Copan: Part 2

Our guide, Antonio, whose mother was Mayan and father Honduran.  He studied and did research in the States so he spoke very good English.  He was very knowledgeable and entertaining and even told lots of jokes.
The ball court where the Mayan people played their sport -- either the winners or the losers were killed to honor the gods, depending on how the game was played.  If it was political, the losers were killed and the smoke of their burning blood was said to reach the gods in heaven.  The Mayans never ate human bodies, that was the Aztecs, but they did perform self mutilation to make themselves bleed.  Anyway, the point of this game is to score by getting a 10 lb rubber ball to hit the ear of 1 of the 3 the macaw heads (see middle and end of ramp).  The players were only allowed to use their hips, elbows and thighs to move the ball -- no hands, feet or heads.  The ball was made from a type of rubber tree that grows near by and it is very bouncy.

Honduran national bird -- the macaw.
Me with Antonio Rios -- a.k.a. "Tony Rivers" as he told us.  His stick had a macaw feather on the end to point things out on the ruins.
An old tree at the top of the ruins.  The Mayan empire in Copan is said to have dispersed due to exploitation its natural resources, which is known through the analysis of skeleton bones that show calcium depletion among other signs of malnutrition.  Due to erosion, deforestation, and pollution, Copan was inhabited only for the reign of 16 kings, from 426 to 820BC.  The land was purchased in the late 1800s for $50 by a man from New York and since has been restored mainly by American universities and Japanese donors, along with many other archeologists.  

Copan: Part 1

Family vacation to the city of Copan the day after Christmas.  We rented a 15 passenger van to make the 8ish hour journey and stayed at hostel for 2 nights.  It was fun to walk around the busy downtown area, do a little shopping from local artisans and eat lots of great food.
 

Sam next to the statue of Morazon -- he tried to unite all the Central American countries.  Next is a very conspicuously taken picture of the commonly seen machine gun-clad guard.  He doesn't look too intimidating to me.
 
One of the most fun parts of our first day in Copan -- taking the mini taxis up a steep hill to a museum.  Wendy and Martin actually had to get out of theirs and help push it up the street!

 

Almost there...Whew -- we made it!

New House

Last week Heather and I moved to a house that wasn't being occupied about 250 yards from the clinic.  The Williams' new house is in between ours and the clinic, but right now just the walls are completed.  In order to make the house more safe/accommodating for group overflow, we did some minor renovating and will also paint the interior and exterior (my family might help with that when they come next week!).  

 

My favorite part about the house is the champa (thatch roof thing) which is out our back door.  Since we are close to the river, it's very peaceful out there and I love listening to the water.

 
One of our housewarming/Christmas presents -- I've always wanted a bienvenido rug!  
  
Our first winged friend in the new house -- this sucker was about the size of my hand, fingers and all.  It just hung out on our wall for 2 days and then it disappeared...wonder where its hiding.  The holes in its wings looked transparent, which I hadn't seen before.

"Swimming" in the river by our house.  Heather mistook my waving my arms in desperation and franticly clinging to a rock for a great photo op -- this is right after my crocs were stripped from my body and I dodged giant jagged boulders down the rushing river current.  Let's just say I'm not too experienced with white river crossing yet.  I think I prefer to go down in a giant inflatable raft wearing a lifejacket and a helmet.

Christmas toys

A few weeks ago I went along with the Williams family to deliver Christmas gifts to children in a village called Las Minas.  It's about a 4 hour trek from Rio Viejo and required the use of a more durable and powerful vehicle, so a friend of the Williams drove us out in his Land Cruiser.  Martin goes to this village once a month (when the river is crossable) on his motorcycle to give attention at the clinic there and also to bring meds.  In Honduras, each medical student has a required year of service and Martin's was in Las Minas.  

 

The remains of the bridge to Las Minas -- it was washed out when Hurricane Mitch came through in 1998.  There was a grant to have it rebuilt but apparently the person in charge sold the supplies and took off, so we had to cross the river by driving through it.  The locals also use horses to get across.

 
Dr. Williams talking to the kids before they received their gifts.  We also gave out clothes and a couple things to mothers with babies.  The majority of the toys were collected at a Christian bilingual school in La Ceiba, Honduras, the nearest large city to Rio Viejo.

