Retos y Triunfos.

Hola todos! No puedo creer que hoy ya terminamos con el mes de febrero. ¡Púchica! I just looked back, and my last post was February 1. So, I guess this means I’ll start out and end the month with a blog….

February flew by! I am feeling a lot more at home in Fort Collins and, other than the snowstorm we had a few days ago, the weather here has been amazing. I made it through another week of waiting in early February, and then found out that I got both jobs. It has been great! I am on-call at the homeless shelter, which has been challenging at times (a story on this later) but very rewarding, and Starbucks is a perfect fit for me.

Kelsey and I (well, mostly Kelsey..) enjoying the SNOW!

I have made it down to Denver a couple times and fallen in love. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to spend the weekend with my friend Joel, who lives in downtown as part of a volunteer program. We had a great time exploring downtown and were able to meet up with another great friend, Meagan, for dinner. On my way back to Fort Collins, I met up with Julie (from my group in Guate!). It was so great to see her, reminisce about the last six months, and talk about what we’re doing now.

A late-afternoon walk through downtown Denver...

Now, a little bit more about my new jobs…(!). Starbucks has been fantastic so far. My trainer is really nice, and I have learned how to make a lot of drinks. I have also learned other things, like how to run the cash register, by pure trial-and-error (and embarrassment). Late last week, they needed extra help taking orders, and after asking if I knew how to count back change (I said yes because it seemed easy enough, even though I don’t think I have actually done it before), they assumed that meant I knew how to run a cash register. So, there I was: 4 PM rush, people ordering drinks I didn’t even know existed – much less how to ring them up on the register – as I was scrambling to make things work as best I could. I quickly learned that a big smile got me as far as anything. I made a lot of mistakes, but I left at the end of my shift feeling really accomplished and proud. It was small, but I had thrown myself far outside of my comfort zone and survived. And, looking back, I learned A LOT about how to ring up drinks that day.

My green apron! Finally official. 

I just finished training at the shelter last week, and now they have turned me loose to run the place during my eight-hour shifts. I love it! It is nice to have more independence with the job, and I am meeting some great people. My view of homelessness and its causes has been broadened a lot in the past couple of weeks. I got baptized by fire last night when a man came in with stroke-like symptoms. I knew I needed to call 911, so I did that, but while I was waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the man went unconscious and stopped breathing. I have never been so terrified in my life. There I was, all alone, and completely helpless – with my only consolation being the calming voice of the operator on the phone. I got the man onto the floor and was getting ready to perform CPR when he came back and started breathing again. The paramedics arrived within five minutes, but it seemed like hours. I decided I’m ready to be a doctor already. Get at me, med school!

We have had some great days for running here. I've got 3 months 'til the San Diego Marathon!

I have already learned so much from my time here. I am discovering weaknesses and strengths that I didn’t know I had. And, although I am missing Guatemala and being free to travel around Central America every weekend, I think it is really good for me to get this taste of the ‘real world’ before med school. I am learning how difficult it is to make ends meet with minimum-wage jobs, but also how important and uplifting it is to have ‘work’ be something you love doing. There is a lot to life that I didn’t realize within the figurative ‘walls’ of a college campus, and as I learn those new things, I am making every effort to apply them to my life in positive ways as I start becoming a ‘grown-up.’

On a random, (not-so-little) side note: I decided to apply for Georgetown’s MBA program as part of their dual-degree MD/MBA! There is a lot to it, and things have to move pretty quickly to meet the deadlines. So, I took the GMAT on Tuesday (thankfully, it went great!) and am finishing up the application this weekend. Hopefully I’ll be heading out to DC for an interview in a month or two. Fingers crossed. J

I have had time to make some new music recordings. Check out the newest one here! 

I hope your February has been great and that March brings a lot of blessings, helpful challenges, and joy. Te extraño, and I hope things are going well!

Paz,

Nico (I wish people in the States called me this now…I miss it!)