Mindo cloud forest

Hi friends!

This post is overdue, but I wanted to write about the weekend Amy and I spent in Mindo (two weekends ago) with three other students from the program. Mindo is a small town located in the “cloud forest” region of Ecuador. A cloud forest is a tropical evergreen forest where the clouds literally hover and float at ground level. It is a disappearing habitat, and it is beautiful.

After a two-hour bus ride winding through the mountains and down into a valley, we arrived in Mindo. I was immediately struck by the incredible flora – it looks like a temperate jungle, where the trees have huge leaves and vines and mosses are abundant. After a filling and very cheap lunch, we set out into the forest with a local guide, hiking across rocks and small rivers, uphill to the top of a waterfall. We learned the word for mud ("lodo"), which was slippery and thick in spite of this being the middle of the dry season. At the peak of the waterfall, our guide launched into a long set of instructions in Spanish, during which my anxiety and anticipation grew exponentially. We all strapped in to our harnesses – which, amusingly, were bright red with the word “mammut” and a picture of the corresponding animal printed squarely on the butt (see attached photo of Amy´s arse) – and then took turns repelling 80 meters down the waterfall to the river below. It was terrifying, exciting, cold, and magnificent. Amy was a rockstar hopping down the rocks, and I - while not quite so graceful or daring - made it down in one happy piece.

On Sunday morning, we got up at 4:30, piled into a pickup truck, and drove 20 minutes out of town to hike up another hill in the dark. By the time the sun rose, we were waiting in a little lean-to for the "gaillo de la pena," the "cock of the rock." This rare bird performs an intricate mating ritual every morning, in which the males court females by calling out, bobbing their heads, and spreading their wings. Their squawking was unique and charming, and their heads were the most brilliant red. We could hear them even before the sun came up, but over the hour or two we were watching there was a lot more waiting than seeing birds; which for me was part of the fun – anticipating the payoff when you finally catch a glimpse of such a beautiful bird.

Later that day, after a hearty breakfast, a short but necessary nap, and a very hot shower (a luxury we have experienced but few times during our month in Ecuador) I visited the butterfly farm while Amy and the other gals checked out the coffee plantation and the chocolate shop. I always enjoy the chance to wander through a place on my own, and the garden was a perfect end to my weekend. I saw caterpillars, cocoons, and countless species of butterflies, as well as the establishment´s orchid garden. My self-guided tour concluded with fifteen minutes of lounging in a brightly colored woven hammock overlooking a row of hummingbird feeders which were visited by one exquisite bird after another.

If my descriptions sound a bit over-idealized, it is because this place truly felt like paradise to me. It was hard to leave it behind, but made us excited for the upcoming visit to the Amazon rainforest… More to come!

Clinic In Ecuador

Jess or I will post about our awesome weekend in Mindo (a cloud forrest) a bit later but I had to write a quick post about the clinic I have been placed in this week.

Along with my friend Delia who is fluent in Spanish I have been assigned to shadow in a clinic called CEMOPLAF which is partnered with Planned Parenthood. The clinic is semi private which means you do have to pay to see the doctor however the rate is fairly cheap (it is $22 for a complete annual exam for a woman including labs). The physician I am shadowing in an OB-gyn who is a fire pistol. She is a very put together woman who looks around 40 but is a grandmother. She wears awesome tweed suits.

My first day of clinic she sent us to a conference hosted by Planned Parenthood that was about maternal mortality and care for patients with complications from illegal abortions. Apparently talks about abortions just seem to find me. It was so interesting to hear from all of the doctors how strongly they felt that abortion was medically necessary and how it should be legalized. We did´t get to stay for the whole conference, we really only saw a presentation on proper care for women and a powerpoint on human rights but even that was inspiring.

I was really hoping to see some crazy stuff in the OBgyn clinic but it seems like they have very similar problems to what we deal with in the US: family planning, pap smears, irregular periods and STIs (even though I haven´t actually seen any of those yet!)

I am learning lots though being in the clinic defintiely makes me wish my Spanish was better... but I´m working on it! Miss you all!

Health brigades

Over the past two weeks, we have spent four mornings doing mobile clinic work in the mountain villages outside Otavalo and in the markets of south Quito, which is generally poorer than north Quito where we are staying. In groups of two or three students, we interview patients, perform a relevant physical exam (as much as possible without violating their privacy in a large room with no divisions between patients), and conduct screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. Then, working with a volunteer doctor or nurse, we help develop an assessment and plan for the patient, which sometimes includes prescribing medication; some medications (such as amoxicillin, Bactrim, and ibuprofen) we have available in our traveling pharmacy, while others must be purchased at the pharmacy by the patient. The pictures are of our student teams from various brigades, demonstrating the crowded quarters and tiny chairs! There are, of course, more photos on Amy´s Flick´r site.

