Clinical, Toledo, Madrid

Wow it has been one crazy week and that is why this is a day late. It was midterm week so it was pretty stressful. Wow I am half way through my program! It’s going by so quickly.

                I had a midterm for my Art and Surrealism class on Tuesday so I spent all Monday studying for my test and the test was pretty hard. She asked a lot of small details and there was one question that me and other students in the class had no idea the answer to but hopefully I was able to bs may way on my 2 essay questions but we’ll see.

                Wednesday I had my first clinical! I was super nervous and I got to the site an hour early so I had to walk around for a while to kill time. Then the lady to meet me was 10 minutes late. Then the people I was supposed to be working with were not going to get there for another hour. So I watched people get there blood drawn. Then they sent me to the cafeteria to get something to eat, to kill time, and when I finally got food they came to get me. Then I sat in the office for another 30 minutes until we did anything. Spanish people have no sense of time, which has been the trickiest thing to get used to. Then we finally did something. I partnered with a community nurse. We went apartment to apartment to see patients who could not get to the clinic. I thought I was not going to like it because I was invading their personal space but they kind of ignored me. I also liked the personalized care that the nurse was giving. It was a mix of professionalism but with a Spanish twist. She called her patients dears, queen, princess, which in my nursing classes we have been told not to do because it is degrades them. She also greeted most of them with kisses. I saw a bunch of pressure ulcers, which was not to exciting but I liked it. Then the nursing majors in Barcelona and I had to give a presentation in our Foundations class which was really interesting. It went pretty well, and our connection did not have a lag so they could understand us. Our project was smoking cessation in Barcelona, because smoking here is really prominent.

                Thursday passed without much. On Friday we had an early flight to Madrid! I am still not used to flying; on take-off I stopped breathing for a minute. But once we were going straight I was fine. Landing was a little bumping. It was a 40 minute flight to Madrid and once we landed we got on a bus to Toledo. Toledo is a small but big town an hour out of Madrid. It is really medieval but a touristy spot know for being Spain’s old capital. I really liked Toledo, they had lots of Knight things, and it was cute. They are also known for their Marzipan. We spent all Friday afternoon in Toledo. We went to back to Madrid for free time. Me and my roommates in the hotel hung out in the room then we went and walked around Madrid’s nightlife.

                Saturday morning I had eggs and bacon for breakfast in the hotel. It’s been 2 months since I have had eggs for breakfast. Then we had a tour of Madrid of the Cathedral, the Palace, Plaza Sol, and other parts. Then we had free time for lunch. Then we had a tour through the Palace and you weren’t allowed to take pictures. The palace has 2000 rooms and we got to see about 20 rooms from the whole palace. Then I saw the royal armory and the royal pharmacy. Tapas are really popular in Madrid and Spain and the group I was with had an optional Tapa tour of Barcelona. I was the only person who did not go. I am mentioned before that I am LDS and well there is a Temple in Madrid that I wanted to see. So I got help from one of the leaders in my group to figure out how to get to the temple. I got there and there was a wedding. Well there was a wedding party waiting for the couple to come out of the temple. I sat hidden in the gardens so that I could see them come out. They did and it was so cute and romantic! I walked around the outside of the temple to see it and when I came back to the front nobody was there and there was a fake white rose and  I took it for memories.  I got back to the metro and I took it to see the bullring. Bullfighting is still legal in Madrid unlike Barcelona but it is so expensive to go in and I went to late to see the inside. Then I went back to the hotel because it was getting dark and I did not want to get lost in Madrid all by myself. A couple of girls and I went to the bar to just hang out and it was super fun. The bartender was super cute so I was okay with the fact that he laughed at me for ordering water. We did not go to bed until 4 in the morning, the latest I have ever gone to bed in college.

                Sunday I woke up 10 minutes before we had to be at breakfast at 9 am. I was ready in 7 minutes packed and everything! I was super fast. We went to the Sophia Reina Museum and it is super modern. I don’t understand how a rippling cloth is art but supposedly it is. We only had an hour scheduled for it. It is a 5 story museum! I was walking around like a chicken without its head trying to see everything in the museum! Then we went to the Prada museum and we had a guided tour for an hour. We only got to see a couple of works from Vasquez (las meninas) and Goya (his black period). It was nice but I felt like I had no time to see other things in the Museum. Then we had a tour through the Parque del Bien Retiro. It has constructions so it wasn’t really grassy, but there were a lot of people just walking and enjoying the Park. Then we had free time for lunch and after lunch we had an hour to kill so we just sat in the park soaking in the sun. The plane ride to Barcelona was better in the fact that I was breathing but during takeoff we kept going sideways! I hope I get used to flying.

