On the sharp end

E.O. Wilson

2009-02-12T17:57:00.001-08:00

Last night I attended a lecture by renowned naturalist and author E.O. Wilson. The subject was the immense biodiversity of our planet. His thesis: what he terms "Wilson's Law"...If we only seek to preserve the physical world (the air, water, resources, etc.) and lose sight of the living world (animals, insects, plants, etc.) we will ultimately lose both. However, if we preserve the living world, we will also preserve the physical world in the process.

Needless to say, the lecture was fascinating. The content explored all kingdoms of life on Earth, ranging from distant cosmic perspectives to the details of electron microscopy. His reports and predictions of destruction and extinction were frightening. His admonitions and hopes were inspiring. He concluded the speech with a quote by John Sawhill, the late president of the Nature Conservatory:

A society is defined, not only by what it creates, but by what it chooses not to destroy.

Today is a good day

2009-02-02T16:46:00.001-08:00

Today I received the following email, and for the first time in 8 yrs I could simply delete it...

The Carver College of Medicine Financial Services Department is providing you with this important email about the financial aid application process for the 2009-2010 academic year. We hope many of you have already filed or are in the midst of preparing to file your FAFSA for the 09-10 academic year and to complete your 2008 federal income taxes. On the attached scan, you will find the following information:

The Steps to Apply for Financial Aid (including the FAFSA web link & UI's Title IV code)
A Loan Comparison Worksheet
A Tentative Cost of Attendance sheet for the 2009-2010 academic year

Halloween

2008-10-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Does everyone have their Halloween costumes ready to go?

I know what I'm going to be...I'm going to pretend to be a doctor in the ER this Halloween. Yeah, that's right, I'll be spending my Halloween evening working the 2:30 - 10:30 pm shift in the ER. Should be an exciting time. I'm just hoping that I will be able to tell the difference between the real blood and the fake blood.

VOTE

2008-10-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

I voted.

It feels good.

Kayak adventure

2008-10-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the autumn leaves were at their peak colors, the weather forecast called for sunshine, and I had a few days off. I had to take advantage of this amazing fall weekend, and decided to go paddling on the Volga River in northeast Iowa. Being unable to round up friends to join me on short notice, I decided to go solo. This meant:

1. Drop the bike off at the take out (end of the paddle)
2. Drive to the put in (start of the paddle) and park the car there
3. Kayak downriver (19.2 river miles)
4. Bike back to the car (12 road miles) while leaving the kayak at the take out
5. Drive back to pick up the kayak

It was an ambitious plan and turned into a VERY long (and fun) day!

Autumn

2008-10-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you, but we've had some incredible autumn weather here Iowa City. I love this time of year - crisp air, colorful and crunchy leaves, football, pumpkin patches, hayrack rides, etc. Also, it is one of the best times of year to enjoy some great outdoor activities - cool weather, fewer bugs, and smaller crowds. Lately, my favorites have been mountain biking and kayaking. Today was one of the most beautiful days I have experienced all year, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play outdoors...

Roadkill

2008-06-16T20:43:00.001-07:00

Last night I was at a concert and one of the opening bands was from San Francisco. The lead singer was talking about how they had played a show in Des Moines earlier that week. They had been freaking out due to all the tumultuous thunderstorms and flooding they were experiencing. He said, "You all are hardcore for living here with this crazy weather." He paused, pondering, and then added, "Is it normal for catfish to be in the middle of the road?"

Iowa Flooding

2008-06-15T11:05:00.001-07:00

If you haven't been following the news, Iowa has been having historic flooding - particularly Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and my town - Iowa City. Everyone has been affected in some way, either directly or indirectly. Personally, I have not had, and am not in danger of suffering, property losses. However, many have lost much (including the university campus) and in a great community such as this, everyone shares those losses.

Personally being a part of the shared effort to protect our community has been a silver lining to this raincloud. It always feels nice to think and talk about ideals of "community", but to see and be a part of it in action is a moving experience. The numbers of volunteers that have turned out to sandbag, and in the case of the library - move books to higher ground, has been huge. Iowa City is a wonderfully interesting and unique, if not eclectic, group of people with a strong sense of community. It has been fun to work beside, contribute, and endure such an experience with these people. (Even if someone did steal my wallet while I was sandbagging yesterday.)

The following pictures may give those of you who have lived in I.C. a sense of how high the river has risen.

North of IMU near the North Campus Ramp.

The Park Rd. bridge near City Park (which is underwater in the background).

Near the Main Library on campus.

Iowa St. just west of the Old Capitol, with Hubbard Park in the background.

A long line of people passing sandbags near the Main Library.

Yes, that's a USPS mailman in full uniform - just finished delivering the mail and then joined in the efforts.

Riverside Dr. near the Hydraulic Lab or just below the Law School.

The Lindquist Center across the street from the Main Library on Madison St.

Below the Burlington St. bridge near the Hydraulic Lab.

Just north of IMU looking out to the foot bridge over the River.

Iowa River looking north to the Iowa St. bridge.

The footbridge at the corner of Riverside and Burlington.

The view from the deck of our condo following a rainshower. Rainbow is directly over the town of Iowa City.

Iowa Caucus

2008-01-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Derek,

You did it.

Not just yesterday but every day for ten months, you did what the cynics said we could not do.

You said the time has come to move beyond the pettiness and anger that have consumed Washington, and you sent a powerful message that change is coming to America.

I've landed in New Hampshire, where four days from now, we'll have the chance to build on the momentum you sparked here yesterday.

But I want you to know that -- wherever this improbable journey takes us -- it started in Iowa. Years from now, you'll look back and you'll say that this was the moment -- this was the place -- where America remembered what it means to hope.

I'm thankful to you, and I always will be.

Best,

Barack

2007-12-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

2007-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

"I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the mucles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had cut the little nerve.

Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry-mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks.

'Will my mouth always be like this?' she asks.

'Yes,' I say, 'it will. It is because the nerve was cut.'

She nods, and is silent. But the young man smiles.

'I like it,' he says. 'It is kind of cute.'

All at once I know who he is. I understand, and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindul, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works. I remember that the gods appeared in ancient Greece as mortals, and I hold my breath and let the wonder in."

-Richard Selzer, Mortal Lessons

2007-12-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

2007-12-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

2007-11-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

Dear God...

2007-11-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

Dear God...

2007-11-24T14:40:00.001-08:00

Dear God...

2007-11-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

Dear God...

2007-11-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

Outside Magazine's Best Towns 2007

2007-10-13T18:50:00.001-07:00

Iowa City was named a "Top 10 Best Town" by Outside Magazine. Check out the story here:

http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200708/best-towns-2007-iowa-city.html

Others on the list: Jackson, Portland (Maine), Asheville, Bend, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Duluth, Burlington.

This is a good week

2007-09-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

It's a good week for at least two reasons...

1) The hoody sweatshirts have made a reappearance. It's that special time of year once again, when temperatures allow the combination of hoodies, shorts, and Chacos. And for some reason, the skies seem to be a deeper shade of blue. I love the fall.

2) The Fat Tire has landed. Yes, that's right - Fat Tire beer (one of my favorites - straight from the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO) has now finally made it to Iowa. For unknown reasons, it was previously not sold in this state before this week. But now it's here.

Da la luz

2007-08-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

I delivered a baby today.

Never before have I been a part of an experience with such breadth, depth, and variety of emotions.

About time.

2007-07-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's been far too long, I know and I'm sorry. So for those of you who still bother to check my blog - thank you, I have decided that you deserve an update on my life, however brief it may be. Here are some happenings:

-I passed Step 1 of my board exam! With flying colors at that. This was a huge hurdle and event in my recent life. Thank you to everyone that listened to me whine, encouraged me, prayed for me, told me to chill out, etc. It helped - all of it. And I am grateful and relieved.

-I began my clinical rotations with Pediatrics 4 weeks ago. It has been a rollercoaster so far...

Week 1 was spent in the Newborn Nursery. Basically, I got to hold and play with healthy newborn babies - it was fun, educational, and the hours were nice. I even changed my first ever diaper and it was meconium (that really sticky, tarry first baby poop)!
Week 2 was spent in a community Pediatrics clinic in Davenport, IA. I enjoyed the pace - we saw a new patient almost every 15 minutes. Lots of ear aches, rashes, and fevers. At this point in my training it was all new, so I enjoyed it. I got the hang of it by the end of the week and was feeling pretty comfortable.
Weeks 3-4 were spent on the inpatient Pediatrics floor here at the big hospital in Iowa City (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics - UIHC). My particular floor was the Hematology/Oncology unit - so lots of kids with leukemia/lymphoma receiving chemotherapy and awaiting bone marrow transplants. My first patient was an 11 yr old girl newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Typically this disease has an 80-90% cure rate. However, she had some unusual complications and died within a week of her diagnosis. I was blind-sided. She was very shy and not very talkative - so I had spent an extra amount of time trying to get to know her and her family over that week. Then things went downhill so fast. What do you say? Her family was lost - it was all a blur and then she (and they) were gone. I mourned for a while, but then you are forced to move on. Her room was filled by a new patient the next day. Needless to say, more processing of emotions is needed. But that's the problem with medicine - you don't get the luxury of time to deal with these things. I've been learning a lot of things, but perhaps the biggest lessons have been about how to simply survive in this culture.
On a brighter note, I have had some new experiences with procedures. I performed my first LP (lumbar puncture, or "spinal tap") last week. This is a significant and rare privilege for a 3rd med student. It went suprisingly well and I felt like I was walking on clouds as I left the hospital that day. (It's the small things that keep you going at this point.) I also learned how to and practiced placing IV's. Again, not something routinely taught to med students at this point, but we took the initiative and asked one of the nurses to teach us. That's an observation that I have been making recently - when it comes to simple and "routine" procedures - like injections, IVs, bandages, etc - most doctors have very little, if any, experience and expertise. The nurses are the only ones who do these things. In fact, the nurses more or less do everything with respect to direct patient care and contact. Mostly the docs sit around and think, make decisions, and write orders which are then enacted by the nursing staff. I suppose this makes sense and is an efficient way to do medicine - however, I find it interesting and a bit frustrating that we are not formally taught how to do most of the things that we are "ordering". I may know which type of drug a patient needs and how much to give the patient, but I wouldn't have the first idea of "how" to give that drug to the patient. Strange, if you ask me.

-I spent an evening in the Pediatric ER on Friday and loved it. I love the fast pace, patient interaction, duty to treat all who enter, ability to alleviate suffering aspects of emergency medicine. On inpatient medicine, so much time is spent on "rounds" (talking about patients with other doctors) or on the computer system looking up lab values, ordering tests, and writing progress notes, that very little time is actually spent with the patient themself. Not so in the ER, computer time is still necessary, but is much more brief. The focus is to get the patient stabilized, better, and out on their way. I love being able to see someone with suffering and concern, alleviate that suffering and provide assurance, and see them leave better than when they walked in. Could emergency medicine be my calling? I have a long way to go before I'll know, but it's moving up on my list.

-I've been climbing in my scarce free time on the weekends, and otherwise trying to enjoy what little I can of the outdoors. Being in the hospital so much has a way of letting you forget just how much you appreciate the out of doors and how regenerative time spent outside can be.

-I'm currently reading a book called "Three Cups of Tea" about a climber who, after being nursed to health by a village in remote Pakistan after a failed attempt to climb K2, devotes everything in his life to building schools for children in that village and others of the region. I am inspired.

-I watched a movie last night called "The World's Fastest Indian" about a man following his dreams to break the motorcycle landspeed record against all odds. Again, it was inspiring, funny, and feel-good. I would highly recommend it.

-Life keeps on moving on so fast. Two of my good friends are about to become dads, two are moving to Fort Collins, another is moving away from the Midwest, my sister is a newlywed in a new place and I'm missing it all while I spend most of everyday walking the halls of UIHC. I miss and love you all very much and wish I had more time to visit everyone.

Tetons

2007-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Pictures from my most recent trip...

All politics is local

2007-06-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of living in Iowa is that every 4 years, you get some special attention from the presidential candidates. I have seen Barack Obama speak twice in person here in Iowa City. First was his address on Earth Day. Check out a small snippet of it here:

Obama, Earth Day, Iowa City

Last week, Obama announced his plan for healthcare reform right here in my very own medical school. I was there as well. Check out a bit of that speech here:

Obama, Healthcare reform, University of Iowa College of Medicine

For a very impressive and inspirational promotional video, check out this link:

Obama '08

True, the election is still a year and half away. I'm not saying to vote for Obama (who knows if he will even be a candidate?) What I'm saying is - let yourself be inspired. Do away with the cynicism. Believe that we can (must) do better as a country.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Democratic...nor a Republican.

Frisbee

2007-05-06T00:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's all I do

2007-05-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Usually these types of things are only funny if you are one of the people it is describing. Therefore, I apologize beforehand if you don't enjoy this. But I thought it was great, because it is painfully true...

You might be in med school if...

You see neurons in soap suds in your shower.

You feel like vomiting and automatically lay in the rescue position

When drinking, you and your friends think that the increase in your AST/ALT tomorrow is going to be hilarious!

You still do drugs, but at least you know what they do to you. And never fail to inform those you're doing them with.

You blame neurotransmitters for anything going wrong in your life

You can have a conversation about the abscess you drained today while eating cream of broccoli soup without any problem at all. Or for that matter, over any kind of meal.

You have named a dead person…and talked to them about your stresses while finding their lumbar plexus

You know that specialties are pre-defined by personality type.

The drama in your life now is worse than it ever was in high school.

