I'm using the word "different" in the way that my mom taught me when we went to Germany for the first time. It was something along the lines of "don't say something is 'weird', say it's 'different'."
So yes, Argentina has different buffets. So different.
-Went to the hospital today for the first time. It was a lot more old/dirty than I imagined.
-Classes. Same 'ole
-Finally tried Havana
-Super hilarious speaker
-Dinner disaster!
First of all I had to wake up SOOOO early! 6:05AM! UGH.
I'm sure you all know by now that I loooove to sleep in. It's probably my biggest guilty pleasure. :)
Anyway, the hospital was alright. Sadly, I don't know near enough Spanish to take very much from the experience. :(((
The doctors and residence spoke a LOT of crazyyyy medical spanish, and quite quickly. :/
I tried sooo hard to keep up..... but really I could only decipher a few words in their entire conversation. ugh. :/
It was also pretty dirty [more on that later, though.]
On the plus side I could understand everything the paitients would say! Even though they have the Argentinian accent. :)
Omg. Everyone was SO nice to my friend and I! They offered us cookies and coffee, hahaha. The attending physician (the doctor in charge... which Brad says is actually just called an "attending" lol) was very sweet. He asked us on several occaisions if we could understand what was going on [no], and told us to get closer so we could see what was going on. I was very impressed with how genuine everyone was! :)
Also, the hospital is only 2-3 blocks away from where my apartment is! Yay! :D
I was able to have a pretty awesome talk with a friend from class after shadowing, which was awesome. I'm so glad that it's easy to make friends here! Hahaha :)
I feel like I use the word "after" soooo often when I blog that I'm trying to think of different transitions... They're all awkward. Sorry, hahaha. :)
Anyway, My classes were alright. We're still doing the past tense, but we're doing irregular verbs or something, lol. I don't really know. Upon [constant] reflection, I've realized that my English isn't the best... so I don't even know how I will master all of these Spanish grammar rules.
"Por ejemplo" ("for example"... but my professor says it in such a cute way!) today we learned the difference between 'por' and 'para', and I can honestly say I have retained nothing. It's so frustrating. :/
I think I will try studying when I'm less tired to see if that's possibly the problem.
[I can't think of a better word than "after"... :/] After classes, I went to a local coffee shop called "Havana" with a classmate, Harry. I tried a capucino, and a special kind of cookie that my teacher recommended. The cookie is called "Alfrejores" or something, and it seemed to be a wafers that are filled with dulce de leche and either covered in chocolate or powdered sugar? I don't know. It was too darn sweet for me. Blegh. I even had them with my coffee!
The coffee was pretty good, though! :)
I swear, you really can't go wrong with coffee down here. :)))))
I had to go back to school after going to Havana because we had a speaker scheduled. Being up since 6AM really makes you sleepy! Needless to say, I was not too excited for this speaker.
It was actually super interesting and funny! He is in charge of the clinicals at the hospital I will be shadowing/volunteering at, and his lecture was about the entire process of medical school in Argentina. I think the biggest reason why I liked him so much is because he is very humble.
He asked us what the main difference is between his hospital and the hospitals in the U.S., and I mentioned that the sanitation rules were different. First the doctors were making their rounds, and touching the patients with bare hands without washing their hands [or even using hand sanitizer] before moving to another patient. I also saw a wad of bloody tissue on the floor, and I must admit that I was a bit horrified. I just couldn't believe that it was left on the floor! It was crazy!
Another girl mentioned that she also found that it was different, because she and the girl she was partnered with were following a resident that carried a urine sample from the 10th to the 1st floor... in a water bottle.
*sigh*
I need to accept the fact that I have been VERY blessed to have been born in the U.S. and raised there. I know that I sound like a horrible person right now, but I have lived a very privileged life and I need to be grateful. Visiting this hospital was really an eye opener.
I don't know about any of you, but I really feel that I take many small things for granted, when I really shouldn't. Take for instance the fact that San Antonio has so many wonderful hospitals. Sure, it might not be cheap, but at least you know you will not be turned away and you will receive excellent care. I hope I can remember this feeling for a long, long time.
Just because I have lived my entire life knowing that no matter what will happen to me, I will receive excellent, sanitary health care doesn't mean everyone has that luxury. I am so thankful.
That's all. :)
The speaker was hilarious because he kept cursing and was very candid about everything. I thoroughly enjoyed that. :) Even though he has a really amazing position, he talked to us in a way that made me [at least] feel very relaxed. I was giggling sooo much every time he would curse. I thought it was the best thing ever.
Afterward I asked him a question related to privacy laws in Argentine health care, and he wanted to know why I was so interested in the laws. Then I had to explain that I'm not even going to be a docter, hahaha. He said he didn't really know the answers to my questions off the top of his head, but that I could email him whenever I [and the class!] would like, with any questions. How cool is that?!?! :D
Alright, now it's the paragraph[s?] you've been waiting for! I had a TERRIBLE dinner tonight. Really, I think I may have been better off not eating.
Brad and I were scouring our neighborhood for possible restaurants to eat at, and I decided on a place about 4-5 blocks away from our apartment. I didn't realize, but it was a buffet! Interesting.
So it took us a while to realize that it was a buffet, and what to do at buffets in Argentina.
............The majority of the food were salads, which I am MORE than fine with... however, in Argentina, several things qualify as salad:
-carrots and mayonnaise
-waldorf salad with mayonnaise
-"potato salad" with something that tasted a LOT like mayonnaise, but looked like mustard? I'm thinking it was cooked egg yolk and mayonnaise or something?
etc.
I think by now you understand what I meant. Does this country have a strange obsession with mayonnaise?!?!?!? Not my thing... :/
There was one entree that I enjoyed: a potato filled empanada-shaped pasta? It was pretty decent. Nothing to get excited about, but at the very least edible and lacking mayonnaise. Thank goodness.
I also had some cheese. If you read my last post, you'll know that I was starving at this point, hahaha.
They did have crepes, though, so that was a pretty good redeeming quality. I didn't know how to make my own crepe, so it ended up looking like a a strange grilled cheese, which is a pretty intense feat given the shape/texture of crepes. I'm so talented. hah. ;P
So yes, this was my tuesday. Interesting to say the least. :)
Again, sorry for such long posts... I've given up on my personal journal, and this is the next best thing! :D
Buenas noches mis amores!!!!
<33Regina
P.S.: I feel absolutely stupid. I thought El Tigre was a rain forest. No. Not at all. Not even close. I apologize, it's a town on a river... kind of. Ugh. I wishhhh it were a rain forest..... :(
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