I didn't have a chance to go grocery shopping for several days after returning from Honduras. Thus, I used what was left in my fridge to come up with some sort of breakfast.
I made my second, ever, breakfast burrito.
It sure was delicious!
I went for a nice walk and enjoyed the wonderful spring weather.
Stesha decided to cook me lunch. She made me pasta with a mix of red and white sauce. We planned on working on schoolwork by the pool, but that didn't happen. We ended up having a nice relaxing drink.
I met my Honduras group to work on our poster presentation that evening. We got together from 7pm until around 11. I was worn out!
That night I attempted to stay up until 3am to start the transition to night shift.
I made it to around 2:30 and passed out.
Wednesday, April 11th
I forced myself out of bed at 2:45.
I went to Panera for lunch and to work on some schoolwork. I finished up Case Study 4 for my diabetes course and started on my research presentation.
I got a walk in after that.
I tried everything to get myself to stay up until 7am.
I packed my first 5 boxes!
I packed up all of my clothes in one of my closets:
Also, I packed up all of my fun books (not school books).
I watched a ton of TV and succeeded in staying up until 7.
I crashed and woke up around 4pm on Thursday afternoon.
I did get a 1 hour walk in before I went in to clinical.
I worked from 6:45 pm until 7:15 am on Friday morning.
I made it home and into bed asleep by 9 am.
I slept until 4:45 and got myself ready.
I worked another 6:45 pm to 7:15 am shift.
So now, Saturday morning: I had an 8 am and an 8:30am appointment with two different women. One wanted to buy my desk and the other, my kitchen table. I put them on craigslist several days before. They both showed up around the same time and both wanted the furniture for the price I wanted! woohoo!
I sold my desk for $75 (originally $90) and my kitchen table for $350 (originally $450). What a deal!
no more kitchen table
I crashed around 10 am and awoke at 5 pm. I picked up another shift for the next day (Sunday), so it was right back to sleep for me at 10 pm. haha! It really wasn't that hard to go back to sleep because I was exhausted.
I worked Sunday from 6:45 am until 7:15pm.
As of now, I am 6 shifts down and I have 8 to go.
I am working tomorrow night, Wednesday night, and Friday during the day.
The days and nights have blended together and the days seem to be slipping by.
I am proud to say I conquered my first week working nights. I had one meltdown, but I feel like I've gotten ahold of my sleep schedule.
Lucky for me, I kept a journal while I was away. This has made it a lot easier to catch up on my blog.
Please forgive my horrible writing and misspellings. There was no Google to use to check my spelling ;)
Waiting on the missing bags that never came (until 4 days later)
mountain views on our drive to Villa Gracia
arrival at our first home: Villa Gracia
the new digs
my room and roommates
lunch
dinner
packaging meds for the clinic
ready to head for the mountains
breakfast
supermarket stop
Hospital in La Esperanza
Labor and Delivery
front of the Hospital
Honduran Wheelchair
the drive to the mountains
view behind our clinic and home
our new rooms
kitchen
dinner
our education project
up late coming up with nursing interventions
earplugs on our pillows compliments of the house (Rosa)
breakfast
puppy dog I want
lunch
pharmacy
the clinic
notice the headlamp around my neck it was dark in the clinic by the time we got back for our walk and we had no electricity
dinner
scorpion
the scene: CR didn't want us to lose sight of the scorpion so she pointed her headlamp in that direction
breakfast
lunch
patients waiting their turn
med students teaching nursing students
breakfast
church service
lunch
dinner
breakfast
lunch
manis and pedis
going to pick coffee beans
coffee beans
dinner
popcorn!
shadow puppet show before bed
1 day old calf
8 day old calf
breakfast
Me, Caitlin, and Beth's room
we had a flushing toilet!
the cold shower
I WANT
lunch
performing the vignettes
the village watching us perform
dinner
breakfast
loom
ride to Copan
straw market
my bed on the left and Ariella's on the right
hotel pool
view from room 19 at Hotel Buena Vista
dinner
out dancing
breakfast
Chorti Village Schoolhouse where we set up the clinic
Rosa working the pharmacy
ABSN students
lunch
Macaw Mountain
the coffee I bought Lance next to my $1 iced coffee
pupusas
dinner
the cute puppy I was talking about
laying the sawdust down
riding in the taxi
morning coffee at a cafe
exterior of the hotel
American breakfast
Copan Ruins
lunch
riding to zip line
got my gear
We climbed the ladder to get a better view
the result
dinner at Jim's
found the cute puppy again
That brings us to the morning we left.
We woke up at 5 AM to hit the road by 5:30. We had a 3 hour drive to San Pedro Sula for our flight to Houston.
I was so relieved to land safely in the USA around 3:15 pm.
the best words
We gathered the bags in customs and survived. We walked out of customs and to the left was the exit to the outside world and to the right was the escalator to the terminals. I stalled in the bathroom for 5 minutes for my crew to get into the terminal and then left the airport. Why?
Lance picked me up for a dinner date!!!! I had a long layover so we got to spend around 2 hours together and it was just what I needed.
This was the best medicine after a 10 day trip with 15 other people.
I was so used to having an afternoon drink that I couldn't help myself.
I gave Lance his gifts: coffee and cigars...and some plantain chips!
ooo yeah... and the 10 letters that I wrote him for each day I was away
The visit was short, but it was just what I need to get through the next 3 weeks. The next time I see him I will be moving in!
I got back to the gate just in time to see my group moving down 6 gates because of a change. I switched between a couple of movies and the Rangers game on the plane.
I slept in until noon yesterday and then wrote my first journal reflection for my senior synthesis. It was difficult after only having 3 shifts that were 2 weeks ago. I finished a case study and my forums for research. I went for a run...er...more of a walk.
I saw a dead snake and had to take a pic.
Today I woke up really confused and tired. I had class from 8-1 and we listened to other students present their 15 minute presentations.
I picked up my graduation tickets and it almost seems REAL now!
Over the course of the trip, we have been taking a couple of medications. We took a Malaria prevention med that we started a week before we left and have continued to take it every Tuesday...I have 4 more weeks of that to go. The good news is I didn't get a horrible headache like I did the first time I took it. We have also been taking Cipro to prevent infection that can occur from bacteria...like from the water and stuff...just incase we drank it. We took a pill every night at dinner. No problems there. Today I began Mebendazol, an anti-parasite med just incase we got worms on the trip. I took the first pill this morning and started itching an hour or so later and didn't think much of it. I thought it was the workout pants I was wearing rubbing against my un-shaved legs! I noticed it got worse after I took the second pill this evening. I just email the doctor on our trip to see if I should continue the med or not. The itching is driving me absolutely crazy!
I have never been so grateful to be in my bed doing absolutely nothing, alone, in the silence. Me time is in full effect. I am thankful for air conditioning, hot water, electricity, and the internet...and being able to be in contact with my family and loved ones whenever I want. I'm connected to the world again!
This post took way too long to finish.
I'll leave you with a video from the trip (as if all the pics weren't enough).