When you go out with non-medical students, you're abnormally quiet, because you don't know what to talk about besides med school.

You can name the four people in your class who are the question-asker, the arguer, the bigshot doctor's son/daughter and the stoner/alkie/druggie who's never IN class.

You know countless dirty mnemonics for parts of the body, but couldn't tell anyone what the front-page headline today is.

Your life consists of three parts: studying, drinking, and sleeping.

You refer to the semesters you took organic chemistry as "The Good Old Days."

You consistently tell people that they just don't understand how bad it really is.

You know that, in theory, you have a family and friends, but you can't place the last time you saw them.

You don't bother dating because the divorce rate is 70% for physicians.

You constantly find yourself saying things like "I just have to get to spring break" or "I just have to get through Step 1."

You understand the complexities of the USMLE as well as internships, residencies, and fellowships.

You question every day if you should drop out and open a coffee shop, then realize that as soon as you were two semesters into med school, you were too far in debt to be anything but a doctor.

You're not really sure which professional organizations you're actually a member of, but you never joined the AMA.

People assume you know something when you tell them you're in med school, but you know that you haven't learned anything.

You've dissected a penis and can explain the way Viagra works.

People constantly ask what med school is like, and all you can think of to say is "It really sucks."

You've never had problems before, but 6 months into med school you're on birth control, an anti-depressant, an anxiolytic and sleep medication.

You can name 3 specialties you're interested in, then immediately rule two of them out because they don't pay well enough to pay off your debt.

Half your class is Asian of some sort. The other half is Jewish. All of us are completely nuts.

You can name at least three people whose parents pushed them into med school, when they really wanted to be a vet/beautician/teacher/etc.

A "study group" is you, your syllabus, and your red bull.

You assess beverages for amount of caffeine before buying only those with more caffeine than coffee. Then you explain to the cashier how caffeine works for you.

You've done physical exams on your roommate, boyfriend, girlfriend, and any close friends.

You think "AWESOME!" if someone keels over in front of you.

You're still excited to see "real patients."

You're pretty sure you used to be a normal social person, but now you can completely stop conversations by talking about the time that guy pissed and bled all over you during a code.

You speak only in acronyms and abbreviations; HIV, CMV, USMLE, Dx, Px.

You meet someone and have to put off a date for months because you're crazy busy.

Advisors tell you that you have to balance your life with med school, and then are baffled when you ask them how to do it.

You've been told by at least 2 mentors that you really don't want to go into medicine.

You've thought something like "what's another $10,000 in loans?"

You're really frightened by the thought of some of your classmates becoming doctors.

You go a week without sleeping with no problem at all.

Grey's Anatomy, House, Scrubs, Dr. 90210, Nip/Tuck and ER are your favorite shows, but you point out all the wrong things in them all the time.

You have diagnosed yourself or others with at least 5 rare diseases (PML, Kaposi's sarcoma, Measles, Rheumatic Heart Disease, etc.)

People talking to you for longer than 10 minutes start to get a glazed-over look while you wax poetic about kidney function. And you don't even notice.

Climbing, spelunking, and cave creatures

2007-04-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

Earth Day with Obama

2007-04-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Spring Break '07

2007-03-19T17:40:00.001-07:00

The stars aligned, for once. I had a week off, Ian had 3 days free, and the weather forecast was spectacular. Easy decision – I was spending my spring break in Colorado. Enough daydreaming, reading trip reports, picture gazing, wishing – we both needed a fix. We were going to climb…a lot.

3 days, 20 pitches...

Day 1: Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs

Ian gearing up.

Ian hand/finger jammin'.

Day 2: Eldorado Canyon, Colorado

Ian on the infamous Bastille Crack, Pitch 1 - the crack crossover.

Bastille Crack, pitch 3.

Nice rack - the fruits of years of scrimping, saving, and REI dividends. With our gear combined, Ian and I have been able to finally put together a respectable climbing rack. It sure makes those trad climbs a bit more enjoyable.

The Bastille from afar. The Bastille Crack (5 pitches, 5.7 trad) climbs the obvious crack system up the middle of the face. Can you spot the party half way up the climb? (Hint - you'll have to zoom in.)

Tuckered out after a huge day which started before sunrise and ended rapping off the rock in the dark.

Day 3: The Sheep's Nose, South Platte Area Colorado.

No trip to the South Platte rock would be complete without a stop at The Doughnut Mill in Woodland Park - breakfast of champions.

Pitch 2 of "Lost in Space" (5.9 trad, 4 pitches). One word - "exposure". In climbing speak, that means you look down and see nothing but hundreds of feet of air directly beneath your feet. It's what makes climbing fun, and scary.

Ian taking in the view from the top of the Sheep's Nose - quite spectacular despite being in the middle of a forest fire burn area. Pike's Peak is in the distance.

Me on top of Sheep's Nose. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the week.

Bloody knuckles - a sign of a great day of crack climbing.

Ahhhhh, best friends. At the end of 3 incredible days.

Amelia

2007-03-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

If you are a person who prays...please pray for Amelia Allen. She is a 4 month old baby girl recently diagnosed with leukemia. She is the daughter of Steve and Jen Allen - two very wonderful people who live in St. Louis. They hosted me back in February '05 when I was interviewing for med school there. They were more than gracious and welcoming to me. If you are willing, please pray for the health and cure of their daughter and for strength and hope for them. You can follow Amelia's progress at this website: http://ameliaallen.wordpress.com/.

Commentary for the day...

2007-02-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

1) Waste your life playing video games all day...and become a better surgeon. A recent study from Beth Israel hospital in New York...

"The study of 12 surgeons and 21 surgical residents found that those who were
skilled in video games did better in simulated laparoscopic surgery drills.
'Training curricula that include video games may help thin the technical
interface between surgeons and screen-mediated applications, such as
laparoscopic surgery,' the study authors wrote. 'Video games may be a practical
teaching tool to help train surgeons.'"
Get full article from the Washington Post here.
That's it, forget all this studying, I'm playing Halo instead.

2) I feel like climbing Mt. Hood right now, just to prove to myself that it can be done without some crazy, media-hyped drama. And for the record, not only do I not buy the statement that the dog saved their life, I wouldn't be suprised if the dog was the reason for their fall. Taking a dog on a technical glacier/snow route is just downright silly.

Have you ever tried to play football or soccer with some dog running around on the field? You know what I'm talking about...accidentally stepping on his paw, kicking him in the ribs, or tripping over him? Imagine that, but when you trip, you fall 100 ft off a cliff, or 100 ft into a crevasse.

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and if I could adequately take care of myself let alone a pet, I'd have one in a heartbeat. And you better believe he would go with me almost everywhere - especially backpacking, hiking and rock climbing in the mountains. But on a glacier/snow route? Not a chance.

If you haven't heard already, here is an article.

Let's go camping...

2007-02-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

at 7000 meters, on the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat, with Steve House and Vince Anderson.

14er's

2007-02-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Definition: a Colorado "14er" is one of 54 peaks in Colorado above 14,000 ft. elevation. The tallest peak in Colorado is Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft.) and the shortest 14er is Sunshine Peak (14,001 ft.).

Chris Davenport, a professional skier from Aspen, just recently completed his quest to successfully summit and ski descend all 54 Colorado 14er's in one year. Here are some pics from the adventure...

Incredible!

Only one other person has climbed and skied (from true summits) all 54 peaks - Lou Dawson - but it took him 13 years to accomplish.

I've climbed quite a few of the 14er's and can tell you that, although many are "walk ups" with relatively low angle slopes, many also have intense high angle grades requiring 4th and even 5th class climbing in sections. I have also skiied in Colorado. The fact that this guy has skiied every one of the 14er's (in less than a year, nonetheless!) blows my mind.

His website is amazing - incredible pics, great stories of each peak. He is going to be producing a film and a book chronicling the project. If you are interested and have the time, check out the website at Chris Davenport, Ski the 14er's Project.

Ski Trip '07

2007-02-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Entertainment tonight

2007-01-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

On the shuffle...
-Decemberists, "Crane Wife"
-Shins, "Wincing the Night Away"

Off the shelf...
-"No Shortcuts to the Top", Ed Viesturs

Here's an idea...

2007-01-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

How about we stop killing eachother?

Just a thought.

wish i was there...

2007-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

2007 Ouray Ice Festival

Jan 10-14

Ouray, CO

what i learned in school today.

2007-01-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

some "real" doctor stuff.

i'm learning how to read these squiggly line paper thingers. so that's good.

and really hard.

turns out, there is quite a bit of information on these things, and it takes some practice to figure out how to make sense of it all.

who knew?

my diagnosis for this one...uh...it's a heartbeat.

that's all i got.

bingo

2007-01-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

tonight at dinner i had this feeling that ranch dressing would be good on my tacos.

my intuition did not lead me astray.

Let's go sledding!!! (no fun allowed)

2007-01-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve, Lincoln got 8 inches of snow (the first snow of the year - see blog entries on global warming). So naturally, me and TQ went sledding...

Me showing off the sweet new paint job I got on my sled, the "Snow Crusher".

After a particularly impressive face plant.

I tried to get a better "action" photo, but it was tough - she was like a bullet shooting down the slope.

So sledding has "rules" now - who knew? My least favorites:

-"Building jumps or ramps is not allowed" (Are you kidding me? That's the point of going sledding. That's like saying, "Enjoy the diving board - but no jumping or diving allowed" or "No pushes allowed on the swings.")

-"Sledders should wear appropriate head gear and padded clothing" (Yeah right. Do they mean "head gear" like dental braces head-gear? Ohhh, like a helmet. Did you notice our protective gear? Didn't think so.)

-"No fun allowed" (Basically my paraphrase of what the sign says.)

For the record, we broke 4 of the 7 rules on the sign.

What ever happened to letting kids have fun? And maybe even getting hurt once in awhile? I know, I know - lawsuits. But in my opinion, it's a pretty sad state of affairs when there are at least 7 safety rules to abide by when sledding. In my opinion, there should only be 2 rules: 1) Go fast; 2) Have fun. For a more eloquent and intelligent discussion on the subject of "playing", see my friend Christina's blog here.

Who you callin' fiduciary?

2007-01-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break, while spending time with my family, my mom retold a story about me as a little kid. At the church we grew up in, every year around Christmas-time, we would have a party in the basement. You remember the church basement get-togethers, right? That universal church basement smell from countless pot luck dinners over the years. The linoleum tile floors. The Sunday school story boards made out of felt. Etc.

Anyway, every year this particular Christmas party was easily the most anticipated of the church basement gatherings - at least to us kids. Because we all knew inevitably during the evening, Santa would make an appearance. At some predetermined time, we would all gather around, be really quiet and listen for the reindeer hooves above us on the roof. Sure enough, always on schedule, there would be a loud trampling/stomping sound upstairs, and shortly after Santa would enter through the doorway, lugging a red sack full of presents - one for each kid in attendance. We would then each take our turn to sit on Santa's lap, with everyone else watching, and proceed to tell him that "Yes, we had been a good child that year" and describe what we wanted for Christmas. Most normal kids were asking for normal kid things - you know, remote control cars, action figures, dolls, video games. When my turn came I went up and took my place on his lap. Hair neatly combed, with the face of an angel, perfect child as I was, I plainly explained to Santa how good I had been that year. And when he asked me what I wanted, my response was, "I want a dictionary and a warm sweater." I'm not sure if my parents were proud or embarassed. And looking back, I suppose I'm thankful that my friends were still too young to understand the concept of "nerd" or "brown-noser".

I think I got a dictionary that year. (The warm sweater, I'm not sure about.) And boy oh boy, did it sure pay off. I would later be crowned back-to-back Adams County Spelling Bee Runner-up in 4th and 5th grade - both years finishing behind Katie Frink (my despised spelling bee arch nemesis...we would later date in middle school). Even today I still enjoy learning words. Last year I signed up for Merriam-Webster Online's "Word of the Day" emails. Everyday they send me a different, usually obscure, word with a definition and history about its origin. That way, not only do I get to learn a new word everyday, I also get the excitement of at least one new email in my inbox everyday (kind of like having a really smart imaginary friend). Almost everyday in school (certainly at least once a week) I come across a word I don't know and I honestly get a little kick out of looking up the definition.

My point in this whole blog entry was to just tell you about an interesting word I came across yesterday when studying medical ethics: fiduciary. From Wikipedia: "A fiduciary is a person who occupies a position of trust in relation to someone else such that he is required to act for the latter's benefit within the scope of that relationship." From M-W: "held or founded in trust or confidence" (adj. form). Usually it is used in the context of finances, business, or law. But in this case it is used as: In the physician-patient relationship, the physician is a fiduciary. I like the sense of confidence and trust reciprocated with obligation and responsibility to do what is right that the word conveys. It falls under the realm of the medico-ethical principle of beneficence.

In medical ethics we have been learning about 4 guiding principles:

1) Beneficence: act in the patient's best interest.
2) Nonmaleficence: do no harm.
3) Autonomy: respect the patient as an individual and honor their preferences and decisions.
4) Justice: treat each patient with fairness and impartiality.

What if we applied these same principles to everyone everyday, not just within the physician-patient relationship? I guess you could sum it up as "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Redemption

2007-01-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, know that I have, at times, communicated an antipathy to Starbucks. This view is not so much founded in an ethical/moral basis, like my aversion to Walmart, for example. From everything that I know and have heard, I respect what Starbucks stands for - healthcare options for all employees, even part-timers; fair trade, providing living wages for (some) coffee growers; at least some degree of social responsibility and awareness - no small feat for an enormous global corporation. Mostly, my aversion is due to my love of diversity, quirkiness, individuality, and character that is found in the local coffee shops of this world. As globalization inevitably steamrolls forward, I would like to do what little I can to resist the entire homogenization of life around me. Plus, I just enjoy supporting the little guy, the underdog.

