Anyways, the past 2 weeks have been very busy as we have been having class every day and have done some traveling on the weekends. We still have Spanish classes in the morning, and an engineering lecture/lab in the afternoon. We have also gone on 2 more hospital visits, and met with the technical staff at each. Two weekends ago, the whole group went to Manual Antonio National Park, and this past weekend a few of us took on a different kind of adventure.
Spanish Classes
The Spanish classes are still pretty intense, but I think we are finally starting to get the hang of them. We still have about an hour of hw each night, but it doesn't seem to be as stressful as it was a couple of weeks ago. Last week, we had to write a presentation on a specific piece of hospital equipment and present it to the class. (I was assigned the sphygmomanometer.) It took a while, but it was really cool to be able to write 2 (semi-coherent) pages in a different language! It was probably written at a pre-preschool level, but oh well. It was fun to see how far we have come in just a couple weeks of classes, and I think it might be an indication the teachers know what they are doing (sorry, Salman).
My favorite result from the Spanish classes occurred last Friday, when we went on a tour of the San Jose Children's Hospital. The tour leader was Martin Valverde, the head engineer for the hospital. As with most of the other hospital trips, Martin didn't speak any English. As we were going through the different wards and departments, there were short stretches where I think I was able to understand everything he was saying. I didn't really expect it, but it was really kind of a rush to realize that I could understand another language! There were definitely times where I felt like I was tuning a radio... every now and then I could pick up what they were saying, and some other times where it may as well have been static. All in all, it was a pretty good day.
Engineering Classes
Engineering classes and lectures have been going well. We have covered a few more topics, including anesthesia machines, EKGs, pulse oximeters, incubators, and some other common machines. In lab, we have been building some simple circuits: a small LED flashlight, a variable power supply, and a temperature sensor. I don't know how handy they will be in the coming weeks, but it has certainly improved our soldering skills if nothing else. We have also gotten our hands on some actual hospital equipment, both on the hospital visits and recently in lab. About a 2 weeks ago we toured the
hospital in San Ramon, and visited the different wards and the maintenance area. The hopsital was similar to the one we visited earlier in Turrialba. It was very well maintained, had a very good engineering staff and highly functional equipment, but again had very little patient privacy. I am not sure what to expect in Honduras, but if the hospital is anything like the ones we have seen in Costa Rica, then we might not have a lot of work to do.
We did get a chance to open up a suction pump (again), but this was a simpler repair. We were able to fix the control knob, change some valves inside the pump, and clean the diaphragm. We were able to increase the suction from 300mmHg to about 500mmHg, but I don't know if that was high enough to be returned to service. It felt pretty good to get our hands dirty again, and I am looking forward to do it again soon.
Manuel Antonio
On Saturday the 3rd, the whole group headed to Manuel Antonio National Park, in southern Costa Rica. It is one of the most popular places for tourists in the country, so I wasn't particularly thrilled when we first made the plans. It turns out that it is popular for good reason. We first saw the beach from the bus when we were still about an hour outside of the park, and I was blown away. It was the kind of thing you see on postcards! Fields of plam trees leading up to the beach, mountains in the background... very impressive stuff. Our hotel was directly across from the beach, so we checked in as soon as we got there and headed out to the ocean. The beach was beautiful: cliffs on either side covered with thick rainforest, white sand, lined with palm trees.
The waves were perfect for body surfing - if you didn't mind getting roughed up a bit. I have tried body surfing a couple of different places in Florida, but nothing compared to this. There were some waves that really turned me upside down. I think they are called 'lavanderias', which means 'washing machine', and the comparison is a good one. That evening everyone went out, and we had the best sangria I have ever had the pleasure of drinking, with a bunch of tropical fruit, bananas, and other good stuff.
On Sunday, we went into the National Park bright and early, and I was not disappointed. There are two separate beaches, separated by a thin strip of land no more than 30-40m across, and we had both pretty much to ourselves. The waves were even better (and rougher) than the day before, and there were some massive swells. At times, it was challenge to even enter/exit the water because of the waves. We found a trail at one end of the beach, and decided to take it. The trail went around the peninsula, and had some incredible views. We also saw a (small) monkey in the trees just off of the trail and some fairly large lizards running through the forest. When we got back to the beach, we encountered even more monkeys, traveling in a group of 12 along the beach. I hadn't seen wild monkeys before, so I was glad to check them off of my 'To See' list :)
All in all, it was probably the nicest/most beautiful beach I have been to, and might have been the second or third best beach trip I have been on.
Bungee Jumping
This past weekend, a couple of us decided that we should jump off of a bridge, so we did. I cannot believe I haven't done that before! I was a bit nervous leading up to it, and every time we talked about it I got a little bit nauseaus, so I didn't know how it would go. Anyways, we got there at about 8 in the morning, and pretty much pulled up to the bridge and immediately started putting on the harnesses. We didn't get any sort of preparation or instruction, but the process is really quite straightforward. It turned out to be more of a bungee fall, but it was a huge rush! I will definitely be doing that again, and encourage everyone I know to do the same!
The bridge was structurally sound, but jumping off seemed sensible at the time.
Everyone watches closely as Salman is strapped in... he was the first to go.
Right before the moment of truth.
Yes, I was nervous.
...but it was definitely worth it!
I will try to post again when we get to Honduras. Hasta Luego!
If you can say "sphygmomanometer" in English, much less Spanish, I think you're doing pretty well. Still can't believe you bungeed. The beach looks more like my kind of adventure :)
ReplyDeleteIndiana's squirrel population has gotten out of control this HOT summer. I think monkeys are the solution. Just sayin.
ReplyDeleteDid you scream a high-pitched scream? You know, like a girl? I screamed a man's scream. Just wondering if bungy jumping works that way...