Back to the island life...meaning school for us

We've been back in Puerto Rico for more than two months now after spending two months in Buffalo. We had a great time with grandparents and cousins and a brother. Sylvia really learned a lot of English vocabulary and really prefers it over Spanish. She's getting back into the swing of the Spanish through since being back in school and making new friends with the neighbors who live downstairs. Vivian is saying a lot more words now too. Every other word is either Mama or Papa but she is immitating a lot too. She says 'dato' for 'gato', 'lagarto' (lizard), 'zapato' (shoe) and anything else with a similar sound. When we ask her 'que dice el gato?' (what does a cat say?) she says 'nao'. She is such a happy girl and loves her mama, papa, and Sylvia.

Benjamin was selected to intern with one of the local hospitals through the end of the school year in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. He had to practically beg for the application from the nursing school director who said that normally the director selects those who will receive an application. Luckily for Benjamin, he is persistent. The application was due about two days later and he pushed to get it done. He and one other student from our school were selected. He is required to work 100 hours a month and gets a modest stipend. He is also participating in a scholarship program through the hospital which will pay him a little more in exchange for one and a half month's of work after graduation for every month he works as an intern. Eight months as an intern would translate into twelve months as an employee after graduation. This means that more than likely we will be here another year. The reason the hospital has the intership program is to train the interns at a low cost so they will be prepared to work at that hospital. Benjamin would be guaranteed a position after graduation. We are hoping that he will be able to stay in the ICU when that happens.

I (Nicky) have been staying busy with my classes and taking care of the girls when I'm not in class so Benjamin can use as much time as he can to prepare for the NCLEX, the national nursing board exam. He's hoping to take it within the next couple of months. Sylvia loves the park and the library and we often go to one or the other after her school. Hopefully next trimester we will also get back into going swimming at her friend Aeralin's house since we will only have class three days a week.

We recently had some car trouble and the radiator on our Volvo leaked out all the fluid. The guy at the shop suspected that the engine was damaged. It would have cost us an arm and a leg to repair...but we decided to get a new (used) car instead. We're hoping this one will be more economical for us. The lesson learned is not to buy a car whose parts are expensive and only one guy or the dealership are the only ones on the island who can fix it. And then the fact that we're on an island where everything has to be shipped which costs extra and takes more time. We now have a Chrysler PT Cruiser. It's a little smaller but we can easily fit it into our carport and keep it cool during the day.