Los Caballos

Dr. Tun was kind enough to give me my last day in San Lucas Tolimán off of work.  So what did I do with it?

After breakfast, Tim and I rented some kayaks in town and took them out on the lake.  It was a beautiful but dangerous trip.  There was some really awesome houses carved into the sides of the mountain that we got to see as we rowed towards Agua Escondida.  The thing is, San Lucas sits on a bay of the lake, and coming back into that bay was nearly impossible.  The current kept pushing me back out, and no matter how hard I paddled, the farther I went from the dock.  I thought I was going to have to give up and spend the entire day on the lake, but eventually my superb physical prowess overcame Mother Nature and I made it back to the safety of the land.

After our kayaking excursion, Tim and I met up with Mark to go on a horseback riding adventure.  We were on our way to Santiago on the back of a pickup when all of a sudden we came upon a funeral procession.  We couldn't pass them, so we ended up getting to Santiago just after the lancha that we were going to take had embarked.  We had to wait an hour before we could go, which meant that our horseback riding trip started an hour late.  Luckily, the guide waited for us at the dock.  I wish I could say that we leapt off of the lancha onto the backs of our horses, Old Western-style, but in reality we just climbed into the saddles the normal way.

Our guide took us to some awesome miradors and even down to the beach and past a coffee plantation, but at the end of our trip, the horses became eager to go back.  So much so that they were basically running at full speed.  It was seriously the fastest I'd ever gone on horseback, which was fun and exciting but at the same time terrifying because my hat kept flying off and I thought my camera was going to be thrown from my shoulder.  We ended up getting back to town so early that we had 30 minutes to spare, so we decided to take our horses for a brief saunter through the city.  Riding horses along the narrow streets of San Pedro through a web of pedestrians, tuk-tuks, and chicken buses has to be up there on the list of coolest things I've ever done.

By the time we got back to the dock, there was only one public lancha left that was supposed to depart at 6pm.  We got back to Santiago at 6:27pm, just in time to catch the last pickup back to San Lucas.  Talk about cutting it close!  And all because of a funeral procession.

Los Parásitos

On this, the last week of my trip to Guatemala, I've fallen ill.

It all started this past weekend with a few loose stools.  I never had outright diarrhea, but it was by no means well-formed.  Then, this morning, I woke up feeling a little queasy.  It went away with some breakfast, but halfway through clinic I started feeling really queasy and nauseous.  That's when I knew what I had, but I wanted the proof.  And I got it!

Okay, you really can't see what the slip of paper says, so here's a close-up for all you nosy folks out there.

That's right: I've got the amoebas, or as we like to call them here, the 'meebs.  I'm on a three-day treatment of nitazoxanide 500mg bid, which I don't mind at all, especially because there is no drug-alcohol interaction.  God forbid something come between me and my nightly Brahva!

San Marcos

I can't believe that I have less than a week left in Guatemala!  Since this was my last weekend, I met up with the rest of the UVA group in Pana yesterday evening to throw down American-style.  We spent most of the night at La Terreza, where there happened to be a DJ.  As usual, we were the only group dancing while the Guatemalans watched us from the safety of their tables.  It didn't bother us at all, though, because we basically requested all of our favorite songs, and since nobody else was on the dance floor, the DJ played everything we asked of him.  Great win!

We stayed at Mario's Rooms last night, which was a great deal: Q95 (about $13) for dinner, a three-person room with a private bath, and breakfast.  To top it all off, I got to relax in the hammock this morning while checking my e-mail on their Wi-Fi network.  Now that is the life.

We spent the majority of the day in San Marcos, a particularly hippie town on the lake.  Fortunately, these are the clean hippies that are into yoga and holistic healing, not the dirty hippies that you find in San Pedro.  We had originally planned to go horseback riding, but all of the horses had been booked for the day, so we ended up hanging out next to the water.  The water near San Marcos is a lot cleaner than the water elsewhere on the lake, so we were even able to go swimming and diving off of a giant platform.  You know me: I love jumping off of high cliffs into the water!

Our road back was a particularly harrowing one.  The waves were choppier than usual, and I thought our lancha was going to capsize every 30 seconds.  Luckily it never did, but we were all drenched by the time we got to Santiago.  That made for a pretty cold pickup ride back to San Lucas, but at least I'm here and not swimming for shore from the middle of the lake.  I think that makes this a pretty successful weekend, don't you?

