Also the last two days I have been plagued (mildly with the virus that spread amongst our Brigade group) with how to summarize my Brigade! The Internet cafe at our lodgings was far too slow for updating throughout so here it all is picture-book-style:
Feb.15
Arrived at Tegucigalpa - one bus from Tsawwassen to Seattle, one flight from Seattle to Atlanta, another flight from Atlanta to Honduras later. We actually started our travel on Feb. 14th.
Now functioning on EST - hometime, yet I always get jet-lagged. I tried, I really tried to sleep on our RedEye, but no dice.
The motorbikes of Tegucigalpa. I would love to traverse around the windy mountains with my Dad one day, but that may not be safe even though we could pass as Hondurans.
We stuffed our luggages and ourselves (all 28 of ourselves) into our bus - with a rosary hanging off the rear-view just like my fam!
Outside our lodgings at the top, the very top, of our side of the mountain. All we did was climb. And I was concerned about not getting adequate exercise....
Feb. 16
Visited the Sociadad of Nuevo Paraiso.
Gate to Clinica Santa Rosa de Lima.
We ate across from the clinic the first day. This day we saw what lay beyond.
Kindergartners all the way up to high school as well as the church I would attend on Sunday.
The kindergartners' teacher allowed them all to come and play with us in their cute matching uniforms. We all held hands and walked/danced around in a circle while they sang super cathy Spanish songs. The girl to my front had the cutest smile, and her best friend to my back, Claudia (pronounced Clou-Dee-A with much conviction) sang loudly, clearly, and with the cutest dimples. My girls.
My girls are the second and third from the left. Only caught the end of their song. Clearly I also did not have much experiencing doing video with my iPod at this point either. Yup. That's my finger in the corner.
Short little vid. of this cutie with her lollipop. She danced and sang solo for ALL OF US earlier too. No shame. Only joy with this one.
A map of Honduras painted outside one of the baby houses.
Brigade 1
My assignment this day was shadowing Dr. Ronda in the doctor consultation station.
Picked up on a lot of the Spanish terms - I love how it can be so related to Tagalog- and saw a lot of the same cases. Some very sad cases. But some very good sights of teeth in a lot of the children.
(Top) Walking behind my home visit team. Just a short walk down the street, but this ladies vericose ulcer was terrible enough that mobility was not an option.
(Bottom) The view from the consultation area. Donations handout out from the building. Charla given in the circular area.
Served over 440 patients this day.
Brigade 2
Served over 600 patients this day!
My view from the pharmacy - my specialty.
Spent the afternoon unexpectedly in the Dental Room.
(Top) Some of my last patients of the day. They loved learning how to brush teeth on Pedro.
(Bottom) The ninos with their cute wool tuques outside the room. They loved having pictures taken of them, and I loved saying Hola to them in between my dental education...in Spanish. I learned a lot of Spanish this day.
Brigade 3
Served over 300 patients this day.
Pharmacy again! Counting pills that arrived last night close to 11p.m. We were exhausted by that point so were left to do it in the morning.
Patients receiving their medications in the bags mec donated to us! Thanks, mec!
Afternoon again in the Dental Room. This time, I was pulling teeth! Four of them to be exact. Two on the bottom. Two on the top. All increasing in difficulty and size.
Jose Luis was the assisstant to the assisstant (me).
The first tooth I pulled! A baby compared to the ones to follow.
I have so much more respect for dentists. Having to deal with getting patients through the pain that you have to cause them, and having to find the right spot to clamp the tooth, and having to keep the proper amount of torque (slow movements, yet with a death grip) throughout. Makes me sweat again just thinking of it. It gets quite physical.
Tribesty's super awesome shield. The goggles he had on earlier were enough to make me smile; I have no idea where he found this one. Cleaning out our spit basin at the end of the day. It's actually not as nauseating to look at as I thought it would be. All the spittle....ewww.
Apparently we were a good team. It was tough running the show with only two people.
Brigade 4
Served over 100 patients. Our smallest brigade, but these people needed the help the most.
Beautiful scenery here, way up in the mountains. Quite the lengthy ride to get here.
If I showed any signs of the "sickness," it was today.
Dizziness. Headache. (Maybe some mild diarrhea. Sorry, but that's how the story goes). So it was a good thing I was in donations.
I was excited about this job. Being able to match people with glasses, clothes, and toys.
They look you in the eyes when they say their "Gracias" and you cannot help but smile and wish you couuld give them more.
The hermanos! The first children I noticed when we arrived. Always holding hands. We made sure they received some wicked goods.
Sunday the 19th
Our "day off."
I did not really get a sleep-in as I was up by 6:45am getting ready for mass.
We even got to enjoy the breakfast which we thought we would miss - pancakes too. Something familiar.
Got some video of singing during Communion. These people love to sing. I would argue that they actually pray 3-4X every time they sing, as opposed to the standard of 2X.
Did not quite understand it all but knew the flow. Loved how the priest got the children (so many of them!) involved, as they answered with their Si''s and No's.
Saint Francis of Assissi was sang in Spanish. Just as beautiful, if not, more.
Was hoping to catch it unnoticed, but the young girls in the pew in front had their eyes on me by the end.
The one with the cute pigtails kept grabbing for my hand throughout mass.
Very intimate people, EVERYONE was out of their seats, hugging you, kissing you, more than just handshakes and "Peace be with you"s during sharing the sign of peace.
Santa Lucia
Valle de Angeles, ready to pack-it-up and go.
Got everything I was looking for. A hammock! With just enough lempiras left to enjoy the best ice cream there is.
Check us out! The GMB! You'd never know most of us were terribly sick at some point during the week.
Moving scenery if you're interested in Honduras as the sun goes down. One with some Spanish radio in the background. Another with the silence of our sleepy selves:
Our surprise from Moises. Lessons and songs from his schoolteacher.
Final Day
Goodbye Honduras.
Ready for another full day of travelling.
Me and our view from the top.
1 comment:
cool blog! We did make an awesome team. I think they were trying to give us an incredible experience in the hope to inspire us to start up a dental brigade next year, haha. amazing amazing trip.
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