Internship and Other Things

I've got two weeks left here in Barcelona and time is going extra fast. I know I am suppose to live it up until I have to leave but my excitement to see my friends and family again after half a year of being away is just bursting out of me. I've enjoyed my time here and I am still enjoying. I've met new people and experienced new things, which I will cherish forever. However, when someone's been too far for too long, the fun ebbs and homesickness comes in. I am not homesick at the moment but for the past couple of days I've been on constant conversations with my parents and bestfriend, Nienke. I am glad we have Skype, Facebook, Gmail, and Hotmail to make communicating better. =)

Speaking of communicating better, I think I can now finally say that I can speak Spanish well. Calling it fluent might not be right yet, but it's getting there. I can maintain conversations for a very long time just like yesterday at work at the hospital. My co-worker, Mercé, asked me lots of questions about how the school system in US works. She asked me what I am studying and why do I want to be a surgeon. She asked me all sorts of things and, surprisingly, I was able to talk to her for about an hour or so while waiting for the next patient call. Mercé told me I spoke well and my accent is very good. She said that I don't sound like I am trying hard, which is really nice to hear. I have never been so happy that my Spanish speaking skills are getting better and better everyday. I know I may have not written any entry in Spanish but that is for my blog reader's sake. I don't think everyone that reads my blog would understand Spanish. Yes, you could copy and paste it on GoogleTranslate but it won't do me any justice. Hence, my wonderful Spanish entry would be butchered to pieces. Anyway, I'd like to share stories about my work on this entry as well. I am going to start with my work at the hospital and my other one at the soccer camp. But before I go on, I'd like you to know that I am not violating any patient confidentiality at all. I won't give names, but I will tell you their ages and cases.

Our logo at Sant Joan de Déu

My boss Tina Parayre and the secrataries Ana and Sonia

I work 3-5 hours a day at Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu (Castellan- Hospital de San Juan de Dios; English- Saint John's Hospital). Everyday I witness different cases and sometimes it bothers my overly emotional heart. My first day at work I was given a 2 year old patient with mild allergies. I thought that the work here isn't bad at all because after that my second and third patients just had mild sickness or were just admitted for further monitoring. The second day I came to work they told me that I should be able to go to my patient's room by myself without a guide anymore. It wasn't such a bad idea because I can speak Spanish well, I understand a bit of Catalan, and I am great with children. No big deal right? So I went to see my first patient and there she was with her tiny 2 year old body. Poor little girl just had a brain surgery... I know, I know. I've mentioned that I will be a pediatric neurosurgeon and nothing will ever stop me from wanting to become one. However, as soon as I saw her, my heart broke to pieces and I thought I'd call for backup because I didn't want to be alone with the child in case something happens. But I thought to myself I'VE REALLY GOT TO TOUGHEN UP OR I COULD KISS MY DREAMS OF BECOMING A SURGEON GOODBYE. So I sucked it up and carried the little girl and comforted her while her parents went to take a short break for lunch. I was there about an hour and she grew antsy so I started to rock her a little bit to see if she'll fall asleep. It turned out that she was sleepy and wanted her mom. I did everything I could until she started crying. I asked her, in Spanish, to please not cry and that I know it might hurt but everything will be alright. She stared at me and rested her head on my chest. Minutes passed and she fell asleep. Her parents came and I was relieved because I thought I had to take break myself too. They said thanks and I left. The next day, my third day, I was faced with tougher situations: a 2-month old with chronic cough mucus and a 5 year old that just had a bypass surgery. With the 2 month old baby, it wasn't hard because he was asleep and all I did for 15 minutes was look at him and monitor his breathing. 2o minutes in and all was well until he started coughing and suddenly turned purple. Right then and there I thought the baby will die in my care. I called the emergency and the nurses came and somehow managed to make the baby puke the obstruction in his chest. He went back to normal color and I was relieved. Another one of those cases and I might think of me as incapable of becoming a doctor. His mom came and said she'd take it from there. I left to see my next patient and didn't think I'd be in for another shock. I came to his room and three nurses were already there. They spoke to me and said they will be taking his stitches off to replace them with surgical staples. They asked me to stay because the mom needed a break and so I said yes. They proceeded on to doing what they came to do and the next thing I knew I was trying hard not to cry from hearing the little boy scream of pain. I held his hand and he looked at me asking me to call his mother. I knew I couldn't do that because his mom left for the purpose of not seeing her child that way. And so I told him that I'd speak to him in English and he will listen to me. He was confused for a while and maybe thought I was speaking in a crazy different language but he calmed down. The nurses told me I did well on calming him down and that I was brave for staying. After that I asked the office if that day I could finish my hours at the playroom because I just needed to breath. A little bit more practice is all I need when it comes to these situation. I have time to adjust myself and grow less emotional towards patients. But I think for now I will keep it because it is what inspires me to keep going towards the direction of my dream. You can call me weak right now but it is what it is. I just have to take it in as I go and try not think of me being a failure for being emotional. I think it's better to feel than not to feel. Right?

Now, my other job is the complete opposite of my work at the hospital. At the soccer camp I work with perfectly healthy and energetic kids. The only complain I have is that they are too energetic. Every time I come in we start with lunch and then a 2 hr free time. During then the kids are everywhere. After eating we clean up and then proceed on to playing pingpong or fútbolin. They take both things seriously, I tell you. Unfortunately, I am not good at both so they end up frying me during the games. I'm just happy they welcome me as one of the trainers. They respect me and listen to me, which makes me feel that I am doing a great job. I do not have the same group that I started with although I am lucky to have little kids again. There's this particular kid named Simon who won't listen to other instructors, or to most of them. I am not sure but he's different with me. I guess it's because I am a woman. In this country, the respect for mothers are very high and they listen to what they say. So I think when I tell Simon not to throw his slippers at the other kids and trainers, he listens to me. Motherly material, eh? Haha! Anyway, the real all internship days are coming and my last class is today. Tomorrow is our final exam and all is gonna be over.

The days will pass by quick and packing time will come sooner than I think. I am happy to leave and will never be sad to do so. My memories of Spain will be forever with me and I know I will come back. But I will end my post now and add more later. There are still some adventures waiting to unfold.

Until then... =)