Over the Andes into Chile

The tunnel at the top was really long

I took the opportunity to go to the bathroom in the back of the bus

we came out on the Chilean side just as I was walking back to my seat

no problem at customs, besides some raisins that I had

I decided to eat them all rather than throw them out

luckily I have intestines of iron after a summer of traveling

400grams of raisins does nothing

then 27 switchbacks down a very steep boulder field

super impressive that there used to be a railroad here

cool remnants of a covered track

though nowadays it doesn´t seem like it snows as much

the final 3 hours of the drive were a struggle to stay awake

warm afternoon sun and picturesque vinards in the Chilean central valley

the air gradually getting more humid as we approached the coast

smell more and more like San Diego

though temperatures like San Francisco

Viña del Mar reminds me of the Spanish coastline near Barcelona

I´ve decided to run a different direction for each of my four days here

On Thursday I´ll go to Santiago for my last two nights before returning to North America.

 

Last Week in the Hospital

For lack of memory about what I was going to post about
I´ll outline my day

0640 up to make and eat oatmeal
0725 out the door to catch the ¨trolley¨ which is an electrified bus. Runs on tires but has those antenae to pull down electricity from overhead wires.
I only have a 2 min walk to the bus stop, and the bus comes at the same time each day.
0735 get on the trolley but ask anyway to make sure it´s going to the hospital today. I once got on a clearly labelled bus without asking and it took me to a different place. I thought it was strange that the driver reached over to switch the sign not long after I got on.
0745 Arrive near the hospital, walk the final 200m up the hill while enjoying the predawn glow of east behind me.
0800 The meeting starts promptly to review difficult cases with all the residents and attendings.
0900 On some days there are different activities at 0900. On Wednesdays are generally M&M conferences and today´s was particularly interesting. It started with an overview of the case, clinical history, and pertinent lab values. Then there was a comprehensive review of the clinical decision making process. Finally, a resident from pathology presented the autopsy findings. Then everybody discussed the choices they made, and what they might do differently in the future.
1100 Mediamañana which means food and mate. Today was one of the attending´s birthday so there was cake for all.
1130 Rounds started, later than normal, so they went on past 1300. There is some of the quizing and challenging that you see on tv but not as much as I expected, or was lead to believe on my first day.
1330 Wonderful hospital lunch. You know how much I like these...
1430 collected my things and cought the bus back to the center to do two hours of Spanish hw.
1700 hour of internet to write this and finish up the honor board orientation powerpoint that I´ll help to present in less than two weeks.
1830 jog over to the big park to join the running club for a workout.
2100 home for dinner, more Spanish, then sleep before 2300