so....

after thinking a lot about the summer and the possibility of returning to work in Quito, I decided to go home...so much to assimilate from the semester and a lot to look forward to in California. I only have a week left at the internship and so much to do....a 20 page thesis paper in Spanish! I am working on researching teen pregnancy (a huge percentage of the births here). Basically I have a week to really do the research...so it should be interesting. The last overnight shift was unbelievable. First Allie and I got to watch a c-section and I had to beg for clothes from the ER nurses, who are hilarious. The washing machine was broken, so the supply of sterile clothing was limited. Then, there was another birth, but it was horrible because when the baby was born he was blue and took way too long to cry. During the night there are only residents and no actual doctors, meaning that this situation (and many others) could have possibly been avoided had a doctor been there to do a c-section. I helped to pump oxygen for the baby boy...i have no idea if he will have long-term brain damage. We slept for a couple of hours in the surgery unit on gurneys and when we woke up and went down to the ER a woman had literally walked in to the exam room and had her baby right there....so it was an interesting surprise. This weekend i am off to a city called Riobamba for festival...about a 6 hour bus ride. my host family is getting a little less pushy, but we still have our moments. I finally met my host dad and he is really nice...I wish he lived here. Also, yesterday it rained so much that the roads were washed out to Archidona, the next town over. Allie works in physical therapy and some of the parents carried their kids the 12 kilometers through the muddy roads to get to their appointments...amazing dedication.