We have seen some fairly complex health problems at the health brigades: congestive heart failure, kidney infections, intestinal parasites, and a superficial tumor six inches in diameter! However, we have all been generally frustrated by our inability to do much for these types of problems. We can cure an ear infection or give someone reading glasses, but have relatively no ability to ameliorate chronic health concerns, and end up referring patients to doctors they will never see at facilities they are unable to travel to. Even with Ecuador´s recent decision to make health care more accessible – including many free procedures and services – the waiting lines are long, and not all of the service is free. For example, a hip replacement operation is free, but according to one patient the prosthetic hip itself costs $5000, which even well off folks in Quito generally cannot afford.

On the other hand, the health brigades have provided an opportunity for us to work with two organizations committed to improving the health of economically marginalized Ecuadorians. Jambi Huasi in Otavalo (where I received my “cleansing” treatment last week) is a collaboration between MD’s and traditional healers, and focuses on reaching out to indigenous populations who are often more comfortable seeking care from curanderos and shamans than from medical doctors. Two doctors, an administrative assistant, and a translator from Jambi Huasi accompanied us on our health brigades outside Otavalo. In Quito, an organization called CENIT (Centro de la Nina Trabajadora), which began as a school for girls selling goods with their families in the outdoor markets, now provides a range of services for working girls, boys, and their families, including remedial schooling, vocational training, health services, family planning and contraception, outreach to street children, and psychological assessment and counseling. Most of their staff is Ecuadorian, but they also command a small army of rotating international volunteers to aid in administration, planning, and service implementation. The people who work with Jambi Huasi and CENIT are an inspiration to me, as they continue to work toward empowerment and health for those most at risk.

So the health brigades have been a mixed experience, full of frustration, helplessness, insight, and hope. Next week we will conduct three more brigades in the rainforest of the Amazon. I think we´ll all try to keep reflecting and learning and know that we are taking away many lessons that will influence and inform my work in the future. The sense of overwhelming need seems to be ubiquitous in global health, and I guess part of the challenge is figuring out in which ways each of us will contribute to the struggle. I feel so lucky to have a group of friends to share these experiences with, each of whom is also engaged in such good work!

Con amor,
Jess (& Amy :-)

fromage!

Mostly my weekend was calm, but we did search for and find cheese! Usually, people here tell me they are getting "cheese" and they mean tofu. They call it cheese from the bean. But, there is actually cheese made here too, from cow milk. It is expensive-1 dollar for a round of it:) (the tofu cheese in this amount would cost about 30 cents). We bought some, and ate it, and it was so good! To get it, we had to drive about 30 minutes north (on a motorcycle, with my fancy new helmet), and find it on the side of the road. This isnt like everywhere else-where people sell things all along the side of the road. It was a fairly deserted road because you had to drive by the presidents house to get there and the guards only let certain people through (I think they let us through b/c they knew we wanted the cheese). I took a picture to show you all how deserted it is. And then there are these women and children just sitting there on this almost empty road, with cheese! Such a wonderful sight.

wow

you guys are doing sweet stuff! i love this blog. i thought i was done posting anything out of the ordinary, but the sweat lodge and the cool traveling kayaking snorkeling inspired me to post more.

three things to share:
1. i eat meat. i ate dog this weekend (one bite, with tears in my eyes, and i will never do it again, but i had to do it for the experience). then i was brave and ordered cordon bleu in a restaurant. ate some of the cheese out of it, saw it was still raw, sent it back, ordered a pizza, and still had to pay for the cordon bleu. i am still alive, even though it was raw pork. that was over 24 hours ago, so i think i will survive.

2. i just got really positive feedback on the work ive done this summer and i no longer feel like i am living in a beautiful place and being useless. this is great. living somewhere beautiful and doing something.

3. i sent this in an email to someone, and b/c you all are sharing these sorts of things, i am sharing it with you too:

This is how my weekend went. Its hard to explain, but worth trying. So, in the mountains, Kabiye have initiation ceremonies every year. Every 5th year, they have a special one called waaya (pronounced wa). It was this weekend. Saturday night, I went up to Kuwde, the village we visit in up there. It was CRAZY. The village has 65 households, so imagine a town spread around a ridge, of 700 or so people. For the ceremony, there were thousands of people in town. And, the homestead we stay in is a very important house, so many of the iniates were in and out all weekend. They come with gongs, horns, singing, etc. 24/7. beer 24/7. There are between 100 and 200 initiates, males around the age of 25. And all of their siblings and parents, fanning them, chasing them around, and just lots of craziness. And that’s only the beginning!

