Wednesday

Yesterday I had class at 8 am - Intl. Political Economy. Interesting and all of that, until the professor decided to tell us how messed up American society is. Let me explain.

He gave us an assignment, an essay on the international economic stage from 1950-1970 and gave a couple of points that we needed to write about. All he wrote on the board was that, and 2.5 pages. So I asked him if he wanted it typed or handwritten, double spaced, etc., the standard paper questions that students ask their teachers. He then looks at me and shakes his head. (Keep in mind that this entire conversation is going on in Spanish.) He writes on the board, in spanish, 'time is money,' and then crosses it out. He then proceeds to explain to us that Americans want all the details, all the requirements, everything laid out so that we know EXACTLY what is expected of us. And then he tells us that in Costa Rica things are a LOT different, and that we don't always have to know all the rules for everything, and that things are slower-paced and less competitive and demanding. We tol dhim that it wasn't our fault, that that is how our professors and mentors in the US have trained us, that at home those things are expected of us. So he then says (in Spanish), "Tonya, if you went to a pizza place in Nicaragua, you would wait an hour and a half for your pizza after you ordered it. What would you do then?" basically saying this to illustrate that in Nicaragua life is even SLOWER and less rushed. It was challenging to think about this, but then again it's not our faults that our culture is that way. Anyway, he eventually wrote the requirements on the board, and we were satisfied and called it a day.

I then had to meet with Claudia to discuss some internship details. We met for an hour or so and went over what we had each looked at. I had to research strategic plans of hospitals, in the US and in LA, and note the elements included in them. She was going to review all of the documents that the hospital had given to us to see what they lacked in the Strategic Plan that they have been working on. We figured it all out, called the doctor and told him what we found, and scheduled meetings to work on the parts that they were missing or that were incomplete. He was very pleased with what he had done. For now, I have to look at the first thing that have to do within the next 2 weeks. It was a great meeting and I felt really good after I left.

I went home to my casa and had DELICIOUS cheeseburgers for lunch. They were yummy! I had 2. I then laid down because I was feeling sick, and was thinking about how great it would be if it would start raining, and how good I would sleep if it was storming. As if God heard me, it immediately began thundering and raining. I slept for an hour and a half, and then got up to study and do some work. I lazily did some homework, and called MI and AK to see if they wanted to study. They came over and we studied for a while! It was fun and we got a lot done. MM made empanadas and tea for us....QUE RICO! They left later, and I continued studying. AM and I looked at some pharmacy and med schools in CR online to see if I could find one!! Schools work a little bit differently here, and I hope to post on that when I can find out more about it.

I went to bed around 10, but had trouble falling asleep, and didn't really sleep well because i was sick.