Six weeks have flown by! So much has happened and I'm not at all ready to go yet. Jake, Tori and I are taking a bus through the night to Tikal later today and we have until Wednesday to travel a bit more. Since we've got only four days in the states before second year med school classes start again, I won't get to see or talk to many of you as soon as I'd like but I know you'll have questions. So here are my responses to questions I've gotten after past trips to tide you over until we can have a more in depth conversation :)
Best part?
Always the hardest to answer so I've tried to whittle it down to a top 5...
1-Giving Luis a Quiche Bible/our conversations about theology
2-Night spent at Fuentes Georginas
3-Working in clinic (learning from the docs, speaking Spanish with patients, getting to know students from all over)
4-Relaxing at Lake Atitlan and at Champerico
5-Getting to salsa dance with friends every week
Worst part?
The goodbye dinner
Pictures?
I'll upload some when I get home. For now check Tori and Ariana's Facebook pages
Was the food good?
Hit or miss. Some was great, like pepian, jocon, tacos, various soups, pitaya, mango, chocolate from Doña Pancha's. I'm still not sick of rice and beans. I definitely don't want to eat cucumbers for a while...I'm not a huge fan of them to begin with and got served a lot of them the first several weeks. Oh, I also learned I'm allergic to mango skins...I can eat the fruit and LOVE it but can't prepare it myself :(
You've lost weight...Did you get sick?
The weight loss is mostly from walking everywhere and a different diet. But I've had some GI issues, and we'll leave it at that :)
Did it meet your expectations?
I expected to spend more time in clinic and working on patient education than I actually did. I still learned a lot. The weeks were long with work in the morning then afternoon classes but it was even more fun than I could've hoped for. With Luis, I covered more grammar than I thought possible, and our hours of conversation helped reinforce all those lessons and the new vocab I was learning. We also traveled to communities around Xela as tourists more than I thought.
On another note, I knew as a tall blond I'd stick out, but the number of catcalls, stares and inappropriate requests I received here still shocked me.
How does it compare to your last time in Guatemala?
In many ways the two are very different. Last time in 2011 I spent two months working in a rural school and was in charge of short term missions teams coming in. This time we were in a big city; I was only responsible for myself, got to travel a ton and was in class or clinic most of the day. Both taught me a ton about Spanish, what I want to do in the future and myself in general. It was fun coming in knowing someone else in the program this time, and I still got to know a ton of amazing people from around the world.
Would you go back? When?
Lord willing!! Maybe not the exact same way but I'd love to visit Luis' village, keep working on my language skills and serve as a doctor in a setting like this. Yeah there are frustrations, limitations, and barriers, but I love it. Second and third year in med school will keep me pretty close to Loma Linda, but maybe fourth year I can do an away rotation and then depending on my residency I might try to work abroad then. I'm still very unsure what I'd like to specialize in, so that will definitely affect details of such plans.
Would you change anything about it?
Of course there were good and bad moments, but I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend the summer. It was refreshing being reminded why I'm in medicine and investing so much time and money in huge textbooks.
Well, this has helped me process...my top 5 might change after we see Tikal. I've been looking forward to seeing the ruins since we bought plane tickets :) hopefully between this and the previous posts you've been able to keep up with my adventures, but I'd love to talk more if you have questions or want more details!!
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Weeks 5-6
Last week was another fun week...prepping patient education material, Tuesday and Wednesday in clinic, a trip to San Fransisco for market day, a professional soccer game, classes and hanging out with friends.
In clinic I got to translate for Larissa, an American doctor who speaks Spanish pretty well but it's nice to have someone else there to make sure you don't miss anything the patient is saying. Wednesday we went to a Quiche village called Chirijquiac located about 45 minutes outside Xela. We set up clinic in the home of a local man whose children are involved in the Pop Wuj scholarship program.
I finally hit a point of frustration in classes...after a full morning in clinic we were working on past subjunctive examples and I kept messing up and struggled to make up examples, feeling stupid and frustrated with myself. Thankfully Luis can read me really well at this point so we switched to talking about sports for a while and got me back to normal. He prepped me well for the soccer game Saturday night, telling me some of the politics behind soccer here, where to buy a jersey, where he normally sits, what cheers/curses/songs to expect from the crowd, etc. It was a ton of fun! Fireworks, balloons, face paint, marching bands!! Xelaju won 1-0, granted the refs may have stretched the game until we scored, but it was a win nonetheless :)
This week has been bittersweet as so many "lasts" are coming up. Tuesday was my last day in clinic. I got to translate for Meghan, another American doctor. We worked well together and saw several interesting patients. That evening Mynor gave a presentation on medicinal plants used in Guatemala. Wednesday we didn't have mobile clinic but organized a patient education day. We prepped a PowerPoint to help patients with diabetes plan meals to better their sugar, and a chef came to help them learn some healthy recipes. Thursday we have our final dinner at the school to say thank you and goodbye to our teachers :( Friday is the last day of class then saying goodbye to friends and host families. On Saturday, Jake Tori and I are headed to Tikal and will travel some more before our flight home on Wednesday.
