Eat, Pray, Love (Why I Left My Heart in Guatemala)

Song of the Day: Bailando by, Enrique Iglesias feat. Gente de Zona 

So, it's been a long time since I blogged. There's a reason for that, but I'll bring it up in another post sometime later. 

But right now, let's focus on this recent trip to Guatemala. If someone were to ask me what movie was best portraying my life at the moment, it would be Eat, Pray, and Love.... the Mormon version. 

The Eat: 

I basically ate anything that was on my plate. Sometimes I knew what it was, and sometimes I had no clue. Yet I put them all in my mouth anyways. 

So what was it? Any and every part of the cow, including but not limited to: 

• the head (cabeza)
• tripa
• longanizo
• ubre/uvre (the utter or the breast of the cow)
• ceviche de criadias (the testicles of the bull. And yes, I didn't know that was entering my own digestive system until after the fact.)
• the foot (la pata) 

And to add: turtle soup ( which I personally recommend only for the strong-hearted), iguana (which I personally recommend anyone to try!), and horse (which I personally recommend to no one ever)

The Pray: 

The Mormon church is strong in this country. The chapels literally stick out like white beacons in the jungle. It's beautiful. But you know what's even more beautiful? The members themselves. 

Goodness gracious are they a force to be reckon with. 

I was blessed enough to be included into a lovely ward in the cute, little town of San Felipe. They were nothing but friendly and they all had strong testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and they all loved to serve! Just like me. 

Because of their strong faith in Christ, I was able to witness the baptism of not one, not two, but FOURTEEN investigators in a single day. It was the longest baptism I've been in, but the spirit was so strong there. I was able to create friendships that I'm sure would last a lifetime, which brings me to the last part...

It's Not All Up To You (Service to Your Fellow Brethren)

Song of the Day: I See Fire by, Ed Sheeran 

This week has been crazy of all sorts!
I had 4 exams scheduled this week (and no, it's not midterms week): Romanian, Physics, Neuroanatomy, and Art History.

I honestly thought I was going to fail at least one of them. I stayed up into the night, missed several classes, and prayed fervently that I will succeed all by myself.

But then I realize, I can't do this all by myself.

I believe that people who say they can do things all by themselves are lying to themselves.
Because no matter how you look at it, it's not all up to you. No matter what dream you have, that dream affects other people and thus, your dream is not about you.
It's about others.
Thus, if your mentality is "Only I can change things. It is up to ME AND ONLY ME to decide to succeed or not" then you're not looking at the entire picture.

Your goals and dreams is about other people: your family, your friends, your significant other, and others that will become an integral part of your life.

Take your Daughter to work day! (I Watch Too Much TV)

Song of the Day: Ugar by, Serebro (Russian girl group) 

So today I went with my mom and dad to their workplaces today.

It feels weird since I'm nineteen and I feel like a little kid again. Reminds me of that TV episode where the parent takes their child to work for the day. 

I was able to volunteer and help make Mrs. Hussey's day better :) 

And now I'm currently studying/resting at my dad's workplace on the computer.

It's been a pretty productive break so far! :D

Sunday: went to church, helped cook steaks, helped parents host the dinner for the missionaries, and just relaxed after my little freak-out on Saturday! :) 

Saturday: Donated blood, started looking at MCAT questions, went window-shopping with the mom and sister, and that's about it....

Friday: Took my last final, cleaned the bathroom in our apartment, flew home, and made it just in time for the ward Christmas party!

MCAT fact of the day!

So I was going over questions on my mcat question site again and apparently, there will be questions regarding PUBLIC HEALTH as well! Man, I got a lot of work cut out for me! Haha :)

Did you know: Although all of the above are challenges which cities face, the choice with the most impact is likely to be (A). Air pollution tends to cause the deaths of 1.2 million people per year, and contributes to countless more, according to the WHO. Most of these deaths are due to cardiovascular and respiratory issues. In regards to the other issues, Tuberculosis tends to be several times more common in cities, but tends to impact a relatively small number of people compared to air pollution. Road safety is important to health, but its effect is again dwarfed by air pollution. Encouraging healthy food consumption is especially important in cities, where access to unhealthy food and advertising for it is high, but again this effect is generally dwarfed by air pollution. 

