It is already our second week here in the beautiful city of Granada. This week has proved to be a challenging one for myself. My week started off with a cold and some bad environmental allergies. I learned how difficult it can be to get sick in another country, especially when there is a language barrier. Trying to explain to my host family what was wrong with me was the first obstacle. The next obstacle was trying to get medication at the pharmacy. Who knew when you asked for cough drops here, they actually sell you candy? At least they taste pretty good! I also ended up having to miss the first two days of my internship. This was a major disappointment for me because I hated wasting two days in bed when there was a whole new city outside, and an internship that I was really looking forward to. Luckily, I am feeling much better and was able to start my internship on Wednesday. The downside is that pretty much everyone in the rest of the group is getting sick, as well.
My host family has been amazing and very accommodating! I live with three women who are Catholic Missionaries. Herika, Wanessa, and Rafaella are all from Brazil. They mostly speak Spanish and Portuguese, so communication has been interesting. A lot of our communication has been through google translate and pointing at things. We end up laughing a lot while trying to understand each other, but it has been a process and we are all adjusting to it! The three of them are very selfless people. They all give back to the community through prayer and spreading the word of God. This week is the week of adoration, which is when the Eucharist is out of the tabernacle. Someone has to stay with the Eucharist constantly, so there have been a lot of new people in our home this week. One person that came over is a priest. He stayed and ate dinner with us, so we got to talk with him for a while. He actually lived in America for seven years, so he knew English very well! I really enjoyed hearing about his life and getting to know him.
My first day of internship was incredible! My internship is at the San Rafael Hospital. I will be working with children who have disabilities. I met some of the best caregivers. It takes a very special person to dedicate their life to taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves. Seeing the patience and love that the caregivers had for these children was inspiring. I spent almost half of my first day holding the sweetest six-year-old girl. As I was holding her, I couldn’t help but feel such a mixture of emotions. Part of me was feeling very sad and hurt that this little girl would never walk, talk, or have much normalcy in her life. The other part of me felt humbled and happy because I could see how much love that she received from each of the staff members. On the next day of internship, I got to play with, hold, and feed the cutest three-year-old boy. He has a lot of pain in his stomach and whenever the pain would flare up, he would hold his head and just cry. It absolutely broke my heart to see the pain in this little boy’s eyes. The worst feeling was knowing that I couldn’t do anything to make it better. After my interactions with these children and caregivers, I reflected a lot on my decision to be a nurse. I knew that I was meant to be a nurse after watching an incredible hospice nurse take care of my Pepere. From that time on, I knew I wanted to make my future patients and their families feel the same sense of comfort and safety that I felt during that time. Healthcare workers interact with people during the most vulnerable times in people’s lives. The children and caregivers that I interacted with on my fist couple of days reminded me that in life and in my career, there will be good days and bad days. The only thing that truly matters at the end of each day, is that I will have the ability to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Alexi and I were also given a very unique opportunity during my first day of internship. There was an older lady who volunteered once a week at the hospital. During her time there, she would gather small groups to listen to her using Tibetan Singing Bowls. I personally had never heard about these bowls before that day. She uses the bowls as a relaxation technique. Due to some of the children’s disabilities, they experience a lot of different emotions throughout the day. Some children are very anxious, while others might get upset easily. This particular session began with this lady leading me over to a water bed. She then proceeded to tuck me in with blankets and pillows. After I was settled, she lead Alexi over to a bean bag chair, where she tucked her in, as well. She made the room dark and used different essential oils. During the use of the Tibetan Singing Bowls, she would walk around the room to each child (as well as Alexi and myself) and she would hit the bowl with a stick. It made a soothing vibration sound that was immediately relaxing. No matter how hard Alexi and I fought the urge to fall asleep, we both did (which was the lady’s goal). I was very curious about the Tibetan Singing Bowls afterwards and decided to do some research on it. The sound that comes from the bowl is said to have healing power and good energy. It is a technique that is used on people with a variety of issues including pain, depression, and disease (1). Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. If I am even given the opportunity to observe this again, I will definitely take advantage of it. It is also something I will keep in the back of my mind to recommend to patients in the future.
The last adventure of the week was another hike with most of the group! We went to a city named Monchil and we were in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. It was absolutely gorgeous. Because of my allergies, I stayed back at the start of the hike and got to sit and enjoy the incredible view (and did a LOT of people watching). Later in the day, some of our group went to get drinks and tapas at Calle Duquesa with Mike and Cassie. They had some very delicious spicy potatoes…I will definitely be going back for more at some point.
Overall, this week has given me a lot of perspective. I met some amazing caregivers and children, learned how to conquer daily challenges, and soaked in more of the beauty in Granada! I just wish that time would slow down here because it seems to be going so fast.
https://jevondangeli.com/tibetan-singing-bowls-the-ancient-brain-entrainment-methodology-for-healing-and-meditation/