 
A group of girls playing with their new toys -- most got a doll or pretend dishes.  The boys got cars or sports toys.   They seemed very excited to play with their new toys/Christmas presents!

Cutest Patient Award: a Tie

The cutest patients -- twin nieces of my friend, Sandy, who works at the Williams' house.  Their names are Alesandra and Alejandra.  They don't look very sick, do they??  :)

Patient photos

This is one of my favorite patients, Valentino.  He is 89 and has had 9 children, two which have died.  He was very talkative and told me all about his life in rural Honduras and work as a farmer.  Valentino is one of many patients who come to our clinic with diabetes and high blood pressure.  The typical Honduran diet (rice, beans, tortillas, plantains, yucca, coffee, fruit, etc.) in conjunction with influences from North American culture has affected the health of many people in Honduras.  Just today, half of our adult patients had high blood pressure and diabetes.  
On the contrary, children commonly suffer from malnutrition in Honduras and are underweight.  This young girl is 28 months old and weighs 20.5 lbs -- a gain of only 2 lbs since her last visit 6 months ago.  She, like many of the children we see, has an upper respiratory infection and required a series of breathing treatments to clear her lungs and ease her breathing.  We also provided powered formula, antibiotics, etc. which are included in the 50 Limpira (about $2.65) fee to see the doctor at our clinic.  If patients can't pay, they either bring bags of dried beans or a chicken, etc.  When they don't have a way to pay or live too far to bring anything, we still see them for free.

Weekend adventures

Last weekend Heather and I took a walk to visit our American friends down the road (Jonathan and Devin).  We met up with them just in time for a hike, guided by a swarm of anxious and energetic kids who are orphans from the next village over.  They bring food to the kids a couple times a week and are quite popular for being giant human jungle gyms and for sharing their Oreo cookies.  

Here's a picture of Franklin, Julia and their friend with his tiny kitten in front of the "orphanage" where they live.  These children along with many others live with an older woman who takes care of them.  Despite their solemn expressions, these kids are filled with so much joy and love.   They love having their picture taken and are laughing and goofy and hyper right up until you take it, then for 5 seconds they turn serious.  After its taken, they run to look at the picture and are back to being fun and smily.  It's hilarious.

My tour guide, Franklin, 4 years old, guiding me down the path from the cave.  The kids loved to hold your hand down the path and little Franklin here needed a boost a few times in his oversized flip-flops.  He was so eager to point things out and show me a toucan up in the trees and where the stream turns into a mini waterfall, etc.  He was so excited when we finally made it to the cave and tried to get me to climb through a small opening on the side of the rocks where there's another space (the kids had to be going somewhere, right?)...I declined.

This is the swimming hole where we took the kids after our hike -- I couldn't resist the dare this time and jumped off this rock with all my clothes on (in the background).  Reminded me of jumping off the bridge at the Land, but probably a bit more dangerous!  The water was cool and clear and felt great after the hike.  It came from a rushing stream up the mountain from this picture and meets one of the 3 large rivers which join in the area near Rio Viejo (hence the name of the town where I live).  Glad to be able to share in the fun of what goes on down the road from us and also to be able to connect with kids in our area outside of the clinic.  Hope to do it again soon!

BUGS!

So after finding a giant chaga bug in our bathroom, I decided enough was finally enough.  I am adjusting well to my new mosquito net and feeling quite secure in fact.  As an attempt to not scare off all possible visitors, I will not explain what a chaga bug does or transmits, but feel free to wikipedia it on your own, if you dare.

Clinic pics

Here's some pictures of the clinic -- the top is of my exam room where I see patients for their initial consult before they wait to see Dr. Williams.  After Martin sees the patients I fill their prescription in the pharmacy (picture on the left) and explain how to take their medication. 

  

Didn't take long to realize how different things are in the medical world in Honduras than in the States, commonly due to limited accessibility.  For example, we wash and reuse equipment that is routinely tossed in the States, including all the pieces used to nebulize (breathing treatments), scalpels, surgical instruments, speculums, etc.  My job is to scrub, wash, and soak everything in bleach and later we will boil the metal instruments to sterilize them for use in minor surgeries (picture on the right).  

