Oh man. I don't even know where to start. It's only been a couple days - but my experiences have been vast so far.

I flew out Saturday afternoon, after being able to attend the lovely wedding of Tim & Melissa. While I was sad to have to miss the reception, I was glad that I was able to be there for the ceremony. Flights were uneventful - through Calgary, LA and finally into San Salvador. Everything went smoothly upon arrival in San Salvador - my bags all made it, I got my Visa, and was picked up by Ricardo, the guy I've been emailing with for several months regarding this whole placement. I was dropped off at the house where I'll be staying for the 7 weeks, and spent the day with them. The very first thing that I did in El Salvador was go to a funeral, which was interesting. We drove around the city some, went out to eat, and went to Mass later on that night. It also POURED rain that night on our way home from Mass - water was literally rushing down the streets, and pouring down the steps at the house like a waterfall.

Monday I started at FUDEM, where I will spend the majority of my time in El Salvador. I'll be there for 5-6 days a week for the entire time I am here. I had an idea that the clinic would be quite impressive - but I had no idea it would be so impressive. They see between 400-600 patients per day (split about 50-50 between optometrists and ophthalmologists). All of the rooms are fully equipped with all necessary equipment. They have a small pharmacy, a dispensing area, and two beds for performing surgery. They have a lab where they edge about 50% of the lenses that they sell, as well as a small dental area. The efficiency of this place is unreal - it has to be when you are seeing that many patients in one day. Hopefully, it will help me to improve my efficiency! The one frustrating thing is that scope of practice for optometrists is much different than what it is in Canada. They mostly just write a whole lot of prescriptions, and don't do any health. Part of that is just FUDEM (since they have them seeing about 50 patients a day), but also since they don't have as much training in the pathology aspect as we do, and are also not allowed to prescribe drugs. Because of this, I hope to also spend some time with some of the ophthalmologists, so that I can see some of the pathology that is common here, and how it is treated (or not treated!)

The people I work with are so great! I've had so much fun with them so far. Some speak English - but most don't. We communicate as best we can - and laugh a lot. Mostly at me and my lack of Spanish skills! Or my attempts at speaking Spanish! But, it's all in good fun, and I like to laugh along. I like that laughter is universal! With more time, my Spanish should get better, and I'll be able to communicate with them (and patients) better. I haven't seen many patients yet, because I'm still not really comfortable with the language, but I will be soon. Yesterday, I spent the day in dispensing, helping patients pick out glasses, and today, I was in pretesting. Jaime (the guy I was working with) knew some English, and taught me some Spanish, so by the end of the day, I could say: "Come in, sit down, give me your glasses, put your chin here and your forehead here, look at the green light, now go to the patient attendant's station." Pretty much I'm fluent now! :)

And the people I'm staying with are so GREAT! I love them! They've been so good to me so far, and I know they will continue to be. I'm so glad to be at a house, and to have an opportunity to get to know some of the locals, and to have somebody to show me around the city and country. I have a lovely room in their house, with a small bathroom (including a shower) off my room. I eat all my meals with them as well, which has been awesome. They have a great cook, and I have been very well fed so far!

I think I'll leave it there for now. I'm on their computer, and I don't want to take any more time. But, I'm just brimming with things to tell (although I'm getting tired of typing on this keyboard - some things are in different places than I'm used to!). I'm not sure when I'll write again. My days are busy and full, and I'm using their computer for internet access. But, I'll do my best to keep this as up-to-date as possible. On Sunday, we are going to take a trip to a national park (with the people I live with, and some other people from FUDEM). I'm looking forward to that - should be a good time.

Anyways, I'm out. Know that I'm doing well here. Great even. And hoping that all of you are doing great too!