Belize Mission 2009: October 2009

Well, I made it back to Utah. I had some change of plans with coming home. There were a number of reasons I wanted to come home earlier than Sunday, and when I looked into it, with the money I would save in lodging and getting a shuttle to the airport (I found a ride on Friday), I broke about even with the cost to change my flight. Plus, Ardis gave me a big discount on my final bill because of the work I did so things ended up working out for me to come home Friday. I was getting frustrated with the work there anyway. I wasn't getting the experiences I wanted so I figured there was no point in me staying extra. Thursday was better though, becase there were a few surgeries that I was able to scrub in on. We did a hysterectomy, C-section, and a vesicocyle repair.
On Friday I woke up early and took the bus to the zoo. I wanted to see that at least before I left for home. I'm glad I went there. It was a lot of fun and I was able to see much of the Belizean wildlife up close. I was the only tourist there for the whole morning so I had the whole place to myself. I saw jaguars, agouti, pumas, crocodiles, and many other things. It was a pretty cool experience. Grant was my ride and picked me up that afternoon as he was having to drive to Belize City. He dropped me off at the airport and I caught my flight.
As I flew away from Belize I had mixed feelings. I'm glad I came and I had many good experiences, but I was sure glad to be leaving. I had experienced some disappointments with the work at the hospital, so I made sure to talk to Ardis about that and some of the things they need to try and improve for students. I don't think she really felt like it was something that she needed to worry about though. I was able to say bye to all the friends I made here and will miss them, but I was so excited to be getting back to the U.S. It is a different world entirely in Belize and while it does have some advantages I like the lifestyle in the U.S. alot more. It is what I am used to and comfortable with. Plus, I missed my family alot and was looking forward to finally seeing them after being away a month. Jessica and I had never been apart so long since our marraige so that wasn't easy. I called her right before my plane took off from Belize and asked her if she wanted to hang out that evening? She of course didn't know what I was talking about, so I said I would see her soon because I was coming home. She was very excited.
My flight went well, but as flights always are, seemed way too long. They gave me a hard time in customs in Houston, going through my bags and asking me all sorts of questions. I'm not sure if it was just a routine check or if I looked supspicious or something. I had let me hair grow out quite a bit, but didn't think I looked to dangerous. The lady asked me a couple times what school I went to and wrote down and seemed to look it up on the internet or something which I thought was odd. Well, I made it through anyway without having anything confescated so thank goodness for that.
Now I am home and grateful to see the beautiful mountains out my window. I was surprised at how cold it was when I got home because when I left it was still reaching the 90s and now suddenly it is almost winter time. I had a great time seeing R.J. again after so long. He didn't seem too excited to see me, but he was being onery and crying. He's been really clingy to me since I got home though so that has been fun. I tried to leave to the priesthood session last night and he came screaming, running after me. Maybe he thought I was going to leave him again for a long time.
Belize is an amazing country. The people there are great and some of the nicest people I've been around. They always tried to make me feel so welcome. They are all mostly poor by my standards, but all seem so content with their lives. That's something I was reminded of there; that I should be more grateful and content for all things I do have. Things could be much worse. I also had some amazing experiences the first couple weeks when I was left on my own. That was a great experience and showed me areas I need to improve and more importantly gave me confidence that I will be ready for my intern year. It wasn't an easy experience, but such a great learning experience and I am happy that I was able to go. When I was leaving, Ardis mentioned I should maybe consider coming back as a resident and I could bring my family. She mentioned that the physicians let residents act completely as co-workers and share call. I doubt my family would want to go, but it is definitely something I'll consider in the future.
So, this is my last post and I hope those who read this blog enjoyed it. :)