Day 10 – Clinical rotation at Programa Medicia Clinica.

I cannot believe that we are finished with our program!! Of course now it seems like the time just flew by!! Today was a wonderful day. We spent the last day at school learning more grammar and medical Spanish. We particpated in patient/ doctor role play, so that we could get a better feel for what patients might say. Our instructor set up with another instructor for us to go and converse with a group of students so that we could practice asking our questions. They in turn asked us questions so that we could converse back and forth. This was a great learning experience. Being able to ask questions is one thing, but being able to hold a continuous conversation with someone is a completely different activity. I still have a ways to go, but I will get there.

When we got home from school we had to say good bye to our new found little brother, Jorge. He was going home for the weekend. For being a young kid, he was very respectful and welcomed us as family. His parents did a great job raising him. We spent the rest of the day with our house mother, having dinner and stopping one last time at the churro vender, they were delicious.  

Oh one quick side note. Everyday for the past 4 weeks we have had the priviledge of hearing the sound of the nearby train passing by. It graces us with its presence at least 4 times a day and /or night.

A caught it approaching

And passing by

 The stay in Guadalajara has been outstanding. I learned so much about the culture and about patient care received through the hospital. This program is a great opportunity for nurses as well as other health care providers to get a better understanding of how to interact with the Hispanic population. I want to thank all the partners of the program who helped to make this training possible.

In closing, I wanted to give everyone a….

Little Taste of Mexico

Yummy Tamales

Potatoes and Chicken

Sopa de Fideo and Chicken Salad with Corn

Chicken Flautas with rice and beans

Ensalada de Le Shuga

Sopa de Pollo

New York New York Restaurant  

Enchiladas with red sauce

Jorge had this very interesting soup 

Santo Coyote 

We were not sure what was going to come out of the box.
We were surprised to find out that it was our food.

Heather had a 3 cheese soup.

I had the traditional tortilla soup

And Larissa had the Filet with a cheese and avacado sauce.
The sides were vegetables and jalapeno mashed potatoes.

La Chalula

Flautas 

Quilumbo Restau

I forgot to take the picture before we started eating!!

Raviolis with a rosa sauce 

 Chicken Alfredo

One thing that I always have to remember with nursing is – With every moment there is always a new experience.

Favorite Spanish sentence of the day – Necesito checar su signos vitals – I need to check your vital

Day 9 – Clinical rotation at Programa Medicia Clinica.

I almost cannot believe that we only have one day left of the program and then I will be coming home on Saturday!! WOW this has been quite the experience!! When I first started here I knew very very little Spanish and now I can order food in a restaurant, talk to the venders on the street, purchase items and speak to patients in health care setting. I am still far from fluency, but I wasn’t expecting that after only 4 weeks. Understanding what people are saying to me is still quite difficult, but that will come along in time. I am eager to get into a Spanish course when I get back so that I can continue learning, in hope for fluency at some point. I have had wonderful teachers who have really gone out of their way to help in our learning process. One would come in early, so that we could get tutoring for the first 2 weeks and we have had another teacher for this past week coming with us during clinical to help us with our grammar and conversational medical Spanish.

While out today on our way from one clinic to another, due to some miscommunication between our school and the clinics, I saw some creative cultural art work displayed on the walls along the roadway. Here are just a few pictures that I captured.

A wall train painting

A mural

Another portion of the mural.

This mural spanned a large stretch of the roadway.

A beautiful fountain in the center of a round a bout.

We saw the train station for the Tequila Express
The train takes you to the city of Tequila.

One thing that I always have to remember with nursing is – Stand your ground 

Favorite Spanish sentence of the day – Haces ejercicio o algun deporte? – Cada cuando? Do you exercise or play sports? – How often?

Day 8 – Clinical rotation at Programa Medicia Clinica.

Today was kind of the same as yesterday. We sat in on consultations performed by a doctor at the Programa Medicia Clinica office. One of the patients was an elderly woman who had fallen off of a bike and hurt her tailbone. She had a family history of and suffered from hypertension and diabetes. The doctor checked her blood glucose levels and administered insulin. She also checked her blood pressure in regards to monitoring for hypertension. We had a chance to ask medical Spanish questions to different patients during the consultations like we did the day before. All the patients were willing participants and very nice people.