La Fugata

Last night, Mark had the crazy idea of starting a bonfire.  He didn't come up with it until dinnertime, though, and we didn't know where to get firewood that late at night.  I happened to ask the right person in the church for help, because apparently they keep a stash of firewood in the bodega and he offered to simply let us have some.

I'm reluctant to admit that Mark and I couldn't get the fire started, and Rachel had to save us from our own embarrassment.  Obviously we had already heated up the pockets and made it really easy for her to light.  Right??

Well, no matter, because in the end, the fire was up and roaring, and we spent hours roasting angelitos and drinking niños altos.  The perfect Thursday night, if you ask me!

El Circo

Last night I went to the circus.

No, you did not misread that.  The circus happens to be in town this week, so obviously I had to go check it out.

Before I go any further, I must say that this circus was exactly as crazy as I would expect a Guatemalan circus to be.  I lived in constant fear that the tent would collapse on me.  It didn't help that one of the workers kept making us move seats so that we wouldn't be hit if the support poles fell.

The circus had many attractions.  Sadly, animals were not one of them.  Myra, one of the nurses at the clinic, warned me not to sit in the front because there might be tigers.  Unfortunately, there were no tigers, no elephants, and not even donkeys or dogs, which other people said they had seen earlier in the week.

But they had trapeze artists!

They had clowns!

They had the best juggler I've ever seen!

They had a girl who swung around on a ring that was being held up by three men to the tune of cheesy 90s music!

They even had dancing Smurfs!

And much, much more.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would get to see a circus in San Lucas Tolimán.  I guess I just haven't been dreaming wildly enough.

Las Traducciones

Yesterday was spent mostly on the road to and from Sololá, where I translated for the OB/GYN doctor who was interested in setting up future jornadas in the area.  It was a good day for me, because in return for my help, he paid for all of my travel expenses as well as a meal at the Vietnamese-Mayan fusion restaurant in Panajachel, where we stopped for lunch.  Best!

And that wasn't the end of my free meals.  Last night was the official team dinner all of the volunteers who had come down for surgery, and I was invited to come along with the rest of the local hospital staff.  The meal was already paid for, and we could order anything off the menu, so needless to say, I went for the surf and turf.  I boldly asked for my steak to be prepared medium-rare, and as of this posting, I still haven't had any diarrhea.  As long as the next 24 hours go well, I think I'll be in the clear.  Fingers crossed...

La Ginecología

The surgical team that arrived last week consisted of four podiatrists and one gynecologist.  Haha, what??  I don't know.  Anyway, today was our gynecological clinic day, where we screened all of our potential hysterectomies.  Unfortunately, none of the patients we saw were surgical candidates.  Some of them need to be medically treated until they are ready for surgery during the next jornada in October.  Others need to go to a state hospital where they have more equipment for more extensive care.

It was sad turning away all of the gynecological patients, and it was also sad for the doctor who had traveled all the way down here in hopes of doing surgeries throughout the week.  He wanted to be more prepared the next time he came, so he is planning on visiting the state hospital in Sololá tomorrow to meet with some administrators.  I'm actually getting a day off from clinic tomorrow so that I can travel with and translate for him there.

Whoo, road trip!

Santa Cruz La Laguna

This was a weekend unlike any other.  For starters, I had to work on Saturday.  What is that all about?  The podiatry surgery team arrived this past week, and Saturday was the day they had designated for screening and planning the operations for all of their patients.  It was actually a lot of fun for me because only one of their doctors speaks Spanish, so I did all of the patient intakes and interpreted for the physicians during the interview and physical exam.

There is another side to the coin, though, and that is that our clinic on Saturday did not end until 6:30pm.  It was far too late for me to safely meet up with my friends that night in Santa Cruz, so I woke up early this morning in hopes of getting there and meeting them at their hostel.  My journey went a little bit like this:

(6:30) I leave my hotel to go to the San Lucas market, where I wait for a pickup to Santiago.  After arriving at the Santiago market, I walk to the dock and wait for the next lancha to Panajachel.  When I get to Pana, I walk to the dock on the other side of town to take a lancha to Santa Cruz.  I finally arrive in Santa Cruz.  (9:30)

All in all, the trip lasted a ridiculous three hours.  THREE HOURS!  How could it possibly take so long?

