I know it's way past the start of the new year, but as I have experienced a lot of changes over the past month, I thought now would be an appropriate time for this post. Compared to a month ago, I would say I now have a completely new life.
I'll start with my housing. As many of you know, I was searching for a new place for quite awhile, mainly because Carcelen is so far outside of central Quito. Well, about 2 weeks ago, I left Carcelen, or "the boonies" as it is referred to by many, and moved into a new apartment with Matele, a single mid-aged woman who has experience hosting exchange students. I already love it! Matele is so sweet and the perfect host mom. Whether it's eating dinner or watching the Office together, I love the company and the extra spanish practice. The apartment is also in the perfect location - easy access to many buses to get to work and see friends, close to two of the biggest parks in Quito, about 4 blocks from the main grocery store, and in walking distance from about anything I need! While I'm still keeping an eye out for an Ecuadorian family with the possibility of moving another time, I'm very content in my new home and the idea of staying here for rest of my time in Quito. (Thanks mom for the advice to be open to all options - if it wasn't for you, I may have passed up this wonderful situation!)
Along with my changes in living situations, I made a big change in my work schedule. Now, instead of working mainly with one foundation, I am working with four! I continue to work at the ACF shelter Mondays and Wednesdays. As the work at the shelter can be pretty tough and emotionally draining, I've found this lighter schedule helps to keep my energy and spirits high. On Tuesdays, I am now working in a school for children with disabilities. Along with a friend, I teach a photography class in the afternoons. I've found this work to also be challenging, but I love seeing the kids' faces light up at the simplest things, like learning to turn on a camera. I'm excited to see how the class develops, as both my friend and I have little experience with photography and even less with teaching. I'm still working with Nacion Urku on Thursdays, and I'm still loving it! Starting in a few weeks, we will start teaching the kids swimming. I can't wait to get back in the water, even if it's just to teach lessons for a few hours a week! And finally, since the Timmy Santo Domingo Brigade, I have taken a great interest in working with Timmy Global Health, signing up for every translating opportunity I can from now until when I leave.
These changes will bring new experiences, all of which I am very excited for!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
My First Timmy Global Health Brigade
Upon arriving back from Colombia, I had one week in Quito before heading off again, this time to Santo Domingo to help out with a medical brigade as a translator. The brigade was part of Timmy Global Health (http://www.timmyglobalhealth.org), a foundation that brings doctors and nurses from the states to provide medical care to various communities in Ecuador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. I left early Sunday morning to meet up with rest of the group. There were 4 doctors (2 ER doctors, a cardiologist, and a pediatrician), 1 pharmacist, 3 RNs, and about 15 nursing students from Manchester Community College, along with 3 other translators.
After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at an old BEAUTIFUL convent, which would serve as our housing for the week. After getting settled, we headed to our first clinic site to get a community tour. It was pretty shocking, as most people were basically living in shacks. After the community tour, we returned to the convent to sort out medicine and prepare for the start of clinic.
We held a clinic Monday thru Friday, each day serving a new community. Clinics were held in various locations: a local health center, community centers, and on the last day, huts outside in an indigenous community. In the clinics, I worked as a translator. For the first days, I worked in the history station. I translated for a nursing student as we questioned patients about past medical issues and current problems. On the fourth day of clinic, I got the confidence to translate with a doctor and, to my surprise, was fine! I loved being in the consult room, as I was able to see how the doctors were treating all the problems that I had heard the patients complaining of in the history station. And I even learned a few things myself (I can tell you the albendazole dose needed for any patient to treat parasites)!
Overall, it was an amazing week. I can't wait to return to the communities in 5 weeks, but this time, with my parents as doctors!
After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at an old BEAUTIFUL convent, which would serve as our housing for the week. After getting settled, we headed to our first clinic site to get a community tour. It was pretty shocking, as most people were basically living in shacks. After the community tour, we returned to the convent to sort out medicine and prepare for the start of clinic.
We held a clinic Monday thru Friday, each day serving a new community. Clinics were held in various locations: a local health center, community centers, and on the last day, huts outside in an indigenous community. In the clinics, I worked as a translator. For the first days, I worked in the history station. I translated for a nursing student as we questioned patients about past medical issues and current problems. On the fourth day of clinic, I got the confidence to translate with a doctor and, to my surprise, was fine! I loved being in the consult room, as I was able to see how the doctors were treating all the problems that I had heard the patients complaining of in the history station. And I even learned a few things myself (I can tell you the albendazole dose needed for any patient to treat parasites)!
Overall, it was an amazing week. I can't wait to return to the communities in 5 weeks, but this time, with my parents as doctors!
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| Our housing for the week! |
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| A look at one community |
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| The makeshift consult rooms |
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| Our nightly duties - pill counting |
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| Our final clinic site |
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FInal day at clinic - Translating for Dr. Joe
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10 Days At Caseteja
Happy New Year! Bare with me as I try to make up for my lack of posts over this past month.