Sidenote: I looked up the definition of "homogenize" = to blend (diverse elements) into a uniform mixture. The idea/image of that with regards to our world just makes me sad for what would be lost. I'm speaking of the diversity of cultures and ethnicities, of course. If we were speaking of living standards or opportunities - well that's for another blog entry.

However, this Christmas I received a $25 Starbucks gift card. My original gut reaction was to kindly not use it. But I quickly realized that would be: 1) wasteful; 2) exactly what Starbucks would love - $25 free dollars of pure profit with no exchange for goods. So then I decided that I would not only use my card - but I would also use their wifi to do my homework...for a long time. Ha! That would show 'em, right?

Turns out, Starbucks (in Iowa City, at least) doesn't have free wifi - you have to pay. (As if providing this service to their guests may put Starbucks in jeopardy of bankruptcy.) You better believe that I wasn't about to do that. Besides, I didn't like the impersonal, manufactured ambience in the shop anyway. Also, while I was sitting there, trying to find a way around the wifi issue, a lady walked in and ordered a "venti mocha with 7 shots". 7 shots. Now, I rarely go to Starbucks, so maybe 7 shots is the norm for a venti mocha (and you can correct me if I'm wrong). I was just impressed - to each his/her own, I guess. I ordered my "tall" (smallest size) latte with 1 shot of hazelnut (I was told the standard was 3 shots), and it was plenty (almost too) sweet for my taste.

Sidenote: I was listening to a segment on NPR a while back that was about a guy who was trying to run 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states. They asked him how he kept up the strength and energy between races. He said it was all about quickly replacing calories. And the best way he had found to put the max amount of calories into his body in the shortest amount of time was by going to Starbucks and ordering a venti something or other with a bunch of extra shots of something or other. At the risk of sounding a bit judgmental, I will speculate that the lady I saw was not in between marathons.

But there was one partial redemption in the partial redemption of my Starbucks gift card. They put those feel good quotes on their cups - you know what I'm talking about. On my cup was this quote:

"The world is smaller than you think, and the people on it are more beautiful than you think."
-Bertram van Munster

I like it, and I agree. My hope would be that more of us could see it that way. To see the world as our cozy, shared, beautiful little home. Something that we can trash if we so choose - or clean up, preserve, cherish, and enjoy together. To see people as they are - infinitely valuable, spiritual, funny, frustrating, difficult, confusing, complex, diverse, beautiful, needy, fallen, wondrous, eternal beings worthy of being respected and loved. We are all the same incredibly different beings placed in this enormous little world.

Thanks for reminding me, Starbucks. (And thanks for the latte, it was pretty tasty.)

12:00:00 AM 01/01/2007

2007-01-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

2006-12-30T01:03:00.000-08:00

"There is enough for everyone's need but not enough for everyone's greed."
-Gandhi

1000 words

2006-12-30T00:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not blogging more lately...it has been difficult finding the patience to write words. So I will summarize my recent thoughts with pictures. Let's be honest - you enjoy the the pics more and it is easier for me. Everyone wins.

What's been on my mind (and heart)...

I don't know what to make of it, either.

World AIDS Day

2006-12-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Friday, Dec. 1st was World AIDS Day. You may have noticed the red ribbons around town.

According to the WHO:
39.5 million people are currently living with HIV worldwide(24.7 million in Sub-Saharan Africa)
2.9 million people died of AIDS in 2006 worldwide (2.1 million in Sub-Saharan Africa)
AIDS is the 4th leading cause of death in the world (behind, ischemic heart disease (heart attack), cerebrovascular disease (stroke), and lower respiratory infections (pneumonia))

Summary - AIDS is the most widespread and deadly epidemic affecting our world today.

I was forwarded an email from a classmate which had a link to a website for Bristol-Myers Squibb (a huge North American pharmaceutical company). It is called "Light to Unite" and is described as an initiative between Bristol-Myers Squibb and the World AIDS Fund. Basically, on this website, you move a match to light a candle, and for every candle lit, Bristol-Myers Squibb will donate $1 to the World AIDS Fund. Sounds like a great deal, right? I thought so, so I went to the sight and lit my candle - feeling all good about myself and the simple act on my part to help the fight against AIDS.

Then I started reading the fine print. Turns out Bristol-Myers Squibb will only donate up to $100,000 to the fund, and I was the 498,413 candle lit. So my action did absolutely nothing, except direct me to a website on which this pharmaceutical company shamelessly advertises for its new antiretroviral drug. Underneath the pretty candles and heartfelt stories about AIDS patients is the constant banner for this brand new drug.

This drug they are advertising costs $867.75/month. That means that they need to sell about 115 months worth to make up for the $100,000 they so graciously donated to the fight against AIDS. Or, put another way, about 10 HIV+ patients need to use the drug for one year, and Bristol-Myers Squibb will have made their money back. The average HIV+ patient being treated with HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) these days will live for at least 10 years. So, put another way, all Bristol-Myers Squibb has to do is convince one HIV+ person (or more likely, one doctor treating one HIV+ patient) to use the drug, and they have made their money back. Considering their website has now had over 500,000 hits, I would say that their little "philanthropy" has a pretty good potential to turn quite a profit.

What a marketing ploy! Using peoples' naive willingness to help under the guise of an altruistic mission, when in reality simply using it as a way of advertising its own product to ensure larger profits. Think about it - Bristol-Myers Squibb just spent $100,000 (granted it went to the World AIDS Fund, which is better than nothing) to effectively advertise its drug. Some companies pay millions of dollars for a 30 sec. commercial during the Super Bowl.

Well at least they gave $100,000 to the fight against AIDS, right? That's better than nothing, right? I suppose. But let's look at what it cost (or, better yet, gained) them. Bristol-Myers Squibb reported 2006 9 month net earnings at $1.7 billion. This means that their gift of $100,000 was about 0.006% of their profits. What a generous gift! I'm curious as to what their profit will be from this little "donation". I know that they are a company in a capitalistic economy, and as such, will rarely do anything unless it involves a profit. This is the basis of capitalism. But preying upon peoples' desire to help, especially when it comes to something as deathly serious as AIDS, in order to fatten their wallets is pretty infuriating, in my opinion. Please don't go to the website. Instead, visit the WHO website and learn about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, if you are interested.

As a future doctor, I had naively hoped that my fighting would be against disease and suffering. But the further along I get in the process, the more I'm finding out that perhaps the biggest opponents I will be facing in the future are greedy drug companies.

The so-called "global warmings"

2006-11-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I talked about Al Gore's thoughts on global warming. Well, in the interest of unbiased blogging, I thought I would share with you George W. Bush's thoughts on the issue...

Nebraska sunset

2006-11-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

There's something about the way the sun sets over Nebraskaland that just does it for me.

It's back!

2006-11-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

It's back! But only for a limited time.

And I'm not talking about the McRib sandwich, Ben.

It's Peppermint Stick Ice Cream!

Nothing says winter holidays like peppermint stick ice cream. Ok, so it's freezing outside - but forget that and just go ahead and have some - it's a special time of year.

Thankfulness

2006-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

I realize several of my last entries have been kind of heavy and maybe came across as pessimistic or downers. So here's one to bring you back up - get your warm and fuzzies ready...it's that time of year again. What I am thankful for:

Parents whose love for me and eachother was never in question.

Good music.

5 senses.

The spectrum of colors - so unnecessarily opulent.

An imagination that is so vivid that I can conjure up images of what heaven might be like, but am unable to imagine a color that doesn't exist.

An intellect that tells me that the most wonderful of my imaginings of heaven isn't even close.

Being born in a place where I have the privilege of studying and complaining about having to study so much, believe in and argue about religion, choose to go anywhere, with anyone, in anyway whenever i choose, you get the point.

Mountains - again unnecessary, with no real purpose other than bringing my heart joy and filling it with awe.

A Creator that has created in me a heart that is wooed by His colors and mountains and music.

Friends close enough that I can say "I love you" and it isn't weird.

Friends who forgive me when I don't deserve it.

A Savior who forgave everything I've ever done wrong and will do wrong, asking only for my love in return.

Squirrels.

Rocks to climb, and daydream about climbing, and the ability to climb.

Sunshine.

Mashed potatoes.

And gravy.

Glaciers for our grandkids

2006-11-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

So everyone knows that Al Gore invented the Internet, but did you know that he also invented Global Warming? Alright, maybe he didn't invent global warming, but he is certainly doing his part in bringing it to the forefront of the American consciousness. If you are interested in the issue (and I guess you probably should be since you are, by default, an inhabitant of the planet Earth), you should see the movie/documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" or visit the website climatecrisis.org.
While I don't necessarily buy into the "doomsday panic" message and tone of the movie, agree with the not-so-subtly-hidden political motives, and some of the extrapolations they make with the trends are a bit hard to believe, nevertheless the facts and data are shocking and pretty hard to dismiss. Perhaps the claim that I agree with most from the movie is the thought that this isn't a political issue, it is a moral issue.
In my mind it is almost a spiritual issue. We have been placed in the middle of a creation more beautiful beyond all imagination, one that has deeply inspired and moved generations. And you don't have to believe in a god or creator to agree with that. In fact, I would guess that the majority of people currently leading the way for environmental protection are agnostic, atheistic, paganistic, Buddhist, anything but certainly not Christian. Why have Christians been so far behind on this issue? Shouldn't they be leading the way? Wasn't it the God of the three great monotheistic faiths that gave the mandate, rule and subdue the earth and all that is in it? There can be many interpretations of the phrase "rule and subdue", I'm sure. But I can't believe that "pollute and destroy in order to preserve your comfortable lifestyle" is a valid one.
But the problem isn't as bad as you are making it sound, right? Maybe not, but stand in the hills above L.A., or Quito Ecuador, or pick your nearest metro area and lift your eyes to the sky. Look at some of the pictures of the receding glaciers, past vs. present.
Realistically, I know that not everyone can rush out and purchase a hybrid car. I'm just suggesting we start thinking about what we do everyday in tiny little ways. I'll start a list, and you can add to it, or make your own:

Turn off the lights in an unoccupied room.

Next time your light bulb burns out, replace it with an energy saving model - a couple bucks more expensive, but you will certainly get your money back in your energy bill.

Make sure your vehicle's tires are fully inflated - a few minutes taking advantage of the free air pressurizer at the gas station can pay off in fuel economy.

Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth - not necessarily an energy issue, but anything wrong with saving drinkable water while we're at it?

Only wash full loads of laundry.

Only run the dishwasher when it is full.

If possible, walk to where you are going instead of driving - dual benefit: health + energy saving.

Turn your thermostat down at night and when you are not at home, or better yet, replace your old thermostat with a digital programmable one.

Use open windows instead of air conditioners when the weather permits.

Keep going...

This is just a start, there are innumerably more. And none of them are difficult or life changing, but yet, I can safely assume, if every one of us chose just one and lived it, the effects would be profound.

A comment about the comments

2006-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Unbeknownst to me, when I set up this blog site, I must have selected an option that would only allow comments to appear after I had approved them. Not such a bad idea I suppose, but for some reason, I never received the emails when people left comments. I just thought either no one was reading my blog, or people didn't realize they could leave comments. Turns out, neither was true. After the problem was brought to my attention (thanks Ian), I promptly fixed it and also stumbled upon several comments from this summer that I had never seen before. So for everyone whose comments were seemingly lost to the nothingness of cyberspace: Ian, Trav and Becca, Dan, Nathan, Tim, Uncle Steve, Nate, Amber Eve, Rocket, Uncle Punjab, Marty, Mr. President - thanks for all your thoughts, and I have rescued and published them all.

Let's play doctor...

2006-11-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

"You are an independent, licensed practitioner who works in an independent clinic. Which of the following actions would you be willing to take?

1) Provide a prescription for an oral contraceptive to a 16 year-old with severe premenstrual syndrome, irregular menstrual periods and dysmenorrhea (pain associated with menstruation). She has requested medication to establish menstrual regularity and minimize symptoms. She is not currently sexually active, but is planning to have sex with her boyfriend sometime in the next few months.

2) Provide the "morning after pill" to a woman who has just had sexual intercourse with a man and did not use any contraception. Her urine pregnancy test was negative when she arrived in the clinic. This medication is a high dose of levonorgestrel, which prevents implantation of any fertilized egg. The patient came to the clinic specifically requesting this medication.

3) Provide a prescription for a drug similar to RU486, which will result in a pharmacologically-induced "medical" abortion for a woman who is 8 weeks pregnant with an otherwise normal pregnancy. The patient presented to the clinic requesting this prescription. After open discussion of all options, she is certain and adamant in her decision. She requests, "Please help me to end this pregnancy."

4) Facilitate a referral for an abortion procedure to be performed by a colleague for a woman who is 16 weeks pregnant with an otherwise normal pregnancy. The patient presented to the clinic requesting this procedure. After open discussion of all options, she is certain and adamant in her decision. She requests, "Please help me to arrange an abortion."

5) Recommend against the option of abortion for a woman who is 16 weeks pregnant with an otherwise normal pregnancy. She came to the clinic requesting this procedure. After open discussion of all options, the patient feels ambivalent about either continuing the pregnancy or having an abortion. She states, "I thought I would choose abortion, but I can't decide."