Just another week in Barcelona

My mom told me that I need to start proofread my posts but they get so long sometimes so I am sorry if they have been terrible. So I think I will start typing them in a word document to make sure that everything sounds somewhat better.

On Monday I found one of the campuses of the University of Barcelona. There is like 6 of them, they are separated by the subject matter. I needed the school of Bella Artes. I needed it for the library to work on my 12 page paper in Spanish! Crazy…  Well turns out the library is not in the school so I had to ask a lady at the front desk and she spoke to me in Catalan! Well she used hand signals so I got the gist of it and found the library. It was nice to be in a library where people came to study. My project for my art class is going to be good because I found some really good sources.

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day.  It is not really celebrated in Spain; there were a couple of guys who had flowers, and one of the stores was giving out heart shaped balloons but that’s about it. So finally the real reason why I am here has started! 2 months in, me and 2 of the remaining nursing majors were placed into a clinical location. So we had a tour through the clinic site. I am not allowed to say where, I think HIPPA violations but I can describe it! It is kinda like a really big doctor’s office. There is no ICU, or anything of that, all they can do is minor surgery. They had a dentist office which I thought was really weird but children under 12 in Spain/Barcelona get free dental care. So like an idiot I signed up to go to clinical all by myself! I am really nervous of not knowing what they are saying and if I was with someone else we could figure it out but nope I don’t have a compatible schedule with the other girls. But all I am doing is observing, I don’t get to do or touch anything so that’s good. I am nervous but excited to start clinical because it lets me experience different areas in the hospitals to help determine what floor I want to work on when I am older. I think I am interested in Pediatric but who knows I could end up in the ICU. But if I really like this whole working in Spanish I may look into a place that is geared to only Spanish speaking clients. iOh the possibilities! So after all that and school me and my roommate bought Valentine’s Day cupcakes, which were so good. We also bought a cupcake for our doorman because he is so nice and he shows us videos of old Spain. I got a cookies and cream cupcake and it was the best thing I had, I swear because they use real sugar that everything tastes so much better! I also got a cookie which was so good too. If you are in Spain check out Lolitas Bakery it is on Provencia by the Pedrera.

Wednesday night we had another Conocer Barcelona. It was right after the nursing classes so I had all my stuff. I had my laptop, camera, money (only like 20 euros) and they took us to the sketchy part of town, Raval! I had to carry my backpack on my stomach so that I could watch it. I didn’t feel unsafe because there were 3 guys in my group so that was good. But it would have been nicer to do it earlier. After the walk through the Raval we say a flamenco show. It was good, kind of awkward. The people did not interact with the audience, they we there to just do their thing.

Thursday we went back to the clinical site to get an overview of the health care system of Spain. Here is a rough sketch; Spanish people pay a high tax which is then used to pay for health care. They have big hospital, small care clinics like my clinical site, and private hospitals. Well everyone is covered to use the big hospitals, small care clinics and then you can private insurance. Medication is free for elderly.

Friday I went to a church dance. It was totally different from the church dances back in my stake. The music was a lot more fun and they did not play so many slow songs! It also started at 10 at night and finished at 1a.m. which is so totally weird because the church dances usually end at 10. It was a lot of fun though. I got to meet more people and talk more Spanish which is fun. It’s not easy to talk when there is loud music but I managed. A lot of people were surprised to know that I was from the United States because speaking is not really my problem with Spanish it’s the whole comprehending what they are saying that takes more time.

     Saturday I was a busy bee with my homework, I got a lot of things done. Also for one of my nursing classes, my fellow Barcelona nursing students and I have to give a presentation on smoking on Barcelona. We wanted to show just how much Barcelona smokes so we each went out and we videotaped people smoking. It was kinda awkward but I will never see these people again it’s a big city. I feel like they were all hiding from me because usually they are everywhere but I couldn’t find any. There are 5 of us we will pull something together. Me and one of the nursing majors jokes that are lungs are getting so bad but when we go to the states our lungs will get better because we feel that even though our numbers for smoking are higher we don’t see it as much in our everyday lives. On Wednesday we are to give our presentation over polycom and it will be very interesting and we are hoping it will go well. We are pioneering, smoothing out the bumps for other students. I got to talk to my mom, it was nice. We have exchanged some facebook messages but that is about it. Also we fixed her microphone problem so I actually got to see and hear her and have a conversation with her. Instead of her and me typing and looking at each other because that is weird sometimes. Also Saturday night I went and saw a movie with some people from my group. The movie was called Drive with Ryan Gosling. I have a confession, the movie was in English. I know really bad that’s not emerging myself in Spanish but I won’t leave Barcelona until I see a movie in Spanish in a theater. It did have Spanish subtitles not that helped the movie had an awkward silence to it. I was thinking it would be like Fast and the Furious but it wasn’t, it was gorier.

