Hello all,
So I had kind of give you a heads up on some of what was going to happen with my last post, so now I will update you and give you more fun details. So starting with Thursday, in the morning I went to Hermano Pedro with half of the small group. Hermano Pedro was celebrating 25 years of having the nutrition unit, which is where I am at. When we got there at 8am like normal, most all of the children had already been fed and the place was decorated for a party (which would be in the afternoon). At 10am, there was a mass in the chapel to celebrate, and I was able to go and take one of the older children with me. It was a very good experience. There were people from all of the different units at the hospital there, not just staff but patients too. After that, we had lunch from 12 to 2 with the group of students from the university of San Carlos which is the only university that has a just OT program. There were about 22 students that came (which is most of them) and they were from first year to third year. The program is an undergrad program, but for I think all they also studied psychology. During lunch I got to talk a lot (in spanish) with two of the students, both in their third year (last year). It was interesting to find out how different OT is here and the program and they were interested in finding out about OT in the US. There are not many OTs in Guatemala, as evidenced by only one school with small class sizes, but there are OT jobs, but you don't have to be an OT to necessarily do some of the jobs labeled OT. It was overall a good experience. Then after that I went to Spanish class, and my Spanish teacher and I walked to the San Fransisco church because I was looking for the perfect gift for my dad, which I found. I was able to go inside the church, which was gorgeous and to see the tomb of Santo Hermano Pedro. He is known for many miracles and it is said that if you knock three times on his tomb, he will wake up and you can petition him for a favor. It was a good trip, and then we went back and of course studied more spanish. Later on that night I walked in the park with Andy (another student at our homestay) to get pictures of the Cathedral at night because he left this morning.
Friday--- This was our long fieldtrip day. We started out at 8:30am and drove about 2ish or more hours away (yes those fun car rides around and up and down in the mountains, plus near the end our van was having slight issues with front brakes, such an exciting trip). I do not remember the name of the town we went to, but we went out to a rural area to visit with an ambulatory team, which for many people is their primary health care. They visit areas about once or twice a month. They have vitamins, vaccines and some very basic medicine. It was very interesting. We then went and had lunch in a park in a town. Rachel and Nicole had packed us all lunches. It was a nice time. We then went and visited a health post in that town, which would be the next step up the ladder from the ambulatory teams, and before going to the municipal capital for the hospital. We came back in the afternoon and had a little bit of time before the majority of us went to have dinner at "The Children's Restaurant" , which is part of an organization called T.E.S.S. Unlimited. Tess, who I know from her connected work at Hermano Pedro tries to find children with cleft palates or cleft lips and get them the surgery or help they need. With the restaurant, the children get classes in cooking and in English so that they will hopefully have better job opportunities when they grow up. The children are the chefs and the servers, though have they adult supervision. It was a fantastic experience.
Weekend--- Saturday morning I did not really do much except finish up my observation and rest some. Then had Italian food with my friend Adrenne and then we did a little shopping and negotiating. Then a group of us went to Pastores or Boot Town, as there are so many shops with boots or other items made out of real leather for good prices. I just looked and helped shop with a friend, sorry no cowboy boots for anyone. Came back, did a little more shopping, and sat in the park for a little bit before meeting Erin. While there I met a new friend, Maria, who is from Guatemala City, she is slightly older and was visiting for the day. We talked for a while and she told me if I ever wanted to visit Guatemala City I could stay with her and she would take me around. I told her that unfortunately I was leaving the next Saturday and would not be around. Erin came and I showed her where San Fransisco was. Later on, I went to Pollo Campero (their big name fried chicken restaurant) with Andy for food. During dinner the futbol (soccer) game was on TV with Guatemala playing, who is apparently really bad. We managed to see them score a gol, which ended up being the only gol and they won the game. The excitement was great and there were many firecrackers set off and then later fireworks. We then walked to the park which ended up being a great idea. In the park we met one of the other Spanish teachers from Tecun Uman, who Andy knew, and we chatted with him for a while, and made a new friend there. Then there was a live concert of different singers going on in the park. It had something to do with this weekend every year lots of people from El Salvador come and visit Antigua. While listening to the music we ran into Veronica and Vincent (host mom and dad) and stayed with them. We then all walked back together at about 11pm. It was a great night.
Sunday--I went to mass at the Cathedral this morning and then toured with a guide the ruins of the old Cathedral that was destroyed with the town many years ago in an earthquake. At 11am I got to talk with Joe, which was very exciting. For lunch, Erin and I went and ate at McDonalds to say we did, though it looks very different and I have pictures. oh and there is a story about it being haunted. Then we walked around some and did some more browsing and shopping. (for all that I go shopping I do not buy much each time, as I am looking for perfect gifts). I met with my small group to discuss and work on our final project, and then did some more wandering around and browsing with Adrenne. Overall this was a fantastic couple of days. Sorry this was so long, but lots of good stuff happened. Now for the last week and I still have several things I want to do.
Hasta Luego,
Teresa
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