halfway around the world.

Mom, Maya, and Dad

Only two full weeks into May and already so much has happened, yet all I can think about is how much I want to be what feels like halfway around the world. Luckily, August will be here soon and then I will be!

The first weekend of May was spent with family. That Sunday was my nephew Antonio's First Communion in San Francisco. He was so cute in his little suit and tie. During mass, all the kids receiving their first communion stood at the front of the church to sing a song. I got a great video of Antonio doing the hand movements to the song while standing there, bored out of his mind, not singing. It made me remember being a kid and singing in front of church for different events and how boring it could be. I felt for him! After mass, we went to my cousin's house where the family gathered. Lots of kids and lots of food. It was definitely a great day.

Antonio in the middle

The next day was the start of second semester. Not as bad as I thought, but I haven't really gotten into a groove yet. On Mondays, I have class from 9-1:30, work from 2-5:30, and then a medical Spanish class from 7-9. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I don't have class until either 3-6 or 6-9... It all depends on how intensive the topic of the day is. If it is something that we can be taught to a larger group, the two sections join from 3-6. If it requires more attention, we split and I go from 6-9. What this means is... I slack most of the day. Not having anything until the late afternoon makes for a very unstructured morning. I end up staying up past midnight and waking up around 9, when I'm used to sleeping before 11 and waking up by 7. Then I go to Fridays where I have class from 9:30-12:30 and then work from 1-5:30. I need to put myself back on schedule. That is my goal for next week! Sadly, I'll need to redo my schedule come June.

MedSurg clinicals begin in June, and I will be in the hospital on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:30 am until 4:30 pm. I've also been told that I will spend a good chunk of Monday night working on my care plans for Tuesdays, so I shouldn't count on much sleep. But we'll face that adjustment when it comes!

My skills class, which is on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday is awesome. This week, we practiced wound and ostomy care, straight and foley catheter insertion/care/removal, and IV maintenance. Next week we'll learn how to insert IVs! This class is only a month long, so I wont have to deal with this class and MedSurg in June.

This last weekend was Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday, another nephew, Elijah, celebrated his First Communion and my cousin Tyler celebrated his Confirmation. Two big events in one day equals two big meals in one day. In the morning, we went to mass for Eli. This mass was more entertaining for me as it was at our home church so I recognized some of the other kids and families in attendance. Lunch was spent with mom's side of the family for Eli. We were also celebrating Rosie's 4th birthday which was the previous Tuesday. Once again, lots of kids. I have to admit though that I look forward to seeing those little ones every time. It's fun to watch them and how they interact with one another. Eight kids ranging from 2-14 years old provides for a lot of interesting interactions. For dinner, we went to grandpa's house to celebrate with Tyler. Dad's side of the family is significantly smaller than mom's, so it was a pretty small gathering. The food, however, was just as good! The only little ones were Natalee and Nathaniel. Both of them have grown so much since the last time I saw them. Natalee is getting ready to walk and Nathaniel sprouted up. I believe he's three and he's already over half my height.

Eli with Wayne Jr, Father Larry, Father Lee, Lorie, and Nikko

Isaiah, Nikko, and Wayne Jr. in the back with Maya, Rosie, and Eli in the front

That night, I went to San Francisco to celebrate Ariel's birthday. He, Kim, and I went to Palomino's along the Embarcadero for food and drinks. It was so nice to see them again. We've all been busy with our different projects and activities that we haven't been able to spend time together - especially since they both moved home to the City.

Ariel and I at Palomino

On Mother's Day, we went to mass and then spent some time shopping! I love the fact that my mom shops. It makes for fun little outings, though I think my dad would disagree. Our MD lunch was at Costco - hot dogs! Mmmm. After shopping, we went home, watched "The Tooth Fairy" which we had gotten mom, and then it was back to Davis for me.

This coming weekend is the Flores de Mayo celebration at my church back home. A few years back, I twice had the honor of crowning Mary in the celebration. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Flores de Mayo celebration at my church, so they have asked all of the previous "crowners" to return. I'll be wearing sashes, crowns, and one of my old prom dresses. Yikes! Though I've never been a large person (the largest size I've ever worn was a 2), my dresses are just a tad bit loose. Luckily, one of them has straps and thus is the dress I will be wearing tomorrow.

As for Panama. I can't wait to go! I recently found out that my last final is actually a take-home which can be e-mailed in earlier. My other final is on that Monday, meaning I could leave almost a week earlier than currently planned. I'm still checking with school to make sure that there are no other required activities planned for that week, but I should know by the middle of next week whether or not I will be spending an extra few days in Panama. I'm definitely going to be there from August 16th-August 25th. Also, a few of my classmates are going on a medical mission to Panama through our school. The dates overlap, so hopefully we will be able to meet up. I'm planning on participating in the mission next April.