Saturday night, they dance in one of two sacred forests-one for the female clan and one for the male clan (all initiates for waaya are male, but they are assigned to a gendered clan) and we eat locust beans in oil. (think, middle of the night, woods on a mountain, dancing, loud music and singing, and a really cute child that had the most adorable laugh in the world and was really easy to make laugh. Her name was elizabeth. Everything I said made her laugh). I wore flip flops, hiking up and down this incredibly rocky mountainside, in the dark and I didn’t fall once. And it was cool because there is no electricity, but there are flashlights and gas lanterns so you could see lines of people moving up and down the mountainside in the distance by looking at the bobbing lights. We sleep in a house/hut in the homestead and people literally are banging iron gongs in the courtyard (about 10 feet away from my head) off and on all night long. By 6 in the morning, the homestead is surrounded by people, such that I can’t spit my toothpaste out the window because it will land on someone. And, I have great pictures of this, about 40 or so of the initiates’ horns were in the granary in our homestead. They are so cool! Covered in chicken feathers, ornaments, and plastic dolls. Some with santa claus. So they all come in, get them, and head out to have them tied on, dance all day, go up and down hills (it was really intense hiking, the initiates actually all wore shoes but most of the people wear flip flops) and then end the morning with a ‘race’ down a steep rock covered uncultivated side of a ridge. Except, the race was a little anticlimactic because only some of them actually raced! The rest chickened out and came down the way we did. Didn’t even go slowly down the steep way. Then they head to various homesteads and continue dancing, which they will do all week.

We, on the other hand, headed down the mountain, took a ride back to the city, and went to a 4th of July party. It was full of people in red, white, and blue, us in our sweaty hiking clothes, children with painted faces, a trampoline, hotdogs, corndogs, veggies, dessert, sparklers, and DEVILLED EGGS. Devilled eggs are one of my favorite holiday comfort foods ever. For every holiday. It was pretty wonderful.

Super Long Post Part 2

Jess- No, I definitely did not have dengue. People in the office and clinic are kind of overprotective and don’t want anything bad to happen to us while we are here.
I had some cold and just took it easy at home for a few days. By the end of the week, I was all ready for my next adventure.
Wednesday (6/30) was a holiday in Guatemala (Military Day), so Lindsey, Jana (another gringa in the office) and I decided to take a long weekend. On Friday (6/25) we took an overnight bus from Guatemala City to Flores, which is about 9 hrs northeast of here. The crazy driving made me feel like I was on a night bus from Harry Potter (maybe also because I was riding a bus at night….). Despite my fears that we were going to die- either from the driving or from people with guns taking over the bus, we made it! We got to Flores, dropped our stuff at our hostel (Hostel Casablanca) and headed to the great ruins at Tikal. Tikal was AMAZING! There were neat “templos” to explore, and we even saw monkeys. They have been doing a lot of work on uncovering the ruins there, and I got to talk to a guide who had been working there for the past 25 years. It was really humid in Tikal, but not too hot. When we got back to Flores that afternoon, the rain started. It rained A LOT. Apparently there was a tropical storm (hurricane?) in the area which we read about in the paper the following day. On Sunday, we headed out to Rio Dulce town (about a 4 hour bus ride). We were met at the docks by the owner of the hostel we were going to stay in, and took an hour boat ride to the hostel in the jungle. The hostel, Finca Tatin, is located on Rio Tatin, a small branch off Rio Dulce- a big river which runs from inland Guatemala through the jungle to the coast.
My favorite part about my trip to Rio Dulce/ Rio Tatin was our kayaking trip. We decided kayak from our hostel to Livingston (about 2.5hrs)- a Guatemalan town on the Caribbean Coast. It was soooo cool. For the most part, the water was calm, and we got to kayak through this beautiful gorge. Anyone want to go kayaking when we get home?
After the heat in the jungle, I was really looking forward to some air conditioning. I was also looking forward to staying somewhere where babies and birds did not freely use the bathroom on the floor and where I wasn’t followed by really stinky dogs. Also, since I didn’t have a flashlight with me, some electricity after 10 PM would be a plus. Getting back to the mainland however did not quite meet my expectations. We stayed in the dorm room from hell. Not only did we not have air conditioning or even a fan, we couldn’t keep one of the windows open because the bugs would get in, we didn’t really have power, and our room was guarded by some big crazy bird that wanted to get into the room. The bird sat in the sink by our door and would flap like crazy when you walked by. Did I mention that I really REALLY don’t like birds? Oh, the other thing about our hostel was the restaurant was overrun with really old, really drunk Americans who lived on boats. Very weird.
Oh well, we survived, and the next day, we took a super nice bus home (complete with AC!). Unfortunately though, when we got home a) I was locked out of my room and b) we were out of gas (which we use for cooking/ hot water/ etc). We also found lots of “anger turds” left by our roommate’s dog Lucy. At least she was happy to see us. I had a pretty uneventful week/weekend to follow my long weekend trip.
Lindsey decided to head to Antigua, but I wanted to stay in town and explore the city. I went to see two really neat museums: Museo Popol Vuh (archeology) and Museo Ixchel (Mayan textiles). I was really impressed with the styles of painting and sculpting. The hieroglyphics were rectangular and had a lot of faces. All the incense burners, jars, plates, etc seemed to have multiple layers of imagery. The textile museum talked about different weaving and embroidery techniques and displayed a lot of the different “huipiles” and “su’ts” that are traditional clothing. The color schemes and designs vary greatly depending on where you go, so it was pretty cool.
On Sunday, we headed to a 4th of July party hosted by a co-worker and I took Julia’s wonderful key lime pie. Though my pie was not nearly as good as hers and it suffered from adverse cooking/ ingredient conditions, the pie was a success! There was a (stork) piñata at the party which was a lot of fun. Seeing as how people set off fireworks all the time, I was surprised that we couldn’t find any. Rumor has it that people have been buying them for the World Cup Finals.
Tomorrow is my last official day of work (I have a feeling I will be finishing some stuff via email). I’m not sure how this month is already over. It’s been a pretty interesting and incredibly busy week. I got to shadow more in the clinic (clinic post coming soon), hear the director of the CDC talk, and tomorrow, Lindsey and I (mainly Lindsey) are giving a talk to the Ministry of Health about how to improve patient flow, data collection, etc.
Also, tomorrow, Lindsey, Ibardo (her bf) and I are packing up our stuff and heading to Honduras with a co-worker. We are going to go the Bay Islands to go snorkeling, and then we are taking a bus to Panama (which should take about 4 days). We will be stopping in Managua, Nicaragua and San Jose, Costa Rica along the way. We’ll get a couple days in Panama, and then on July 19- I fly home and Lindsey and Ibardo fly to Columbia. I would love to hear how everyone else is doing, and I definitely want to see everyone who is home when I get back! Miss you guys!
<3 e

