A great week

I finished off my first week at work. Today was a really awesome day. I felt like I knew what I was doing, felt pretty confident with my Spanish in the hospital and outside of it. Today everyone was celebrating the upcoming Valentine's Day. For about two hours, everyone kindof stopped working to enjoy food and spending time together at work. It seems corny but it was really cool! One of the attendings brought his guitar and everyone just sang, danced, and had fun! Everyone was having so much fun in our party in the emergency room that they decided to move the party to the labor floor (the big room with tons of hospital beds and naked pregnant women waiting for the doctor to be ready to deliver their baby). Although everyone in the party was having a good time, but I have to admit it was really a bit weird to be dancing, singing, laughing in a room where women were screaming in pain as they had natural child births! That said, it was really nice to feel included and see how different the dynamics between co-workers can be in a hospital at a different country.

I have a really good friend at the hospital who is a first year resident. She is a native Haitian, who moved here to the DR for medical school. Her husband is in the US trying to take the US medical exams and get into medicine in the US. And she is super patient and kind with my Spanish. We had tons of fun chatting today; it was only once I got home that I realized that talking to her was pretty effortless even though it was in Spanish! This must mean progress!!

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for an adventure! I am going to Samana, a peninsula north of the capital. The region is known for some of the world's best beaches, amazing nature scenes, and whale watching! I'm excited to be venturing out of the city! I can't wait to tell you all about it!