Hola from La Paz, Bolivia

I have arrives safely in La Paz, Bolivia. It was a bit of a wild week to get from Japan to Bolivia. I got a high fever the day I was supposed to leave but managed to keep it down with medication to last me through the flight. As soon as I arrived in the US, a stomach virus manifested itself and kept me bedridden the whole time I was in Seattle. I managed to recover just in time to go to Bolivia but could have used some more time to rest and prepare. It is not easy to get to La Paz from Seattle. I had 2 layovers on the way there and will have 3 layovers on the way back. My last flight was delayed about 4 hours (in Miami). 1 week with 2 time changes and 2 redeye flights has left me a little disoriented but that is just improving now. I am in Bolivia for 6 weeks to study Spanish so that I can be more prepared and be able to take care of Spanish speaking patients as soon as possible. If I recall correctly, the childrens hospial in San Diego has upto 70% Spanish speaking patients. Unless I want to rely on a translator every day of my life, I better get some Spanish skills. I have always wanted to learn Spanish and am excited of the prospect of being fairly fluent by the time I am done with my 3 years of residency in San Diego. The program is through a organization called Child Family Health International. I chose this program because it combines Spanish school with working time in a childrens hospital. It has a great reputation. Northwestern University even offers funding to train in a developing country. This week I am purely working on my Spanish and starting next week I will daily be spending time in a pediatric hospital or clinic. I am staying at a homestay with a family of 4. They are roughly the same age as my family with a daughter and son who are my age. They are extremely nice. I have formed somewhat of a routine where I chat with the father every morning and evening. He has the patience to work with me through my elementary Spanish. Luckily, Spanish has so many similar words that we are generally able to have concersations on fairly complicated topics. Since I have mainly been using the Internet and mp3s for studying and have had relatively little speaking experience, I am able to say far better than understand. I hope that my listening and uderstanding skills will make vast improvements over this 6 weeks. I have my own room but will get a roommate this Saturday, another student of he same program. I am fairly old for the program as I think most students are either premed or early in medical school. It is of course hard being away from Keiko and Taisei but this is kind of a trial for us. I can see myself in 2 jobs with very different schedules in the future. Many public health jobs require long periods of travel but while you are home you work a fairly regulated 40 hr week, as they are usually government jobs. If I work in a university hospital then I will likely work far more than 40 hours a week, but will travel little. This experience may help me know if I can still enjoy travelling even with a family. Keiko keeps me updated with pictures and videos. They are having a great in Japan it seems.