I'll start with Colombia. I spent the final days of 2013 and the start of the 2014 in Colombia with Pablo (the nephew of Cristina, one of my mom's co-workers) and his fiancé, Paola, and had a wonderful time! We stayed at Paola's parent's house (and I use the word house loosely) with her dad, step-mom, two younger brothers, and grandfather. The house was in the middle of nowhere, just off the only road that connected the few small towns close by, and was surrounded by what seemed a bit like a jungle. It's pretty difficult to describe the house itself, as it was like nothing I've ever stayed in before. There were 4 different little detached buildings that made up the house: the kitchen and living room, the master bedroom and 1 kid's bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms, and the bakery. The "living room" walls were trees and the floor was gravel. The main light source was natural light. Both bathrooms in the house were outdoor bathrooms, maybe one of my favorite parts of the house! My bathroom was absolutely wonderful, with live plants, little birds on one wall, and even a parrot that would whistle at you when you were showering :) Even a simple shower could be a fun experience! The family had 6 rabbits, 3 parrots, multiple birds, 1 monkey, 3 dogs, and a large fish pond with over 100 fish. And the bakery, Paola's family runs Caseteja, which is a bakery type of rest-stop. All the sweets were made right there at the house, meaning there was always something to help with and always treats to be tasted.
Our days were spent relaxing at the house, helping out in the bakery, playing with Paola's younger brothers, reading in the hammock, and occasionally, taking day trips to local towns. Our daily excursions included trips to the local river, Curiti (a touristy town right along a river), and Paola's grandmother's house (where we needed to take a detour to the local hospital due to a cat bite).
One of my favorite parts of the vacation was New Year's Eve, which we celebrated a bit differently than I am accustomed to. First, we started off the evening by making our "Ano Viejo" (Old Year). It's basically a scarecrow representing your regrets from the year that you burn at midnight. The whole night was spent dancing and enjoying the time together with family. While dancing isn't my favorite activity, I definitely improved my salsa skills :) At midnight, after burning the Ano Viejo, we ate a huge dinner together, and then headed off to bed. It was a great way to bring in the new year!
I'll start with Colombia. I spent the final days of 2013 and the start of the 2014 in Colombia with Pablo (the nephew of Cristina, one of my mom's co-workers) and his fiancé, Paola, and had a wonderful time! We stayed at Paola's parent's house (and I use the word house loosely) with her dad, step-mom, two younger brothers, and grandfather. The house was in the middle of nowhere, just off the only road that connected the few small towns close by, and was surrounded by what seemed a bit like a jungle. It's pretty difficult to describe the house itself, as it was like nothing I've ever stayed in before. There were 4 different little detached buildings that made up the house: the kitchen and living room, the master bedroom and 1 kid's bedroom, 3 guest bedrooms, and the bakery. The "living room" walls were trees and the floor was gravel. The main light source was natural light. Both bathrooms in the house were outdoor bathrooms, maybe one of my favorite parts of the house! My bathroom was absolutely wonderful, with live plants, little birds on one wall, and even a parrot that would whistle at you when you were showering :) Even a simple shower could be a fun experience! The family had 6 rabbits, 3 parrots, multiple birds, 1 monkey, 3 dogs, and a large fish pond with over 100 fish. And the bakery, Paola's family runs Caseteja, which is a bakery type of rest-stop. All the sweets were made right there at the house, meaning there was always something to help with and always treats to be tasted.
Our days were spent relaxing at the house, helping out in the bakery, playing with Paola's younger brothers, reading in the hammock, and occasionally, taking day trips to local towns. Our daily excursions included trips to the local river, Curiti (a touristy town right along a river), and Paola's grandmother's house (where we needed to take a detour to the local hospital due to a cat bite).
One of my favorite parts of the vacation was New Year's Eve, which we celebrated a bit differently than I am accustomed to. First, we started off the evening by making our "Ano Viejo" (Old Year). It's basically a scarecrow representing your regrets from the year that you burn at midnight. The whole night was spent dancing and enjoying the time together with family. While dancing isn't my favorite activity, I definitely improved my salsa skills :) At midnight, after burning the Ano Viejo, we ate a huge dinner together, and then headed off to bed. It was a great way to bring in the new year!
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| Pablo, Paola and I at the airport before heading off |
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The living room, where we spent New Year's Eve |
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| The bridge, over the pond, leading to the house |
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| The outdoor shower (the picture doesn't do it justice) |
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| Dancing on New Year's Eve |
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| Our ano viejo |
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| Juanda (Paola's youngest brother), Pablo, Fernando (Paola's grandfather), our ano viejo, and myself |
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| Helping out in the bakery |
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| River adventures! |
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