Beyond Excited

I've been talking to people about my trip for months, telling them about what I'll be doing, why I chose Nicaragua, who inspired me, how I'm fundraising, etc. I can talk ad nauseum about all these fact-based things, but as soon as I run out of information to share, all I can say is, "I'm really excited!" This is generally followed by a relatively awkward pause during which I realize that the depth of my feeling is really not getting across, so I try to explain just how stoked I am and end up repeating myself. Time and time again, those seem to be the only words my brain can come up with to describe how I feel about my trip. No synonyms, no elaboration... Just "I'm really excited."

I am really excited about my trip - How could I not be? I leave NEXT FRIDAY! - but instead of repeating the obvious when someone asks me about it, I wish I had the presence of mind to mention some of the other things I'm feeling:

Frazzled. The last time I left the country on my own, I went to spend six days with my dear friend Eliza in Hawaii. All I had to do was book the flight, grab some cash, pack a bag and get on the plane. This time around, the logistics are significantly more complex. Two months is a long time to be away, so I have to work things out so that the condo is taken care of  - and clean, too, because my other dear friend Charley will be moved in by the time I get back! I have to talk to the bank and VISA and insurance companies to work out all kinds of money/liability details, buy all kinds of things I need to take with me, cancel the cable and run a hundred errands. When I toss all this on top of the facts that I'm still working, I had an exam on Monday, it's summer time and I have to make a trip to Cold Lake first, things get a little hectic!

Giddy. That being said, I want to do all these things. I'm so thrilled every time I buy a new item for my first aid kit ("Oooh, Gravol's on sale!") or cross another thing off my exceptionally huge to-do list. I do a tiny happy dance when I look at the BaseCamp site and see the countdown it gives me ("Eightdayseightdayseightdays!") and every time I talk to my mom on the phone, I lead with "I leeeeaaave so soooooooon!" It's probably pretty irritating, actually, but it's all I can think about so therefore pretty much all I can talk about.

Motivated. I've been listening to the Coffee Break Spanish podcasts my friend Matt suggested and I'm really into them! It's frustrating that there are certain phrases that stick really well and others that just refuse to be retained. For example, Matt taught me the word "entonces" on Friday and it took until yesterday for me to be able to actually remember it without checking the note I wrote myself. I also got a vocabulary app for my phone that is teaching me simple things like numbers, days of the week and colours. The app is so good that I actually paid for the full version to get more levels! I've always been really interested in languages so it's really cool to be learning a new one for the first time in fifteen years. I can't wait to be able to carry on a conversation - ahora, es difficile!

Curious. I've never been on an adventure like the one that's starting so soon, and I really don't know what to expect. I wonder about the food, the accommodations, the weather, the people, and my placement. I want to be meeting new people already, discovering new places already and absorbing new information already. Being in the hospital for four weeks is going to be wild; I'm going to learn so much!

First Aid Kit Champ

A long time ago in a bungalow far away, my whole family pitched in to help get me ready to move away for school. My mom collected all kinds of kitchen things I would need, my 15-year-old brother coloured all over said things ("I'll miss you" would have sufficed) and my dad made me a first aid kit.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of travelling with my dad, he makes a mean first aid kit. I'm pretty sure that he always has at least Advil and/or Tylenol on his person, but he seems to kick up to Benadryl, bandaids, gauze, etc. for actual outings; anything longer than a couple of days and the suture kit comes along. He doesn't mess around!

This is partly why the first aid kit my dad made for me to take to residence is so awesome, but only partly. I remember sitting in the living room talking to my mom while Dad put the finishing touches on it - or rather, as he tried to close the lid to the tupperware container he'd so carefully packed full of bandaids, medicine, scissors, gauze and alcohol swabs. After a while, I noticed that he seemed to have gotten the lid on but was still fussing with it. Upon investigation, it turned out that he had taken a red sharpie and carefully drawn an enormous red cross on the top of the white lid. I can still see the proud smile on his face as he held it up to show Mom and me.

I was not impressed.

I think the outburst went something like, "Dad, it doesn't need a cross! I know it's a first aid kit! What else would it be? I can see everything inside it! Why are you such a dork?! You wrecked it! Whine whine whine complain complain complain!" He just looked at me sheepishly and my mom snickered. Still, it was a great kit and it  eventually came with me to school, cross and all.

Despite pitching such a ridiculous fit when he first coloured all over it (again, "I'll miss you" would have done the trick), I have to admit that the sharpie cross makes me smile every time I see it - which, given my highly accident-prone nature - is more often than I'd care to admit.

All this is to say that I'm building my first aid / health kit for my trip and it's going to be awesome.

No Hablo Español - Yet!

Hola! Mi nombre es Stephanie. Estoy aprendiendo español con Coffee Break Spanish. Es un poco difficile!

I started listening to podcasts earlier this week and I've got a few phrases down. I'm really enjoying Coffee Break Spanish, mostly because it has the most intense jingle I've ever heard! While I'd really like to tell you all about the heavy Scottish accents and how stupid I look walking down the street trying to repeat "Hasta luego. Hasta luego. Hasta luego," I have an exam that I should study for instead. In the meantime, I'll leave you with the excellent... study tool:)

Placed!

I’m a terrible blogger! I got my welcome email and placement details last week and it was exciting enough to cause squealing and dancing and general giddiness, but I just couldn’t find words to do it justice. (Although I sent an email to my mom that said “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!” That pretty much sums it up.)

I’ve been placed at Santiago Hospital in Jinotepe, which is where my friend Meagan spent part of her time volunteering. The description says they have “a large emergency room, a maternity and pediatrics ward, a pharmacy, a lab, and a large surgery room.” I hope this means I’ll get to see and learn a lot of new things – although I’m pretty sure that anything I see will be completely different from what I’ve seen here. I wonder what the “large emergency room” is like. I mean, I used to think the emergency room at the hospital at home was large (ish) until I volunteered at a hospital here in the city; I suppose everything is relative.

In the welcome document, there was also a section about donations. Volunteers don’t have to donate anything to their placements, but the hospital gave a list of things they need the most just in case. Although any donations are welcome, the things they need the most are tongue depressors, first aid kits and blood pressure monitors. Tongue depressors!? That idea has just been stuck in my head since I read it; although I know they’re non-essential tools, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that the hospital wouldn’t have them. Still, since they’re light and cheap, I’m hoping to bring a bunch with me!

Funnily enough, the email I received doesn’t actually have much information about my placement that I didn’t already know. What it really tells me is that it’s happening! It’s real! In 21 days, I’ll be there!

Maybe I should start learning some Spanish…