A little bit of this and that...

I have a nice long post coming up about Clinica Alabama probably this weekend.  I keep forgetting to do this everyday, like I said I would.  So family and friends, this one is for you so you know I'm still here and haven't expatted/ faked a mysterious disappearance... yet. ;)

I've been hanging with the docs the past few days. And next week Frenchies and I get to venture to the big hospital.  One of the students, Aurhencuruvru (something beautiful in French that I don't know how to spell), is a 6'3'' man who not only forgot his white coat but also scrubs.  I, too, did not bring my white coat.  Since I am bit over the average height of a woman here, it was difficult to find one that fit me.  Dr. Villareal did bring one to me.  It can fit a teenager in the states.  Not great for one who has broad back and shoulders due to swimming and rock climbing. But it works.  For Frenchie... he could barely find scrubs long enough.  And they still look like high-waters... is that what they are called?  We are supposed to go to the hospital next week, so we might trek into Managua before to see if we can't find a mutant size of  white coat. 

We have had some interesting cases.  They are interesting because the people who come to this clinic are so poor.  So they have conditions that are totally mismanaged, or not managed at all, and would otherwise go unseen. Blood sugars close to 400. Systolic blood pressures close to 200. Diastolic at 100.  Vomiting for 5 days. Parasites for months.  25 year old women who weigh 70 to 80 pounds, not because they have an eating disorders. Abscesses. Unmanaged osteoarthritis. Malformed anterior fontanelles. Completely debilitating ocular conjunctivitis, resulting in near blindness.  Possible breast cancer. Prostate cancer. A variety of things every day. 

I have worked in free clinics in the states.  Even though I saw a lot of the same things, like hypertension and diabetes, most of it was managed.  Or at least the option was there.  Think of one free clinic serving all of Greenville, Pickens, and Oconee counties.  That's kind of like this Clinic.  They get patients from Nadaime, Masaya, Granada, and little towns and villages all around. There are some other free clinics around, but this one is the one to wake up for at 4 or 5 in the morning to get started on a long walk to be there at 8am.  Then possibly have to sit around until 12:45 to be seen. All while being sick. Long day...

Some friends and family have expressed interest in donating to the Clinic.  I will post wither tomorrow or Monday some history on the clinic and ways to do that.  I appreciate all of the support I am getting for this trip.  I have received many thoughtful emails, and I hope that one day you can experience this country.  There's really nothing like it :)

The kids at Carita Feliz on a summer vacation for a week. I did not know this until I walked, rather than bike, to school.  Upon arrival, two of the students in the 4th grade class were riding their bike, and say "Ashley..... Fuiste???  Jajajaja!" 

To pass the time in the afternoons, I have been spending my afternoons sick.... and also exploring the streets.  So kind of good timing for whatever bug crept it's way inside me- los banditos. Whilst exploring, I got a little obsessed with the wooden doors and iron gates. I take after my papa :) I live in a city obsessed with these creative doors and sidewalks (just wait for it) and paint jobs.  So colorful, just like her people. I took like 50 pics of doors, but I'll spare you..

Also here is video of the endless rain monsoon of today.  You'll notice 2 buckets.  Those are filled from today, and they will be used tomorrow for cooking, cleaning, washing, and drinking. Free water!! Thank you mother nature! Click This.

Iglesia  de Xalteva

color and horses

another Mombacho.. love a good Cloud Forest

This is a papaya. I usually can't stand the taste of this fruit.
It tastes like a mucous covered dirty sock.
But...
If you score the outside a little with a machete,
and allow it to sit in the sun for a day...
and it's not GMO...
it is juicy and delicious. 

Laguna De Apoyo

After this crazy week, I needed some decompression.  This is the 2nd time for me to Laguna.  I tried to take public transport, as I have done before but from Managua. However, the Masaya station with buses to Masaya is located at the market block, and this place on a Sunday in Granada is INSANE.  So many people crammed onto one tiny street with buses, vans, motorcycles, bikes, babies, stray dogs, more babies, really poor people, nuns, birds, and more motorcycles and bicycles. Was not happening for me.  After I escaped the chaos, I found Hostel Oasis not far from the market square.  They provide a shuttle to Hostel Paradiso for 13 bucks. I was down for that. They carted 10 travelers and hippies from all corners of the globe to share in a little piece of paradise. We had Germany, USA, Canada, Ireland in one bus. 

Here is some info on the Laguna!! Crystal clear water in the 200 meter deep crater of an inactive volcano.