I am almost half way and I am already getting anxious to leave. But there is still so much of Barcelona that I have not seen that I want to. That is why I decided to stay in Barcelona for Spring Break. It is so much cheaper to see Italy, Germany while I am here but I came to see Barcelona and during the week it is hard to see it and the weekend I am playing catch up with my homework so I end up studying all weekend. One day, in the future I will come back and see more of Europe.    

Pete's Dragon

       I am listening to Pete's Dragon while typing typing this post and it is such a cute and good movie! That is a good movie. I told my sister to be my candle on the water. If you know the movie then you know what I am talking about but if you haven't you should watch it! But I'll try to give it the best shot at it, the Nora watches the lighthouse to direct the ships back to the coast and she is going to be the steady rock for Pete. So my sister is going to be my rock and be the person I can cry, complain to. Its a good study break.
        This week was pretty blah, I had two tests this week and a project due and it kind of took over my life. I spent alot of time studying for it and yeah. Blah. Well its not going to get easier.  I have alot of small projects due this week. But we are talking about last week so on with the story.
    My senora bought croissants and so I now I can just put nutella on them and feel better about myself so I don't have to go and buy them =). They are not the same as the chocolate croissants but they hit the spot. I tried a new place for lunch and it was the best thing I have had in a long time and it was spicy too! I am going to have to resensitize myself to spicy foods when I get home because it is non existent here, well none that I can find. Friday we had a Conocer Barcelona and it was to see the markets of Spain, I would have thought more than one more but we only saw one. It was a great learning experience to show how shopping in America is different than shopping in Spain. There are no Wal-Mart, K-Marts, Aldis, or Walgreens here so you have to go to these markets or there are some chain supermarkets but you go these markets and you get food. They have everything from butchers, fisheries, vegetables, fruits, and candies and you just get your food there. Nothing is prepackaged all fresh trust me they were filleting the fish right in front of you. It's kinda of stinky and culture shocking! Well Friday night we had reservations for the Barcelona Ice Bar and it was super cold! It was -14 degree Celsius. The walls and furniture is made of ice. They had sculptures and a bar of ice. For 15 euros you got a coat, gloves, a drink, and unlimited time in the ice bar. I don't drink so it was fun ordering at the bar because well they allow children in but all the bartenders laugh at me for ordering a nonalcoholic drink! So I asked him what he had without alcohol and he said juice so I had an apple juice at the ice bar in Barcelona in a ice cup. It was so good!
     Saturday I spent the whole day in the library. I finally sucked it up and figured out how to get a library card so that I can access the wi-fi. It wasn't so hard but it was fun to talk because they were talking me to in Catalan! Then they gave the information for the library in Catalan. Not really helpful but I can get the information on the website. Oh I forgot to mention that the closest library to me is by the Sagrada Familia! So I have to walk past it when I go! Also my library card can be used at any library in Barcelona so that's cool.
     I went to church today! Finally after being sick as a dog, I was able to go. There were different people there this week. A sister picked me off the metro and asked me if I was going to church and I said yes and we had a nice conversation to church and all in Spanish!!!!! My teacher made me say the prayer but she said I could do it in English, good thing because I don't think I could do it in Spanish I am not that good. I meet a girl and and she said she is interested in learning more English and I want to learn more Spanish so I think I found and intercambio partner!!! More Spanish! So I get on the metro and then on the next few stops a guy and his brother came on the metro and the brother sat next to me. I offered the guy my seat and he said no and I said hi to the brother and he gave me kiss on the cheek. I'm counting that as my first kiss =), in  Spain breaking hearts.

A Chilly Weekend in Barcelona

I feel updating the on Sunday is way more interesting then on Wednesday but if I only updated it on Wednesday then the Sunday Night blog would not exists and then Wednesdays would be interesting but then I am more inclined to forget what I did all week. This no class on Fridays is pretty awesome. I feel like I can take a day to relax and know that I have 2 more days to work hard. I would not say I was lazy all weekend, I did get alot of things done but I did see alot of things.

