Day 55

So I was still sick today. I went to the doctor in the afternoon, and he said it was likely a parasite. He's having me take a blood, urine, and stool test (which I will be going to get tomorrow). I spent nearly the entire day in bed. I felt like I had no energy to do anything.

I started to feel better after a nap. Everyone went out for dinner, and even though I wasn't hungry, I accompanied them anyways! I was surprised at how much better I felt after the walk to the restaurant. And I felt hungry again...I seemed to have regained my appetite! I ordered some food, and took a few bites and felt sick again! I was pretty sick for the rest of the night, and I had terrible stomach cramps all night. I woke up around 4:00am, and it was not good.

One of the house guests has Dengue fever - poor guy. Dengue fever is common in rural Nicaragua, and is carried by mosquitos.

Day 54

I woke up today not feeling 100%. We were due to go on a little trip to Masaya Volcano after our placements this afternoon, as there is a really incredible night tour of the volcano craters and caves. I wanted to make sure I was well enough to go, so I decided that I would sleep in an extra hour or so, and then head off to placement.

It was a good plan, until after breakfast when I needed a puke bucket and a toilet at the same time...I got myself cleaned up, and went to the living room to watch FIFA with some of the other people in the house. I was laying down, and I suddenly started to feel very hot and dizzy. Before I could do anything about it, I had vomited all over the coffee table, then all over the floor. It was horrible, and so embarrassing. I felt so bad. I was just shaking...I felt so so sick. I hopped in the shower to clean myself off, and didn't even dry off before climbing into bed. With the fan on, I finally cooled off. I slept for a bit, and when I woke up, I felt a lot better. But as soon as I stood up again and started moving around, I felt hot and dizzy again. I threw up twice more, while going to the bathroom....again. Not fun. All I could think was: "I hope I don't have a parasite...".

I just seemed to get weaker and weaker as the day went on. And although I stopped vomiting, I was still needing to run to the bathroom unusually often. I just tried to rest, and I slept some more. I ate some crackers and gingerale, and I kept that down. I tried to drink more fluids, and I seemed to gain more strength. By about 9pm, I felt significantly better. Except that I had fever, which I didn't have earlier.

I took some tylenol for my fever and went to bed.

Day 53

I am definitely getting sick. After being wet and cold on Saturday, I woke up with a bit of a head cold this morning. Runny nose and sore throat...never fun. I got up and went to work, but I stuck to tasks away from patients. I made charts and put together packages of papers. I organized the shelves and sorted through all kinds of paper work. I had worked up quite a sweat by the end of it all! Phew!

We went out for some "Taco a Taco", as we needed to sign their infamous wall. Brittany and Sara are leaving on Friday morning, and it's tradition to sign the wall at "Taco a Taco" - sad moment. It's weird...we're all beginning to realize that our adventures in Nicaragua are coming to an end.

We watched a movie afterwards, and had a great night overall.

Day 50/51/52

Another fantastic weekend :)

We left Friday afternoon for San Juan del Sur - well known as the most touristic location in Nicaragua. Between the white sand beaches and the vibrant community, we understood why. After a delicious meal at a Reggae restaurant called "The Black Whale" and a few games of pool, we spent the remainder of the night sitting on the beach and talking.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to Maderas beach, about 20 minutes away. The sun wasn't out when we left, but we figured the clouds would burn off by mid-morning. We were very wrong, unfortunately. We spent the first few hours at this very isolated beach reading and swimming. Although it was heavily overcast, the air was still warm enough. It started to spit rain at first, and within about 5 minutes, a full-blown storm had moved in. There wasn't much for shelter at this beach - only a little shack with a few tables and a hostel. Between the pouring rain, and the violent wind blowing the water off the sea, we were utterly drenched. And it was freezing. And we were stuck out there until 3:00 (the storm started at 1:00), which was the time we'd told the taxi to come back and pick us up at. And when I say taxi, you should know by now that I really mean the back of a truck.

It was a long 2 hours in the rain...we all had the chills, and it took us a while to warm up. We went out for dinner, and walked around the town. Very fun night!

Sunday, we woke to sunshine. Yay! We enjoyed the sunshine on the beach after breakfast. We headed back to Jinotepe early in the afternoon. I spent last night reading, and sorting out some stuff for school. The other girls (the two who came with me!) have started packing, as they leave to go back to Canada on Friday morning.

