Just Living Life

Wow I haven't "blogged" for quite sometime. I guess when it comes down to it I have just been living life. I have done so many awesome things in the past couple of weeks that I find myself constantly thanking my lucky stars to have the opportunity to be here! There is so much to tell but I will try to keep it coherent and easy to follow. I find that I am experiencing SO MANY new things everyday that when people ask me what I have been up to...I begin a jumbled explanation of this and that and the other thing with some faint hope that somehow all of my thoughts will connect into an understandable utterance. In this moment, I am on my way to affirming my schedule for the next few months which is a great feeling. I have chosen my classes which are Medical Anthropology and a Bioarchaeology course that involves 2 hours in the laboratory every week. Both of the classes are AWESOME! The medical anthropology class looks at how different cultures view disease, illness, and sickness and how these differing views have lead to the establishment of different "health-care systems". The other day in class our professor gave us all cards to tape to our chests that had different disorders/diseases such as "Tengo epilepsia." or "Soy alcoholico" and we had to talk around the room amongst our fellow students portraying our respective roles. Afterwards we were asked to tell the class how we felt about our role, how we felt about the roles of others, and we even had to create a persona for who were were representing in the activity. I think this class is a great fit for me because it is the fusion between anthropology and the medical world that I have been looking for since I found my passion in physical therapy. The bioarchaeology class is great too because it allows me to finally explore my interest in forensic anthropology. I mean...we are in a lab for 2 hour a week actually analyzing real live human bone remains. It is VERY challenging, don't get me wrong, because not only do I have to remember all that I know about anatomy but I also have to know all the names in SPANISH. But I am holding my own...which I tend to do...so I can just thank my lucky stars that I have a good brain and a GREAT lab partner. I will talk about Addy more to come but I can only just thank the Lord that she is my friend and that I have her for support in this bioarchaeology class. Besides the two classes that I am taking at the Universidad de Chile, I also have to take a class on Culture, Politics, and History in Chile with the rest of the UC students in my program. This actually just started today and unfortunately my brain wasn't able to turn on very much for the 7-9pm lecture but it was great to see certain people whom I hadn't talked to in like a month! So as I sit here in bed after a very long and productive day, I can hear the rain pouring outside my window and I am filled with contentment that I have been given the capacity to do so much with my life. Every day that I spend here, I feel that I am making a difference and really taking advantage of my time here in Chile. Yay...