The highlight of my week was definitely Monday when I gave Luis my thank you gift. I went to a couple different stores and eventually found a New Testament in Quiche and Spanish. One of our first conversations had been about how he's never read through the entire Bible himself, and since then I've learned his first language is Quiche. I was a little disappointed I couldn't find a a full Bible in Quiche, but I was still excited and couldn't wait until the end of the week to give it to him. Monday I pulled it out of my bag as soon as I walked into the room, and he was so excited!! He explained to me that he's now one of five people in his village with a Quiche Bible and how he'll treasure it. He then proceeded to tell me about his weekend and how he's been telling people about me. He was translating for a midwife training session, and when given the opportunity to voice his opinion he lamented the fact that none of the churches were making an impact in the community and proceeded to tell the 40 women there about our conversations. By the end of their discussion, women I've never met were volunteering to teach me Quiche, let me live with them, show me how to make fabric and sew myself traditional clothes, and much more. Luis explained to them how I'm still in school for several more years, but now they're all counting the days until I come. I'm honored but have been trying to convey to Luis that they don't need to wait for me to bring about changes in their community. He and I started reading through his new Bible and using our last few days to talk about prayer, church leadership and more (using this to practice my Spanish grammar of course). I really admire his passion for his community and his enthusiasm for learning more about the Bible. If I weren't in med school, it would be pretty easy to convince me to stay and learn Quiche. One day!
In clinic I got to translate for Larissa, an American doctor who speaks Spanish pretty well but it's nice to have someone else there to make sure you don't miss anything the patient is saying. Wednesday we went to a Quiche village called Chirijquiac located about 45 minutes outside Xela. We set up clinic in the home of a local man whose children are involved in the Pop Wuj scholarship program.
I finally hit a point of frustration in classes...after a full morning in clinic we were working on past subjunctive examples and I kept messing up and struggled to make up examples, feeling stupid and frustrated with myself. Thankfully Luis can read me really well at this point so we switched to talking about sports for a while and got me back to normal. He prepped me well for the soccer game Saturday night, telling me some of the politics behind soccer here, where to buy a jersey, where he normally sits, what cheers/curses/songs to expect from the crowd, etc. It was a ton of fun! Fireworks, balloons, face paint, marching bands!! Xelaju won 1-0, granted the refs may have stretched the game until we scored, but it was a win nonetheless :)
This week has been bittersweet as so many "lasts" are coming up. Tuesday was my last day in clinic. I got to translate for Meghan, another American doctor. We worked well together and saw several interesting patients. That evening Mynor gave a presentation on medicinal plants used in Guatemala. Wednesday we didn't have mobile clinic but organized a patient education day. We prepped a PowerPoint to help patients with diabetes plan meals to better their sugar, and a chef came to help them learn some healthy recipes. Thursday we have our final dinner at the school to say thank you and goodbye to our teachers :( Friday is the last day of class then saying goodbye to friends and host families. On Saturday, Jake Tori and I are headed to Tikal and will travel some more before our flight home on Wednesday.
The highlight of my week was definitely Monday when I gave Luis my thank you gift. I went to a couple different stores and eventually found a New Testament in Quiche and Spanish. One of our first conversations had been about how he's never read through the entire Bible himself, and since then I've learned his first language is Quiche. I was a little disappointed I couldn't find a a full Bible in Quiche, but I was still excited and couldn't wait until the end of the week to give it to him. Monday I pulled it out of my bag as soon as I walked into the room, and he was so excited!! He explained to me that he's now one of five people in his village with a Quiche Bible and how he'll treasure it. He then proceeded to tell me about his weekend and how he's been telling people about me. He was translating for a midwife training session, and when given the opportunity to voice his opinion he lamented the fact that none of the churches were making an impact in the community and proceeded to tell the 40 women there about our conversations. By the end of their discussion, women I've never met were volunteering to teach me Quiche, let me live with them, show me how to make fabric and sew myself traditional clothes, and much more. Luis explained to them how I'm still in school for several more years, but now they're all counting the days until I come. I'm honored but have been trying to convey to Luis that they don't need to wait for me to bring about changes in their community. He and I started reading through his new Bible and using our last few days to talk about prayer, church leadership and more (using this to practice my Spanish grammar of course). I really admire his passion for his community and his enthusiasm for learning more about the Bible. If I weren't in med school, it would be pretty easy to convince me to stay and learn Quiche. One day!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Weeks 3-4
This past two weeks have been a fantastic mix of clinic work, traveling, Spanish and getting to know people better.