Temascal

Emily, that was a super long post! Thanks for the update - but are you doing okay now? Please tell us you don´t have dengue...

Here is an update on Amy & my activities that I just sent to my family, along with a picture of the group after the sweat lodge ceremony:

Last night we participated in my favorite experience yet: a sweat lodge, or ¨Temascal¨ in Kechwa, the indigenous language in this region. The lodge is a small hut, a circle with a diameter of ten feet and about four feet tall. Thirty-two people in bathing suits and shorts squished into the hut, sitting on woven mats and dirt, around a pit in the middle. A tall, slender woman explained the ritual of the Temascal to us while volcanic rocks, heated in a fire for hours ahead of time, were piled into a dirt pit in the center of the lodge. The ceremony began with the passing of tobacco juice, which we snorted into our nostrils, inducing a slightly dizzy and intoxicated feeling. Then the door of the hut was closed and the only light was the glowing of the rocks. Our guide poured water and herbs into the pit, and the sweating commenced.

At first, many of the participants seemed hesitant or uncomfortable, and the guide had difficulty quieting the group as people cracked jokes or complained about the lack of leg room. I felt frustration rising in me about what I perceived to be irreverence for this spiritual space and ceremony, but also realized that we were all a bit nervous about what was to come and had different ways of dealing with it.

However, once the door was closed and we were plunged into darkness, all side conversations ceased immediately. Our guide led us in prayer and song as the temperature and humidity in the room rose, and it became impossible to think about anything besides the sensations of the Temascal. We sang traditional Andean melodies, popular Western songs like “Let It Be” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and Sanskrit chants from yoga class – “Om Shanti, Guru Dei Namo.” The ritual continued through four rounds of tobacco, newly heated rocks, steam, and relief as the door was opened in between rounds and cool air allowed to flow in. In each round we gave homage to and benefited from the energy of one of the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. The first three rounds became increasingly intense, as more stones were added to the pit; seven for the first round, nine more in the second, then thirteen for the round of fire – the round of transformation. When the guide poured water over the thirteen volcanic rocks, the temperature of the air in the room surpassed anything any of us had ever experienced. As she played the drum, she invited us to express whatever we were feeling out loud, and the tiny hut became filled with the primal yells of the normally inhibited and controlled medical students. I laughed out loud as the people on either side of me yipped and wahooed with abandon. It was exhilarating.

After the round of fire, we drank cool water and rested before one last round of seven rocks, nearly as intense as the round before, but at that point we knew we could handle anything. The whole ceremony lasted just under two hours; then the door was opened from the final round and I crawled out of the lodge to a cold, invigorating shower. Rinsed of dirt and sweat, and wrapped in soft, warm clothes, I returned to the fire where our rocks had been heated earlier that afternoon. Sipping on tea, we marveled at the experience while the owners of the lodge prepared a unique meal for us. Pachu Manka is an ancient Incan tradition of cooking food underground, buried in a pit with heated volcanic rocks. We watched the uncovering of the food, then piled our plates high with beans, corn, peas, chicken, pineapple, banana, carrots, beets, and several kinds of potatoes (salty, bitter, and sweet). Eating with my hands by the fire that had warmed both my body and my food, I felt deeply content and peaceful. After dinner, I drank a large quantity of water, slid under the wool blankets in my hostel bed, and fell quickly and happily to sleep.

