Friday:
I woke up feeling like a bus hit my face! Very congested and dizzy with a touch of a nasty cough. I went to bed last night feeling the same way but was able to get a couple of extra hours of sleep in today since we were going in later to the hospital. Unfortunately the power was out for a majority of the morning but we still had a very delicious and filling breakfast. Zadie, our host mom was struggling without her coffee this morning as we were all. The coffee here is amazing! I can drink it black, have it taste wonderful and not have to worry about having the gross coffee breath you usually get after your third starbucks coffee of the day. I was getting my energy back and hearing in my ears temporarily but still needed another couple of hours before I would be functioning enough to go to the hospital.
Once the power came back, we all rushed to make coffee and enjoy the rest of our morning. Today I truly appreciated the pajama nature of scrubs and was more than eager to wear them. We all left for the hospital at 11 because the bus leaves from school 12 or 12:15 and since its rush hour and we live the farthest away, we needed the hour to get to the school where we were meeting up with everyone. We were all taking a bus together to the hospital which was about 10 -15 minutes away from the school.
Their security was more familiar to the US hospital system in the sense that we had to have our tour guide meet us at the gate beforehand and walk us through the hospital. Since we were only doing the tour today, I didn't have to carry our tools to look into machines. Our tour guide was an engineer of the hospital. He told us the hospital was built around 1865 and only serves as a pediatric hospital. There isn't a maternity ward but the hospital nearby serves all of the functions of a general admittance hospital. We were warned beforehand by J.J. that the hospitals we are touring throughout our stay in Costa Rica will be much nicer than the ones we will experience and work in Honduras or Nicaragua. The hospital is about the size of children's in Dallas (but a little bit smaller of course). We looked at the heavy machineries first such as the xray machines. Our tour was all in Spanish which meant more time to practicing my communication skills en espanol. We walked around the hospital and saw different wards and was able to see their charging station. It is a room where equipment such as incubators and anesthia machines which run off of rechargable power and standard plug-in can recharge the rechargable batteries. As soon as I saw the room, I wondered if the Public Hospital of Roatan would have the same. (Possible secondary project). Our tour ended with us going into the lower level in the repair shop to see their system, tools, and how their typical day would be. They have about 6 Engineers who rotate during the week but they are not working during the weekends. He showed us one of the components to an xray and allowed us to look around at the parts the had in the shop needed to be repaired. Overall, I really enjoyed the tour and we were able to take a group photo.
Tonight, we would be celebrating J.J.'s and Gladys' birthday at a dance club called "Castros". Seeing as my energy level was low and I needed as much rest as I could get for my long day tomorrow, I decided to stay in while Mindy and Liz went out. Before we got on the bus to go home, (btw, we had to take our usual bus home from the hospital this time) we stopped by a little tourist marketplace near the museum to look at paintings. Last weekend when I went, I saw this painting I wanted to buy for my dad and Robin but wasn't sure if they would like them. My goal was to take pictures of some and show them and have them choose which ones they like best but unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures and the prices went up from $16 dollars to 30! I was not going to pay that much for a painting that was originally $16 dollars! I will just have to try again or find some in Honduras!
For the most part, we spend the evening with our host family, watching online tv and I was able to get the needed rest because we had to be up at 4:00 AM to catch the bus to Manuel Antonio.
Weekend Trip at Manuel Antonio :)
We woke up at 430 running a little bit late. The rain outside was very relaxing but we were in a rush to get out of the house and on our way to the bus station, which would require us to take our usual bus to the closest spot then take a taxi to the station because walking from that point would include us walking through a rough neighborhood plus we wanted to make sure we were on time since the bus leaves at 6:00 am. We got there but were the first full group there! Jimmy was there by himself wondering where everyone was especially James with our bus tickets. Everyone got there on time and we left successfully! After about four hours of bus time, we made it to our hotel which was right across the street from the beach and the very first thing we did was relax on the beach! It was a wonderful day of in and out of sleep-consciousness lying on a towel. We were able to snack on a sandwich from the bakery for lunch. Dinner, we decided to eat together as a group and watch the soccer game; USA v Mexico. I was very exhausted and drained from a full day in the sun and decided to crash early right after my meal and rest for a full day tomorrow.
We all woke up early in the morning to get to the bakery then head towards the park. The park was the whole reason I wanted to go because of all of the animals there! It was amazing hiking through the park and seeing all of the animals. We saw monkeys, crabs, sloths and frogs and a beautiful toucan!!! It was absolutely amazing! We hiked for about 3 hours before we layed out on the beach inside the park! We took great photos but the best part was the beach looked like the ones from the postcard with beautiful water and sand :). Our group of girls (Leah, Caitilin, Anjuli, and I) fell asleep on the beach for about 2 hours before we had to leave the park and head towards the bus. Monkeys would come down from the trees and try to streal bags and some of the tourist's food. Luckily, none of our stuff were stolen by the "white faced monkeys". Once we got back on the bus, it was definitely nap time! I woke up here and there but was asleep for 90% of the trip. Once we got home, we unpacked, ate dinner and slept for next week would be our last week in SAN JOSE! HONDURAS, HERE I COME!
