Chapin

Today I made Chapin for breakfast, which transported me right back to Guatemala. Chapin (for those who aren't familiar with it) is a traditional meal in Guatemala. It is often eaten for breakfast and sometime dinner (the main meal is usually lunch). Chapin consists of several items....eggs, fried plantains, frijoles negros volteados, queso fresco, fruit, salsa and a bread of some sort.

I had received the black bean recipes a few weeks ago and just didn't get around to making it. There are actually three ways of eating then as you go through the stages until you reach the final product for Chapin.

1) Caldo de frijols (broth of bean). You cook black beans overnight in the crock pot with a whole onion and a whole head of garlic. Serve with rice, sour cream and croutons.

2) Frijoles colados (beans strained). You blend the beans to a puree and then mix with sauteed onions and garlic. Serve with eggs or however you want to eat them (they are kind of runny).

3) Frijoles negros volteados (black beans turned). You saute some onion and then add the black bean puree with some oil and stir....and stir.....and stir until you think your arm is going to fall off. Once it drys out and forms a ball, it is ready.

Spoon on a plate, add some scrambled eggs with salsa on top, a few pieces of fried plantain, a tortilla, the cheese (I used cheddar since I don't like queso fresco). It totally took me back to sitting in the Italian restaurant in Panajachel in the morning with the team waiting for our Chapin breakfast. Yum! I made a big batch of bean puree and plan on eating it all week....its soooo good!

Langugae School

I thought everyone might be interested in checking out the language school I am planning on going to in Guatemala. I've heard good things about it, and even got a recommendation for who to do my home stay with. They also do some community service, offer dancing and cooking classes, bike rides through Antigua, and an opportunity to climb an active volcano! Anyway, here is the link...

http://www.ixchelschool.com

First Day of Work

Today was my first day on the new job and boy am I tired. My brain hurts! The physical assessment stuff came back pretty quick, but the 20 step process (I kid you not) to give any medication or IV fluid is insane! It takes me 10 minutes to give a Tylenol and its not because I am busy or tied up anywhere! Anyway, I'm tired and I have another 12 hour shift tomorrow so I am going to bed.

Numb Tongue

Yep, my tongue is numb, actually its only the right side of my tongue. My adventure started on Tuesday when I went in to have the final work done on my crown. They numbed the right lower side of my mouth real nice, did the needed work, and then off I went. Everything was going away nicely when I went to bed, except that the right side of my tongue, and my lip was still numb. I figured it would go away overnight, so off to bed I went.

Well, I woke up the next morning and something just seemed wrong. Not in a bad way, just different. Once I woke up enough, I realized that my tongue was still numb. "This is odd", I thought to myself. I reasoned that I had been lying down for the whole night, so maybe it didn't just go away, but it will surely get better as the morning wears on and I am up and moving about.

It didn't, which then made me call the dentist. The nice receptionist (who also works as an assistant) explained that this can be normal when you get injections. Sometimes the needle bruises or partially severs the nerve. It usually resolves......in 2 weeks to 6 MONTHS!!!!!! Yep, it can take up to 6 months (or sometimes longer) to regain taste, hot/cold, and sensation!

Has anyone else had this happen or heard of this before? I hadn't! So, right now the right side of my tongue is numb, I can't taste anything on that side, nor can I tell if something is hot or cold. It makes drinking hot coffee or tea mighty interesting to say the least. I hope is resolves sooner than later as you don't really appreciate your tongue and what it does for you until you can't feel it.

On a brighter note, today was my last day at the office. It was filled with a lot of goodbyes, instructions, and tears. Dorothy (the other nurse) bawled as I was saying goodbye. To be honest, I think it has more to do with her being left with all the work, and not so much with her missing me personally. I understand, I know how much work there is! She got a full realization of how much work I plow through each day when I was gone in Guatemala. I can process a stack of 25 charts in under 15 minutes *brag, brag*. Anyway, I am completely going to miss the people, but not the work, paperwork, or phone calls ("Yes, I am 2 seconds pregnant and I'm wondering if I can open my door to go outside? Will this hurt my baby? Are you sure? Maybe you should check with the doctor and call me back.") Laugh away, but its pretty close to the calls I get. How ever did we manage to reproduce all these years if breathing will hurt your baby???

I start orientation at the hospital on Monday, and then the following week I start my orientation back to the maternity center. That will probably be on day shift for the next 4-5 weeks and then on night shift for 1-2 weeks. It all depends how quickly everything comes back. I'm aiming for only a 3-4 week orientation if I can help it.

The time line for my 6 month trip to Guatemala is tentatively set....meaning I will either 1) be going mid Feb for language school, doing the RRB clinic trip mid March, and then start with Tito, or 2) do the RRB trip mid March, then language school, then Tito. I'm looking into various language schools and picking the brains of a few friends who have been down there doing this type of thing. I'll be contacting Tito probably in the next few months to make sure he can use me for the spring/summer next year and then I'll start firming up plans.

I will close with a picture from Guatemala, which reminds me why I want to go back, and no its not Oscar related (mom, I know that is what you are thinking!)