At least I finally got to meet up with all of my friends, and we spent the morning eating, laughing about their antics the night before, and taking another kayaking trip.  We were out on the water a lot later this time than the last, though, and the water was a lot choppier.  What didn't change was the fact that the lake is still the most beautiful place ever.  I braved taking my camera out in the water today, and for good reason!

After our kayaking adventure, we took a lancha back to Pana, where we had a big group lunch together.  A few of us said our final farewells, since Emi, Evan, and Kate are headed back to the States at the end of this week.  Then, randomly, I ran into the group of surgeons on the streets of Pana and was able to catch a ride home on their minivan.  Free rides are always appreciated!

Now I'm back in San Lucas, and it's time for me to hit the hay early in preparation for a long week of interpreting.  Wish me luck, folks!

La Comunidad

I've been in the clinic for over a week now, so I decided to do something different today.  I went with Vincente, one of the local Health Promoters, via microbus to the nearby village of Xejuyu.  Our main purpose was to educate the mothers of malnourished infants on the use of Nutri-Mantequilla, an enriched peanut butter fortified with nutrients that are frequently missing in the local diet.

Our other purpose was to see sick patients in the village.  As the only health professional in the village, I felt that I was much better suited for this part.  In reality, I couldn't do much for them.  Armed with only a stethoscope and a reflex hammer, how was I supposed to determine the cause of non-descriptive diarrhea in the malnourished infant?  To rule out a slow intracerebral bleed in the old man with an alarming contusion below the scalp?  To treat a postictal epileptic child who has been suffering from an increase in seizure activity over the past week?

I feel as helpless as the patients I'm supposed to be helping.  That's not a good thing, is it?

El Chat de Vídeo

I wanted to attend a meeting at UVA today but obviously wasn't able to since my body is in Guatemala (uh, is there a way to say that without making it sound like I'm dead?).  So, I did the next best thing: I made Nosheen video call me on Gchat during the meeting.

But only I could see them and they couldn't see me.

So I made Nosheen video call me on Skype.

But only they could see me and I couldn't see them.

So I made Nosheen video call me on Facebook chat.

And we finally hit the jackpot!  How is it that Google and Skype, both of which I consider to create reputable and high-quality products, failed me, where Facebook triumphed?  Also, why do I miss UVA so much that I need to video chat in for meetings?  Oh, to be in Charlottesville...

El Día del Cariño

It's Valentine's Day!  Luckily I had no chance to forget because the entire clinic has been decorated with red balloons for at least the past week.  Who would have thought that Guatemalans celebrate the festival of chocolates and flowers on the same date as we do in the States?

To celebrate, I'm going out with the other LTVs for ice cream after dinner.  The plan is to bring it back to the volunteer house and watch a movie afterwards.  The frontrunners at this point are one of the Harry Potter movies and Love Actually.

I'm just excited that I'm not spending this Valentine's Day studying renal physiology.

Nuevos Amigos

I'm the only person from UVA working at San Lucas Tolimán.  This is a blessing and a curse.  I'm actually obligated to practice my Spanish at the clinic because there is nobody for me to cheat and speak English with.  However, I miss all of my friends and I am jealous that all of them (with the exception of Steph) get to live with other UVA students and hang out in the evenings after they're done with work.

At least I'm not entirely alone.  There are other volunteers at the San Lucas Mission, all working on different sorts of projects.  I've become good friends with the other long-term volunteers.  They're a fun group: all of the LTVs aside from myself are either in college or recently graduated, so there's a lot of youthful energy.  Uhh wow, I sound like I'm really old or something.

I've also become pretty close with another group of fourth year med students from West Virginia University and a church group from Michigan.  Sadly, the church group and half of the med students left at the end of last week.  It's crazy: new volunteers are coming and old ones are leaving every day.  My only constant companion is Tiny Tower.

La Antigua

After being separated from the rest of my Wahoos this past week while I worked in San Lucas, it was great to meet up with them again this weekend.  Emi and I rode with some other volunteers in the region to Antigua on Friday and spent the afternoon exploring the city before everyone else arrived from their sites.  Believe what you hear: Antigua is absolutely beautiful, with architecture that could occupy you for days.  I guess that's why it's on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

While the many churches and historic structures were a sight to behold, so was this random carving of "Chino" into the sidewalk.  If this doesn't scream "Kodak Moment," then I don't know what does.