This is the clinic that we have been at for the past three days.
Do you love the graffiti....it is everywhere around town

Well I finally did it!! It took me three and a half weeks, but I finally ate something sold by a street vender!! And WOW was it delicious!! It was a real authentic Mexican Churro filled with chocolate!!

Authentic Churro....Chocolate Filled

 

I still have so many different pictures that I have not had a chance to blog about. So again today I am adding a few more. I call it.... 

Alrededor de la ciudad - AROUND TOWN

A pretty house around the corner from ours.

My host mothers community.

The community down by the Clinic.

More photos of the community by the Clinic.

A little HELLO to my Husband
I found a Muay Thai Kickboxing Gym!!

Tiger Thai
The front of the kickboxing Gym!!

Disculpe!! Coming Through
Our driver would make his way past all of the traffic!!

One thing that I always have to remember with nursing is – Treat every patient with respect and dignity.

Favorite Spanish sentence of the day – Compra un bosque y pierdete!! This is a funny little saying in Mexico, kind of like the ones we have in the States. Buy a forest and get lost!!

Day 7 – Clinical rotation at Programa Medicia Clinica.

Today during clinical we had a chance to sit in on consultations performed by a doctor at the Programa Medicia Clinica office. The patients come in and the doctor talks to and examines them as necessary. We had a chance to ask medical Spanish questions to different patients during the consultation. All of the patients were willing participants and very gracious.

Cosas que se ven en México, pero no se blog acerca (Things seen in Mexico but not blogged about)

I was looking through some of the photos that I have taken while staying here in Guadalajara and I realized that I need to post more pictures. The cultural feel here is outstanding. There are statues and sculptures everywhere you turn. I am not the best at remembering to take photos, I guess because I am seeing them first hand. This trip I tried to be a little better at remembering.

Walking through the plaza towards the mercada
Street entertainers nade us laugh.

Another unique street performer

                                      

The dresses make a statement

I had to stop and take a closer look

I could not resist this gentlemen sleeping in front of the mercado

A look at the outside of the mercado. It has 3 stories.

Oh Oh....The 3 story jewelery super store!!

Beautiful sculpures in the evening down at a plaza

Closer look at the smaller sculpture

Beautiful Architecture

 Mariachi's on the roof!!

A trio playing in the retail area.

One thing that I always have to remember with nursing is – Every patient is a priority

Favorite Spanish sentence of the day – Cuando empezo el problema? – When did the problem start?

Day 6 – Clinical rotation at Programa Medicia Clinica.

The Weekend!! It was all about mariachi in Tlaquepaque!! We headed down there about 6:30 in the evening to catch any of the fun filled concerts that we had heard about. Driving into the county I wasn’t too sure what to expect because the area looked pretty run down, but there were plenty of people walking in the area and all going towards something. Once we parked, we headed the same way as the crowd. In the middle of the county there was a plaza called Parian. There are places like this all over Guadalajara. When you think that there is nothing, suddenly there is a park or plaza in the center. I think that’s what makes Guadalajara unique. There were merchants and venders selling their food and merchandise. There was a covered area where a group of about 5 to 6 young kids played drums and people danced without a care in the world. After watching them for a while we went into the center courtyard where there were restaurants with outside seating. In the center of the courtyard was a gazebo, where much to our surprise a mariachi concert was about to start. The crowd was very lively and as I walked around taking photos I could hear different groups behind me singing along with the mariachi music. That was a true Mexico moment!! It was pretty awesome.

Young kids entertaining the crowd

The Three Amigas

The Sounds of Mexico
(Press the Play Button)

Singer Hombre

Singer Mujer

Tlaquepaque Streets

One thing that I always have to remember with nursing is – Be warm, kind and courteous.

Favorite Spanish sentence of the day – Voy a escuchar sus pulmones y su corazon. I am going to listen to your lungs and your heart.