Also, dirty needles are kept in an empty wine bottle.  We use bed sheets for the exam table and wear headlamps while doing procedures.  Even prescribing medications is reliant upon what is available in our pharmacy (what has recently been donated and isn't too far out-of-date).  

Such is life in a Jungle Hospital!

Check your boots!

This is why we tip our boots over before putting them on!  Well, not really because usually it would be a tarantula or roach or something.  But this guy certainly surprised Martin the other day before we started clinic!  The nearest river is down the road a bit, so Mr. Crab must have been walking all night just to miraculously climb up into a rubber boot.  Our "guard dog", Kaiser, was equally perplexed as the poor crab, who kept snapping at his nose when he tried to sniff him out.  Needless to say, it was quite an eventful start to our day!

¡Yipee, hace sol!

  

The rains have stopped!  (only for 3 days, but enough to see the sun!)  Heather and I went for a hike down to the river (the village's namesake) and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery.  

Will continue to post photos as long as our internet signal allows -- not many pictures of patients yet as I don't want patients to feel uncomfortable or to seem intrusive.

Leeches!

My new favorite fun fruit -- leeches!  After passing numerous roadside stands of these mysterious poky fruits, I finally asked one merchant what they were.  He replied "lichas."  As if to say, "What else could it be?!"  After asking what you do with them he popped off the top half of one and told me to try it.  It was slimy inside and odd looking but also very sweet tasting and fun to eat.  My new favorite snack (until mango season)...I bought a whole bag of 20 for 20 Limpiras (about a dollar).  

Our Casita

Here is a picture of the house Heather and I share.  Notice the coconut tree in the front yard!  We haven't figured out how to knock down the coconuts yet to drink the water inside, but we're hoping some good ones fall off soon.  The house has 2 bedrooms, a livingroom/dining room, bathroom and a kitchen.  There is also a pila (cement wash basin) outside that we can use for washing our clothes and boots.  Right now we use it to hold our trash because we haven't figured out where we're supposed to burn it yet!

Our house is located in the village, which consists of a couple long streets of houses close together and a few small stores which sell basics and also snacks, Coke and ice cream.  One of our patients named Santos owns one of the stores and gave us ice cream bars today.  He came in last week to have 3 lipomas removed from his arm along with a thorn which had been stuck in his arm for a couple years.  Since the clinic is on the main road, we walk through the village every day to get to work.  It's about a 5 minute walk but it's been fun to see familiar faces along the way.  

High School Graduation

While the internet is strong enough to upload pictures, I'll continue to blog!  This picture was taken the day after we arrived in Rio Viejo.  I wasn't aware, but American-run schools typically adopt a different school schedule which has the "summer" break during the rainy season here.  This also allows for a break during the holidays for the many American teachers who volunteer at the Christian high school (El Instituto del Rey) directly across the street from our clinic.  The ceremony was similar to the few I've been to in the States and included the national anthem played by the school marching band.  I think there were about 15 graduates this year.

After the ceremony we tagged along to two graduation parties -- one of which was next to our house for the daughter of the pastor of the church here.  Heather and I tried to attend one of the 2 night services last weekend but one was cancelled due to a big wedding in La Ceiba and Sunday the service started early because it was raining so by the time we arrive it was the middle of the sermon and the only 2 open seats were in the middle of the very front row.  Yesterday I asked a patient who is training under the pastor at the church about the services and he answered as if to say "Yeah, so what's the confusion about?  That's how things work here."  We'll give it another go this weekend and hopefully there won't be any more scheduling changes!

First week

Before I forget, don't forget to check out the Williams' blog -- blog.hhim.us -- for some pictures of Heather and me during our first week at the clinic.

I've been here over a week now and it's beginning to feel like home.  I'm getting into a routine here at the clinic and it's seeming easier to talk to patients.  I'm learning new words every day (today I learned Band-Aid, why I didn't know this before, I'm not sure).  The highlight today was assisting in a procedure for a tumor in the back of someone's head.  My job was to shave a patch of hair off and then dab the wound with gauze.  