Friday night was our group's big night out.  We went to Mono Loco, a random bar that we had heard some good things about.  Emi and I had noticed it during our walking tour earlier in the afternoon and had remarked on how it reminded us of the Mono Loco back in Charlottesville.

When we walked in, Evan pointed out that there was a Wahoo sign hanging on the wall.  Intrigued and confused, I asked the bartender what the piece of UVA memorabilia was doing there.  He told me that Billy, the owner, was a UVA alum, and then he said that I should go talk to him.  Good thing I did: he bought all of us shots and over half of my drinks were free that night!

As a result of this great fortune, I was hurting pretty bad the next day.  Still, some of us went to hike Volcán Pacaya, a live volcano that most recently erupted in 2010.  Now tourists are no longer permitted to ascend all the way to the summit, but we did reach an area with air vents from the volcano's center where we were able to roast marshmallows.  ¡Qué bueno!

The hike took a lot out of us, and I was still suffering from our previous night out, so Saturday night ended up being pretty chill.  This morning we woke up to explore the ruins of the Convent of the Capuchinas.  It was a nice way to say goodbye to Antigua and also our friends who were heading back to Xela.

After taking a bus to Panajachel, a lancha to Santiago, and a pickup truck to San Lucas, I'm finally home.  What a great weekend!  We ate, we drank, and we were very merry indeed.  Now it's time to buckle down for another week of clinic work before getting to see my friends again next weekend!

Los Ultrasonidos

Today was kind of a different clinic day because Thursday afternoons are ultrasound afternoons.  We saw a lot of women, and I was confused as to why we were scanning so many women who seemed be having no problems with their pregnancy.

As it turns out, they typically use American fetal growth charts in Guatemala.  The trouble is that Guatemalans are generally of much smaller stature than Guatemalans.  Dr. Tun and some of his associates  in Santiago are doing a study to determine the size of fetuses at different stages of the pregnancy to create a Guatemalan fetal growth chart that will more accurately measure the health of unborn babies here.

Have I mentioned yet that my clinic is awesome?

Los Animalitos

San Lucas has been a blast so far, except for one thing: bedbugs.

I complained, hoping they would move me from Casa Blanca, where I was the only guest, to Hotel Icatiu, where all of the other volunteers at the parish are staying.  Instead, they just moved me to another room in the same lonely hotel.  At least my new room has a better shower head that provides hotter water at a higher pressure, and when I woke up this morning, I found no new bites on my body.

I still wish I were staying with all of the other volunteers, but I know I should look at it from a broader perspective: at least I don't have simultaneous malaria and dengue fever like one of the patients we saw in clinic yesterday.  That is some seriously bad luck.

El Primer Día

Whoa.  The clinic is crazy.  I'm working with Dr. Tun, and calling him an amazing physician would be a serious understatement.  I kid you not: his title is "internist and surgeon."  He is so smart!

Luckily for me, I got to shadow all of yesterday afternoon, which was a nice way to ease me into my work here this month.  I've already picked up on a lot of medical Spanish, but I'm glad to have a few days to figure out exactly how the clinic works before I start seeing patients on my own.

Also, I helped the overnight nurses deliver a baby at 1am this morning.  This place is out of control.

San Lucas Tolimán

This morning I received my Orientation to the town of San Lucas Tolimán and the various projects that are run by the local parish.  Its many ventures include a Women's Center, a coffee exportation project, a school, and of course, the clinic where I'll be working.  And all of it in a city that's warmly nestled beside the Lake Atitlán!

I was hoping today would be a "get-to-know-the-area" kind of day, but it turns out that I'll be starting in the clinic immediately after lunch.  Um, wish me luck???

El Lago de Atitlán

Wow, this weekend was a complete blur.  Since Steph has been at the lake for a week and Emi and I are starting work at Santiago and San Lucas respectively, we convinced a bunch of our friends to come hang out with us at Lake Atitlán (not that it was very hard to do).

On Friday we met up with Steph in Panajachel, where she has been working.  We took it easy that night because everyone was so tired, but we woke up refreshed and ready to visit the nearby nature reserve.  It featured a butterfly house and the chance to see some monkeys in their natural habitat!

In addition to hiking through the park, the girls also decided to do some zip-lining.  I had done it before, so instead I walked ahead and took pictures of them while they came through.  Judging by the amount of screaming, it sounded like they had a lot of fun, and I'm happy to report that each of them survived (much to Steph's relief).