Both weeks I've been assigned the Wednesday and Friday morning clinics. Two of those days I've been able to shadow Dr. Barbara. I've also helped with triage and pharmacy like normal. Dr Barbara is trained as a pediatrician here in Guatemala. She and Dr. Carmen Rosa have been trying to take Step 1 and the subsequent tests to get certified in the U.S. but that process has been slow and complicated for them. Our patients have been mostly women with the occasional child or older man. Many of the chief complaints Dr. Barbara received were reproductive in nature so I've observed two pelvic exams and been present for discussions on nutrition, uterine cancer, family planning, female hygiene, and more. We've also seen a fair number of patients with nerve problems. As I try to weigh the pros and cons of primary care versus neurology and how they could be used in a missions/community development setting, it has been good to see the need for both. In talking with one of the other doctors, he encouraged me to pursue whatever specialty interests me most. This has helped me realize how much i learned this year and how much I still don't know.
On our days off, I've been able to visit some amazing places with friends. One weekend we went zip lining, toured a coffee plantation and swam in some hot springs. Last week a few of us rented bungalows in Fuentes Georginas for a night. They're different hot springs in the mountains near Xela, and since it was the middle of the week we had the place to ourselves. Without the city lights you could see the stars so clearly, and the hot water felt so good compared to the cold mountain air. The view when the sun was up was just as breathtaking. That weekend we also went back to Lake Atitlan but stayed in a different little town, Santa Cruz. We had bungalows right on the lake, so we swam, played some games, enjoyed the stars then got up early to see the sunrise over the mountains. We spent that Sunday in Panajachel and said goodbye to some of our friends who were headed back to the States. This week we stayed in Xela but have been trying to explore the town more...we've tried some new restaurants and cafes, gone dancing a couple times, and browsed local markets and women's cooperative stores. Friday Xela had two pretty big events...a gas explosion early that morning wiped out an entire block including the club we had gone to for salsa lessons the night before, and then an earthquake shook the town that afternoon. From what I've heard, no one died but a few people were severely injured in the fire.
We've hit the point where a lot of the people we came with have finished their four weeks and are leaving. It's been sad having to say goodbye knowing we probably won't see each other again (or at least not for long) since our school schedules will have us tied down for the next several years. This summer definitely has been refreshing, and time is flying by. I'm glad we decided to do six weeks of class because I'm definitely not ready to head back to Loma Linda yet.
Both weeks I've been assigned the Wednesday and Friday morning clinics. Two of those days I've been able to shadow Dr. Barbara. I've also helped with triage and pharmacy like normal. Dr Barbara is trained as a pediatrician here in Guatemala. She and Dr. Carmen Rosa have been trying to take Step 1 and the subsequent tests to get certified in the U.S. but that process has been slow and complicated for them. Our patients have been mostly women with the occasional child or older man. Many of the chief complaints Dr. Barbara received were reproductive in nature so I've observed two pelvic exams and been present for discussions on nutrition, uterine cancer, family planning, female hygiene, and more. We've also seen a fair number of patients with nerve problems. As I try to weigh the pros and cons of primary care versus neurology and how they could be used in a missions/community development setting, it has been good to see the need for both. In talking with one of the other doctors, he encouraged me to pursue whatever specialty interests me most. This has helped me realize how much i learned this year and how much I still don't know.
On our days off, I've been able to visit some amazing places with friends. One weekend we went zip lining, toured a coffee plantation and swam in some hot springs. Last week a few of us rented bungalows in Fuentes Georginas for a night. They're different hot springs in the mountains near Xela, and since it was the middle of the week we had the place to ourselves. Without the city lights you could see the stars so clearly, and the hot water felt so good compared to the cold mountain air. The view when the sun was up was just as breathtaking. That weekend we also went back to Lake Atitlan but stayed in a different little town, Santa Cruz. We had bungalows right on the lake, so we swam, played some games, enjoyed the stars then got up early to see the sunrise over the mountains. We spent that Sunday in Panajachel and said goodbye to some of our friends who were headed back to the States. This week we stayed in Xela but have been trying to explore the town more...we've tried some new restaurants and cafes, gone dancing a couple times, and browsed local markets and women's cooperative stores. Friday Xela had two pretty big events...a gas explosion early that morning wiped out an entire block including the club we had gone to for salsa lessons the night before, and then an earthquake shook the town that afternoon. From what I've heard, no one died but a few people were severely injured in the fire.
We've hit the point where a lot of the people we came with have finished their four weeks and are leaving. It's been sad having to say goodbye knowing we probably won't see each other again (or at least not for long) since our school schedules will have us tied down for the next several years. This summer definitely has been refreshing, and time is flying by. I'm glad we decided to do six weeks of class because I'm definitely not ready to head back to Loma Linda yet.
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