Super Long Post Part 1

When I last posted, I was about to head to Lake Atitlan for the weekend….

Lake Atitlan is amazing. It is the crater of a huge volcano, is the deepest lake in Central America, and it is surrounded by 3 volcanoes and little towns! We took a chicken bus to Antigua and arrived 10 minutes before the last shuttle left for Panajachel. The whole way up the carretera, there were signs for “desrumbes” (landslides) and in parts, the road was closed because of the rocks and earth. Carving roads right out the mountains is not a good strategy… After a 2.5 hour shuttle ride, we got to Pana. Our shuttle driver, trying to figure out where to drop us off, realized that our hostel was just outside Pana and the road to get there had been destroyed by “la tormenta” Agatha. The only way to get to the hostel was to cross a small bridge by foot or by “tuk tuk” (according to Lindsey-three-wheeled, motorized, covered scooter with a bench seat in the back that holds 4 Guatemalans and all their stuff or 2-3 uncomfortable Americans, depending on size ) The shuttle driver knew the owner of the hostel and called him to meet us. We were met at the bridge by a tuk tuk and an escort on a bicycle. By now, it was about 8PM and we were starving. The only restaurant in that part of town was a Japanese restaurant. They had tofu there and it was so good! We watched some tv show about people eating placenta and drinking urine for health reasons. The best part of the hostel was the incredibly hot and powerful shower! The next morning, we headed into Pana and hired a boat to take us around the lake. We spent a few hours exploring the lake towns including Santiago Atitlan and Santa Catilina. We were supposed to go to the aquas termales (hot springs), but apparently the lake was too stirred up to feel the heat. In one of the towns we went to, we paid a little kid to take us to the house of evil saint Maximon (pronounced Mah-she-mohn). As Lindsey described our trip to see him…

“This little wooden guy gets moved to a different house each year and his whereabouts are known only by the people of the town because he's always in a private house. We paid our 13y/o buddy Miguel to take us to see Maximon and the legend he told us was this: Maximon is considered an evil spirit, but he is sought out often. He wears many scarves which are gifts from people who have come to visit him. Each time you pray to Maximon you may receive a result which is "por lo bueno" (for the good) and one which is "por lo malo" for the bad. For instance, if someone is making you mad and you go and light a black candle for Maximon, something bad will happen to that person. (we weren't given an example of a good thing that could happen...hmmm) Also if you are sick, you have a couple of options with Maximon. This little guy is known to smoke and to drink. Thus if you bring him a cigarette or a cigar he will come to you at night and blow the smoke to make you better (generally stomach ailments). You can also bring him 'aguardiente' (firewater) and he'll drink it and make you better. Once you have prayed to Maximon he is always with you, and he can come to your house while you sleep and tell you the future in your dreams. Pretty great. So we went and saw Maximon and he's wayyy back in a cement room with a low ceiling, in the dark and surrounded by candles. There is a guy guarding him at all times and there was another old man outside swinging a censer. Very mystic. Maximon himself is only about waist high and wears a really great hat and some fancy shoes. He's got gillions of scarves tied around his neck and several cigarettes in his offering plate. To see him we had to pay 2 quetzales (about 25cents).”

We took another boat to San Pedro (on the boat, we met 2 guys from chapel hill who went to app and a dukie). Our hostel was really cheap and really nice. We met some people there that knew one of the SOM 2nd years and have a friend staring in August. Small world. We also met a family whose daughter is at Duke and a social work teacher from NC State. Anyway…… Saturday night I was starting to not feel so good. We took a long trek to find a restaurant Lindsey wanted to go to through the town, by people’s houses and an arcade. We got horribly lost, but people were really nice and showed us the way (people in Guatemala city are not particularly friendly).

On Sunday, Lindsey and Sabrina (the other girl from NC- she just got her MPH at UNC and is now working for the CDC for several months) hiked Indian Nose. We were going to hike San Pedro volcano but it was closed because of the landslides. I decided to stay home in sleep since I was feeling pretty crappy in the morning. Heading back to Guate, we had a very unpleasant shuttle ride. There were these three American girls who got on the shuttle. One of the girls complained very loudly about the “jump seat” she would have to sit in and tried to get people to trade with her by saying how awesome it was. She ended up sitting in the front seat next to the driver and offering him beer (which she decided to drink in the van). Because she drank too much beer, she made the shuttle driver stop so she could go to the bathroom. THEN we all had to wait for the three girls at the stop because they decided to buy food. No wonder people hate Americans. The incredibly crowded chicken bus that we took the rest of the way back to the city was almost a relief to get away from those girls.

