lazy sunday

My little room, with its L.A. Raiders bedspread and musty scent, is beginning to feel like home (albeit a temporary one). I wash my quick-dry towel and intimates by hand in the bathroom sink. I barely flinched when I killed not one, not two, but three giant cockroaches while I was in the shower on Friday evening. And Off! is a trusted fellow combatant in my personal war against dengue.

Update:
Wash 1 load of laundry - Q.15 ($2 USD)
Air-dry 1 load of laundry on open-air terrace - Q.0 ($0 USD)
Late-night flash storm during rainy season - priceless

[Note: said laundry machine is located in creepy part of the house past 2 padlocked gates and down some steep steps in the midst of the wooded backyard!  I'm glad that I brought my headlamp and mag-lite].

It's amazing how quickly and easily one gets used to life in a different place, at a different pace...

Love and kisses from Guate.

rockin' the GEMMA tee at the Lake | july 2011 

Currently playing: Home | Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

violet vs. vietnam

Speaking of the motherland, my not-so-baby cousin Violet is being shipped back for a year courtesy of a Fulbright award. She'll be teaching English at Tra Vinh University way, way deep in the Mekong Delta. 

mekong delta, vietnam | july 2008

Hopefully, upon her return, she will know more than just the Vietnamese words for food: bánh mì, cà phê sữa đá, bún thịt nướng. But let's be honest, the most important words to know in any language are the ones that will help you navigate a menu, at least in my book. 

I am envious but excited for her as she embarks on her first post-graduate adventure! And I can't wait to hear her stories and her reflections about a land that no one in my Phamily has lived in for over three decades. Who knows, I may just have to arrange an elective clinical month in Vietnam for February 2012, just in time to coincide with Tết, the Lunar New Year...

Bon voyage, m'dear! 

las vegas, nv | february 2011

prickly pear

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

It's that time of year... It's residency application season!

I feel like it was just yesterday when I was writing my personal statement for medical school. And I underwent that super-fun chore twice since I was not (fortunately) accepted by anybody the first go-round. I didn't realize it at first, but I did indeed need those two years "off" in between undergrad and medical school: for soul-searching, for growing up and as an added bonus, for an amazing 2-month trip through South America with the little (albeit taller) sister.

Somehow though, in the blink of an eye, four years have passed. And I must sit down - and once again - succinctly enumerate what makes me stand out from the pack. To attach an identity and a personality to the face-less CV and impersonal test scores. To convey my passion for reproductive health and reproductive justice in one single-spaced page, size 11 font.

But, at least now, I do have a more concrete and tangible answer to that grade school question.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"An obstetrician/gynecologist."

The reactions I get are sometimes encouraging, sometimes ambivalent and sometimes downright infuriating.

"That's great. I'd love to have someone like you be my doctor!"

"Hmm. I can totally see that. You're ... kind of ... bitchy."

"Really? But I think you're too nice!"

Hmph.

Today, I was told - by an American male physician - that most OB/Gyns are "rough around the edges" and that maybe it was "because it's become a female-dominated field."

I ignored the blatant sexist implication, squashed my indignance, and instead, thought to myself, "Guate-ever."

lake toxaway, NC | photo courtesy of Jessica Cofrin

lessons away from home

1. Guatemala, also known as the Land of Eternal Spring, is a beautiful place. Since those in the States were facing a vicious heat wave, I was especially appreciative of the mild weather here, which hovered in the mid-70s. There was also no rain! Which means no landslides! 

lago de atitlan, guatemala

2. The local brews are delicious. I tried Gallo (rooster), Cabro (goat) and Moza (young maid-servant). Final verdict: I like Moza best. According to Google Translate - and Google never lies - moza can also mean wench or lass. How apropos. 

flamboyant cerveza

3. Nothing beats wandering around a new city. I do believe I will be spending most weekends in Antigua, the old colonial capital and about an hour from Guate. Weekends spent at a UNESCO World Heritage Site, no big deal. 

antigua guatemala, guatemala

4. I will miss the sound of raindrops falling atop the Casita roof every afternoon.

5. Guatemalans do love their computer games. One male flat-mate plays online poker incessantly at home. One male office-mate just won the Guatemalan tournament for Magic: The Gathering and is headed to the 2011 World Championship in San Francisco this fall. 

