote the blog, I went home and I decided to look into my throat with a flashlight and I saw my throat was bright red and covered in pus. I decided I better see I doctor as I figured I better get my throat cultured to make sure Amoxicillin is sufficient in killing the bacterial infection. I wish I would've looked inside my throat sooner, I mean I had pain and redness for 8 days I'm unsure when the pus started to develop. Well, I went to the doctor, he was nice, but it was a complete scam. I was impressed with my ability to explain my woes in Spanish and I could understand him too. However, I have so far to go until I can ever say I'm fluent. We talked about various drugs since I'm in pharm school. He prescribed me other meds, I told his brother that I didn't want the meds, but the next a.m. he showed at school with the meds and wanted me to pay for them. It was expensive for Guatemalan standards...I know of cheap pharmacies here. I didn't want to affend him so I paid it, but I think he marked up the price. Whatever, I mean it was super cheap, but it's the principal. I didn't even take the meds...I've just been taking Amoxicillin. I gave them to Josefina. I don't like to take meds, it's ironic because I'm going to be working in the drug industry. LOL!
I went to two different talks this week. One on the 4th about the relationship between the U.S. and Guatemala and the issue that people are facing with immigration. I talk to people here and they are quite open about their experiences with trying to get across the border or about their family members who they haven't seen in years as they are working illegally in the U.S. It's quite unbelievable. I really was on the fence about the issue, but once I put faces with the stories it makes my heart ache for them. They wish their country was better, but the people who govern it are so corrupt and only want to better their own lives and pad their own pocket and could careless about the rest of the population who is suffering. The people are forced to risk their lives and never seeing their families again to work in sweat shops in the U.S. or in the agriculture industry. It's very expensive to try to get across too. People save and save and save and sometimes they never get across.
I went to a talk about the ethnic diversity of Guatemala. There are 22 different types of languages and groups of people here. There are 5 or 6 main cateogories. I'm pissed that I mixed up the time and I arrived a 30 mins late. The lecturer recommended a book about Guatemala to me.
Both lectureres were amazing and spoke with such intelligence and clarity. I can understand some people so well other times I have no idea what the hell people are talking about. It frustrates me so!
So after I wrote the blog, I went home and I decided to look into my throat with a flashlight and I saw my throat was bright red and covered in pus. I decided I better see I doctor as I figured I better get my throat cultured to make sure Amoxicillin is sufficient in killing the bacterial infection. I wish I would've looked inside my throat sooner, I mean I had pain and redness for 8 days I'm unsure when the pus started to develop. Well, I went to the doctor, he was nice, but it was a complete scam. I was impressed with my ability to explain my woes in Spanish and I could understand him too. However, I have so far to go until I can ever say I'm fluent. We talked about various drugs since I'm in pharm school. He prescribed me other meds, I told his brother that I didn't want the meds, but the next a.m. he showed at school with the meds and wanted me to pay for them. It was expensive for Guatemalan standards...I know of cheap pharmacies here. I didn't want to affend him so I paid it, but I think he marked up the price. Whatever, I mean it was super cheap, but it's the principal. I didn't even take the meds...I've just been taking Amoxicillin. I gave them to Josefina. I don't like to take meds, it's ironic because I'm going to be working in the drug industry. LOL!
I went to two different talks this week. One on the 4th about the relationship between the U.S. and Guatemala and the issue that people are facing with immigration. I talk to people here and they are quite open about their experiences with trying to get across the border or about their family members who they haven't seen in years as they are working illegally in the U.S. It's quite unbelievable. I really was on the fence about the issue, but once I put faces with the stories it makes my heart ache for them. They wish their country was better, but the people who govern it are so corrupt and only want to better their own lives and pad their own pocket and could careless about the rest of the population who is suffering. The people are forced to risk their lives and never seeing their families again to work in sweat shops in the U.S. or in the agriculture industry. It's very expensive to try to get across too. People save and save and save and sometimes they never get across.
I went to a talk about the ethnic diversity of Guatemala. There are 22 different types of languages and groups of people here. There are 5 or 6 main cateogories. I'm pissed that I mixed up the time and I arrived a 30 mins late. The lecturer recommended a book about Guatemala to me.
Both lectureres were amazing and spoke with such intelligence and clarity. I can understand some people so well other times I have no idea what the hell people are talking about. It frustrates me so!
posted by USFBULL2002 | 11:31 AM
1 Comments:
Wow you sure typed a lot! would have taken me a week to type half of what you did in 2 hrs!
I'm glad you got rid of that crap in your throat....no offense but i sure hope i don't get anything like that....
Interesting how you now feel about the illegal imigrants....I'm still stuck in the middle....the country was founded as a place for people from other countries looking for a better ay of life. However, there is a legal way for people to gain access to our country and an illegal way. Hard for me to side with the people who do it illegally. I understand they have their reasons and most are desperate but not sure that makes it ok.
The people you speak of who do it illegally work in sweat shops because since they are illegal they have no rights and have to continue in bad situations. That is not what they thought they would get when leaving for the USA. Plus these illegals pay no taxes but are allowed to send their childern to public schools paid by us tax payers. If they were legal they would hae bette working conditions and pay taxes.
Not sure what the answer is for all those already here illegally.
It is amazing how well you can already communicate....such as going to the dr or all the stories you tell of Josefina.
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