6) A woman who is 16 weeks pregnant with an otherwise normal pregnancy requests information on an abortion procedure. She becomes distressed and hesitates before leaving. She asks you directly "What should I do? What do you believe about abortion?" Would you be willing to honestly and truthfully reveal to the patient your personal beliefs?

7) Do you agree with the statement: "Since the fetal abortion procedure has been legally protected in our society, medical professionals should always try to maintain a neutral status when discussing pregnancy with patients and in counseling patients who did not intend to become pregnant."

8) Do you think that you are capable of counseling patients with unintended pregnancy in a genuinely neutral manner?"

(taken from FCP III, Dr. Karl Thomas, UI Carver College of Medicine)

People always ask me what medical school is like. Here is an example of one of the assignments that we've done recently. This is just an assignment now, but in a couple of years, this will be reality - real lives, real situations. What would you do?

Obesity - America's #1 export

2006-11-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

After sufficiently wrapping the globe and strangling the life out of any and all other cultures, the deep fat fried, extra crispy tentacles of KFC are now reaching to outer space...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229308,00.html

Let's see if they can successfully achieve a 31% obesity rate among aliens, as they have achieved in the U.S. (31% "obesity" - not "overweight", which has a prevalence of 65% in the U.S. Obesity is neck and neck with smoking as the LEADING cause of death in the U.S.).

I can only assume that WalMart will be soon to follow in the intergalactic billboard advertising race. I'm sure they can't wait to reel in that lucrative UFO consumer demographic. And you know what that will have to lead to - yep, bigger parking lots. Because let's be honest - although Hummers and Excursions are big, they aren't UFO big. And then there's Starbucks - how are they going to build UFO friendly drive-thrus? They'll find a way - oh don't you worry. It might have to involve demolishing that cozy little local coffee shop next door - but that's not anything new I suppose. Ok, sorry, I'm getting off topic.

I can't imagine a better use of 87,000 square feet of this Earth's surface, can you?

I actually saw something in KFC last summer (besides the food) that almost made me throw up - BUCKETS of soda. They were selling buckets (literally) of soda, complete with a lid and handle. You could choose between the half- and full-gallon sizes...but with prices so low, how could you just settle for a half-gallon of soda? I saw about 31% of the customers happily walking out with their 12 piece meal in one hand and a gallon of soda in the other.

I thought I might be able to escape the pandemic in S. America, but no, they love KFC down there - it's considered a pricey, fancy restaurant that you only get to eat at for a special occasion. It's probably better that way. In fact, they have some great KFC products that we don't even have here:

KFC ice cream & toppings...finger lickin' good.

As long as we are being honest with eachother

2006-11-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

I have made a disheartening discovery about myself recently...I seem to be entering the stage in a man's life when ear-hair becomes a problem. I thought that I wouldn't have to face this kind of obstacle until middle-age or even beyond, but I was wrong - 25 years old, ear-hair. Now, I don't look at myself in the mirror much, but the other day as I was shaving (which, by the way, is not very often due to my lack of ability to grow real manly facial hair) I noticed a couple little hairs in the ear. I thought they must be transient, so I tried to brush them away - but no, they were connected. I proceeded to angrily pluck them out as best as I could - painful, I might add. So explain this: I can't really grow sweet sideburns, but I seem to have no problem in the ear-hair department.

Mostly the issue seems to be focused around the tragus. Anatomically speaking, the tragus is that little cartilaginous protuberance on the anterior edge of your external auditory meatus.
Right about here:

And here is what it looks like in microscopic cross-section:

As you can see, it is characterized by superficial keratinizing stratified squamous epithelium, with underlying papillary and reticular dermis surrounding the central elastic cartilage. Most notably, you can observe those pesky little hair follicles. Sorry, I just can't turn it off sometimes. (But seriously, to all the nerds reading this - and you know who you are...you can admit it...come on, I'm telling the world about my ear-hair here - check out Virtual Microscope. It's my school's interactive histology website, and I'm pretty proud of it. It's like playing with a real microscope without the risk of breaking glass slides or squirting your lab partner with safranin stain - I've done both).

Ok, for all the normal (and obviously extremely bored) people still reading this, sorry about getting sidetracked there for a second. I guess I might be trying to distract you all from the fact that this blog is about my disgusting ear-hair. But that's Ok. Because honestly, what good is having a blog if you can't share personal things like this with your closest friends?

...and anyone else in the world with a computer?

I guess it shouldn't come as any suprise, considering my genetic predisposition to male pattern ear-hairiness...

Marty, my second cousin

Uncle Punjab

Just kidding, this guy isn't really related to me - I just found his picture on Google.

Bonus info/fun medical fact of the day: The other parts of your external ear have names, too:

Impress your friends. This is the kind of stuff that I get to learn and spend so many hours studying every day. So in a lot of ways, to answer all those questions - yeah, I guess my life really is like "Grey's Anatomy". That's that TV show where people just sit in a library and study all the time, right?

Stay tuned for future blog entries where we will explore the world of the middle and inner ear...and my earwax problems.

9

2006-11-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

6 days until the US release of Damien Rice's new EP, "9"!!

How long have we been waiting for this?......well, actually - 3 years, 2 months, and 25 days.

Snakes on a plane...or under a rock...underwater?

2006-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

On the account of an unseasonably glorious late October afternoon, Aaron and I went climbing last weekend at Kepler Palisades State Park, Iowa. For those who don't know, the climbing at Palisades is right along the river bank. Which means that if you are belaying from the bottom, you are right at the water's edge.

Such was the case last weekend. As I was belaying Aaron (who, I might add, was busy onsighting a sick route - probably like a 5.13d or something) I looked out across the river to take in the autumn splendor of amber oaks, bluebird skies, and warm sunshine.

When, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a flickering tongue. I looked down to the water a few feet away from me and I spied this little guy:

I didn't know what to think. The water must have been about 40 degrees F, and considering that snakes are poikilotherms, I thought "Oh no, Mr. Bullsnake must have accidently slithered into the river and now he can't move." I snapped a few pics, and tried to get a bit closer. But much to my and Aaron's (who by the way had taken quite the fall because I had abandoned my belaying duty due to the distraction at hand) suprise and amazement, Mr. Bullsnake calmly recoiled underwater and back under the rock. We watched and waited for several minutes to see if he would swim away to familiar dry land. But no, he had found a home - under that rock, and under the water! Aaron saw him pop his head up on the other side of the rock some time later.

Now, it was near Halloween - so I suppose it could have just been an eel disguised as a snake. Or was it a snake dressed up as an eel? Weird.

Oh yeah, here's a catepillar we saw, too. Neato.

Right said Fred

2006-10-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

"If you tell me Christian commitment is a kind of thing that has happened to you once and for all like some kind of spiritual plastic surgery, I say go to, go to, you're either pulling the wool over your own eyes or trying to pull it over mine. Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself: "Can I believe it all again today?" No, better still, don't ask it till after you've read The New York Times, till after you've studied that daily record of the world's brokenness and corruption, which should always stand side by side with your Bible. Then ask yourself if you can believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ again for that particular day. If your answer's always Yes, then you probably don't know what believing means. At least five times out of ten the answer should be No because the No is as important as the Yes, maybe more so. The No is what proves you're human in case you should ever doubt it. And then if some morning the answer happens to be really Yes, it should be a Yes that's choked with confession and tears and...great laughter."

"Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting. Faith is journeying through space and time."

-Frederick Buechner

If you...

2006-10-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

If you have ever played a guitar, ever tried to learn guitar, ever heard of a guitar, like guitars, like music, or have ears...you should get to know Trace Bundy. Check out his website, buy his music, but most importantly, go to one of his shows if you have the chance. You will not be disappointed - I promise. Not only is he an incredible artist, he is a great person as well - all the more reason to support what he is doing.

What I learned in school today...

2006-10-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Fun medical term of the day

2006-10-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

"Borborygmi": Rumbling or gurgling noises produced by movement of gas, fluid, or both in the alimentary canal, and audible at a distance.

So next time your stomach growls, impress your friends by saying, "Did you guys just hear those borborygmi? I must be really hungry."

Then they will know for sure that you are a real nerd.

Midnight bouldering club

2006-10-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Monday 12:10 am

Riverside Ave.

Iowa City, IA

Good people

2006-10-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

My good buddy Case tied the knot a couple weekends ago in Lincoln. As I was leaving Iowa City for Lincoln Friday afternoon, I received a call from Case...

C: "Hey Derek, how's it going?"
D: "Great, I just hit the road."
C: "Be an usher in my wedding."
D: "OK....uh....do I need a tux or something?"
C: "A black suit, white shirt. We will have a tie for you."
D: "OK, I'll turn around a go back to get my suit."
C: "Great, see you soon."

Turns out that one of Case's ushers' wife was expecting to have a baby the weekend of the wedding, and he couldn't make it. So I was honored to fill the role. Fortunately I was only about 10 minutes outside of Iowa City, and was able to turn around and get the suit.

The wedding was great - very beautiful and autumn-elegant. As to be expected, the music (both at the ceremony and at the reception) was phenomenal: Matt Banta, the Maranville family country band (straight from the ranches of eastern Colorado), Casting Pearls and other bandmates past and present. I danced like a fool all night long - probably one of the best nights of my life. It was great to reconnect with some long lost friends, be in Lincoln again (The Mill - need I say more?), and see a beautiful couple celebrate such a special day surrounded by people they love. Kind of cheesy, I know. But in my old age, I am learning to appreciate wedding ceremonies more and more. It's probably because it is one of the very few times in life when you get to have an entire group of friends together in the same place again - something that is becoming very rare as all of our post-college lives continue onward.

Here's a toast to Case and Lindsay - many happy years, you guys deserve it.

One mountain a year, Case, that's all I ask. One mountain a year.

Pharmacology, Exam #2

2006-10-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Drug list to know for Pharm exam #2:

cimetidine
ranitidine
famotidine
esomeprazole magnesium
omeprazole
lansoprazole
sodium bicarbonate
sodium citrate
aluminum hydroxide
magnesium trisilicate
calcium carbonate
magnesium hydroxide
magnesium oxide
magnesium carbonate
simethicone
sucralfate
pirenzepine
misoprostol
tetracycline
amoxicillin
metronidazole
bismuth subsalicylate
clarithromycin
omeprazole
pentagastrin
anthraquinones
cascara sagrada
senna
aloe
diphenylmethanes
bisacodyl
castor oil
dibasic sodium phosphate
magnesium salts
sorbitol
polyethylene glycol 3350
methylcellulose
psyllium
polycarbophil
salts of sulfosuccinates
docusates
mineral oil
glycerin
sorbitol
CO2 releasing preparation (NaH2PO4 + NaHCO3)
lactulose
cisapride
metoclopramide
dimenhydrinate
scopolamine
phenothiazines
chlorpromazine
promethazine
butyrophenones
droperidol
benzamides
metoclopramide
ondansetron
granisetron
lorazepam
dexamethasone
dronabinol
apomorphine
ipecac
morphine
diphenoxylate
difenoxin
loperamide
kaolin
pectin
bismuth subsalicylate
polycarbophil
attapulgite
atropine
mesalamine
sulfasalazine
olsalazine
beclomethasone
budesonide
infliximab
nicotine
alosetron
tegaserod
ursodiol
monoctanoin
acetazolamide
chlorothiazide
hydrochlorothiazide
trichlormethiazide
cyclopenthiazide
metolazone
furosemide
ethacrynic acid
bumetamide
spironolactone
triamterene
amiloride
demeclocycline
lithium salts
conivaptan
mannitol
glucose
urea
glycerin
isosorbide
vasopressin
lypressin
desmopressin
chlorpropamide
amiloride
probenecid
sulfinpyrazone
salicylates
allopurinol
colchicine
aspirin
ibuprofen
naproxen
nabumetone
celecoxib
etodolac
acetaminophen
morphine
meperidine
hydromorphone
oxycodone
hydrocodone
codeine
propoxyphene
methadone
heroin
fentanyl
sufentanil
alfentanil
remifentanil
tramadol
pentazocine
butorphanol
nalbuphine
buprenorphine
diphenoxylate
loperamide
naloxone
naltrexone
nalmefene
alvimopan
lidocaine
mepivacaine
bupivacaine
levobupivacaine
prilocaine
ropivacaine
procaine
chloroprocaine
tetracaine
cocaine
halothane
enflurane
isoflurane
desflurane
sevoflurane
nitrous oxide
succynylcholine
dantrolene
methohexital
thiopental
ketamine
etomidate
propofol
flumazenil
midazolam
diazepam
lorazepam
fentanyl
naloxone
sufentanil
alfentanil
remifentanil
triazolam
midazolam
alprazolam
lorazepam
oxazepam
diazepam
chlordiazepoxide
flumazenil
zolpidem
zaleplon
beta-carbolines
propranolol
buspirone
phenobarbital
pentobarbital
amobarbital
thiopental
picrotoxin
bicuculline
carbamazepine
ethosuximide
gabapentin
lamotrigine
phenobarbital
phenytoin
valproic acid
vigabatrin
felbamate
tiagabine
tapiramate
zonisamide
l-dopa
carbidopa
bromocriptine
pergolide
promipexole
ropinirole
selegiline/deprenyl
trihexyphenidyl
benztropine
diphenhydramine
tranylcypromine
pheylzine
desipramine
amitriptyline
imipramine
clomipramine
maprotiline
amoxapine
trazodone
bupropion
venlafaxine
nefazodone
mirtazapine
fluoxetine
paroxetine
sertraline
fluvoxamine
citalopram
st. john's wort
lithium carbonate
carbamazepine
valproic acid
dextroamphetamine
methylphenidate
methamphetamine
atomoxetine
modafinil
chlorpromazine
haloperidol
thioridazine
thiothixene
clozapine (dibenzodiazepine)
risperidone (benzisoxazole)
olanzapine (thienobenzodiazepine)
tacrine
donepezil
rivastigmine
galantamine
memantine

Since I'm more of a hands-on, experiential learner, I decided the best way to remember all of these drugs' actions and their side effects would be to take one of each.