Day 49

I spent the day at a rural health clinic in a small town called Canas Blancas with a doctor and a nurse. We were driven out there at 8:00am, and we were swamped right through til 1:00pm. The town itself only has 200 people in it, however people come from the many small surrounding communities to this clinic as well. It ran very much the same way as the clinic here in Jinotepe does, just on a smaller scale. It was interesting, and it really allowed me to get to know the other 2 women really well. The doctor was wonderful and very friendly...she was sure to make sure I understood everything, and she was keen to explain things when I didn't. The nurse was wonderful also! Although I didn't spend as much time with her, as she was in a separate room, she was easy to talk with and get to know. Our driver forgot to come and pick us up, so about an hour and a half later than he was supposed to come, he showed up. We had to walk a fair ways to find someone with a phone to call the driver. It was an extremely hot day, and we were waiting out on the road in the sun, in our scrubs, for what seemed like forever. Needless to say, we were happy to see that driver when he finally came!

I crashed around 9:00pm - the earliest I've been to bed in as long as I can remember. I was just utterly exhausted. Between the heat and the busy week, I needed to catch up on some sleep.

Day 48

Today was certainly a lot quieter than yesterday!

The unit was dead...not a single patient in the delivery room all morning! This was a good thing though, because there were some American students in the hospital today! It was great to get to talk to them, and hear of their experiences so far. And I must say, it was nice to socialize with some other English-speaking people! haha

My afternoon at the clinic was even quieter than yesterday! All of the work was finished by 2 hours earlier than normal! It was crazy! I had a lot of time to sit and talk with the staff...get to know them a little better.

I proposed going out for dinner to my new friends from the hospital. So the 6 American students from the hospital met the girls and I at a restaurant. It was a really nice night!

Day 47

Today was AMAZING. What an opportunity!

So when I first started my volunteer placement, I often felt like I was more of a burden than a help. It was frustrating to try and learn how I could help when I didn't fully understand the language, especially when others weren't always willing to be patient! I remember at times feeling like I wasn't really wanted there...and there were times when I felt like I should try a fresh start in a different unit.

I feel as though my perseverance has been worth it! I feel like I am a welcomed and appreciated part of the maternity and delivery room team! Especially in the delivery room, which is where I spend most of my mornings. After a lot of observing and just following the nurses around to figure out where things went and what tasks had to be done when, I was finally able to take initiative in doing these tasks on my own. I really realized today how far I've come since my first week! I am right there with the nurses and doctor when the mom is crowning...I'm comforting her as they are, and I'm well aware of what's going on. When the baby is born, I take the baby. I either do the measurements, or I record. I'm needed there. They treat me as if I am staff. It's a wonderful feeling to feel like I'm a part of their team. I know what tasks need to be done, and it brings me joy to be able to finish these tasks before the other nurses get there. I am quick to clean the instruments, change the sheets, sterilize the beds, and update the records. I think that they appreciate my perseverance in learning how I can really be of help to them, and that they appreciate my willingness to help. The ones who used to roll their eyes when I asked them "Puedo ayudarle?" (Can I help you?) now smile at me. They are so much more willing to teach me things, to give me tasks to help with. And they all know my name. I can't even say how happy this makes me. And patients know my name too. When I take their vital signs, I am sure to introduce myself, to ask their name and to get to know them better. I go out of my way to see how someone is feeling, and to talk to them if they seem lonely. Often, these women are there for two or three days before having their c-sections or going into labour or being sent home. They actually seem to smile when they see me, or when I bother them with taking their vital signs. I'm finding that it's in these little successes - the smiles, the use of my name, the laughs at my questions and the time they take to make sure I understand - that bring me joy. I know now that no matter what happens for the next 3 weeks of this volunteer placement, I feel like I've somehow contributed. It may be in a small way, but I've helped in some small way at the very least.

Over two weeks ago, I approached the hospital director with the BaseCamp coordinator to see if I could have permission to observe a surgery. The answer was no. That simple. I understood completely, although I must admit I was a little disappointed that there was no hope of exploring that aspect of medicine during my time in Nicaragua.

Since then, I've become quite good friends with the director. I actually don't even think he remembered me from that time when we first met. He wasn't interested in me or why I was there. He was actually the one who hardly looked up from his paperwork. Now, he comes to see me every day in the delivery room. He speaks french, and loves that I do too. We always speak french together. He always has thoughtful advice for me, or an incredible story. He worked for Doctors Without Borders for 14 years, and he has a lot of wisdom to share. I admire his passion for humanitarianism above all.

When this doctor came to see me today, I decided to ask him again about seeing a surgery. I asked him if it would be at all possible for me to observe a surgery. I emphasized that I completely understood if it wasn't appropriate. He just smiled at me, and said "I'll send someone to get to for the very next c-section.". I was afraid to get my hopes up, simply because in Nica, everything runs on Nica time...

But sure enough, hardly 20 minutes later, someone came in to the delivery room calling my name. I was in the middle of cleaning something, but the nurses came and basically pushed me out the door, insisting that they would finish up what I was doing. I was more touched by the fact that they were so willing to help me have this opportunity than anything.

