Something new every day...

When I first started my internship at Saludando Salud, I wondered if I had done the right thing. I'm so flustered - trying to get ready to spend 9 months in a third world country and coming out of an intense year of too many classes at once - I thought maybe I should have just passed up the internship and spent some time at home. But I can't believe how much I'm learning just by listening to stories and watching what happens.
Saludando Salud is a grant funded government program that targets Latino health issues like health education and access to care. They do some really neat things, like set up doctor's appointments and transport patients to and from the clinic, as well as interpret for them if necessary. I started working with Ellen De la torre when I was doing my thesis. She's the "Health Promotion Specialist", and has tons of personal experience with Latinos. Her husband is Mexican, and she spend some time living there - even had kids there - so she really knows the Mexican culture. And, although I can barely speak a word of Spanish, I can tell she's a pro Spanish speaker. Of course I always admire American women who have successful interracial marriages and families.
We spent the day at a conference in the Cities, and I learned so much just from our conversations. This internship has been worth every second so far, and I'm sure I'll learn even more before my time is up.
OK, now back to the real-life business of dish washing and floor sweeping.