To really give you idea about what it's like to ride on the chicken buses, I'm going borrow Lindsey's words again...

"These buses are old US school buses that have been pimped out in crazy colors and chrome. The drivers could probably all be committed for their maniacle driving practices: turns are taken at break neck speed and stops are always last minute and whiplash inducing. The blaring horn can mean several things: hi! I'm stopping to pick you up! or Watch out I'm coming up behind you and don't want to stop! My favorite person on a chicken bus however is the doorman. Often adolescent or young adult, this guy hangs out of the door yelling the bus's destination as the bus starts to slow. "A Guate aguateaguateaguateeeee!" It's great. You no more get both feet in the aisle and the bus is speeding away and throwing you toward a seat (maybe) or maybe just into someone's lap. Last weekend I especially liked the doorman because he would say to everyone as they got on and tried to adjust and sardine themselves in "Adelante jovenes! Que pasan por el medioooo!" Roughly, "move along kids! go on down the centerrr!" Of course several of the patrons were little old men and women in traditional Guatemalan dress and not jovenes at all."

This adventure was followed by a couple of lazy days working from home and recovering from my mysterious cold. I went to shadow in the clinic on Tuesday morning and nearly passed out. Despite the fact that I did not have a single symptom of Dengue, they were worried that I had it and wanted to give me an injection of penicillin. Right…
TO BE CONTINUED

Be Excited

the world's longest post is coming............

Don't eat Strawberries and don't pet dogs...

Hola! Como Estas? Estoy Bien! Things are going well here in Ecuador for Jess and I. We have been up in the mountains since Tuesday and it is so beautiful here. We are rooming together in a basic but nice hostel where we have a room and bathroom to share. They give us clean water, have wireless internet and change our sheets all huge pluses. On the downside our toilet doesn't particularly like to flush with anything solid in it, which can be rather annoying... more on that later.
On Wednesday we arrived and got a tour of Otavalo, mostly seeing the indigenous community who still work by weaving clothes and reeds. The highlight for me was seeing an adorable couple who are 75 and 65 and make lovely wool goods. They do the entire process for the wool goods themselves still, one of the last people here to do so. They shave the sheep, card the wool, spin the wool, dye the wool (sometimes naturally, othertimes with chemicals), and then weave on a loom. I got a gorgeous pink scarf for only $5, a hat for $2 and another scarf (heavy gorgeous wool... perhaps for Jon) for $8. You feel a bit guilty getting such beautiful things that took so many hours to make for such low prices.

On Thursday we visited a clinic called Jambi Huasi where western medicine and traditional medicine is practiced together. We got to meet the Shaman and a frigadora? The frigadora told us of a tradional method of birth control used by up to 20% of the indigenous people where after having children if the woman doesn't want anymore she can have her uterus massage to come up to her tummy and held in place by a very tight belt. It didn't sound pleasant to say the least. It was very interesting to see how they have been able to meld the cultures so well. We then went on a tour of the hospital which looked a lot like other hospitals except for the birthing room where the women hold onto a room and give birth on a mat. The women rarely have c sections and they allow babies to come out breech (there is an operating room down the hall for emergencies though).

Yesterday we got to do the most fun thing we have gotten to do yet which is the community health brigade. We were broken down into groups of 3 with one advanced speaker and given patients to see. Most patients did not require a physical but rather simply obtaining the HPI and medical and social history. We then reported our findings to one of two Ecuadorian physicians that were precepting. It was sad as most of the people had things that were far beyond our ability to treat such as large cavaties, vision problems and chronic back pain. We were able to treat a few people for parasites, give out some anti inflammatories to ease those having chronic pain and make referals to Huabi Juasi. It was great practice though and while I'm still not able to speak a ton, I am getting better everyday.

The last night poop hit the fan literally. Not sure what I ate but I got a fairly bad bout of food poisoning (and I had been strictly adhering to the rule only things that are peeled or cooked... and our program directors rules: no strawberries and don't pet the dogs!) It was a pretty long night, made significantly longer by a toilet that was not functioning. Jess was my hero this morning and talked to our program director and treked into the city to find some medicine to make me stop throwing up (so that I could hopefully keep some immodium down). She was only able to find a parasympathetic atagonist in the form of an intramuscular shot and her and our friend Vanessa (who is a DO and does AWESOME manipulations... sorry side track), figured out the correct dose and gave me a shot. Luckily it worked with no side effects and now just have a bit of a bubbly tummy.

We were supposed to go hiking up one of the volcanos tomorrow but I will probably take it easy, but hopefully Jess will get to see the stunning views. Its gorgeous here, we are learning so much and meeting some great people. Miss you all tons and can't wait to hear updates (Emily-- that means you lil girl!)

