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I can't believe the big weeks as we call them are coming up starting Saturday! All fall I worked on the public health curriculum and kept thinking of the spring in the back of my mind but never really thought it would come! Now I'm not sure I'm ready! It is going to be so crazy but at the same time so awesome!
Back track a little. Sunday we had orientation day with Concordia University and spent time with the kids. Church was weird because about 5 girls were in castigo (punishment) still from last Monday and they couldn't leave their room. Not sure why they couldn't go to church because I'm sure it was not punishment for them to stay back! However, the church seemed so empty because some other kids weren't there either for some reason or another.
Monday I spent with Amy, our 4 week health intern that is a 4th year med student, and with Dr. Janet Sprague and her husband Mike Sprague joining us this week from Michigan. Unfortunately we aren't able to have a clinic this week with only one doctor so they are doing some clinic stuff and some teaching. Monday morning we headed out to tour the hospital, meet Dr. Garcia, tour the rehab center, and we went to the drug rehab center.
I went to the drug rehab center last spring but hadn't been since so I thought we'd try stopping by to see if we could check it out. They brought us into the office, had us sit down and the director spoke with us for a good 20 minutes about the center and answered our questions. They then brought us grape kool-aid, and took us into their lobby area to explain the program with a large painting they have on the wall.It was cool stopping by there because they were excited to tell us about their program, the director is a previous addict of some sort and they are all very proud of their accomplishments and want to help others! It is a very uplifting, inspiring environment. The one in Monte Cristi houses about 20 men currently but could house up to 40. There are 43 different drug rehab centers in the country and 1 is for kids with control/temper issues and 3 for women with all different addiction problems.
In the afternoon I headed out to Batey Jaramillo (my favorite) with Amy to show her what Dr. Garcia does out there. It was a great time! All my babies that I love showed up and even a few new ones! I wish I had my camera because there was a little 2 year old that was the size of a one year old maybe, her arms were the size of my two thumbs put together, but I'd pick her up and tickle her and she had to prettiest smile and a very cute giggle!
I took my pictures from the fall and copied them and laminated them while I was home. I brought them to the people in the batey and they loved them. They'd show them to the other people and some people were asking where their picture was. Unfortunately they were there the day I took the pictures in the fall! The lady in the background was the one who kept asking me everytime if I could bring her a copy. I was happy to finally be able to bring her a picture to keep!
When I returned there was an intense game of volleyball going on, girls vs. boys. Jasmin came to visit Rich and jumped in to play. I was score keeper on the side. Rich unfortunately went down and I think he tore his ACL. He's been icing and limping around since then!We watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua with the kids last night which they seem to enjoy a lot! I sat with Arianni who was quite squirmy!
Today was a busy day. Amy and I had to sort through all the meds we have on site and split them up equally between the four clinic weeks we are going to have! Two weeks we'll have 6-8 practicioners and 2 weeks we'll have 3-4 practicioners so we had to evenly distribute the meds according to the amount of practicioners! Let's just say we started with 90,000 Tylenol Arthritis, 6000 kids vitamins, over 56,000 adult vitamins, and 631 bottles of children's benadryl, just to name a few! It took 3 hours in the morning, until lunch, and then 3.5 hours after lunch! I could be happy if I never see Benadryl, Tylenol Arthritis, or Vitamins again! :) But the sorting will start back next Sunday when more meds arrive!!!
This afternoon was my favorite part of the week so far! I had to walk Janet and Mike in to Dr. Garcia's house. It was their turn to go out to the batey but there isn't enough space for everyone to fit, so I headed out with them, dropped them off, and walked back. The walk back was so much fun. It was blazing hot but I made several stops along the way.
First stop, 2 little boys that were saying "Americana". I stopped and chatted with them for a little bit about where they go to school, what they were going to do, and they were super shy and had to be encouraged to talk by their Mom. They were asking when the Americans were coming to teach at their schools and I told them soon!
As I passed an elderly lady and asked "are you returning" and I told her yes. People here are very observant but I guess as an American I kind of stand out! As I continued up the street I saw the sister of Tito, the boy with the cleft lip/palate from this fall. She has been asking for clothes and we've been asking for lists and I tried to stop last week but couldn't stop since I was leading a group. So, I stopped sat down with her and some family/friends while she wrote a list. Her little 18 month old boy was sitting naked on a chair with a plate of rice and beans in his lap; spoon in one hand, and holding onto his junk with the other! Classic!
From there, I headed up the street. I heard some goats and saw in front of me a guy carrying two tied up goats upside down. One kept trying to bit his shorts and had his tongue falling out of his mouth. They both were making awful crys! I asked him what he was doing and he said taking them down street.
As I continued up the street I saw my little Haitian bag girl and her two sisters standing at their gate. I love them! They are so cute! I stopped and talked to them for a bit but they are super shy. The little one, probably less than 2, was about to put her finger on my hand and not be shy when two 8-9 year old Dominican boys came up beside me to see what was going on. I told them I was talking to the girls, who then got even more shy and wouldn't talk at all. This picture was taken last fall.
As I continued on, the two little boys followed me and talked with me some. They both go to JFK where we were teaching last week. I asked what they were doing with the goats (because they were earlier walking in front of that guy) and they said they were going to kill them to sell them. As I was talking to the Haitian girls, a pig was being picked up and forced into the back of a truck. It was making some awful crying/screaming noises. In that moment, I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian because it was so awful hearing both the goats and pigs scream and see them being tortured in some ways!
The little boys stayed with me a bit, went away, and then came back. I also stopped at the shoe repair place where there are always 5-6 people hanging out and lots of kids. I said hello to them and talked with the little one for a few seconds before heading up the hill to the orphanage.
What a great walk and some good visiting with the neighbors! Wish I had brought my camera to get some great shots along the way! I came back, finished sorting meds until dinner, showered, and then hung out with the kids for a little while.
Tomorrow equals more prep for the big weeks to come!
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