Do you think its easy coming up with all of these amazing creative titles for your enjoyment?
My short span on this earth has so far, contained one amazing vacation -- Alaska. I can wholeheartedly say that this two week span in Belize is on par if not a tad above the Alaskan vacation. And let me tell you why.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
By sea, by land, by air, by tram
Friday, Jan 18, 2013
After flying over 3,372 miles, walking over 40 miles, burning about 10% of my skin, eating 10 lbs (or so it seems) of rice (with or without beans), and assisting ~200 patients, it was time to, for the last time, pack my suitcase and go back home. But of course, not without a few (fun) bumps along the way.
After flying over 3,372 miles, walking over 40 miles, burning about 10% of my skin, eating 10 lbs (or so it seems) of rice (with or without beans), and assisting ~200 patients, it was time to, for the last time, pack my suitcase and go back home. But of course, not without a few (fun) bumps along the way.
I kissed a shark, and I liked it, hope my stingray don't mind it
Thursday, Jan 17, 2013
Ugh. Waking up at 4am in the morning is never fun. Especially when it is raining. Especially when you are about to leave people who have become your family after a short period of time. ESPECIALLY, when you know you are going to be starting school in a short number of days and your days in Mother Nature's Best Kept Secret are numbered.
Ugh. Waking up at 4am in the morning is never fun. Especially when it is raining. Especially when you are about to leave people who have become your family after a short period of time. ESPECIALLY, when you know you are going to be starting school in a short number of days and your days in Mother Nature's Best Kept Secret are numbered.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Op Op Op, Indiana Jones Style
If you're up for swimming and climbing through close to 1000ft of cave, then Actun Tunichil Muknal is one tour that will make your trip to Belize outstanding. The caving part of the tour takes you through a subterranean river, over (and under) more than a few rocks and into the main chamber. ATM is the most popular tour in the San Ignacio area and is an experience of a lifetime.
SLOW TORNADO, SLOW TORNADO
So while doing Punta with the Punta King on Saturday, the last song we learned was "Slow Tornado" which is extremely catchy and was pretty fun. I just found a video of the King dancing to the song, so I thought it warranted a watch.
If the song does not get stuck in your head...you need to rethink your live choices.
Well the first song is Tornado, I have no idea what the other one is.
Leave a comment and let me know!
If the song does not get stuck in your head...you need to rethink your live choices.
Well the first song is Tornado, I have no idea what the other one is.
Leave a comment and let me know!
Seven Miles, and then some
Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013
When we were still learning about the course and what we would be doing in Belize, I was very excited about doing house visits, because it seemed like an even greater direct patient care experience. After finishing all our clinics and then learning we would actually do house visits for the whole day (or so we thought), I was very excited.
When we were still learning about the course and what we would be doing in Belize, I was very excited about doing house visits, because it seemed like an even greater direct patient care experience. After finishing all our clinics and then learning we would actually do house visits for the whole day (or so we thought), I was very excited.
Taking it Easy
Monday, Jan 14, 2013
So its been a week since we have been in Belize (just go with it, okay?), and our clinics are mostly done and so is all of our hard work; now we are about to embark on the 'fun' week, a week where we can just take mental pictures and videos of the ambiance and surrounding areas, which will travel with us for the rest of our lives and service us when we most need it - right before exams.
Before we could get to that though, we had to teach elementary school kids about a variety of topics -- Hepatitis A, head lice, proper hand hygiene, and teeth brushing.
So its been a week since we have been in Belize (just go with it, okay?), and our clinics are mostly done and so is all of our hard work; now we are about to embark on the 'fun' week, a week where we can just take mental pictures and videos of the ambiance and surrounding areas, which will travel with us for the rest of our lives and service us when we most need it - right before exams.
Before we could get to that though, we had to teach elementary school kids about a variety of topics -- Hepatitis A, head lice, proper hand hygiene, and teeth brushing.
Indiana Jones, take one
Sunday, Jan 13, 2013
I woke up as I usually did on a Sunday -- by taking a nice cold shower and having a very delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with green peppers. After thoroughly drenching my body in sunscreen and bug spray, I made it out the door to Proworld, where, after filling our water bottles and splitting into two groups, we entered regularly sized, white air conditioned vans and embarked on our journey.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Comfort zone, what comfort zone?
Saturday, Jan 12,
2013
We were told that on Sat we would be ‘using machetes to
clear someone’s botanical garden.’ When I heard this, I was, in contrast to the
majority of people in the group, pretty ecstatic. Not because of the manual
labor, but because we would be using machetes. Anyone that knows me would
understand that this is not weird, this is just me.
