Dos Meses en Guatemala

It´s been two months since I arrived in Guatemala. When I first arrived, I could speak Spanish, but only enough to articulate my most basic needs, and even then it was a stretch. However, I thought that after a summer, I would be fluent in Spanish, though. That hasn´t happened. I still have trouble understanding a few things in conversation, and oftentimes have to ask the speaker to restate the question or use different words. In the clinic, I can understand very nearly everything that the patients say, even if I don´t understand the physiological or medical reason behind it. I can also respond in a fairly coherent manner when asked a question, or some such. I´ve learned a lot about the culture, too. The history, the culture and dress of the individual groups of indigenous, the Latin American culture in general, religious expression, justice, peace, and violence in Guatemala in particular, and most importantly - how to choke down food that is gross!
This morning, there was another birth in the clinic! It was a lot quicker and less bloody than the previous one, and I didn´t have to leave or anything! It was so exciting. And I talked to the lady a bit, too, and was able to help with a few things, mostly just handing the nurses things, but still, I´m being useful! The gynecologist has also started letting me write out the lab orders for some of the tests we do, which is interesting, and forces me to pay attention a bit more.
Two months down. 3 weeks to go.