Thursday 11/20/14 Projects Abroad

It absolutely blows my mind how much better the projects abroad program is here than in Peru. Yesterday, one of the staff members walked me through the entire town and physically brought me to places like the supermarket, bank, pharmacy, Internet cafe, popular places for volunteers, etc. We visited the two hospitals that I would be volunteering at. I had also received a free SIM card when going through immigration on arrival but mine along with my peruvian phone had been giving me problems so she took me to the right places to get it all sorted out. By the end of the morning, I literally had no questions or concerns at all. I was able to visit the pediatric unit also yesterday and hung out with all the kids but the unit didn't seem to have much for me to do or observe. The doctors there said the unit is very seasonal and suggested that I get transferred to a different unit for better experience. Malsha, my coordinator, was right on it and today I was in the surgical unit in a variety of situations including on mastectomy which was really amazing to watch and had me thinking about what kind of nursing I wanted to pursue upon arrival in the US. Next week I start in the OBGYN hospital for labor and delivery which Malsha had also specifically arranged for me. She's awesome.