Martha's Vineyard

Hey everyone!! Pictures are awesome and it looks like everyone is having fun--I'm jealous of all the traveling and new experiences. Clinic is going well here. On days not in clinic I work in my cubicle, but it's not so bad, plus I get to watch world cup live streaming!

I attached a photo of me and Dan in Martha's Vineyard. We had a nice time at his friend's wedding, although it was exhausting to get there and back. Dan is in Nicaragua now so hopefully he'll have time to write some posts.

Miss you guys!

pictures!

ah, that baby is so cute! aaaaaahhhhhhhh. can you bring him home? (to my home?)

so, i got pictures up!!!

the first one is us at the top of one of the mountain ridges. in the distance is benin.

the next one is the hike up the mountain, complete with child labor.

the third is me drinking beer at a work party at the end of the day. (work party means the men have returned from the fields and get beer. so do we. thats whats in my calabash. the guy next to me spent the whole day in the field, which means 5 am to 5 pm.)

they posted!!!

More Pics... Just for Whitney

Jess and I arrived in the mountains yesterday and it is so beautiful here. We got to go on a tour of Otavalo where we saw the indigenous people weaving with reeds, making wool and weaving sweaters. We also go to visit our tour guide´s home where she had all sorts of pets including this awesome fella.








Having tons of fun! Miss you guys

two more!

i got a picture to post!

Pics from Ecuador!

I know Jess has written at least one blog, and since we´ve been together pretty much the whole time her posts are my posts. I did manage to upload some pics so if you want to see Jess and I´s adventures from the first few days here (okay all the pictures are from Sunday) check out my flickr page (as usual): Pics from Quito!

I miss you all tons but am already learning lots of Spanish and having a great time. We are heading off to Otavalo (a small mountain village) tomorrow where we actually get to start doing the health brigades and doing more hands on stuff. Expect stories and pics soon!

Adventures in Quito

Hey everyone!

So Amy and I made it safely and happily to Quito! One of Amy's bags didn't get here until this morning, but all things considered it was a successful trip. We were picked up at the airport by a driver for our program, who took us to our homestay, speeding through streets with lots of cars but few pedestrians. Our home stay, it was very plain and small from the street, but this was an illusion since the moment we stepped inside it was large and beautiful. Our host "family" consists of a couple in their late fifties or so, Elsa and Jose. They call each other "Mami" and "Pepe," which I find very endearing. They are so welcoming, and we ate wonderful food while conversing (with much effort) in Spanish. Amy and I have our own adorable rooms (an unexpected luxury) with a shared bathroom - I think the hammocks and bugspray come when we get to the mountains...

The mountains! After a yummy breakfast and tea this morning (decaf! I'm going to have find myself some good South American coffee after this), we ventured out to walk around the city a bit and find an internet cafe. And the first thing we see when we turn the corner out of our neighborhood is mountains - tall and craggy ones, smaller and rolling ones, the lower portion studded with houses and the higher altitudes a deep evergreen color. It is beautiful. And against this backdrop, a colorful city, each building different than the next. The plants and trees are unfamiliar to this northerner, and Amy was very patient with me while I inspected leaves and blossoms, but I will have to come back out on my own soon to really take some time to look at them without driving her crazy :-)

I had the immediate urge to take pictures of everything I am seeing, but have limited myself to a couple of irresistible shots of the mountains, as I want to take things in first. And it makes us seem all the more like gringos, not that anyone is fooled; it seems like nearly every car that drives by honks at us, especially the taxis, who must see us a prime targets. There are dogs everywhere, and I can't tell whether they are strays or pets; many of them seem to be following people around or laying possessively in front of houses, but the people aren't paying too much attention to them. The dogs all seem friendly, well-fed, and not a bit skittish, and I wonder how long it will be before I throw out the travel clinic's recommendations not to pet them...

So those are my first impressions of the city on a quiet Sunday. Almost everything is closed, except in the tourist-y parts, which is where we are headed next - to the "ciudad antigua," the oldest part of the city, to explore a bit and probably find a cafe to relax in and watch the World Cup. Which is on everywhere, including over breakfast with our host family, and you can hear cheers in the street when a goal is scored.

Finally, I wanted to apologize to those of you who were in town and at Mary's house on Thursday - I'm sorry I missed out but both Amy and I appreciated the bon voyage wishes!

cheers,
Jess

p.s.

so if you here about riots in togo, which you probably wont because togo is small in world news, but if you do, no worries, theyre about 6 hours south of where i am. things are pretty normal up here, but i will still go home before dark!

mwahahahaha

so i had to write that i got my first round of food poisoning this weekend. most interesting thing that has happened in a while! i was so excited to discover tofu here and was told not to eat it. i did! first time, in the city, no problems. second time, in the mountains, followed by about 12 hours of painful stomach cramps (like i couldnt move), then throwing up/poops! i was SO HAPPY to be throwing up at that point that i was literally smiling the whole time. i knew something had to get out of me at some point. then my hands, knees, and feet had sharp AND dull pains all night long. when did we study that? can someone explain?

i am fine now though. today for lunch i had fruit and a banana split. no really, a banana split. that was better than at home! because its made with real chocolate sauce.

thought you all might like to know.

otherwise, i am fine! have a great trip amy and jess! definitely eat some food you like before you go. right now i kind of want to sit in front of the ben and jerrys/hd section of the grocery store. i dont even want to eat it, just want to see the variety that they offer.

whitney

the big news...

