La Vida Chapina

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'For the next 6 weeks, I will be participating in a program called Somos Hermanos and living in a city called Quetzaltenengo, abbreviated as Xela (pronounced Shay-la… I know, it’s REALLY confusing!). I am staying with a Guatemalan host family, taking one-on-one Spanish lessons 5 hours a day, and working in local clinics and hospitals. I’ve known about this program for years, and strongly considered taking ayear off between college and medical school to complete their full 6 month program. But, as it turned out, I was too eager to start medical school instead. When I found out they recently started offering a shorter 6-week summer program for 1st year medical students, I knew the program would be a perfect fit for me. Thanks to the incredible generosity and support of a wonderful USC Alumni organization called Town and Gown, I was able to get a scholarship to make the trip possible for me this summer. I am SO excited to experience a new culture and hopefully rekindle my Spanish (I’ve gotten pretty rusty since Madrid 3 years ago!). I am not really sure what to expect… but I know I’m excited for whatever comes my way!. I talked with a friend from Keck who went on the full 6 month program last year to get some tips, and she gave me some pretty important advice. She told me important things about weather, like the fact that I will be in Xela in the rainy season, requiring me to pack rainboots, umbrellas, and plenty of warm clothes. She also shared some less exciting news- like how she had bedbugs there, got sick, and came back with fleas! I am SO glad she told me, and I made sure to pack accordingly… but I made the mistake of google-ing bedbugs. BIG MISTAKE. Turns out ignorance was bliss- I always thought bedbugs were teeny little microscopic mite-sized creatures you can’t see or feel, which caused you to wake up itchy. WRONG. Google-ing bedbugs taught me that not only are these suckers pretty big, but they don’t really respond to normal repellants or sprays! I’ve had a little anxiety about this, but I took all possible precautions by buying copious amounts of bug spray, itch cream, and spraying my clothes with Promethrin, a mosquito repellant that is used to kill bedbugs in infestation situations. I’m sure everything will be fine, but I get the creepy-crawlies just thinking about bugs crawling on me when I’m sleeping. Who knows- maybe it was a fluke, maybe I won’t have to deal with anything like that. Whatever comes my way, I’m sure I’ll get through it.  I’m going to try to write every day for the next 6 weeks, chronicling my daily life, my progress with Spanish, and my adventures exploring this new culture and country. So excited for the next 6 weeks!!!!

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