I kayaked. Swam. Relaxed on a floating dock.  Met a kick-ass young woman from Canada whose name is Stephanie. Mediatated. Read Ishmael. All in all, a pretty awesome day.  Laguna de Apoyo is definitely one of my favorite spots everrrrr,  Here are some pics :)  They do not do this nature treasure justice. 

Volcan Mombacho

On the 4th I met an awesome dude from VA and I asked if I could tag along with him to go hike around Mombacho.  On Saturday morning, he and two of his friends picked me up outside of Kathy's Waffle House.  Great breakfast.  Good place to go if you need a breakfast that isn't automatically served with gallo pinto.  Note: I evaded public transport. lazy me... I'm sure within my 40 day stay, my time will come.  Granada to Managua was easy... straight shot, window seat.  I know the difficult is coming :)

taken from Travel Virgins

I have been to Mombacho before, but I had never done the hike we planned on doing... the Puma Trail.  And yes, there have been puma sightings and attacks.  We paid the $15 each to take the truck up to the top via steeeeep roads and hair pin turns on bumpy, pot hole riddled roads. Like most, public transport, we are crunched in like little sardines. The ride was like the uphill part of a roller coaster, execpt in a Nica truck while spinning tires thanks to it being the rainy season.

At the top of the Volcano, we hired a guide.  Being the true gringa that can be sometimes, I am thinking, "What the hell do we need a guide, this isn't my first rodea with nature"... Here and here is some info on the volcano. Over 100 or something different species of orchids. Thousands of species of animals, reptiles, amphibians, plants. All set in an enchanting cloud forest on a volcano with 3 craters.  Yet again, Nicaragua has humbled me. Our guide, Agostino, was necessary.  This was the steepest trail I have ever done.  The most slippery. And the fear of an unaided puma attack was lessened by the presence of someone who does 3x a day while equipped with a walkie talkie. It was a tough hike.  It stormed and monsooned on us for a good 45 minutes.  And it was humid.  I lost count on the number of "steps" we went up and down.  My calves are still burning.  Here are some pics.  I'll post more on Flickr.... when I get a chance. :)

                                        

 Two different types of Orchids in a tree

Carita Feliz, Sex Ed, Bicycle Rights, y Cafe del Tiempo

Carita Feliz is a school that goes from primer to 8th grade on the weekdays, and on the weekends, they offer practical knowledge and skills classes for older adolescents and young adults. The classroom is like an old school house in the way that everyone is together.  They have separated teachers for different grades and subjects, but everyone is in the same place pretty much.    A lot of people in one place, trying to learn different things.  Needless to say, the teachers are really good at what they do.  Here is an article on Peder Kolind, the guy who started it all.  It's in Spanish, but try and translate it!  It is very inspiring!

Sex Ed... Yesterday, I bounced around classes and age groups, and one of the classes was very interesting. I was with a group of 9 year olds, when I entered into something completely foreign to me. They were given a Sex Ed presentation.  This wasn't anywhere close to the vagueness of a US lesson.  This presentation was straightforward, honest, and not sugar-coated.  Latin America has more problems with STIs and pregnancy within a much younger population than in the US.  This discussion was great, because it opens up discussion at an age where pregnancy and STIs are more common than you would think.  These pages from Advocates for Youth  has some good facts (*a wee bit outdated). Same with this WHO factsheet  that compares all countries (*also a bit outdated).  I am starting to see potential for some good research here :)

mi bicicleta

Bicycle Rights? Nope. I rode by bike all morning and rode it to Carita Feliz.  I ended up in a class on Turismo with other young adults who want to learn skills to work in food and bev and tourism.  It was more a Spanish comprehension class for me.  Anyway, there are no rules for cyclists or for drivers when it comes to watching out for bicyclists.  No one pays attention to stop signs, uses blinkers, looks to see if anyone is coming. So you keep your eyes open and head up and hope for the best while on a bike.  Despite the craziness, drivers here are pretty good at last minute reactions and horns. No close calls yet :)

Free time... I explored Granada for the rest of the day. I bought a chip for my phone, ate another great Dona-prepared lunch, and went back out to get lost. 

Main Square 

I was walking down to the lake and it started raining hard.  I'll have to try that again when it's drier or bring a raincoat. Granada is pretty safe town.  Super chill.  You can always find someone taking a nap or relaxing on a bench.  No rush here. If anyone bothers you, just give the Nica Finger, which is a wave of your index like saying no no no. What is interesting is that I keep seeing Americans, Canadians, and Europeans.  No one will really make eye contact with each other, because most of the people who travel to rustic countries like Nicaragua are trying to get away from their world.  I found some really cool places to eat that will be visited tomorrow.  I had coffee at a really neat place in the center of town called Fitzcarraldo.  They serve coffee that is in the Specialty Coffee Association of America.  

