Back and Better than Ever

I'm baaaaaackkkkkk! It's been awhile BUT hello again to you all!! The blog is up and running and we are back to business. Since I had approximately 0 free time this year during nursing school and didn't get to go on quite as many fun adventures as I would have liked, the blog has been dormant for quite some time. However, I'm back in Ecuador, this time doing something a little fun and different, and I'm ready to share any and all of the experiences that I feel are worth your attention whether it be informative for you or just entertaining to read. But before we get started with the really fun stuff, let me give y'all a little life update on what the heck has been going on with me since last June.

This year has been a tough one for me overall. I had a lot of changes happening in my life and nursing school was hard...like really hard. So a couple of months into my nursing program I was feeling seriously trapped and stuck in a never ending cycle of study, eat, sleep (but barely) and repeat. I felt like I needed something to change and I needed to find my passion and fire again if I was going to come at my nursing education with everything I had. I was losing my Spanish, and I wanted to find a way in which I could utilize it at home but was having some trouble. So I made the decision to return to Ecuador this summer, but this time it wouldn't be all fun and constant travel (don't worry, there will still be some of that). This time I wanted to find good experience that could go on my resume and better prepare me for my career. I wanted to do something that could unite my two loves (nursing and Spanish) and provide me the opportunity to learn.

So here I am, back in Quito, participating in an internship program through a group called Fundación Simón Bolívar Education. I got into contact with their volunteer coordinator earlier this year, read a bit about what the program would be all about, and booked my flight as soon as everything was in order. This opportunity will allow me to see so many different areas of nursing and medicine and will hopefully give me a better idea as to what type of nursing job I may want to apply for after graduation. Because although it's still a year away, graduation, picking a speciality, and job applications are looming in the back of my mind like a mountain that I have 0 idea how I'm going to climb. My hope is that within the next month here in Ecuador and within the next year of nursing, I will be able to gain some clarity and find ways in which I can integrate both of my passions into my everyday life.

As of right now, I'm not quite sure what to expect...but, what I can say is that I'm only on day 2 and being back in Quito has already made me so excited to learn more about nursing, Spanish, and myself. Maybe it's the summer, or maybe it's the sunshine, but I feel like my inner fire that drives my self improvement and sense of adventure is finally back and I cannot wait to see what this coming month has in store for me. And of course, I will keep you all updated throughout.

Wish me luck,

Claire