Up to Date

It's been a week since my last post, and sadly not too much has happened since then! I've really been learning a lot in my classes.  My 8 am class has been teaching me all sorts of Spanish medical vocabulary; our class sometimes jokes that we feel like we're in medical school since we've been learning about all sorts of diseases and exams I wouldn't even know about in English! I'm looking forward to going back to my scribing job at UVA and seeing how much of the terminology and new knowledge I can apply.  My other class focuses much more on the healthcare policies and politics existent in numerous countries.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays we take field trips to various medical facilities around Valencia and hear a little bit about what they do.  I am sad to say that I was disappointed in our visit to the General Hospital last Thursday.  In class we had talked briefly about how long people have to sit on a wait-list for radiological imaging, for consultations, etc., yet in the hospital not a single patient was in sight.  The doctors even went on and on about their wait-lists too, yet we were shown nearly every single sector of their imaging center, and we had hordes of doctors escorting us around the hospital (something I know for a fact U.S. physicians would never have time to do).  The waiting rooms were devoid of patients; the physicians clearly lacked the rigor I'm used to seeing in the States.  The one person I saw at work was a lonely technician in their laboratory.  The hospital's lawyer even had time to film us walking around....I'm sure we'll be their new promotional video.

Video: The UVA "Nursing" Students

I've been working in most of my spare time on schoolwork.  My roommate Emily and I finished up our 50-minute presentation on cardiovascular diseases and delivered it to the class in Spanish this past Monday.  We felt bad for essentially putting the class to sleep, but we hope it was satisfactory for our professor!  I didn't feel so badly about being indoors during the past week.  I've heard from several Valencian natives that the weather right now has been extremely uncharacteristic for Valencia this time of year.  I've stepped out several mornings this week in my summer dresses and skirts and been met with blustery winds.  The weather usually has continued to trick me, boasting clear skies right before lunch and then opening up in a downpour shortly after.  Today I finished up a midterm in one of my classes and have decided to take advantage of the afternoon siesta to catch up on the blog!


Days 12 and 13 - Friday/Saturday June 3-4


Friday and Saturday were two wonderful days for me! On Friday I finished up class at 11 and came back to do a little work.  Adela fixed us an early lunch, because we were signed up to go visit the City of Arts and Sciences' Oceanographic Museum! Valencia boasts enormous museums at its center ("The City"), and it ranges from art galleries to opera houses and natural history museums.  It is also home to the largest aquarium in Europe, the Oceanographic Museum.  My sister Emily has done a fabulous job of spreading her passion for marine life, so I absolutely loved touring here.  The exhibits ranged from a pool of tropical fish to penguins, seals, sharks, walruses, and a beluga whale.  The sharks were by far the favorite exhibit, as the room is built in a dome-like shape to allow observation from the sides and the underside of the sharks.  They're truly magnificent, but I was sad to see that they seemed a little disinterested...I guess it's for the best that they didn't find us humans too appetizing!

We also had the opportunity to see the dolphin show.  It was such a strange concept to me to hear a show's narration performed in Spanish over the loudspeaker, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much of what I heard I understood! There were some courageous divers in the show jumping into the pool from heights nearly 3 stories high, but the dolphins, of course, were the most talented.  They clearly loved the attention they received (almost as much as their treats!), and things went off without a hitch.  I loved watching the show, but I think I got even more excited by the prospect of one day watching Emily do something so similar!

Saturday was a lot of fun, and I went with about 10 other students on a hiking trip to a Xátiva, small city outside Valencia.  We hiked up the mountain to see another castle similar to the one at Peñíscola, and it was a beautiful day to be outside!!

New Foods:
Since last week I've tried several different foods, though I can't recall them all.


Quiche - so gross.  My first mistake was to believe it was a pizza.  My second mistake was to try it.
Mushrooms - I still don't like them
Lamb - meh
Pizza with peppers - pretty good!
Paella - SO delicious! Adela made us a feast for Sunday lunch and slaved over a wonderful paella dish.  I was wary at first given its green color, but it was really a tasty treat!
Fried egg - I couldn't bring myself to try the runny center, but the rest was good
Pisto - it's a bit like a homemade spaghetti sauce, only 100 times better.  Adela served it with rice, and it was so delicious! I might have to find a recipe :)