 Then I came back and hung out with my house family.  Dona Espinoza had her son and his family over.  Their youngest son, who is 9, speaks near fluent English. Very impressive. Now I am resting, and I will spend my evening learning some medical Spanish so I am not a total dumbass on Monday.

Lastly, here's the bird

I can't spell his name... but it starts with an S... I call him Shh

Primer Dia

What am I doing here? I am volunteering with Clinica Alabama, which is an internal/ family/ general medicine clinic who take care of the majority of the poor in this REGION. People travel hours to get care.  Why did I chose doing something in general medicine over ObGyn (my destiny)? I believe having experiences in the general helps you understand the specific.  And many of the health issues I will encounter on this trip, I will also encounter as an ObGyn (hypertension, diabetes, infectious disease).  And I could not let this opportunity go.  

So last night, I got off the plane, and I saw my driver through the window.  One of the organizers for my trip, Albertina, was gracious enough to set me up with her local driver so I would be safe.  And since my plane was 2 hours late, it was comforting to know that I would have someone there. 

He took me through some back ways through Managua to get to the main highway.  Drivers be crazy in this country, but as crazy and fast and rule dodging as they are, they make it.  In Mexico, I called it "offensive" driving.  I try my best to make conversation, but I am rusty. After 40 minutes, we pull into Granada. Unlike Managua, she is sleeping.  We find my house after turning down nameless streets and alleys, and I can't help but think of Charleston :) An older women, Dona Espinoza, greets me through her gate. -Pictures tomorrow-.  She leads through her yard/house to a bedroom.  She shows me around the room, and says goodnight, we will talk tomorrow. 

Needless to say, I've begun sweating.  One because it is hot, and two because I suddenly realize the loss of my grasp of the Spanish language. I also meet Fred.  Fred is a very big spider. And I can't catch him. And he makes noises. At least I have some company, right?

I wake up sweating, to a parrot or something screaming HOLAaaaaAA. His name is Shut Up.. jk. BReakfast is on the table.  Gallo Pinto, egg, jugo. Que rica.  I then put on my scrubs... pants.... now I am not pleased. 

Jaime, one of the other organizers of my life here and one of the big guys at Clinica Alabama, showed up at 7:30 to pick me up.  He is fantastic and shows me a round the clinic, introduces me, and tells me all about it.  He then takes me to Carita Feliz.  This is school for the poor.  I will dedicate a whole post, tweet, whatever you call it to this magical place. I fell in love. 

We go back to clinic and I jump into medical mode.  I take BPs, pulse, weight, blood sugars on 40+ people in 4 hours.  There are 2 doctors at the clinic, one very accomplished American nurse - Mary, and a 4th year med student from England- Rachel.  Medical Spanish is over my head, so I gave myself some homework to do this weekend. Vocab! Fun note: Doctor asked me if I had been running because I was sweating so much.  haha. 

Jaime comes back to the clinic to have a meeting with someone, and he says " I have a sorpresa for you". Earlier, when we were driving around to Carita Feliz, he was giving me directions and telling me where to walk and where not to walk.  I hate walking, so I asked how or where could I rent a bike down here.  He responded "I'll check into that for you later".  Well did above and beyond, and obtained a bicicleta for me.  I will photo it later. What a great guy though. The unrelenting kindness some people have always amazes me.  Something to learn from. 

Lunch was a dinner. In Nicaragua, like some other Latin countries, lunch is the biggest meal. I had a cheese stuffed pepper, a bounty of rice, beans, and bbq chicken... and juice water. mmm

I wheeled over to Carita Feliz after that, and taught some things and played with kids for the rest of the afternoon.  Tomorrow I will spend my whole day there, so I'll put up more about it. But it is a great program. 

I had dinner with the Dona and one of her friends.  I mentioned how much I love corn tortillas, so they prepared corn tortillas for me with something similar to al Pastor. I feel loved. 

I love Nica food almost as much as I love the people. I haven't stopped sweating since I got here.  And usually I don't like to eat and sweat at the same time.  But I gave that up with my first meal here. 

Going to watch a telenovela to get some Spanish in and then crashing. 

Buenas noches!