Yesterday Heather and I ventured into La Ceiba for the first time by ourselves and it was fun to walk around and explore a little.  It took us a little over an hour to take the bumpy bus ride down the mountain and into town.  We enjoyed an authentic Honduran breakfast of coffee and baleadas, which are tortillas with beans, cheese and egg.  We also bought leeches from a roadside vendor who showed us how to pop off the tops to chew on the fruit inside.  Later in the day we called Heidi, a Norwegian friend we met last week at the women's Bible study, and she met up with us for coffee and pastries at a bakery owned by an American lady who also goes to the Bible study.  I was quite happy to indulge in my first chocolate purchase in Honduras, a chocolate-filled croissant -- yum!  

A Picture at last!

Heather and I standing in the "porch" of the house we will be moving into in a couple months. First we need to clean it out (knock down termite nests/feed the chickens, get different furniture, paint, get a stove, etc.).  The backyard of this house has many papaya trees and has a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.  For now we're living in a small house in the village about a 5 minute walk from the clinic which has been great.  Pics to come!

Rio Viejo Landscape

These pictures were taken in the front lawn of the clinic (turning around from where the pic on my postcard was taken).  The building is the new house being built for the Dr. Williams and his wife and 2 kids.  Right now they are living in the space that one day will be the rest of the hospital.  I was taking the pictures from the second floor of the dorms which separate the house from the clinic.  

Rio Viejo Safe and Sound!

Arrived in Rio Viejo on Friday night and had the weekend to adjust and get settled in a little.  More details will come later, pictures are to come when the internet will let them through!

Take My Life

Little over a week until I leave Chicago.  In the midst of all the last minute preparations and to-do lists, this song has been playing in my head -- may it be my prayer now and throughout my time in Honduras.

TAKE MY LIFE  -- Chris Tomlin

 

Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee.

 

Take my voice and let me sing always, only for my king.

Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold not a might would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use every power as you choose.

 

::Chorus::

Here am I, all of me.

Take my life, it's all for thee.

 

Take my will and make it Thine it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord I pour at your feet its treasure store

Take myself and I will be ever, only all for thee,

Take myself and I will be ever, only all for thee.

 

Here am I, all of me.

Take my life, it's all for thee.

Ticket Purchased!

Excited to inform you that I purchased my ticket from Orlando to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for Novemeber 14th.  Also happy to have found the same flight as Heather, my roommate and fellow intern at the clinic.  There weren't any open seats next to her, but I did find the seat directly behind her one row back!  It'll be fun to meet and catch up a little on the way down before arriving in Rio Viejo.

Michigan weekend

Sarah and I drove up and spent a couple of days in MI this past weekend to visit our grandparents.  I really enjoyed sharing with them the video from HHIM -- it really does a great job sharing the mission and vision of the organization and also paints a good picture of what life is like where I will be living and working in Rio Viejo.  I'm hoping to get the video linked up to my blog sometime soon. 

We were also catch a bit of Nick's first half marathon!  He did an awesome job and has inspired me to train for the next race I run, which isn't all that helpful since my first 10K is this coming Sunday!  Nick ran for team World Vision and even finished under 2 hours -- not bad at all!  Sarah and I were content being cheerleaders and thought we deserved our second cookie of the weekend for our efforts -- conveniently located near the race course at our favorite restaurant in GR, the Gaia.

Colorado Visit

Enjoyed a weekend in Boulder, Colorado visiting my good friend, Kevin, from Wheaton who is studying applied geophysics in a graduate program at CU.

We were both a part of Honduras Project for two years during our undergrad, so it was fun to reminisce about those days and also talk a bit about my upcoming departure for Honduras.

I really enjoyed the fun downtown area, the beautiful mountains and the active community of Boulder. Other highlights of the trip include eating a delicious dinner of pumpkin soup baked right inside of a real pumpkin at the home of some Wheaton alums who live a block away from Kevin (which also involved a couple serious rounds of Rummikub!), hiking in the mountains nearby/geological field trips, visiting with my cousins Reuben and Rachel, and eating authentic Venezuelan food. It was a relaxing trip and also a nice break from the flat scenery of Illinois!