It didn't work.

The effects of too much studying

2006-10-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

4 gallons of non-toxic acrylic paint...gold .....................$80

1 gallon of non-toxic acrylic paint...black......................$20

1 black "speedo"...............................................................$8.99

1 student ticket to the Iowa vs. Ohio State football game....$30

Being "that guy" in front of 70,000 people.....................priceless

Assembled we spelled "GO HAWKEYES!"

It didn't work, the Hawks lost 17-38. But we still had fun.

I'm like Jack Johnson (minus the musical talent)

2006-09-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

As my friend and renowned rock journalist, Crystal K., describes Jack Johnson...his lyrics are always just on the verge of profound, but never really make it.

That's how I feel about this blog. I wish I was wittier, funnier, or deeper. But in all reality, my schedule and the demands of school don't really allow me sufficient time to reflect and flesh out my thoughts to the extent that I would like to. So please forgive me for the superficiality of these entries. But hopefully, like Jack, I can provide something that is fairly entertaining and enjoyable never-the-less.

Sidethought: I can also relate to Jack in his passion of surfing. For me however, it is climbing. Some of the ways that I have heard him describe surfing, how it is sort of an all-consuming undercurrent in his life, describe exactly how I feel about climbing. Not that I get to climb nearly as much as I would like, but it is never far from my daydreams. Thoughts of mountains interrupt my studying daily. It is a form of communication and understanding I share with my best friend. Almost every extended weekend and break I get, I'm trying to figure out how I can spend as much time on the rock as possible. Often what keeps me motivated from day to day is the prospect of being that much closer to bigger, better mountains.

So surf on, Jack. My wish for the world is that every person would have such a passion in their life - regardless of what it is: music, art, medicine, writing, kite-boarding, fly-fishing, trampoline-jumping, juggling...anything but watching tv. I think if everyone had that kind of a passion, there would be no wars and violence - we'd all be too tired and content from doing whatever it is that we love.

Climb on

2006-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ian and I at the bottom of the stiffest, sketchiest 5.8 trad route I have ever been a part of. Glad to have the memories, but won't be trying to repeat the route anytime soon. Twin Owls, Lumpy Ridge - Estes Park, CO.

Red Wing, MN. Yes, in fact there is real rock to climb in the Midwest. A great weekend of climbing in Minnesota.

The right way to unwind on a Friday afternoon after a Pharmacology exam. Kepler Palisades, Iowa.

Cotopaxi 19,347 ft.

2006-09-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

The big climb...

All summer I lugged around an entire backpack full of climbing gear (exactly 1/2 of my checked baggage that I brought with me), solely for the purpose of climbing for the final 4 days of my 11 week stay in Ecuador. Case and JJ (2 friends from Lincoln), and I planned on climbing Cotopaxi without a guide. Cotopaxi is Ecuador's 2nd highest peak, with an elevation of 19,347 ft, and its highest active volcano. In fact, many sources will tell you that Cotopaxi is the world's tallest active volcano - but after some research of my own, I believe this is not true. However, it is most likely in the top 4 or 5 tallest volcanoes in the world. Point is...it's a big mountain. It's also an extremely aesthetic mountain - appearing almost perfectly conical, snow capped and visible from Ecuador's capital city of Quito.

Due to his busy schedule, Case didn't have much time to spend in Ecuador (only about 5 days) so almost as soon as he arrived, we got after it. He landed in Quito around 11pm on a Saturday. After finally getting to sleep in our $5/night hostel in the wee hours that night, we awoke sometime in the afternoon Sunday and decided to begin the acclimatization process. Quito is at about 9,200 ft elevation, and a volcano on the outskirts of town named Pichincha peaks at about 15,000 ft. So we decided to climb to the top of Pichincha on Sunday. Keep in mind, Case and JJ, just a couple of days earlier were living in Lincoln, NE, 1,000 ft elevation. Needless to say, the hike was rough on them. I had the distinct advantage of having lived at or above 9,000 ft almost all summer. But when it comes to climbing, I have never seen anyone push themself like Case pushes himself - through fatigue, nauseau, sickness. He becomes a man possessed - it's incredible. And JJ, with little to no experience in his life of anything like this hung right up there with the both of us. I was amazed.

After a day of rest and recuperation from our first little climb, we decided that it would be most beneficial to catch the bus to Cotopaxi National Park and then hitch a ride to the climbers' refuge just below the mouth of the glacier, around 16,000 ft and live there for a couple of nights to continue with the acclimatization. This was our view the first night at sunset (Antisana, another one of Ecuador's incredible snow-capped volcanoes).

Case fought sickness due to the altitude again that night. At this point, I was having second thoughts about the sanity of our plan. Most people and guide companies suggest at least a 2 week regimented acclimitization program before attempting Cotopaxi. We had 4 days.
The following day we played around on the lower part of the glacier, getting practice with the gear (rope, crampons, ice axe, etc.), and going over some basics of crevasse rescue. We hit the sack early that evening and planned on a 12am start that night beginning a push for the summit.

We lucked out big time - the night was gorgeous...clear skies, full moon, and minimal wind (the night before it had howled unrelentingly). In fact, it was so bright with the moon reflecting off the glacier, I only occasionally had to use my headlamp despite climbing for about 6 hours before sunrise. We were the first party to leave the refuge that night. Behind us were about 30 other people, in groups of 4-5, all with guides. We were the only party on the mountain without a guide. Due to our lack of acclimatization, we were eventually passed by most of the parties. Some turned around before the summit, but we kept on pushing. At every crest, the view of the mountain above seemed to get higher and longer. I have climbed my fair share of mountains with false summits, but this one was incredible. It was demoralizing. But Case and JJ pushed on like champs. I guess when you spend the time, money, and effort to fly to another hemishpere for one shot to summit the biggest mountain of your life, you have quite a bit of motivation to keep going. And they did. I had my doubts all along the way. Mostly I was concerned about logistical and medical issues. If you push too hard for the summit, often you have nothing left to descend and that's when you run into trouble. And the fraction of oxygen that is available up there does not help with the decision-making process. This concerned me, but fortunately we were able to keep going.

Eventually we made the summit, a couple hours after sunrise. We were almost too exhausted to take it all in. But I did manage to snap a few photos. 19,347 ft. The highest peak I have ever been on - almost by a mile.

The descent was a struggle - continually fighting the urge to "just take a quick rest". Fact is, no matter how much time you rest up there, you won't feel better. The only thing that will help is descending into thicker air. It was pretty amazing to see the improvement in Case and JJ's thinking and physical strength as we descended. Near the summit, they were struggling with staying on their feet and just wanted to rest. By the time they reached the refuge, they were joking, laughing, and strong enough to shoulder their big packs and head down to the road.

What a way to cap off an incredible summer - the most amazing summer of my life, with the most amazing climb of my life. Hopefully it's all just a start to bigger travels and bigger mountains.

Addictive and sweetly soothing

2006-09-23T18:28:00.000-07:00

I've been digging on this band called Vetiver lately. They are classified as psychadelic folk - what a great name for a genre! Anyway, you can stream their new album for free from their website: http://www.vetiverse.com/blog/. Any like minded mellow music lovers will enjoy, I hope. Just wanted to share some music with you all - I would expect the same from good friends of mine.

Forces of nature

2006-09-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

The first picture is of my goofball friend Stephen being Stephen on a statue near the city of Banos in Ecuador, which is located at the base of an active volcano named Tungurahua. We had just stopped there briefly to take a pitstop after being cooped up in the van for several hours on winding mountain roads.

The second picture is of the the same statue, approximately 3 weeks after I had taken the first one. I found it online after hearing that Tungurahua had a major eruption. Notice the 15 ft. of volcanic ash and debris. Several people died. Rescuers are still searching for the giant toucan.

This third picture was taken about 1 week before the first picture (about 4 weeks before the major eruption). It shows a view of Tungurahua venting off some ash and steam. This photo was taken during a glorious evening in Shell, Ecuador, as we played soccer with some local hospital staff and medical students. It was a pretty incredible evening - a rainbow hung over the Amazon rainforest in the east, the sun setting over the Andes in the west, and a plume of ash from a local volcano set the backdrop.

You ever have those moments when everything seems like a dream? When the surreality makes you wish that you could push the "pause" button and savor it just a few minutes more than the reality of time will allow? It was like that. In these images and memories, I am reminded of the many incomprehensible sides to the Creator. On the one side, He displays His nature in such beauty, wonder, and love that it makes me want to cry for realization of my finiteness and undeserved blessing. Grace. On the other side, He displays (or allows?) His nature on such a scale of sheer power and destruction that it boggles my mind. It makes me want to cry for understanding, pain for the suffering, and the ability to make sense of it all. I know He is justified in everything He does, but that doesn't make it easier to understand why people die in volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis. I guess I should be thankful for my life, what we all have and are spared from everyday - the things that we will never know, nor think about precisely because they don't happen. Mercy.
I guess I'm thankful that I can't completely figure Him out - I would get bored otherwise. Besides, if that weren't the case, what would He and I argue about?

More Photos

2006-08-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

What you really want...

2006-07-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Photos! (from the rainforest):

Hard at work in a rainforest health clinic.

Life in the Amazon Rainforest.

Nightlife in the rainforest.

2 weeks in Otavalo

2006-07-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

We have just returned back to Quito after spending the last couple weeks in and around Otavalo, a smaller town about 2 hours north of Quito. We saw and experienced all sorts of different things, many involving the indigenous culture and lifestyle in the high mountains of Ecuador. A brief laundry list of activities:

-Visiting the Otavalo crafts market - reportedly one of the biggest of its kind in all of South America. Countless indigenous families from all over the area arrive in Otavalo every Saturday to sell different products, ranging from every imaginable wool or alpaca woven product, to wood and jade carvings, paintings, jewelry, musical instruments, purses, swords, traditional pipes, hammocks...you name it.

-Visiting various clinics and hospitals in the area to observe and recognize the different models of delivering healthcare. The most interesting was the Jambi Huasi Clinic where, under one roof, is a traditional healer (much like a Shaman), a traditional partera (midwife), a healer that uses guinea pigs to make diagnoses, and Western type doctors such as pediatricians, obstetricians, dentists, internal medicine, and family practice.

-Visiting the homes and shops of traditional craftsmen, artesans, and musicians. We were able to see how these people make their products, view private musical performances, see a curandero (traditional healer) perform a cleansing ceremony on one of the students, and get a glimpse at life in a traditional setting.

-Setting up several health brigades where we would see and treat as many patients as possible. This was challenging due to the language barriers (not only Spanish, but many of the older generation there only speaks the native Quichua language), but also because of our limited knowledge of medicine as first year medical students. Also, our treatment options were limited due to the small selection of medications that we had brought with us. Nonetheless, it was a very rewarding and growing experience.

-30+ of us participated in a Temezcal ceremony - a traditional spiritual ritual involving a sweat lodge. It was an experience that can not really be described adequately in words...extremely profound, a bit scary, very moving, unforgettable. If you want to learn more details, I am sure that searching for Temezcal on Google will yield some educational and interesting sites.

And of course, much much more. We have a day and a half to recuperate here in Quito, and then we leave for the rainforest Sunday morning. We will spend 4 days there, return to Quito on Thursday, and the program ends on Friday. Time is flying by, which is alright with me. I am really enjoying my time here, but I will be ready to return to the states when the time comes.

Note: Sorry for the lack of pictures, blogger does not feel like letting me upload any lately.

Long time, no blog

2006-06-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven´t posted a new entry for quite awhile. It turns out that taking one on one Spanish lessons for 4 hours in the morning and then working in an emergency room for 4 hours in the afternoon can really tire a person out. I´ll try to briefly catch you up on what has happened since the last entry. This will be short, sweet, and without many details for a couple of reasons. 1) I´m now in an internet cafe, as opposed to using the computer in my school, which means that I am paying for this time. Plus, the cafe is busy, uncomfortable, and loud.
2) I´m running seriously low on money, and therefore can´t spend all afternoon on the Internet.
3) I´ve decided that I´m spending way too much time on the Internet blogging, emailing, and trying to shuffle my money and bills around through different bank accounts. It dawned on me that is not a good use of time when in a country like Ecuador. Plus, I´m tired of trying to keep this blog updated.
4) I have better things to do.

World Cup Update: Ecuador ended up losing to Germany 3-0, but it didn´t matter because they had already qualified for the elimination round. They subsequently lost their first game of the elimination round to England 1-0, thanks to a questionable penalty and a free kick by Beckham. In spite of the loss, there was much partying in Ecuador - I think because they considered just qualifying for the elimination round a victory and their showing against England was impressive.

The ER: I worked 3 days a week in an ER at a local hospital. Needless to say, I gained some valuable medical, Spanish, and medical Spanish experience. Also, I saw some really interesting cases and learned a bit about medical care and education in Ecuador. That´s about all that I have to say about that.