When we finished up with the nature reserve, we took a lancha to San Pedro, another town on the Lake, where we met up with Evan and Sharon.  We did a walking tour of the town, which was undeniably beautiful.  I ate my first ice cream of the trip (I'd been waiting so long!) and met a dog named Cannabis (I kid you not).  Later, when we were hanging out in the park in front of the local cathedral, we ran into Cannabis again and he casually made his way into our group photo.

This morning we rented some kayaks and paddled around the town, and I made the wise decision to leave my camera at the hostel.  You'll just have to trust me that it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

We finished off our trip with a trip to one of the local saunas.  They filled up the hot tub while we ate lunch, and I still can't figure out exactly where the hot water came from.  It supposedly came from a hose, but how did it get so hot??  There is no way it comes from the same water source as the rest of the utilities system in Guatemala, which is freezing cold.

Soon it was time for us to say our goodbyes: Emi and I boarded a lancha to head to Santiago, and everyone else went back to Panajachel, Steph to stay and the rest to return to Xela.  After taking Emi to her new house, I boarded a pickup truck to get to San Lucas.  Now I'm here, trying my best to settle in before my first day of work tomorrow.  And so begins the next leg of my journey in Guatemala!

La Fiesta

Ups!  So last night was Emi's and my last night in Xela.  We decided to party the night away at Pool and Beer, the only bar in town that serves microbrews.  I'm glad we went, because the stout there was pretty freaking awesome, and I won't say how much of it I had.

As always, we had a great time out together, although it was at the expense of my homework.  I feel so guilty!  I've always done all of my Spanish homework with much fervor, but last night, I simply had to celebrate the fact that I was out in Guatemala with a couple of my best friends.  I'll apologize to my maestro tomorrow that I didn't complete the essays on my opinions of abortion, euthanasia, HIV/AIDS, and the death penalty.

But seriously... my homework assignments are ridiculous.  I have a hard enough time discussing those subjects in English.  How am I supposed to accurately express my sentiments on extremely controversial topics in a language I barely speak??

La Fábrica y El Fútbol

I wasn't kidding when I said I was gonna make the most of my last few days in Xela.  Yesterday morning I played hookie (sort of) by going on a school trip during our classes to the glass factory.  I went with and paid for my teacher as well, so it's totally fair.

A guide explained the glass-making process in Spanish, and after she was done, the teachers asked me to translate into English what she had said to the rest of the group.  I would have gladly done so, except for the fact that I had been too busy taking pictures to listen to what she had been saying.  I can't help it; glass blowing is so cool!

After the tour, we played (aka spent a lot of money) in the factory gift shop.  I didn't buy anything, but I did find a sombrero-shaped glass product that fit my head perfectly.

After classes ended, I tried to do my homework as quickly as possible, because the Xela soccer team had a home game last night.  I took advantage of the opportunity to have my first taste of Guatemalan street food (no worries, I prophylaxed with Pepto Bismol).

Once inside the stadium, Evan and I went for the liter-sized Gallos.  It's crazy: between the ticket, dinner, and beer, I spent a total of Q52.50 (or about $7.50).

Unfortunately, the game ended in a disappointing tie.  I'm okay with it, though, because I got a Club Xelajú soccer jersey out of it, and I couldn't be prouder of my new team, the Superchivos!

El Baúl

It's already my last week in Xela, and I'm trying to make the most of every waking minute.  There were no scheduled activities with the school this afternoon, so I approached Kevin myself to ask if he would be willing to take a group to El Baúl, yet another local hike.  And, because he may actually be the greatest person alive, he eagerly agreed.

This time, instead of taking a camioneta, we took a microbus to our destination.  It's surprising how many people you can cram into a converted utility van.  The way there was surprisingly comfortable, but on the way back we had 19 people in the microbus, not counting the driver and the money collector.

The hike itself wasn't as strenuous as yesterday's rock scramble, but once again it afforded us some pretty cool vistas of Xela.  Also, we got some pretty good views of our bags and water bottles, which also made it into this otherwise picturesque photo.

There was a nice park at the top of the mountain with lots of cool features, but everything else paled in comparison to the giant concrete slides.  We all took turns going down them and even had a few races.  Obviously, my aerodynamic shape guaranteed an indisputable win.

That's it; I've decided: we need to build a giant playground for adults in Nameless Field.