Quick Update

¡Hola! So, I'll start out by saying sorry for the lack of pictures. I've spent most of my time at school, church, or around the house with my mamatica, so I haven't taken many. This weekend was a bit busy. Saturday, I had to go to school for workshops about natural disasters and culture shock. Nothing too exciting, except we played a game called "soplar el viento" which is where you say something you like to do or a characteristic you have, and others with the same thing have to get up and switch seats (very similar to a game in the US, I just can't remember the name). That night, I went to youth group with another girl's family, and it was really fun. It was fun to see how people in another part of the world worship in pretty much the same way. Many of the songs were translations of songs I knew, and youth group consisted of discussions, songs, and games. Everyone was very welcoming and patient with our Spanish. I talked to the other girl's papatico, and he said they think it's very important to reach out to the youth early so they turn to God with their problems rather than violence, drugs, or alcohol. That's why they have youth on Saturday--so these kids have a more positive place to go. He also told me that he thinks that my faith in God and ability to put things I can't control in His hands will make me a better doctor. Our conversation was very special to me.

Side note: This family has a 2-year-old daughter, so I learned the Barney song in Spanish! (exciting, I know. haha)

Sunday morning, I went to a Christian church with my mamatica. It was nice, but VERY different from what I'm used to. It was very contemporary and lasted about three hours. Everyone was very friendly. It was funny to see them all try to pronounce my name because they think it's very strange, but I assured them it's VERY common in the States. Although I could understand more or less everything the pastor said, he had a young boy come up and repeat some things in English just for me, which was really nice. The next day, I saw one of the women I met on the street, and we talked for a while.

Monday, I didn't have classes, so we went shopping. Clothes here are SO expensive! I thought I'd be able to supplement my wardrobe once I got here, but I can't spend that much money.

Today was my first day of classes. My first was Spanish for Medical Professionals. It was really interesting, and the professor is easy to understand. We talked about the social security system here and what makes the health system in Costa Rica so much different from other Latin America and third world countries. All healthcare is free here for Costa Rican citizens, and care is very preventative (my teacher said because the people are more educated--education is free as well). I'm very excited to go visit some clinics and learn more about the system, and I'll be sure to share for all the premed people :) My other class was Advanced Grammar. If I hadn't learned what we went over today, I would have had NO idea what was going on, so we'll see how the rest of the semester goes. It's a four-hour-long class, which is pretty brutal, but necessary I suppose. My mamatica went to English class today, so we were both able to help each other with homework, which was really fun.