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…