¿Que pasa?

So I'm going to Guatemala in, oh, about ten days. And I don't really know Spanish.

Now, this wouldn't be a problem if I was going down to do a medical Spanish immersion course like other smart people. But remember, hombres, I frequently ride the short bus. I'm going down as part of an international medicine elective. They expect me to already know Spanish.

Doh!

So I've bought Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day and Spanish for Health Care Professionals. The 10 Minutes book is quite cool - it comes with stickies you put around your house on stuff to help you learn vocabulary.

So far I can ask such thrilling questions like - ¿Quien es? (Who is it?) and ¿Cuarto es? (How much is it?) I've also learned that one of my friends from college is named Olivia Curtain, if you translate her last name. Who knew?

Which will really help me deal with that 3 year old well child visit... um, NOT. But at least now I can look stupid in three languages! Awesome.

On a completely different note, I've discovered a new source of fun - The Student Doctor Network! Now, I'm no longer a student doctor, ya'll. I'm an actual doctor. (No really!) (I swear!) But SDN does have forums for those of us in residency. Of course, my home forum - pediatrics - is kinda lame. But the emergency medicine forum is damn funny. The stickied threads definitely take the cake; especially the thread titled Things I Learn from my Patients. However, if you're offended by members of the healthcare workforce blowing off steam and complaining about the stupid stuff patients occasionally (or frequently, depending on the patient) do, or if you are easily offended in general - don't go looking at that thread. If you understand that humor is a coping mechanism, and is actually considered one of the healthier adaptive skills - go for it.

You have been warned.