Good week including: Epilepsy Presentation, Thanksgiving and Monthly Conference

Hi everyone,

Here is an update from what happened this week. All good stuff!

1.) Epilepsy Presentation en "Escuela Libre de Psicologia"
On Wednesday, I presented on stage in the auditorium at this school, which is basically another university. The title of the presentation was "Epilepsy from a Psychological Perspective" which started out with the basics of what epilepsy is and how to help someone during a seizure, but then went on to explain the methods in which a psychologist can help someone with epilepsy. There was actually a really good turnout and afterward, I was able to distribute around 40 business cards. The presentation took about 45 minutes, and then another 40 minutes to answer questions. It was such a nice feeling to be able to make an impact.

2.) Thanksgiving
On Thursday, I celebrated Thanksgiving here in Puebla with my wonderful friends. I spent a few hours making a traditional "dressing" but unfortunately, our oven wasn't working. So I found a recipe to make dressing on the stove top. Surprisingly, it turned out really well.

That night, I met my friend Mauro and we went to our friend Izchel's house. There ended up being 7 of us total, and we all brought something to add to the American-Mexican Thanksgiving dinner. Our dishes included chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, dressing, wine, and a large bowl of guacamole. :-) It was actually a very delicious Thanksgiving dinner! Before eating, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for, and then did a toast, saying "salud", which means "cheers" or "to your health".

We finished dinner with a homemade cake from Izchel and lots of talking. I am definitely thankful for having such good friends.

3.) Monthly  Conference
Today (Saturday November 30) our support group had a monthly conference in Hospital Betania. Another doctor came in and spoke about the relationship between doctors and patients, and then showed some videos regarding epilepsy. However, the most interesting part was the people I met. I was introduced to a girl around my age who has a more intense form of epilepsy and therefore, cannot read or write. However, she can talk and communicate well. She is often home alone due to the fact that she most likely cannot work, but I now have a goal in finding something that she can do each day. She is very upbeat and there is most likely an opportunity waiting for her. :-)

I spoke to another man whose daughter has epilepsy. He said she heard a couple months ago that there is an epilepsy support group in Puebla and they want to learn more. I asked how she heard and he said she mentioned having seen someone on the Televisa channel of television. I asked if that happened in early September. It turns out, his daughter had seen me speak on that program before returning home and now they want to help out with our group. I talked about upcoming conferences and events and he was very interested. He also asked me to come to his school and present.

Before leaving, Dr. Coyac introduced me to the man who presented. Dr. Coyac told him that I want to get experience with social work before getting my MSW and the other doctor said I can come to his office and he is going to set me up with some opportunities to volunteer here for experience.


This has been the week of Thanksgiving and am definitely thankful for all that has happened!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Positive Update in Puebla

Hi everyone,

Here is an update of what's happening with the epilepsy support group and more. I'm actually really excited about all of this. 

1.) Jornadas

               

These are days when the neurologist is going to meet with patients and will only charge 150 pesos (about $11.00 dollars). I will be the coordinator, so the patients have to contact me before coming. I will also be there during those days, talking to the patients and telling them about our group. These will take place every 3 months. The first will be on Saturday, December 21st. 

2.) Conference

               

We are planning a large conference on March 28, 2014, where we are going to have about 6 different doctors speak about different themes regarding epilepsy (similar to something I attended in Seattle with the Epilepsy Foundation Northwest).         

3.) Monthly meetings and Presentations

Our group has monthly meetings on the last Saturday of every month and we are in the process of organizing the themes for the year of 2014. I may present in January for the first one, and then we will have different doctors and other people present for the following. I am also in the process of organizing presentations at different schools, but will probably have to wait until January when people get back from Christmas vacation.

4.) Volunteering at a Hospital

Today I went to a hospital called El Hospital Niño Poblano, which is a children's hospital right next door to the university. There is a possibility that I may be able to volunteer there on Mondays and Wednesdays. I will keep you updated on that. 

5.) Plans for Thanksgiving

I just had to write this in here because I am so thankful to have such good friends here. On Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, there will be a group of about 12 people, and we are all going to our friend's house (our friend Izchel), and are making Thanksgiving dinner. Of course it's going to be a different version of food, but that doesn't matter. They want to learn more about this American holiday and incorporate some of their own cultural traditions. It should be a very good experience. :-)

I hope everyone has a great week and HAPPY THANKSGIVING (on Thursday)!

Return to Puebla....back for more adventures :-)

Hi everyone,

I have returned to Mexico after being back home in Portland, OR for almost 2 months, and now have been here in Puebla for 2 weeks. Time flies!

When I came back, I told myself that I didn't know how long I will stay this time and just have to wait and see how everything goes with the epilepsy support group. Well, so far, everything is going great! I've been preparing to give a conference in la Escuela Libre de Psicologia in order to give a presentation on Epilepsy and Psychology on November 27th. While preparing for that, I've been spending a lot of time with my wonderful friends down here, trying to come up with other ways to stay busy and now I have some new ideas....

1.) English tutor
   
I have made a flyer for being an English tutor, and because I have experience from helping teach English classes at the Ibero University during the spring, that's been helpful. I've actually already had two sessions where I've been teaching English for those of different levels. It's actually kind of fun and is another way in giving back to those around me.

2.) Volunteer Social Worker in a Hospital

Right now I am applying to Portland State University to get a Master's in Social Work, and therefore, it is helpful to keep gaining experience. I know a few people who are going to try to organize some contacts in which I could volunteer in a hospital here in Puebla as a social worker. That would be so amazing. I really hope it happens.

3.) Epilepsy Support Group

I have been meeting with the neurologist and we are making some upcoming plans for our group including more conferences,  and events. There is a possibility that we will be hosting a conference in 3 months where we will have 6 different doctors speak about different themes regarding epilepsy. Plus, people have been contacting me from different parts of Mexico and want to become part of our group.


In the meantime, I traveled to Mexico City last week for a conference in a university there with my friends who are professors. We then explored downtown Mexico City and I had my first experience riding the underground subway there. That is definitely not something I need to do again anytime soon, but I enjoyed exploring the city with my friends.

That's a quick update for you. I will try to be better about writing on here. Thank you everyone for all of your encouragement and support. I really appreciate it!