    It was the first weekend we had free without any activities planned for us. So most of the student in my group went away for the weekend which is super cool a group went to Paris and another went to London and 2 students went to Sevilla, Spain. Well there were 8 students from my group including me who were still in Barcelona so on Friday we went to the Chocolate Museum! The ticket to get was a chocolate bar and it was a special day it was the price of 1 entrance for 2 people very cool! We spent a while in the chocolate museum, there was no one their but the 8 of us so we spent alot of time looking at all the chocolate pieces they were very cool looking. They had movie characters in chocolate, cartoon character in chocolate, scenes from Barcelona in chocolate. chocolate!!!! They also talked about the history of chocolate. The smell of chocolate was everywhere! At the end we all bought more chocolate. It was awesome!

  Then we were trying to find a Catalan food tasting festival and it ended up being more like food stands, like people brought jams and jellys and were selling them. We ended up at a little pizza shop off of Las Ramblas and I got this big bowl of catalan crema which is like creme brolle. Then I went to this store and bought my sister her boots, I think she liked them she couldn't really see them from the webcam, I am just worried that her calf might not fit because I could not really get it up mine. Her problem now! Then I went back to the apartment and did homework and talked to my sister on facebook.
    Saturday I woke up with a runny nose. I kinda saw it coming, there is a guy in our group that had been sick and the weather has been cold and none of us were prepared for this type of weather. It is really uncommon for it to be in the 30s here. My roommate looked up a library by our apartment and the closest one is a 15 minute walk by the Sagrada Familia. We did not know we lived that close! I am living in Spain, I live by the Sagrada Familia! Craziness!!!! I spent a few hours there and got a lot of my Patho/Pharm class work done(test Wednesday awww!) but this test is better I feel! Then me and my roommate went to McDonalds. You might wonder why are you eating McDonalds in Spain and I will reply why not! You are eating McDonalds in Spain! It tasted the same but the ice cream tasted different and it was more expensive then in the US. Then we went back to the apartment where I finished my Patho/Pharm and finished my project for my Literature class.
    Sunday I woke up feeling like death. I hate being sick and all the farmacias are all closed on Sunday so I could not buy anything. I bought a huge things of tissues though on Saturday which was a smart move! I needed them box is 1/3 empty. So I watched a movie, finished my art summary and played words with friends on facebook. I am so bad at that game but I managed 54 points with the word watch I felt like a beast! Me and my roommate spent an hour looking up flight information for Springbreak, we are thinking Dublin and Rome! I was not sure that I would be able to do anything like that for Springbreak but how can I not I will probably never be in Europe for the rest of my life and money will work itself out. I dont have to eat while I am their right? lol No I have my scholarship and its helping alot its just scary to make those kind of plans by yourself, I am glad I have a roommate to do have these adventures with!

Should have listened to my mom....

Mothers can vary and are not perfect but I think I have the best mom in the world. I don't think I would be in Spain if it was not because of her. Well I have heard from other people and through my own experiences moms know EVERYTHING! I don't even have to her something and my mom already knows. And I feel like moms can tell the future. So my mom on the day I was leaving was like "I think you should take your winter coat." I was, of course like no ma its going to be in the 50s and I am not going to need it. Well yesterday it was rainy and cold and today walking to the train it was snowing. It wasn't pretty snowflakes it was more like tiny frozen ice balls and it was super cold and I only had my little gray sweater. If I had listened to my mom and brought my winter coat I would have been nice and toasty warm. For a country that seems to have very little rain it seems to be raining alot. It was funny they were salting the sidewalks. There wasn't even ice but some of the sidewalks are marble so they get slick. Oh well I think its going to get warmer.
    So if you were expecting a post yesterday I am super sorry! I was so stressed out there is so many things due, homework, projects, tests. But I don't have classes Fridays so I thought I could take a minute tonight to update everyone and I will work hard core this weekend to get things done because it just repeats itself on Monday. There are people taking independent weekend trips there is some people going to London, Paris, or Sevilla kinda jealous but then I see the vast amount of work I have and think better of it. The Salsa class on Tuesday was super fun, it also didn't really affect my grade on my test to go out and take that little study break. I was starting to feel homesick again because I have been so stressed out but I talked to one of my sisters and was able to get things off my chest because I can talk to the people in my group but they are going through the same things that I am so its nice to talk to someone outside  the group who may not know what you are going through to maybe see it in a different perspective on how you are doing and how things are going. Going on a hunt to find a library this weekend!