Week two in Guatemala

Hello all,
     So I have gotten some complaints about not posting on my blog recently.  While I am glad that you are so interested, let me tell you about what my week has been like so you can understand while I did not feel like spending my free time blogging everything.  My schedule for this last week of school stuff is laid out below.  Monday through Friday the schedule is configured in mornings and afternoons.  We generally meet three times for large group, three times for specific group- me pediatrics, and three afternoons for spanish and every Thursday we have an extra guest lecture. On and on fridays we have a fieldtrip.  Breakfast is at 7am, lunch at 1pm and dinner at 7pm.  I try and wake up at 6:30 everyday and go to bed between 9:45 and 10:30 on weekdays.
     First of all Spanish, I think I have been doing pretty well with this class. I really love the one on one style.  We generally just have a conversation for the first part, then do some sort of activity such as reading or something and then work on some grammar.  during this time we will normally break back out into conversation over something that came up.  Second, large groups, I have found these very interesting, though most of the stuff is more anthropology focused instead of OT and that is a little harder. I have been learning so much about Guatemala, and it is all so fascinating, if a lot of it sad.  It has been really interesting to focus on home human rights and health is so interconnected.  Third, my pediatrics group at Hermano Pedro.  I am really enjoying this and learning a lot.  The second week is much easier than the first because I am more used to it and have grown in confidence.  For example, today I fed two little babies with pretty significant cleft palates with only a little trouble.  This is something I had not done before but had seen the others feeding there children on previous days while I was feeding other kids.  It was an amazing experience.  And also just being there with the kids, being able to put some of my skills to use and see how I can help them develop is great.  I really like my group.
      Fourth, the guest lecture last night was great.  He was from FAFG, which is the Forensic Anthropology Foundation in Guatemala.  For anyone who watches "Bones", yes like that.  There are four different areas in this foundation though, the forensic anthropologists, forensics archeologists, forensic genetics and unidentified persons area.  While really fascinating to learn all about it, the reason it came about was from sadness.  It came about to try and find and identify the 40,000 people that disappeared during the civil war and those persons unidentified in mass graves.  They now also work with the prosecutor's office for some crimes and with identifying with mass disasters.  The whole process of how it works is very fascinating and when I come back I can talk more about it with anyone who wants to know more.  I took lots of notes.
       Fifth, the fieldtrip of today.  While we were gone for a long time it was a great fieldtrip.  We went to Comalapa, which was about 1hour 20ish minutes away by bus.  Let me first just say that the last bit up the mountain on very narrow curving roads was crazy, especially seeing that they have two different statues of Mary on the journey for safe traveling.  The first place we went was to visit this "green" school that is being built by a group.  When I say green building, i mean to the next level green.  This building is built out of trash, tires, recyclables, mud, and cement.  (with some other things but those are the important things).  It was amazing, and this school was built into the hill with the group having to dig it out.  The trash came from that the guy in charge had built a park before with the connection of some government or group or something.  There was a charge to get into the park that those rich could pay but poor couldn't.  To even this out, the poor could collect trash off the roads or just bring a bag of trash for entrance into the park in order to help clean up and properly dispose of trash. At the park they built thing out of the trash.  They are now building a new school with this.  I will try to put up pictures soon on facebook so you can see what i am talking about.  We then went to visit a Curandera, which she is a natural healer in this Mayan population within an area of Comalapa.  It was very interesting.  We then visited and learned about MayaWorks, which is a cooperation of Mayan women in the area of artisans or weavers.  They sell fair trade with the United States to make money  and understand more about woman in this machismo society.  I think you can look up more about it on MayaWorks.org .  We then came back on the crazy ride, though I think I said wrong before, we were not in buses but in vans, but it was still stomach upsetting enough.  We got back at 7:20ish and got home for late dinner.  I then finished my observation I had to do for Hermano Pedro group and am using my free time tonight to write this blog:).  I hope you all enjoy it.  Tomorrow morning most of the group leaves at 8am to go to Lake Atitlan for the weekend and we will come back Sunday at like 4 or 5.  It sounds like a very promising weekend.  I will fill you in when I get back.

Hasta luego,
Teresa
 

Week 2	July 25	July 26	July 27	July 28	July 29
a.m. wake up at 6:30 breakfast at 7am    Lunch is at one	1) Check-in 2) Impacts of Violence on Health 3) Health, Risk, Development, and  Human Rights  9-12pm but 20 minutes each way on but	Focused Area Groups- Hermano Pedro 8-11:30am takes 15 minutes to walk each way	Focused Area Groups This week I was sick with nausea and was told to stay home	1) Political Economy of Disease 2) ORT 3) Medical syncretism And then tour of common hope, we got home right at 1	Focused Area Groups 8-11am takes 15 minutes to walk each way and today we had to have lunch at 12:30 and leave at 12:50 and took a tuk tuk
p.m dinner at 7, try to sleep by 10 and homework most days	Spanish 2-5	Spanish 2-5	1) Guest lecture: PAHO 2) Case Study: Primary Care Delivery, Elder adults  2-5:30 and then bus	Spanish 2-5  5:30-7:30, Guest lecture: FAFG	Field Visit:  Comalapa - Kaqchikel Curandera, MayaWorks from 1 to 7:20pm