Wanted:Spanish Lessons
Yet another thing that I want to dedicate a blog post to was
the language barrier. I knew that the majority of the people we were going to
be dealing with in clinics were going to be Spanish speaking, but I at least
expected there to be some English speakers. But alas, as the saying goes – the best laid plans of mice and men…
It was very difficult and sometimes frustrating because we didn't have many translators, and when we did have them, it felt a bit
disconnected; like I wasn't helping a patient directly. That did bother me a
bit, but I tried to make it feel a bit more connecting, for lack of a better
word, by looking at the patients while talking to the translator. Still, it was
very difficult and my four years of HS Spanish did little to prepare me, aside
from the basics like where it hurt, and when it happened.
I really wish that we had a mini-Spanish refresher course
about the basic phrases and words that we might have needed. Even if we couldn't hold conversations, at least we would've been able to somewhat
understand what they were saying, and respond accordingly.
Family Matters
I have nothing but kind words to say about my host family.
They were very nice and made me feel at home, even though I might not have been
at home. When I first got my information packet about them, I was a bit
reserved, for lack of a better word, because three months ago, they lost their
youngest daughter. When we got to the house, you could see pictures of Suzy all
over the place, and I tried not to bring it up, because I felt that we would
get more information about it as they felt comfortable about it.
No seriously, where are the ducks?
Friday, Jan 12, 2013
There's a famous saying in the US of A called TGIF, and it doesn't refer to the food joint -- it refers to the fact that the end of the week is here and because its been an exhausting week, it demands to be celebrated. That is not to say that our first week in San Ignacio was exhausting, but I was just missing the cold weather, and therefore was happy that the week was over, meaning we were closer to the colder weather. Please note: this does not mean I wanted to go home any faster, because I was slowly but surely falling in love with the country and all the people.
Now, onto the clinic.
This time, we had our old driver back, meaning that we got there in a matter of 20 mins, even though we got a bit lost.
There's a famous saying in the US of A called TGIF, and it doesn't refer to the food joint -- it refers to the fact that the end of the week is here and because its been an exhausting week, it demands to be celebrated. That is not to say that our first week in San Ignacio was exhausting, but I was just missing the cold weather, and therefore was happy that the week was over, meaning we were closer to the colder weather. Please note: this does not mean I wanted to go home any faster, because I was slowly but surely falling in love with the country and all the people.
Now, onto the clinic.
This time, we had our old driver back, meaning that we got there in a matter of 20 mins, even though we got a bit lost.
Where are the ducks?
Thursday, Jan 11, 2013
After a very nice sleep, a cold shower, and some APAP, I was ready for clinic again. Our clinic was going to be held at Duck Run 1 which made me very excited to see some ducks, because who doesn't love ducks?
Spoiler alert = there were no ducks
After a very nice sleep, a cold shower, and some APAP, I was ready for clinic again. Our clinic was going to be held at Duck Run 1 which made me very excited to see some ducks, because who doesn't love ducks?
Spoiler alert = there were no ducks
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Starting a Belizian Road Service
Wed, Jan 09, 2013
Wednesday was supposed to be a good day. We had an extra hour and a half to sleep in and the weather was turning out well. Breakfast was even pretty delicious and I didn't have a cold shower. We were going to have a talk about ethnobotany, a tour of a botanical gardens, followed by a hike to Xunantunich, a Maya ruin. That isn't to say that the day turned to rotten tomatoes -- in fact, it turned into one of the funniest days I've had (ironically enough). Then again, I am pretty weird.
Wednesday was supposed to be a good day. We had an extra hour and a half to sleep in and the weather was turning out well. Breakfast was even pretty delicious and I didn't have a cold shower. We were going to have a talk about ethnobotany, a tour of a botanical gardens, followed by a hike to Xunantunich, a Maya ruin. That isn't to say that the day turned to rotten tomatoes -- in fact, it turned into one of the funniest days I've had (ironically enough). Then again, I am pretty weird.
There once lived a white man named Billy...
...after whom a town was supposedly named. I'll give you one guess as to what it was called. Ready? GO!!!
....
....
....
The answer was Billy White. If you guessed right, you are the proud owner of Vicky's world famous hi 5's. It really is an honor.
....
....
....
The answer was Billy White. If you guessed right, you are the proud owner of Vicky's world famous hi 5's. It really is an honor.
Clinic Numero Uno = Santa Familia
Jan 07, 2013
After an exhausting day of jumping borders the day before, we were ready to start our first clinic at Santa Familia. My group, which called ourselves Dengue Fever, were assigned to do triage, meaning that we were to intake patients, get their weights, heights, and find out what is wrong with them, so that the people who were in assessment could easily pinpoint the issue.
