The sun does exist in PR!

Greetings from sunny San Juan!

Our first weekend was eventful to say the least. Friday night we explored the bars near the university. Needless to say, when all 14 of us are together, we stick out like a sore thumb. Everywhere we went people would whistle or yell at us (frequently including the word "gringo") but everyone is very welcoming to us. My whole life I've been called dark because of my tan and for the first time every I'm being picked out for being white! (side note: I am still working on my tan and will continue to do so until December.) The first bar we went to was pretty empty but we stayed long enough to take $1 shots. Next, we went to this really cool bar that was half inside half outside. The drinks there were cheap there too so we stayed and hung out for a while. We didn't want to stay out too late because we had to leave the next morning at 8 for Old San Juan.

Old San Juan is so far my favorite part of Puerto Rico. We took the train and bus into the beautiful city and spent the morning walking around and visiting an old Spanish fort. I never knew that this city had so much history. We went to an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant for lunch and I had mofongo again. It was delish but not as good as the one I had at the restaurant near the university. After lunch we did some more walking around and went to another fort. We were all tired and weren't too excited to have another history lesson (I think we can all agree that it's only good in small doses) and luckily it started to pour, meaning we could head back to Hato Rey, where our apartment is. 

After resting up and having dinner, we began birthday celebrations for three of the girls. After having cake (and maybe a couple of shots) we made our way back to Old San Juan to check out the night life. Knowing that the journey would take about an hour between the bus and the train, we brought adequately strong road sodas. Being on public transportation while intoxicated was definitely more fun and I think it's safe to say that we attracted even more attention than usual. We met a couple of kids around our age who were heading into Old San Juan so we introduced ourselves and decided to follow them. We ended up in some back roads of the city where a lot of the bars opened up all their garage-like doors, facilitating a huge block party. We hung out there for a bit then headed over to Senor Frogs. We had to wait in line for what seemed like an hour and finally got in! Between stealing a cupcake from the waitress stand, watching two of my roommates do a very scandalous competition which involved me getting violent with a Puerto Rican for a balloon, getting some drinks, and dancing, I'd say the night was a success. Half of us were exhausted by 1:30 and decided to take a cab home. I can't wait to go back there this weekend!

(Knock on wood) Puerto Rico is a magical place where hangovers don't exist because I was up by 10:30 and ready to go to the beach the next day. Five of us wanted to go to Isle Verde, a nearby beach, but we didn't know what bus to take. The bus system is very confusing without a map or internet connection. The locals were extremely nice and willing to help but three different people literally pointed us in three different directions. Finally we gave up and decided to go to Condando, another beach that was easier to get to. After an hour and a half we reached our destination and it was totally worth it. The beach was pretty empty and really beautiful. It was overcast, which wasn't a terrible thing because it prevented the temperature from being painfully high. We stayed at the beach for a few hours then decided to get birthday drinks for Katie before taking a cab back to the train station instead of risking it with the buses. 

We took it easy on Sunday night because our first day of classes were Monday. It's kind of nice to get back into the swing of things, but sitting in the same classroom from 8:30-2 is going to get really old really fast. After class some of us went up to the rooftop pool because it was FINALLY open!! Even though it wasn't sunny it was still nice to do some reading outside and relax.

Today was our first day of clinical and it was different to say the least. The nurses in PR basically just pass meds and don't do assessments. We are obviously going to do assessments to get our practice in but it is still very confusing to understand who does what on the floor. There are no CNAs and the LPNs are the ones who take vitals, do bed baths, etc. Going from having three patients during my summer internship down to one was a little boring but I'm sure that I will be able to keep myself occupied throughout the semester. The nurses and everyone else on the floor are so welcoming and receptive to us which is a huge change from every clinical experience I have had before. The documentation is all in English and all of the employees speak English, but I am still confused by the different environment. This will definitely be an experience to remember. 

When we got out of clinical the sun was finally out!! We literally have not seen it for more than a few minutes since arriving. Even though it was incredibly hot, I was so excited that the clouds had gone away. As soon as I got home, I put my bathing suit on and headed up to the pool to get my bronze on. Now, here I am once again, sitting here, doing anything but schoolwork because I just don't want to. At least I got some reading done by the pool, so I can't complain :) 

Rain, rain, and a lot more rain!

Day three in PR! So far my stay has included a lot of rain, bad wifi and cell service, rum and good people. The hurricane missed us (I think) but we’ve had a lot of rain and overcast skies. On the first night we got all excited over the pounding rain but Javier, our personal Puerto Rican (as stated by Katie) told us it was normal for the island. Our wifi in the apartment is spotty… I accidently kicked everyone off yesterday while trying to FaceTime mom and Rob. I guess we’ll each have to have designated Skype times. Before leaving for PR, we were all under the impression that our Verizon would work the same as it does back home, including 3G, but ever since we arrived, our service has been “extended” or “roaming.” We all avoided talking on the phone because we thought we’d get charged $0.69 a minute (cough cough according to Bri) but today we learned that we should be ok to talk while we’re on “extended” service. Living without 3G is tough to get used to but I suppose we'll survive. Everyone has been getting along well. I got lucky that the group likes to have fun! The rum that everyone drinks down here is DonQ and it’s pretty cheap. I’m excited to go to Old San Juan tomorrow and look for some more authentic or homemade Puerto Rican rum. We stayed in both nights due to the rain and the fact that we had early mornings but are planning to go out tonight either around the university or in Old San Juan. Hopefully the rain will hold up!

Yesterday we took a tour of the neighborhood, got our unlimited train passes, saw the University, and ate mofongo.. a traditional Puerto Rican dish made from plantains. The city is not as well kept as I thought it would be, but it still is nice in its own way. Living in a city is a whole lot different than living in Suffield or Storrs. Our apartment is amazing and we have a nice view from the 12^th floor. I can’t wait to see the pool on the roof.. the building is 23 stories high so the view will probably be twice as nice from up there!

Today we went to the hospital where we saw the room we’d spend Mondays and Fridays in for class and also the floor where we’ll spend most of our clinical days. Getting the syllabus for med-surg was intimidating to say the least. We will cover the normal 14 week semester in just 7 weeks which will include exams every Friday. I can’t wait till October when we switch to the (hopefully) easier psych. Our home base floor at the hospital seems really great. The walls are painted bright colors and the staff is really friendly. We start clinical next Tuesday. In addition to being on that floor, we’ll have the opportunity to float to surgery, ICU, ER, and cardiac cath lab. I still don’t know what type of nurse I want to be, so hopefully my experiences this semester will help me decide that! We have one more weekend before classes start but I am going to try to get ahead on the readings for next week… oh the joys of nursing school.

Until next time! 

Wheels Up!

Well August 22nd has finally come! All 14 of the Uconn students going "abroad" to San Juan, Puerto Rico have been anticipating this day since last winter. It's hard to believe that it's finally here! I'll try to blog consistently throughout my stay to keep in touch with family and friends. I will miss New England so much, especially the fall season, Uconn football games, and of course my puppy Emma. Well.. time to put the finishing touches on my two huge suitcases and two carry on bags... praying that they're not too heavy. I'll write once I'm settled down in PR :)