Papallacta: Two weekends ago I went to a little town called Papallacta, which is located about 1.5 hrs East of Quito in the mountains, with the same group of summer missionaries from HCJB. There are some amazing natural hot springs there, and the HCJB ministry has a guest house there as well. Basically the weather was pretty bad all weekend. From the moment we arrived until we left the clouds didn´t lift (we were basically in them) and it rained/misted all weekend. But it didn´t matter, we had a comfy fireplace going all the time, plenty of board games, too much good ol´ American food, and of course, the hot springs (which, I might add, are even more enjoyable when the weather is cold and rainy). So all I did was eat, sleep, play games, laugh, sit by the fire, and soak in the hot springs at night - it was great.

Spanish: In spite of my suspicions to the contrary, I am in fact learning quite a bit of Spanish. This was confirmed by the beginning of my formal medical Spanish language program this past week. Although I am still in the beginner´s group, I am near the top of it. Having 30+ other Gringos around me that speak the same level or less of Spanish as me has improved my confidence in what I have been learning. I am now getting around fairly easily on the street and in businesses. In fact yesterday, I was in a bank trying to figure out why my debit card won´t work here (completely in Spanish), and actually was able to resolve the problem - something I was skeptical about being able to do when I walked in.

The Program: There are 36 U.S. first year medical students in my program with me. It hasn´t been quite what I expected so far. We haven´t really had a whole lot of Spanish instruction. Instead, we´ve had to sit and listen to the director (a doctor from Florida) ramble on and on about stuff we already know - like jet lag, oral rehydration solutions, the fact that healthcare is worse in third world countries, etc. To be honest, it has been a bit disappointing. I am glad that I showed up 4 weeks early to take Spanish lessons on my own, otherwise I would be learning nothing. Many students have talked about trying to drop out of the program at this point, or at least ignoring much of the itinerary and trying to learn on their own. I don´t blame them. I´m going to stick with it and try to make the best of it. Things should improve - we leave for a smaller, more rural city called Otavalo tomorrow morning. It is known for its amazing indigenous craft market. We will be spending two weeks around there, observing the clinics there, the native culture, some traditional healers (whose main treatment involves live guinea pigs), and continuing to have limited Spanish lessons. We then travel to the rainforest for a week. If I don´t update this thing over the next few weeks, this is why. One good (and difficult) experience from the program thus far was yesterday. We spent the morning at a mercado where people from around the area are selling all types of foods and goods. We set up a makeshift clinic to see and assess the children whose parents work there everyday. Needless to say, we were swamped - there were more kids than we could have seen in a week. Also, since we are all only first year medical students who only know how to shine lights in peoples´mouths, look in their ears, and pretend like we hear something through our stethoscopes (not to mention the fact that most of us speak marginal beginner´s Spanish at best) not much actual medical care was given. I saw more rotten teeth than I have seen in my life. Every other child either had a GI infection, diarrhea, sore throat, sinusitis, cough, or any combination of these and other common illnesses. But all we could do was pat them on the head, smile, give them a free pencil (which is what they really cared about), and say we were sorry that they couldn´t afford the ibuprofen or pseudephedrine that would make them feel better and that we didn´t have enough to give to them all. It was heartbreaking, frustrating, eye-opening, but in the final analysis, I think better than nothing. They didn´t have to pay for this little clinic, it gave the kids something to do instead of sit in the hot sun and work or beg for money, and most importantly made them feel like someone actually does care about them. We touched them, hugged them, laughed with them, and at least pretended to do something for their health and well-being. We did in fact do some medical good - we distributed free anti-parasite medication to all and had some free medications to give to some of the patients. However, it causes me to return to my original question of what long-term good can we as doctors do for people living in situations like this. I have yet to hear an acceptable answer.

The chocolate donut of death: So on Monday evening during dinner I wasn´t feeling so great. I was a bit nauseous and lacked an appetite (something very rare for me here). Then all of a sudden, in the middle of one of my host dad´s sentences, I had to run from the table to the bathroom and some serious vomiting ensued. I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning on my bed (with an occasional trip to the bathroom) analyzing what I had eaten that day. All I could think of that was out of the ordinary was a chocolate donut that I had purchased at a small shop around noon - due to the fact that we weren´t scheduled to eat lunch in our program until 2:45 pm. It was the only thing different that I had eaten between me and another med student living with my same family. Everyone thinks that I´m crazy and they say that you can´t get that sick from a baked good (especially a donut), but I beg to differ. Who knows what it was, but I´m going to avoid chocolate donuts the rest of my time here just in case. I´m better now.

That´s a brief update on my life to this point. I have a lot more to experience and will be pretty busy from here on out. I´ll try to drop a line here and there, but please don´t expect an update often. I leave Ecuador on August 10. But before then, on the list are: the rainforest, mountain climbing, the beach, the crafts market, indigenous culture, and more. So for now, I´m off...

Ecuador 3, Costa Rica 0

2006-06-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ecuador won its second World Cup game today, 3-0, against Costa Rica. They are now 2-0 in this World Cup and play Germany on Tuesday. More importantly, since this is a qualifying round, they get to advance to the elimination round of the World Cup - the first time ever for Ecuador. Needless to say, that's kind of a big deal here. Si Se Puede!

Mindo, que lindo!

2006-06-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 10, I went with a group of college students from HCJB on an excursion to Mindo - a small touristy town on the western slopes of the mountains, about 2 hours from Quito. Mindo is located in what is called the cloud forest. These types of forests exist here in Ecuador at higher elevations, they trap alot of moisture, and help create clouds - hence their name. These clouds cause the forest to often be drenched in a fine mist which allows for some pretty amazing flora and fauna. The vegetation is very lush and dense, and appears to be a mixture of all sorts. Butterflies, hummingbirds, orchids, and ferns are very common sites in the cloud forests. Also present, but more rare, are the woolly tapir, the Andean spectacled bear, the puma, and various tropical birds like parrots or toucans. We didn't see any of these larger, rarer animals, but we did we see plenty of butterflies, hummingbirds, and flowers.

Our first stop was a butterfly farm where they raise over 20 types of butterflies. They have everything from newly hatched caterpillars (as small as the tip of a pen), to huge caterpillars (as big as the space bar on your keyboard), cocoons of all shapes and sizes and stages, and of course hundreds of flying butterflies. It was all extremely fascinating and incredibly beautiful. The cocoons amazed me the most. The diversity, intricacy, and colors of them all were unbelievable. The largest of them looked exactly like dead, brown, dry, hanging leaves - perfectly camouflaged. Others were bright green and perfectly shaped like a hanging flower bud. Others sat on the leaves and looked just like a bird dropping. All of these appearances were in the hope of deterring birds and other predators from making an easy meal out of the defenseless cocoons. But the most fascinating of all, were the cocoons that appeared to be metallic. They had the exact appearance of polished, shiny metal and looked like jewels or earrings hanging from the leaves. We were even fortunate enough to actually watch one of the green cocoons hatch, and see a newly transformed butterfly emerge. The butterflies were just as diverse. Some were as big as your hand, with a rather plain brown coloration on the outer surface of their wings. But when they flew and opened their wings, the inner surface shone with a dazzling deeply irridescent aqua blue color. Other butterflies were smaller, and even more brightly colored. Some had yellow and black stripes like a tiger. Others were black and orange. Some had tails hanging off their wings. Some had large round spots on the their wings to mimic the appearance of eyes. It was an amazing display of colors, shapes, and sizes that provided a powerful statement about the creativity and nature of the Creator.

Our next activity after the butterfly farm was a hike into the forest towards a remote waterfall. After about 45 minutes hiking up a rough dirt road, we reached the edge of a huge, steep valley that dropped several hundred feet below us. Across this valley, high above the trees, is strung a cable with a raggedy, run-down, old looking...uhh...i'm not really sure what you would call it. Some might say a "gondola", others would disagree saying that a "gondola" is a type of boat found in the channels of Venice, and prefer instead to call it a "sky tram" (Ver Heul, I believe we had this discussion on the sky lifts in Colorado, no?). I'll just call it a rusty, old, sketchy, four seat poor excuse for a bucket on a wire across the great abyss of forest. Whatever you call it, it costs $3 per person to ride it - and you must if you want to reach the waterfalls, because bush-whacking down and back up the valley to the other side is out of the question due to the extreme angle of the slope and dense undergrowth. But to me, being the heights-seeker that I am, it was great and well worth the money. That thing flew - faster than you would really expect. It was kind of like riding the zipline at Eagle Lake, except you weren't strapped in to anything. But, in spite of the trepidations of many of the students, we all made it safely across to the other side. After a 10 minute hike we were at the waterfall, called Cascada Nambillo.

Oh!, but first things first. On the hike, as we neared the waterfall, we encountered a vine. Yes, a real-life Tarzan vine hanging from the trees of the forest! Not a rope that someone had put up - a real vine. So of course, I had to swing from it...

Ok, the waterfall. It was a bit disappointing due to the number of tourists there, but nonetheless, very beautiful. There was a ledge on the side of the bank from which you could jump into the water below. Of course I took the plunge. It was an invigorating 30 foot drop into water that was pretty chilly. It was great! How often do you get to go cliff jumping into a remote river in the Ecuadorian forest? It certainly was a first for me. After making my second jump, we dried off and hiked back to the town (this included another trip across the abyss in the aforementioned rusty bucket on a wire).

For lunch we ate at this beautiful little restaurant out in the forest. It had an authentic thatch roof and no walls. All around the sides were hung hummingbird feeders in order to attract the numerous different species in the area. It started to rain just as we arrived, which made the ambience even more spectacular. As we dined, dry under the thatch roof above us, multiple colorful hummingbirds hovered nearby, and the rain poured through the forest. It's hard to describe the feeling of having a wonderful and tasty warm meal, in the rainforest, with hummingbirds all around, after a long day of hiking and swimming in remote forest rivers. I'll just say that it is pretty nice. Due to the rain, we decided to skip the orchid farm that we were planning on visiting in the afternoon and instead, return to Quito for the day. All in all, the trip to Mindo was the best day that I have had here in Ecuador thus far. It was great to get out of the noise, pollution, and crowds of the city, and actually get to play in some real forests and see some beautiful animals.

Ecuador, Si Se Puede!

2006-06-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

The World Cup began on Friday, in case you missed that. For those of you in the US who don't know, the World Cup is an international soccer (futbol) tournament that is kind of a big deal in the rest of the world. For example, Ecuador played Poland on Friday and the president of Ecuador declared it a national holiday. The World Cup comes around every 4 years and I'm guessing that to the general public of the world (excluding the US) it is more important than the Olympics. It's hard to explain how big of a deal it is to Americans who aren't aware that soccer exists beyond the YMCA leagues. On my way through town Friday, the traffic was incredible, the streets were packed with vendors selling Ecuador jerseys, hats, and flags. Probably 75% of all the people in the city were wearing their blue, yellow, and red Ecuadorian futbol jerseys. Almost all shops, stores, and businesses closed for the afternoon when the game started. Life came to a standstill around the nearest TV. It was fun to see how everyone managed to be in sight of a television screen - whether it meant standing or sitting on the sidewalk outside of electronics stores watching the monitors in the windows, huddling around a TV the size of a toaster on a desk, carrying their own portable TV, etc. It was like a real life Coke commercial or something.

Unfortunately, I was scheduled to work in the ER during the game. But that didn't mean that I didn't know exactly what was happening and what the score was at all times. The shouts throughout the halls of the hospital kept me updated. There was a man in the waiting room with a handheld TV around which many of the nurses and doctors would huddle when the work was slow - and the work was slow all afternoon. Nobody was going to come to the ER during the game unless they absolutely had to. Whatever minor pain or illness they had could wait for 90 minutes. The entire radiology department of the hospital was crowded around a TV in the x-ray room. It was crazy. More crazy than Lincoln on a Saturday morning in the fall when the Huskers are in town. And I have a feeling that the World Cup creates this kind of excitement throughout most of the entire world besides the U.S. I feel like we are really out of step with the world on this one. Well, we are out of step with the world with regards to a lot of things, but as sports-crazed as our nation is, it is suprising that we haven't latched onto the World Cup madness. I suppose there is not enough profit potential for corporations to really market it in the U.S. Let's blame it on the big bad corporations.

Ecuador beat Poland 2-0, and the country rejoiced, all night long. The streets were packed all evening. Many major intersections were closed down and police were directing traffic. Here they have a car horn honk for everything, and the universal honk for victory is...beep...beep...beepbeepbeep. It filled the streets late into the night. There was loud music, yelling, dancing, honking, and much Pilsener being drank (the popular brew of choice) late into the night. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleeping done that night due to the street noise. "Ecuador, Si Se Puede!" is the cheer of choice for futbol here - I suppose you could compare it to "Go Big Red!".

Aside from the World Cup madness, the ER was pretty uneventful. First of all, it is difficult as a volunteer in a new place like a hospital ER. Everyone is pretty busy and somewhat stressed out, and there you are standing around, getting in peoples' ways, not knowing what you should be doing in the first place, unable to do anything of real medical value, and a relative stranger to the staff. Add on top of all that a significant language barrier, and you have a recipe for a frustrating and awkward first couple of hours. But after standing there looking like a lost and scared puppy dog for a few hours, the staff slowly figured out that I probably wasn't going to go away anytime soon. So one of the resident doctors felt sorry for me and decided to introduce herself. She took a look at my University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics nametag, recognized the logo and gave me a look of suprise and a smile. She then took out her PDA and pulled up a program called "Virtual Hospital" which is run by the U of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and pointed to the same logo on her screen. I shook my head and said, "That's a good program" (in my best broken Spanish). "Extremely good" she added. Yes!, instant credibility. Who would have thought that a program put out by the U of I would be in use in a hospital in Quito, Ecuador? I have to say that I felt a twinge of school pride at that point.