I went back to Chapel Hill over the weekend and had time to see Jess, Dana, Pat and Mary, which was so nice! But the BIG news is that Dan and I officially adopted Bella! Dan likes to say we've made an honest pooch out of her. I am so happy to know she can never be taken away from us now. It's a good feeling. Now if only she were up here with me in Cville!

Also, I finally got my new Lenovo. Only took 10 months. Let's hope it doesn't break! :-)

And happy birthday Dinushika!

Paradise...

This island is pretty awesome. I've put pictures up at my flickr page: Bald Head Island

I'll tease you all with a few of my faves.

thanks!

for writing everyone! i love it. i had a great trip to the mountains this weekend, but work is still hard and the trip home wasnt so great today so i decided to come to the cyber cafe and check my email and it was so great there are so many posts from you all!

also, when i got here, i ate a piece of cake! i have found the one patisserie in all of town and was so excited. cake was pretty much all they had left because it is the end of the week, but i very much enjoyed it.

i spent thursday and friday motorcycling around the mountains doing home visits. i dont even know how to describe it. im not good with words and i think you may have to see it to understand-so in the mountain village i have stayed in a few nights before, there is no electricity, everything is entirely traditional, except with cell phones and some tin roofs. on the home visits, there is electricity and people live near the city-but its still all huts and homesteads and cultivated and it makes for an interesting mix. many of the patients families do not know they have hiv, so at almost every house, the social worker i was with had a story for why he was there-to look at the fabric a woman sells, to buy beer (the local kind, all made by women), to talk about microfinance, etc. and then he interviews them as much as he can. he works really really hard 6 days a week to help about 2000 patients that come to the clinic with any sort of medical or social problems they have.

then i went up to the village because there was a group of duke students visiting from ghana, and because i just love going up to the village on top of the mountain. of course, i was excited for a night of cool mountain air, but instead it was the hottest night they had had in weeks. no relief!

tomorrow i am taking the kids to the pool!i bought them swimmies-12 bucks for swimmies! but they are so excited .

whitney

Bald Head Island

I've been on Bald Head Island since Tuesday which is an island off the coast of Wilmington. You take a ferry to get here which is about 20 minutes and you arrive in this adorable alternate universe. There are no cars over here except for construction vehicles and everyone gets around on golf carts. The mile is very narrow and only about 2 miles long. There is a great grocery store and a few clothing shops. The "roads" are lined with tall trees and the house we are at is nestled in the woods. The beach is not crowded at all and is so beautiful. It has been HOT has heck but the water is still refreshing.

The island is very dog friendly so Hailey is having the time of her life. She is allowed to roam off leash on the beach during the day (but not at night so the turtles can lay their eggs-- Whitney there are soooo is an entire turtle conservatory!). She rides along with us on the golf cart. She still won't go swimming but loves getting dunked by her daddy and then digging down into the sand to the cool wet sand.

It is a great place to be before heading down to Ecuador. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I'm leaving in a week! I'm coming home Tuesday and like Jess will be frantically packing. I'm off to cart around the island. I'll post a flickr link with pictures!

Pre-Ecuador fun

Hey! Just wanted to say hi to everyone, although I don’t have anything as exciting as erupting volcanoes or dogs eating poop to post about. (Yet .) I am back home after a two-week tour of the Northeast; I flew to Maryland to see my sister & grandparents, then Providence to see an old friend, train to Boston to see former co-workers, & bus up to New Hampshire. Upon arriving there, I was immediately waylaid by a friend of mine whose recital I said I would dance in; she and I grew up taking dance classes together with her mom as our teacher. Now she’s the teacher & wanted to do a tribute piece to her mom who died a couple of years ago. So I danced for three days straight in preparation for the performance, after which point I could no longer walk I was so sore! My sedentary med school lifestyle has not conditioned me for such things. But it was fun to dance with my sisters, and I miss them already now that I’m back in NC.

So since returning here my calendar has included 1) SHAC, 2) Law & Order, and 3) a nice evening catching up with Mary, Dinushika, & Sarah. My calendar for next week will include 1) packing, 2) cramming Spanish vocabulary, and 3) freaking out about not being ready for Ecuador. Hooray for summer break!

That’s all for now. I love all of your posts so please keep them coming.

Hugs,

Jess