6. The children here make me (1) miss my own kiddos and (2) cause a pang in my ovaries. What?! Well, they do. Apparently a Japanese tourist and Guatemala bus driver were stoned to death in 2000 in a really, really remote village because the locals thought the tour group was there to steal their children. (Parents: Don't worry. I will not be traveling to said remote village). But, I should probably stop fake-attempting to kidnap the ridiculously cute kids. Someone may get the wrong idea. (Sidenote: here is an interesting read on the Guatemalan adoption industry).

this smile was more than worth the Q.10 ($1.25 USD

What a wonderful weekend.

What a wonderful country.

What a wonderful life.

be still

At last count, Guatemala is the 26th* foreign country I've visited. I was 19 when I took my first big trip abroad in 2002 and went back to the motherland with 3 generations of my family. Almost a decade later, I've touched foot on every continent but Antarctica and Australia.

Sidenote: I always pause to reflect when I instinctively say "went back" or "going back" to Vietnam. I suppose Vietnam will forever tug at my heartstrings no matter how deep my roots in America grow.

As I slowly settle into a semblance of a routine in Guate (as the locals refer to Guatemala City), I'm struck by how my travel mojo has evolved over the past decade. Just ask 2 of my siblings. On our first backpacking trip through Western Europe (+ Prague), I planned each day chock-full of tourist sights that usually meant many, many miles by foot and sometimes, 100s of steep, steep stairs. I've seen enough churches to last me a lifetime, no joke. Each day was marked by the same frenetic pace as I tried to quell an insatiable need to see it all and do it all (and always "for the story"). After that 2004 Eurotrip, Tommy vowed never to travel with me again.

salamanca, spain | fall 2003

salar de uyuni, boliva | july 2007

aran islands, ireland | april 2008

sapa, vietnam | july 2008

zanzibar, tanzania | february 2009

Luckily, my brother forgave me and we returned to Europe this past winter for a Barcelona + Paris one-two punch.

paris, france | january 2011

And now, I find that my travel goals are focused less on sights and sounds and more on experiences and reflection. And definitely food and drink. Definitely. I force myself to be still (emotionally and physically) but with an open heart and mind. Every day is a "day of yes" and I try my best to let go of agendas and to-do lists. I admit, it's sometimes hard to teach this old dog new tricks. But at the end of each trip, I always hope that this be-still-and-know** mentality translates to everyday living back home, instead of merely being a temporary departure from the norm.

Next adventure: weekend trip to Panajachel on Lake Atitlán!

*Yes, Vatican City counts.

**I have found this blog, written by my mentor's friend, so inspiring.

first impressions

the apartment.

• Living: big room | unscreened window | many mosquitos, non-malarial but possibly of the dengue fever variety.
• To-do #1: buy mosquito net and/or fan.
• Sleeping: twin bed | hard mattress | L.A. Raiders bedspread. Can't complain though considering the rent is $220 USD/month.
• Bathroom: shared with a boy | couldn't figure out how to get hot water on Night #1 | said boy helped me to turn the right knobs after I took an ice-cold shower.
• To-do #2: shower today without freezing to death.

the neighborhood.

• Two security entrances manned by men with big guns. Otherwise, relatively safe residential area.
• To-do #3: morning runs- can't beat 65 and breezy!
• Within the compound, there is a small roadside tienda (store) and a vet's office (s'pose there are lots of pets in the neighborhood?).
• Across the street from: Pollo Campero (Guatemala's version of KFC), Wendy's, McDonald's, and a shopping center (grocery store included). What more does a girl need?

the office.

• aka Casita Rosa (Little Red House).
• Less than 5 minute drive from apartment.
• Super friendly folks who force me to speak español and don't laugh at me for sounding like a gringa.
• Luckily there's an ATM on campus where I'll be doing all of my withdrawals since there's been a rash of ATM crime in the city.

That's all for now, folks! More to come...

rain rain go away

It's going to be a wet summer in Guatemala. I'm thankful for Gore-Tex and Chacos.

guate or bust

Apparently, in T-4 days, I'll be flying out of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson for Guatemala City La Aurora International. I'm filled with a pretty healthy dose of anxiety. 

A lot of firsts for this trip:

- first trip flying solo

- first global research project

- first data analysis project (SAS, epi, oh my)

- first time in Central America

But trying my best to embrace the exciting and positive parts:

- first trip flying solo

- first global research project

- first data analysis project (SAS, epi, oh my)

- first time in Central America

Sometimes, you just have to dive in head first and gasp for air in order to discover that you're still afloat.