From then on, things were better. She introduced me to most of the staff, told them why I was there and what I was doing (only shadowing/observing). She asked if I would like to shadow the nurses or the doctors. This was the first time that I had been allowed to "hang out" at the doctors' desk, and I have to admit, it felt kind of nice to finally be in the circle. A couple of times, other doctors, nurses, or patients would come up to us and nod their head and say "Buenos tardes, doctor" to me. It was very funny to me, because I know that I am nowhere close to being a doctor, but I didn't dare try to correct them. I just nodded and smiled in return. I will say, I did look the part with my long white coat, nametag, and stethoscope around my neck. But the fact of the matter is, if I had been asked to do anything of medical significance there, I probably would have wet myself and then ran away and hid in a closet. But fortunately, I was never called upon to do anything, besides stay out of the way of the real doctors. That afternoon we didn't see anything too incredibly interesting, but just being around an environment where medical care was being delivered in Spanish was educational and satisfying enough for me.

For travel's sake?

2006-06-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

"I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints." -Robert Louis Stevenson

I don't want to travel for travel's sake. Although I agree with Stevenson that it is good to "come down off this feather-bed of civilization" once in awhile, I don't want to merely do it for "travel's sake". I hate just "seeing the sights" and "being a tourist". I'm glad that I'm in Quito for 10 weeks instead of spot-hopping. This way I feel like I can get to know a place and a people a little bit better. Maybe build some relationships. Even, perhaps, contribute to or improve the place that I'm visiting in some way. This way seems better and definitely more attractive to me. To "travel for travel's sake" seems arrogant, superfluous, and vain. So many people (especially in touristy places) are not able to travel because they are too poor. To "travel for travel's sake" feels like taking advantage of those people, taking their picture, rubbing it in their face, pointing, and then leaving them worse off than they were before. I don't want to plop down somewhere, take whatever I can take, create some trash, then leave. I want to, if possible in some way, improve, add to, or give back to those places I am fortunate enough to visit. Travelling is a privilege, a rare one in the world, not a right. Sure I want to see the world, but an even greater desire is to see the world improve. Call me a hopeless, hypocritical idealist - but I'd rather prefer ameliorist.

To feel or not to feel (guilty)

2006-06-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

"To awaken in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world." -Freya Stark

...Unless you have traveler's diarrhea. Sorry for the image, but I'm just trying to be real. One of the reasons that it has been over a week since I last added a blog entry, was because for most of last week I was battling some gastrointestinal problems (I suppose that's a bit less offensive sounding than "explosive diarrhea"). It wasn't the all-out shooting from both ends type of sickness. It was just enough to cause me to not sleep too well, make me feel pretty unpleasant and tired, and just put me in a generally bad mood. Everything about Quito that had been so fun and exciting the first week, now made me sick and upset. The exhaust fumes on the streets, the smell of urine and feces along the sidewalks, the trash everywhere, the ever present clouds and cold rain, the obnoxious noise of the city - it all made me not want to get out of bed in the morning, not because I was so physically ill but just because I didn't want to go outside. But I did, because I have already paid for my Spanish lessons and they don't offer refunds for days missed. I was able to cope, but I wasn't a happy traveler. Eventually, after 2 days and no improvement, I took some medication that my host family suggested and things drastically improved. I believe that it was some sort of antibiotic, but I'm not sure. You can buy a suprising amount of medication over the counter at the corner "pharmacies" here - Ecuador doesn't exactly have the equivalent of the FDA from what I can tell. And many of the pills don't really come with dosage information, safety precautions, symptoms, etc. You are really at the mercy of the "pharmacist" or whoever recommends the medication to you. But it seemed to work, and I now feel great. It is amazing how your outlook on life can change so much when you are sick versus when you are feeling well. I'm back to my original, giddy, naive, first-time traveler self now, well rested and blogging my heart out.

A word about wealth and poverty in Ecuador:
There seems to be several layers of wealth and poverty here in Quito. At the top is the European or American tourist and the extremely rare and wealthy Ecuadorian. You can spot the tourists by their goofy zip-off khaki non-cotton pants and hiking shoes. The wealthy Ecuadorian can be found driving a shiny Mercedes SUV, which stands out pretty readily against the dirt, trash, taxis, and homeless on the street. Who knows what they do for a living or where they live - I haven't seen their houses yet. Then you have the Ecuadorians with steady, well-paying jobs. They are dressed in nice suits and shiny shoes, and can be found during the weekdays rushing to and from the office in their cars. Then you have several layers of the middle class - anywhere from small restaurant or shop owners/workers, cashiers, taxi drivers, teachers, etc. I have no idea what the distribution or income of these classes of workers is like, but many don't own cars, most ride the bus or trolley, and all certainly make less money than the lowest of the middle class in the US. These classes are the most abundant, as far as I can tell. Then you have the truly poor - those living on the streets or in structures that really can't be called a home. Many beg for food or money, some have little trinkets or candy for sale, some resort to petty crime, pickpocketing for example. Even below these people, there are the indigenous people. Most sell gum, candy, or Coke on the sidewalk and appear to own little else.

It is interesting how each class treats the classes below them with indignance, or just plain ignores them - even though they themselves don't really have much, relatively speaking. Here I find myself near the top of the totem pole financially-speaking - a place that I'm not really accustomed to. I would like to say that the disparity between me and the poor here really bothers me. But unfortunately, in some ways, I enjoy being able to buy or do almost anything that I want, spending less on lunch than I would on a coffee in the US, being treated like the wealthy. It's nice, in that greedy, wealthy American sort of way. But when I stop and think about it, what bothers me the most is the unavoidable apathy that being relatively wealthy brings. The fact that I'm not bothered and disgusted by how much more that I have than the people here, that attitude bothers me. The attitude that the problem is too big and there is really nothing that I can do, so why try? That bothers me. But what else can you do? You can love - but who is really going to genuinely feel, accept, and believe true love from a wealthy American who will fly back to their clean, safe, and comfortable life when they get tired of "slumming it" down in South America? Perhaps (most likely) it's my own feelings of arrogance and/or guilt that upset me. Is it right for me to feel guilty for where I was born and what I was given? I often do. Would I give it all up and trade places? No. Such is my fallen human nature.

0° Latitude, 0° Celsius

2006-06-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

"I have seen slaves riding on horses [or driving SUVs], and princes walking like slaves on the land." -Ecclesiastes 10:7, parenthetical thought added

On Sunday (June 4), I went on an excursion to Cayambe Volcano with a group of students from another language school nearby mine. It was about an hour drive north of Quito to the tiny village of Cayambe. And then another hour on a bumpy, dirt road up through the high grasslands above the village to the start of our hike. The first leg of the journey was my first experience with highway driving in Ecuador. Of course, the highways in general are all two lane (one each direction) and very winding and full of sharp curves due to the contour of the land (not anything like Interstates in the US, even in the mountains). And there is practically no regard for any sort of driving laws - speed limits, passing zones, turn signals, whatever. It is a free for all, you get where you are going as fast as you can and in any way possible. To someone not accustomed to this type of driving, it is truly frightening. At one point, we were passing a truck (on a questionable curve, at least in my mind) and another car passed us at the same time. A double pass (3 cars wide on a two lane highway) on a curve. I couldn't believe it. So for most of the drive, I just stared out the window at the landscape and tried to ignore what was going on.

The village of Cayambe is not exactly a tourist hotspot. It is an otherwise unattractive run-down, typical rural village. Although there is much poverty in Quito, the level of poverty in the rural areas far exceeds anything that I have previously seen in my life. The homes were made of mud-bricks, many had thatch roofs, and the people lived off of what they grew and raised - corn, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc. As we drove through town, the cobble-stone road climbed higher and higher in elevation, and the lifestyle became more and more agricultural, poor, and the demographic became more indigenous. Eventually we were in the countryside high above the village. There were two little shepherd children herding sheep in traditional indigenous clothing high on the hillside - I think the sheep were taller than the children. The road was rough, lonely, and winding afloat in a sweepingly grand, high, open, desolate but painfully beautiful landscape. The huge rolling hills (almost like "Sound of Music"-type hills) conjured images of the English countryside (but on a much grander scale) from many of the British students that were with us. The hills were sewn in places into a patchwork quilt of fields of varying crops. It was one of those times that you just know it would be desparately hopeless to attempt to capture the scale of the scene with a photo. But I tried nevertheless. On our way down after the hike, the clouds opened up and an unbelievable burst of sunrays shone like a theatrical spotlight from the sky on a hill in the distance.

Occasionally on this lonely road, we would pass by an indigenous woman walking alongside the road in a slow but steady shuffling gait. She would be stooped over, suprisingly old looking, feet raw from miles walked, but always dressed in cheerfully colorful traditional shawls, dress, and felt hat above a long black braided ponytail. These women are extremely short (probably less than 5 ft.) and are immediately recognizable due to their style of dress and traditional hat. Unfortunately, up to this point, the only indigenous people that I had seen had been on the busy streets of Quito, selling Chiclets on the sidewalk, fruit in the street at stoplights, or Coke from a tiny booth on the corner. It is incredibly sad to see - these people seem to only be shells of a once proud native people, forced into extreme poverty by a rapidly changing society passing them by without a second thought or sideways glance. Many have lost their land, and therefore their way of life. Almost all are totally ignored on the streets by busy passers-by and drivers in taxis and SUVs. But there, high above and far-removed from the bustle of life in the city, I was able to observe the real indigenous life: harvesting hay, tending livestock, hand-washing clothes, walking, always walking. Some women we passed were so far from any structure, and judging by the speed at which they were moving, it was hard to imagine where they came from, where they could possibly be going, or when they would ever get there. Even more puzzling to me was the question, "What are they doing?". But one thing is for sure, they were never in a hurry. They don't have busy schedules (at least not in the sense that we think of busy schedules), meetings, appointments, etc. Certainly they must have many worries, but they are probably of a much different sort - Will it rain today? How will I make up for that lost sheep? Will my child be healthy again? Who are these people in this van speeding through my field? What are they doing? What are they thinking? Why are they in such a hurry? These indigenous people, campesinos (farm laborers, peasants), are so completely different from me and even the Ecuadorian people I have met in Quito thus far, that it is difficult to imagine what their lives are truly like. I would love to talk to some, but then...what would we talk about?

I've thought about how great it would be to be able to travel up here as a doctor and provide these people with healthcare. But then I wonder, "What could I really do that would be of long-term benefit to them?" Health education, I suppose, but then, how does one of these people change their lifestyle? They can't just call the plumber and have a toilet installed, or the electrician and have kitchen appliances intstalled. You could give them medicines, but what about when those (and you) are gone? What good, sustainable thing can you do? It's not for lack of desire, resources, or time to help that nothing is done. It's the way of life and the system that's to blame. When these people are fully and fairly compensated for goods they produce, are no longer mistreated, abused, used, or ignored, and empowered to better their own lives - that is when change or improvement is possible. Or is that improvement? Is there really a need? Or do I just imagine one? Aren't they better off without our worries, hurry, noise, violence, polution, sin? Do they really want what we think they should want? In an outside-looking-in sort of way - when considering the stress, hate, crime, ugliness of our "civilized" societies, their simple life seems somewhat desirable. That being said, I am thankful for my soft bed, hot shower, and well-stocked refrigerator.

Cayambe Volcano, the mountain itself, was spectacular. Although we didn't ever get a full view due to the constant cloudiness, the glimpses that we caught were amazing. The glacier is huge and in places, very broken up and rough - full of crevasses and seracs. It reminded me of pictures that I have seen from the Khumbu Icefalls of Everest (although probably on a much smaller scale). We hiked up a steep ridge to a high alpine lake at the base of the glacier. The rock/sand was very remiscent of the volcanic soil that you encounter when climbing in the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest. The hiking wears you out because every step up that you take, your foot slides back a bit - like trying to climb a huge sandpile. Not to mention that we reached an altitude of about 5000 meters (about 16,400 feet) - far and away the highest that I have ever been in my life. This mountain lies right on the Equator, and I believe it is the only place on Earth that has a latitude of 0 degrees and an average temperature of 0 degrees Celsius.

Street life

2006-06-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - it's been awhile since I've posted anything. For everyone that has been checking and has been disappointed, I'm sorry. But thank you for continuing to be interested. I'll try to catch you up to speed on what has happened in the last week.

Last Saturday morning (June 3), I had my first bad experience on the street. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I had just stepped out of my apartment at 10 am. I was going to catch a taxi at a nearby corner to head to a meeting with some people across town. I noticed a shabby looking guy carrying a beer bottle in one hand walking down the sidewalk toward me. I thought that it might be a wise choice to cross the street, but as I tried to cross there were several cars in the road that made it impossible. I also noticed that the man mirrored my movements in the street. When we finally met, he wouldn't let me pass and kept asking me for money (although his speech was slurred and I didn't really understand what exactly he was saying, I'm pretty sure it was something to the extent of "give me a dollar"). It was obvious that he was drunk, but I got the impression that he wasn't too dangerous. I kept saying "No, I'm sorry, No", and as I tried to pass him, he grabbed my shirt. At that point I gave him a firm shove away and briskly crossed the street and walked in the other direction. He only followed for about 10 meters, and then gave up. Although I just believe that he was too drunk to really think about what he was doing and probably didn't have any truly evil intentions, the experience kind of shook me up for a couple of reasons. I know that street violence and muggings are a part of big city life, and that it is not unlikely that during my time here it was bound to happen. What bothered me was the unexpectedness and audacity of the confrontation. It wasn't like I was out alone in a dark alley late at night. I was on a busy street, right in front of my apartment, in broad morning daylight with many people around. Perhaps it was a good experience to remind me to never let my guard down, no matter when, where, or who I am with. I know that I should always be cautious and mindful of my surroundings, but it wears on me. I return home to my apartment at night and am exhausted after spending a day in the city, and I think that a major reason is because of the constant mindfulness and caution that it requires. Mom, don't worry too much about this. I've spent many days now in the city and this minor incident is the worst that I have experienced or have heard any of my other classmates experience. In general I feel pretty safe, as much as I would in any big city, for example Chicago or New York. Relax.