And now some facts about urine! Cause why not? Haha! 
 Urine is produced by filtration of the blood, so excretion of wastes and metabolites through the urine will be through blood filtration, making (D) incorrect. The drug or its metabolites must be able to pass the membrane of the glomerulus which is the capillary bed where filtrate escapes the blood and is concentrated in the nephron. Ions poorly traverse the membrane, making (A) incorrect; moreover, nonionic compounds are capable of entering the urine. The same objection can remove (B) as well. This leaves (C) as the correct answer.

Before this post gets any awkward, I'm out! 
Love,
Maya 

November (A Month of Thanks)

Song of the Day: Ghosts by, The National Parks 

Note: You NEED to listen to this band! PERFECT FOR FALL! :)

Hello again after about two months! 

It's been an interesting semester to say the least, but I thought I should make this post- as well as upcoming ones- purely grattitude posts since this is the month of grattitude. 

Goodbye September (My Bucket List)

Song of the Day: Sweater Weather by, The Neighbourhood 

Another day, another Monday, another gratitude post!

But now it's time to say goodbye to September and the remnants of summer and hello to October and Fall! 

As I said before, I really am starting to love the Fall season so I can't wait until all the leaves have changed color :D

Med School Preparation begins NOW! (MCAT Fact of the Day)

 Song of the Day: Burn by, Ellie Goulding

I'm also going to be using this blog to help me prep for the MCAT! 

So here it goes....
All you need to know about ACTIN 

The mitotic spindle is mediated in part by actin which helps to control the spindle's length, supporting the microtubules. Muscle contraction is mediated by both myosin and actin. Cellular shape is largely determined by the cytoskeleton whose primary component is actin. Therefore all three will be affected by changes to actin.

 And since I'm taking the new one, here's a psychology fact of the day!

 Social loafing is the tendency for an individual's effort to be less than maximal when their efforts are camouflaged as part of a larger group effort. A tug of war is a classic example of an activity during which any one individual's effort is not able to be determined. Therefore it is the most prone to social loafing. The combined pulling strength of five members will inevitably be less than the summation of each person's individual strength.

In addition, here's a preview of what O-Chem (organic chemistry) has in store for me! D:

 An aldehyde will have a terminal carbonyl, making the carbon chain C-C-C-CHO. This configuration has a maximum of 8 hydrogen atoms, which means the molecular formula given cannot be an aldehyde. Esters have two oxygen atoms, meaning this molecule cannot be an ester. For a ketone in this 4-carbon compound, the chain will be C-CO-C-C, which also has a maximum of 8 hydrogen atoms. Only an alcohol is possible, as in the configuration CH₃CH(OH)CH₂CH₃ which has 4 carbon atoms, 10 hydrogen atoms, and 1 oxygen atom. An ether is also possible but is not listed as an option.

My Ideal Type (The One Who Will Kiss My Scars Away)

Song of the Day: Dreams on Fire by, AR Rahman and Suzanne (Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack)

Side Note: Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite movies of all time! (It is rated R though...I suggest you watch the TV edited version because aside from swearing, this is a feel-good movie and should not be ignored!)

So lately I've been rewatching some of my favorite movies, Cats Don't Dance and Slumdog Millionaire (the censored version mind you) to name a few.

 When I finished Slumdog Millionaire, I realized I was crying. But it wasn't because I was feeling lonely (even though I was). I was crying because at the scene when he kisses her scar, it was like him telling her that all of her pain and longing and worry is now over because they're together now.

It was a beautiful, poignant scene.

Then it got me thinking about how I can apply this to my own life. I am jealous that she gets the man of her dreams, but then I remind myself that she went through so much crap- prostitution, abuse, isolation- in order to finally get her happy ending. That's why the ending was so satisfying.