Last Wednesday, I was on 5J again- our medical floor at the VA hospital. I had the same patient as Tuesday. It was very slow on the floor again so I took the time to work on my first care plan of senior year. After clinical, I went up to the rooftop pool to relax and get some reading done :) I am getting used to that perk and plan to utilize it as much as possible!
On Thursday a few of us went to Isla Verde because it was our day off. That beach is beautiful. I am encouraging everyone who comes to visit me to stay there. It's only a ten minute bus ride away from our apartment and pictures just don't do justice of how amazing it is. Halfway through the day, some of us decided to splurge on $8 drinks at a beach bar. It was definitely worth it! I got a margarita and then some kind of tropical drink and let me say those drinks were pretty strong! After swimming for a bit, the four of us passed out for a bit them decided it was time to go back to the apartment. After attempting to get some work done, showering, and eating, we decided to check out the night life at the university since school is back in session. Javi warned us that it would be bigger than spring weekend there and he was right. The streets were packed with students. We went into a bar that we knew had $1 shots for a few minutes then ventured out to find somewhere else to go. All the bars were packed so finally we decided to go into a convenience store to get a beer. Since it was so packed everywhere and we had class the next morning, we decided to just go home.
I was glad we didn't stay out late because we had to sit in a little room in the hospital from 8:30-3:00 to learn about med-surg and about 15 minutes about leadership. When our professor told us he was going to keep the leadership curriculum light he wasn't kidding!! Cramming med-surg into seven weeks is a little crazy. We move so fast and cover so much material in one day that by 1:00 my head is spinning and everyone is struggling to keep their eyes open. I can't wait for October 11 when we are finally done with it! We have our first exam this Friday and are getting into the more complicated material so our vacation in PR will soon turn into days and nights spent studying. It's really nice living with all nursing majors because we all understand that we are going through a lot of stress and we are all on the same page. It's great to not have to worry about being woken up at 2am by neighbors who don't have clinical or a full day of class the next day! (I loved living in mansfield, but I definitely lost a lot of sleep there.) Finally 3:00 rolled around and we were free! A bunch of us went up to the pool with intentions of studying but we couldn't concentrate. Instead, we pretended we were ten years old and played marco polo and tag in the water. Sometimes you just need to relax and forget about school for a while.At night, we decided to check out Condando. When we first got there, we ran to the beach to see what it looked like at night. It was amazing, as usual! Then we went to this bar right on the beach that looked like an awesome, modern mansion. We realized that we might have crashed someone's party and everyone there was way older than us, so we decided to go somewhere else. While we were walking to another bar, we found a Dunkin Donuts!! Sadly, they didn't have pumpkin coffee, but I did indulge in one of my guilty pleasures- hash browns. After that, we went to this tiny dive bar where I had some kind of apple rum drink that was delish. By the time we left that bar, half of us were ready to go home so we took a cab back to Hato Rey.
Saturday morning, we decided to go back to Isla Verde. Our professor lives right on the beach and told us to let him know if we every wanted to stop by. I texted him and asked him if he wanted to get lunch with us and he offered to shuttle us to Pinones where we could get freshly made Puerto Rican food sold in little kiosks across from the beach. Before going there, we got to see his apartment. It is amazing!! He has an awesome view of Isla Verde and the apartment is really nice. He was nice enough to get snacks and drinks for us and make three separate trips just to drive all of us to lunch!! The food was awesome but I probably 5000 calories. I got some kind of codfish fritter which was this big deep fried concoction and grilled pork kabobs covered in BBQ sauce. After that, we went to the beautiful beach across the street. While we were waiting for the bus to come home, we met a little stray dog who looked hungry and thirsty. After feeding him some water and crackers, he went on his way. There are so many homeless dogs here. I want to bring one home but I'm pretty sure my parents would not approve. Oh well :( At night, we met Javi and his girlfriend at this hamburger place to eat, hang out, and drink some beers. After that, we were pooped and decided to go to bed early.
On Sunday, almost everyone went to the mall, but I decided to stay back and get some work done. It felt good to finish my care plan instead of spending who knows how much money on clothes. At night, we caught the last bus to Old San Juan. Surprisingly it was dead! Senor Frogs was empty. While we were walking around deciding what to do, I went into CVS and bought a 6 pack of beer to keep us happy before we got to a bar. We went to two different bars that had $1 shots before taking a cab home. Let me say, nachos are my late night bad habit. I need to stop making them after the bar or I'm going to come home ten pounds heavier!
On Monday, we went back to Isla Verde. A few of us went on a nice long beach walk. I could stare at the turquoise water all day. It's breathtaking. I am so lucky that I get to live in such a beautiful place. I never want to leave!! After the beach, we finally buckled down and got some studying done.
Today is my day off from clinical. There can only be ten students in the hospital on clinical days, so every week we have either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday off. I love my roommates, but it's really nice to have the apartment to myself. Two of the girls went to the university to study so I'm all alone. I think I'll take the opportunity to do my workout DVD... haha I hate doing it in front of other people unless they're doing it with me!
I really only have one complaint about PR so far: the buses. We are only a ten minute bus ride away from the beach but I have had to wait for the bus for over an hour on several occasions. This is really forcing me to get used to living in "Puerto Rican time." None of the natives get frustrated with the unorganized buses and life is a much slower pace here. I am surprised that I haven't gotten more angry and frustrated with it. I am really starting to get used to it, but it's still a waste of time to sit there for an hour. I just keep telling myself that I really can't complain because I'm living in paradise :)
Well I guess I should get back to being productive. I miss everyone at home, especially Emma! (tell here I say hi mom)
So sorry to see how homesick you are!! Emma was looking for you in your room last night.
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