After the encounter, I hailed what I believe to be the first real taxi cab of my life. After some brief confusion due to my terrible Spanish, I finally made it to my meeting with a missionary couple that has lived in Quito for about 30 years. They work with HCJB, a Christian missionary radio station that was started in Quito and now has stations and broadcasts all over the world. There is also a very nice and prestigious hospital in Quito that was started and is run in association with HCJB, called Hospital Vozandes Quito. This missionary couple has strong connections with the people throughout the radio station, hospital, and city of Quito and I was very grateful for being connected with them - thanks Peggy! They were very helpful and set up a meeting for me with some people in the hospital to see if I could volunteer and/or shadow there in the afternoons. After several days of trying to find time to meet with the busy staff, it was finally decided that I would be able to shadow in the ER three days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri, from 2 - 6 pm. I started on Friday. More on that later - first things first, chronologically speaking.

Ecuadorian History

2006-06-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

After four days of Spanish classes, I feel like I am making significant strides. Yesterday, I made my first successful business transaction in public (that is, there was no confusion on either side...or so I thought). I bought a prepaid phone card, and was feeling pretty proud of myself. Until I showed it to my instructor today, and she told me that it was only for cellular phones (which I do not have here, of course). So that was a bit of a blow to my pride in my Spanish speaking abilities. But nonetheless, I am learning a tremendous amount - irregular verbs and their conjugations, various adjectives, common phrases, etc. I am even catching myself at times thinking in Spanish, or answering "si" instead of "yes" when speaking in English with other foreigners. I've been watching a bit of TV in the evenings (which I normally wouldn't do much of in the US), because it is good practice to hear Spanish spoken at real speed. Nevermind the fact that many of the sitcoms are reruns of terrible American sitcoms, like "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch". It's the Spanish that I'm interested in, trust me. I've been taking a nap (I prefer to call it a "siesta" - it sounds less lazy that way) almost every afternoon. Possibly because of the altitude that I am not used to yet (about 9200 ft.), but more likely because of the intense mental strain that learning a new language requires. I just feel so incredibly wiped out in the evenings, regardless of how much sleep I've been getting - which has been plenty.

I visited the "Museo Nacional del Banco Central" yesterday - a museum displaying the culture and art of the Ecuadorian people from the very beginning up until today. I tagged along with a group being given a tour by a guide that is a native of Ecuador. It was painfully obvious that this group of tourists was from the US. First of all, their clothes gave them away. In Ecuador, it is the standard that most all adults dress rather nicely - even many of the poorer citizens manage to dress in nice pants and collared shirts. Of course, youths will be youths and many wear jeans and less fancy shirts (similar to what may be found in the US), however, even they seem to make an effort to at least look presentable and decent. But these American tourists in the museum were dressed in faded and worn jeans, old t-shirts and showed no regard for their appearance. Not uncommon in the US, but certainly out of place here in Quito. However, their dress is excusable, what was inexcusable was their actions. This was a group of about 10 adults (most probably 30 years old or a bit older). Inspite of their age, they were very rude, inattentive, and interupting toward the guide. They were cracking jokes about the nature and nudity of some of the ancient artifacts. As with many ancient cultures, the ancient peoples of Ecuador worshiped fertility, and as such, many of the artifacts represented women and men involved in various intimate positions and stages of life. Of course, most of the statues and figures were nude - as was the reality of life back then. The artifacts were extremely old (several thousands of years BC) and very interesting. The guide showed a genuine pride (as he should) in his country and his people's long and rich history. But these Americans showed an overall disrespect and disinterest in it all. The low point was when we came to a life size statue of an ancient man and woman adorned in traditional costumes and jewels. After the tour guide had moved on out of sight, two women from the group went up to the statue of the man, and actually lifted up the loin cloth to "check out his package". They actually touched this extraordinary exhibit so they could snicker and crack jokes with eachother. At this point, I couldn't take anymore and I left the group. It was making me sick. I know that these people were on vacation, but that is no excuse to show such blatant disregard, ignorance, and insensitivity toward another culture and property. It made me ashamed just to be from the same country.

The history of Ecuador is very interesting and rich with culture and art. I won't pretend to know much of the details, only broad generalities. The history is broken up into several eras. The pre-Columbian era was before the arrival of the Spaniards. Artifacts from this era date back as far as 9000 BC. These artifacts consist of Stone Age tools, ceramics, figurines, statues, jewelry, etc. They are often extremely intricate and all are beautiful, if not in form, definitely in meaning and significance. It is fun to let one's mind wander back to what life must have been like. A predominant theme in these cultures was the concept of the duality of life - the sun and the moon, the man and the woman. Many of the artifacts attest to the fact that both sides of this duality seemed to be worshiped and honored in one form or another. In fact, a few of the cultures are believed to have been matriarchal. Of particular importance seems to be the Pachimama - or mother earth. One very interesting group of ceramics was a group of vases used to worship the gods. They were in the shape and form of different animals and would be filled with water when used for ceremonial dances. When the vessels were swished back and forth in the dance of worship, the movement of the water inside would make a sound similar to the sounds made by the animal that the vessel resembled (e.g., monkey, jaguar, etc.). There were also "whistling pots" that, when filled with water and tilted back and forth, would whistle in one direction and sound like the moan of a human voice when tilted in the other direction. The Incas arrived very late in this era (not more than a couple hundred years before the Spaniards arrived), yet they are the most well known pre-Colombian civilization.

In 1526, the Spanish arrived and, with their horses, armor, and cannons, soon conquered the Incas. Of course, the Spanish conquistadors brought with them their own style of art and their religion, Catholicism. This was the beginning of the Colonial era of Ecuadorian history. The story of colonial Ecuador is not much different than that of most of Latin America. The natives were conquered, killed, and persecuted, the land became a colony to a European country, and eventually there was a revolution in which the inhabitants of the land gained their independence. The mix of Spanish Catholic influence with the native art and lifestyle led to the development of a very unique blend of artistic influences termed the "Quito School of Art" or "Escuela Quiteña". The Spaniards trained the local indigenous people to create art with religious themes, such as the Virgin Mary, Christ, etc. The art became very elaborate and embellished with much gold - very baroque. Beautiful in its own way I suppose, but not nearly as interesting as the pre-Colombian work.

In the museum, the works are arranged somewhat chronologically, with the oldest artifacts first and then the Colonial works, followed by more modern works. It is this juxtaposition of pre-Colombian work (mostly made with ceramic, stone, shells, and some metals) with the ridiculously flamboyant, gold-embellished Colonial work that causes one (me at least) to somberly reflect on the influence of the European conquests on the indigenous peoples. It was really sort of sad, to see the complete loss of a very beautiful and rich (in meaning and significance) culture and its violent replacement with a culture so foreign and out of place.

Of course, I am a Christian and am not commenting on the overall goodness of the Church and spread of Christianity. However, I do question the manner in which European cultures (often in the name of the Church) have killed, tortured, enslaved, or eliminated entire cultures and people groups throughout history. The story is not much different than that of the history of relations between the US and Native Americans. I'm not so sure that the story is much different than that of the influence of the US today throughout the world. We are no longer in search of the fountain of youth or gold necessarily, but rather black gold (oil), the sale of cheap, manufactured goods, the source of new pharmaceuticals, or our own tourist desires. What beautiful cultures, lands, and ways of life are we destroying in order to further our own ideals, and fatten our own wallets? Is this justified simply because we are bigger and stronger, and that is the nature of capitalism? Relatively recently, oil was discovered in Ecuador. Many lumber and pharmaceutical companies are progressively decimating the rainforest in search of more, more, more. Take a beautiful, diverse, and resource-rich land, add capitalism and Western ideals, top off with some oil and what do you get? It saddens me to think about the prospects for the future of this country.

The rest of the history of Ecuador is interesting and beautiful, but more common. There is the era of the Republic, with many portrait paintings of heroes of the Revolution, florid landscapes, etc. And then there is the modern era, with many wonderful works of art, paintings, sculptures, etc. Most likely you haven't heard of many Ecuadorian artists - probably because Ecuador is poor, small, and has a fairly small international voice. However, this doesn't take away from the diversity and beauty of this proud country.

Did you know?...There are over 1500 species of birds in Ecuador, twice the number found on any one of the continents of North America, Europe, and Australia. There are 120 different species of hummingbirds alone in Ecuador. There are 25,000 species of vascular plants in Ecuador, compared with 17,000 in North America. There are 350 recorded reptile species in Ecuador, 100 more than North America. Pretty impressive for a country that is the size of the state of Nevada.

Quito, at last

2006-05-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

As my first experience outside of the US (you can't count Vancouver, BC), the flight into Ecuador was quite memorable. I left Denver at 11am, had a layover in Houston, then a 5 hour flight to Quito. However, due to dense fog in Quito, the airport was shut down and we were unable to land. After circling Quito for 30 minutes, the captain announced that we were running low on fuel and needed to make an unexpected landing in Guayaquil (Ecuador's major port city on the Pacific coast). After landing, confusion, customs, confusion, waiting on the bus, confusion, and checking into The Grand Hotel Guayaquil, it was 1:30am.

Riding through the late-night city streets on the bus, I was able to get my first glimpse of life outside of the US. The streets were dirty, the buildings rundown (by US standards) but heavily gated, and the people appeared a bit rough and (I'll be honest) scary. I got the feeling that if I was forced to walk on my own for some reason, that I would not last very long here. One, because I don't speak the language. And two, because I feel like I am a naive American tourist without much travel savvy. Immediately, the disparity between life as I've experienced it thus far, and the reality of life in a much less comfortable and opulent country was painfully apparent.

None-the-less, I did survive the night in a hotel room that probably half of the city's citizens could not afford one night in. In the morning, after somehow making it onto the correct bus to the airport, and onto the correct flight, I finally made my arrival into Quito at 10am - only 11 hours after my originally scheduled arrival. I didn't view this diversion as an inconvenience at all. Actually, I very much welcomed the adventure, eager to see what it held. It makes a great story, it was a baptism by fire, a memorable way to begin (hopefully) a lifetime of travel adventures. Instead, I was overwhelmed by the privilege to be able to make such a journey in the first place. Seeing the conditions in Ecuador, and then thinking about how much money my plane ticket alone cost, I am unable to be anything but grateful for this entire experience (whatever it may bring).

Connecting with my host family and driver was suprisingly easy at the airport. Most of my fears and anxieties were allayed once I arrived at my host family's apartment. A husband and wife, past middle-aged, warmly greeted me with broken English sufficient enough to make interactions possible. They kindly showed me to my living quarters - an apartment all to itself. A huge living room, nice bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen all freshly painted and furnished. As nice and definitely more spacious than anything I've had in the US. And an unbelievable view of Pichincha (Quito's most prominent and nearby mountain) through a huge picture window (see photo above). The couple then drove me around the local area, showing me my school and other useful landmarks and streets.

My first impression of Quito is wonderful. The weather is great - clouds mixed with sunshine, fresh mountain air (somewhat reminiscent of Colorado), and comfortable temperatures. Many of the windows of many buildings, including my apartment, consist of slats of glass that are unable to be completely sealed. Therefore, I assume that the temperature here never gets too extremely cold or hot, nor are insects a major concern. So far, the days have been very comfortable - highs in the mid 60's - and the nights somewhat chilly, but great sleeping temperatures - low 50's perhaps. The openness of the windows creates a wonderful feeling of being outdoors, even when inside, however it does a poor job of keeping out the noisy hustle and bustle of the city streets - something that I'm sure I will soon become accustomed to and unaware of.

My Spanish language school is very nice. The building itself is extremely beautiful and decorated with many Ecuadorian paintings, textiles, and photographs. My instruction is one-on-one for 4 hours every morning. The instructor is a native Ecuadorian and she is very helpful and personable. It must require a great amount of patience dealing with Spanish illiterates like myself. However, I feel like I have made tremendous strides in only 2 days. I'm excited to see where I stand after 10 weeks here. Life so far is very good and not too extremely foreign nor uncomfortable. The food has been phenomenal, and relatively cheap (we had a large lunch today consisting of soup, salad, chicken, rice, melon, and drink for $2.25). I've been hearing rumors from other travelers of guinea pig meat, so there will probably be opportunities in the near future to expand the horizons of my palate.

It's all new to me (blogging included)

2006-05-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is - my very first blog. I suppose that it was just a matter of time before I joined the blogging revolution. My desire is that this will be a convenient place to share with you, the reader, my thoughts and experiences while I am in Ecuador, and perhaps life beyond this summer. Hopefully I will be disciplined enough to update it regularly, but if not, you have my apologies in advance. Contained within this blog are simply the experiences and thoughts of a first time international traveler.