I woke up feeling like a bus hit my face! Very congested and dizzy with a touch of a nasty cough. I went to bed last night feeling the same way but was able to get a couple of extra hours of sleep in today since we were going in later to the hospital. Unfortunately the power was out for a majority of the morning but we still had a very delicious and filling breakfast. Zadie, our host mom was struggling without her coffee this morning as we were all. The coffee here is amazing! I can drink it black, have it taste wonderful and not have to worry about having the gross coffee breath you usually get after your third starbucks coffee of the day. I was getting my energy back and hearing in my ears temporarily but still needed another couple of hours before I would be functioning enough to go to the hospital.
Once the power came back, we all rushed to make coffee and enjoy the rest of our morning. Today I truly appreciated the pajama nature of scrubs and was more than eager to wear them. We all left for the hospital at 11 because the bus leaves from school 12 or 12:15 and since its rush hour and we live the farthest away, we needed the hour to get to the school where we were meeting up with everyone. We were all taking a bus together to the hospital which was about 10 -15 minutes away from the school.
Their security was more familiar to the US hospital system in the sense that we had to have our tour guide meet us at the gate beforehand and walk us through the hospital. Since we were only doing the tour today, I didn't have to carry our tools to look into machines. Our tour guide was an engineer of the hospital. He told us the hospital was built around 1865 and only serves as a pediatric hospital. There isn't a maternity ward but the hospital nearby serves all of the functions of a general admittance hospital. We were warned beforehand by J.J. that the hospitals we are touring throughout our stay in Costa Rica will be much nicer than the ones we will experience and work in Honduras or Nicaragua. The hospital is about the size of children's in Dallas (but a little bit smaller of course). We looked at the heavy machineries first such as the xray machines. Our tour was all in Spanish which meant more time to practicing my communication skills en espanol. We walked around the hospital and saw different wards and was able to see their charging station. It is a room where equipment such as incubators and anesthia machines which run off of rechargable power and standard plug-in can recharge the rechargable batteries. As soon as I saw the room, I wondered if the Public Hospital of Roatan would have the same. (Possible secondary project). Our tour ended with us going into the lower level in the repair shop to see their system, tools, and how their typical day would be. They have about 6 Engineers who rotate during the week but they are not working during the weekends. He showed us one of the components to an xray and allowed us to look around at the parts the had in the shop needed to be repaired. Overall, I really enjoyed the tour and we were able to take a group photo.
Tonight, we would be celebrating J.J.'s and Gladys' birthday at a dance club called "Castros". Seeing as my energy level was low and I needed as much rest as I could get for my long day tomorrow, I decided to stay in while Mindy and Liz went out. Before we got on the bus to go home, (btw, we had to take our usual bus home from the hospital this time) we stopped by a little tourist marketplace near the museum to look at paintings. Last weekend when I went, I saw this painting I wanted to buy for my dad and Robin but wasn't sure if they would like them. My goal was to take pictures of some and show them and have them choose which ones they like best but unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures and the prices went up from $16 dollars to 30! I was not going to pay that much for a painting that was originally $16 dollars! I will just have to try again or find some in Honduras!
For the most part, we spend the evening with our host family, watching online tv and I was able to get the needed rest because we had to be up at 4:00 AM to catch the bus to Manuel Antonio.
Weekend Trip at Manuel Antonio :)
We woke up at 430 running a little bit late. The rain outside was very relaxing but we were in a rush to get out of the house and on our way to the bus station, which would require us to take our usual bus to the closest spot then take a taxi to the station because walking from that point would include us walking through a rough neighborhood plus we wanted to make sure we were on time since the bus leaves at 6:00 am. We got there but were the first full group there! Jimmy was there by himself wondering where everyone was especially James with our bus tickets. Everyone got there on time and we left successfully! After about four hours of bus time, we made it to our hotel which was right across the street from the beach and the very first thing we did was relax on the beach! It was a wonderful day of in and out of sleep-consciousness lying on a towel. We were able to snack on a sandwich from the bakery for lunch. Dinner, we decided to eat together as a group and watch the soccer game; USA v Mexico. I was very exhausted and drained from a full day in the sun and decided to crash early right after my meal and rest for a full day tomorrow.
We all woke up early in the morning to get to the bakery then head towards the park. The park was the whole reason I wanted to go because of all of the animals there! It was amazing hiking through the park and seeing all of the animals. We saw monkeys, crabs, sloths and frogs and a beautiful toucan!!! It was absolutely amazing! We hiked for about 3 hours before we layed out on the beach inside the park! We took great photos but the best part was the beach looked like the ones from the postcard with beautiful water and sand :). Our group of girls (Leah, Caitilin, Anjuli, and I) fell asleep on the beach for about 2 hours before we had to leave the park and head towards the bus. Monkeys would come down from the trees and try to streal bags and some of the tourist's food. Luckily, none of our stuff were stolen by the "white faced monkeys". Once we got back on the bus, it was definitely nap time! I woke up here and there but was asleep for 90% of the trip. Once we got home, we unpacked, ate dinner and slept for next week would be our last week in SAN JOSE! HONDURAS, HERE I COME!