After an exhausting day of jumping borders the day before, we were ready to start our first clinic at Santa Familia. My group, which called ourselves Dengue Fever, were assigned to do triage, meaning that we were to intake patients, get their weights, heights, and find out what is wrong with them, so that the people who were in assessment could easily pinpoint the issue.
Jumping the border
Jan 6, 2013
On our tour of San Ignacio, we saw a sign for a trip to Guatemala. Considering our Sunday was going to be free, we decided that we should go not only because it was going to get us more stamps in our passports, but also because we would be able to visit Tikal and Flores.
We agreed to meet up at an ungodly hour (6:45am) at Proworld, but considering it was Belize, it took about another hour and a half until everyone got there. Lets just say that slow clapping was involved. After playing our fees, we got into vans and made our way towards the border, totally didn't feel sketchy.
On our tour of San Ignacio, we saw a sign for a trip to Guatemala. Considering our Sunday was going to be free, we decided that we should go not only because it was going to get us more stamps in our passports, but also because we would be able to visit Tikal and Flores.
We agreed to meet up at an ungodly hour (6:45am) at Proworld, but considering it was Belize, it took about another hour and a half until everyone got there. Lets just say that slow clapping was involved. After playing our fees, we got into vans and made our way towards the border, totally didn't feel sketchy.
Rain and Inventory and Quesadillas, Oh My!
Jan 5, 2013
We got a fresh (and cold) start to the day, getting out of the house at 7:35 am and got to Proworld very nervous about doing our first clinic at the Market in San Ignacio. When we got there, we were all relieved to find out that because of the torrential downpour, the clinic was canceled since the place where our tents were supposed to be got flooded out. To put our time to good use, we spent about an hour and a half doing inventory.
Dr. G was very impressed with the amount of equipment we bought, considering that last year's group had little to no stuff. When I say we had a lot of equipment, I am not exaggerating -- we literally had an entire pharmacy, without all the prescription meds.
So, instead of holding clinic, we got a tour of San Ignacio and I think that a pre-req for this course should be a continuous workout program for five months prior to the trip, because this city is extremely hilly. I probably worked off my breakfast of tomato egg omelet by the time we got back to Poworld.
Our tour took us into the heart of the city -- found out that one of the main streets with restaurants and bars closes at 6pm so that people can walk around.
We got a fresh (and cold) start to the day, getting out of the house at 7:35 am and got to Proworld very nervous about doing our first clinic at the Market in San Ignacio. When we got there, we were all relieved to find out that because of the torrential downpour, the clinic was canceled since the place where our tents were supposed to be got flooded out. To put our time to good use, we spent about an hour and a half doing inventory.
Dr. G was very impressed with the amount of equipment we bought, considering that last year's group had little to no stuff. When I say we had a lot of equipment, I am not exaggerating -- we literally had an entire pharmacy, without all the prescription meds.So, instead of holding clinic, we got a tour of San Ignacio and I think that a pre-req for this course should be a continuous workout program for five months prior to the trip, because this city is extremely hilly. I probably worked off my breakfast of tomato egg omelet by the time we got back to Poworld.
Our tour took us into the heart of the city -- found out that one of the main streets with restaurants and bars closes at 6pm so that people can walk around.
Green Green Everywhere, but Not a Leprechaun in Site
Jan 4, 2013
When we got off the plane, I knew this trip was going to be fantastic -- we got a presidential welcome...well kind of, since we got to get out of said airplane via a ladder, which makes everyone feel important. It then immediately started to downpour, which seems to also have set a theme for the duration of the trip.
When we got off the plane, I knew this trip was going to be fantastic -- we got a presidential welcome...well kind of, since we got to get out of said airplane via a ladder, which makes everyone feel important. It then immediately started to downpour, which seems to also have set a theme for the duration of the trip.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans
A few days ago I finished reading another of John Green's books, which is filled with a lot of literary deliciousness, and one of the phrases was the title of this blog post -- mysterium tremendum et facinans -- which roughly translates (via the book) as, "that stomach flipping mix of awestruck fear and entrancing fascination." (Abundance of Katherines, pp 36)
I'm trying to manipulate said quote to my current emotional state -- I both have a nervousness and excitability in me that is, for lack of a better word, a bit overwhelming. It hit me yesterday, and has been in the pit of my stomach ever since (though, it could just be the Malaria medication).
I'm trying to manipulate said quote to my current emotional state -- I both have a nervousness and excitability in me that is, for lack of a better word, a bit overwhelming. It hit me yesterday, and has been in the pit of my stomach ever since (though, it could just be the Malaria medication).
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