I changed into surgical scrubs...cloth booties, cap, face mask and all. The director was the one performing the c-section, along with 2 other doctors, and he welcomed me. He made sure to bring me a stool before starting the surgery, just in case I felt dizzy...

I was too amazed and curious to be dizzy! Right from the first cut, I forgot any fears I had and just became captivated by the surgery. How fast they worked, and how efficiently! The work itself is extremely tedious...they truly were masters of their instruments. Everything from the cuts to the stitches was done with such precision...it was honestly incredible to watch. The baby was born and healthy, but quickly taken away for measurements and clean-up and such.

The time from when the first incision was made to the time when they had the baby out was easily less than 5 minutes. The time from when the baby was born, to when the mom was fully stitched up was over 20. It became evident to me very quickly that getting the baby out was only the first step in the surgery...and just as everything in life, the damage is a lot more easily done than fixed. The incisions were quick, but the stitches took far, far, far more time and effort.

I could honestly not believe how little evidence there was that this woman had undergone surgery. Their stitches were so perfectly buried that when the thread was pulled taught, you could only see a faint line. Incredible.

After this surgery, I went in to observe another. They were resetting a broken elbow. It was fascinating to see the tendons and muscle and joint. They were drilling 8-10 inch long rods into the elbow are various angles. There were 4 separate rods sticking through this man's arm at one point. I had no idea what they were doing... They stitched back up his arm, and it was only then that I realized they were done their work. But how? This man had 4 rods sticking through his arm! I still don't know what happened...I didn't want to bother these preoccupied surgeons with pesky questions, and I figured google could help me out once I got home. So far, it hasn't given me any answers! We'll see...

My afternoon at the clinic was quieter than usual. I sat in on part of an HIV test, which was somewhat interesting. This part consisted of determining the patient's sexual history. I found I understood very little of their conversation, I think primarily because I was unfamiliar with the new words associated with sexual histories! haha

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to see what I did today. Another little dream come true...

Day 46

With 5 women in labor this morning, I learned a lot quickly. I learned how to chart a partogram, and how to measure the intensity and frequency of contractions. I was charting 5 different women every half hour...it was so exciting! I was busy, busy, busy - and I loved it!

Last week, I discovered that hand massages seem to bring comfort to these women like nothing else. I would hold their hands during their contractions, and between contractions, I would massage their hands. Today, as a woman laid on her side, I decided to try massaging her back. e! I didn't know if she wanted me to continue or not, so I went to leave, and she asked me to stay! She was so appreciative! I was so happy to just sit there with her and massage her neck and shoulders. It really seemed to bring her a lot of comfort, and it's such a simple action!

I had an awesome afternoon at the clinic too! I'm set up to go with the mobile clinic on Thursday, so that should be really interesting! I'm really looking forward to it!

It's Dad's birthday today, and I remembered this with every new baby born. Happy Birthday Dad! I'm thinking of you! :)

Day 42/43/44

Concepcion Volcano (and see the red tree? They're my favorite!)

Concepcion Volcano

Concepcion Volcano

What an awesome weekend!

Friday was a really fantastic day at placement. I helped another woman through labor, and I cleaned off, weighed, measured, and dressed her newborn baby boy. She was thrilled as I handed him to her. There was another 19-year old woman in labor also, and for the first time that I've seen so far, her boyfriend was with her.

We left for Ometepe in the late afternoon. We took a minibus to Rivas (about 80 mins away), and from there, took a taxi to San Jorge. We took a ferry across Lake Nicaragua to the island of Ometepe. I was feeling pretty nauseous from sea sickness, but luckily it passed as the wind died down. The island really is beautiful - there are 2 volcanos. Concepcion, which is an active volcano and one of the largest of Nicaragua's 19 volcanos, and Maderas, which is a dormant volcano. Conception last erupted on December 11, 2009, and has erupted at least 25 times since 1883.

The ferry ported in a small town on the island called Moyogalpa. From there, we took a taxi 45 minutes to the town of San Jose del Sur. We spent the night in a quaint, family-run hostel. We spent the evening socializing with other guests of this hostel.

We woke up early the next morning and took a taxi to the other side of the island. We went to Santo Domingo, another small town with supposedly the best beaches on the island. It truly was beautiful. The white sand beaches were deserted, and the surrounding lush vegetation and mighty volcanos provided quite a view. We enjoyed the beach for the first part of the morning. We had a delicious lunch, and then decided to head to the volcanic springs called Ojo de Agua (Eye of the Water). Remembering that the spring were about a half hour walk away from Santo Domingo, and considering that the springs would be closing in about an hour, we decided to seek another means of transportation. We had seen a place earlier where we could rent bikes. Unfortunately, all the bikes had been rented out except for one. There was, however, a quad that was available for rent. With that, 4 of us adventurous girls hopped on to this quad, while the 5th one of us rented the bike. I don't know why, but I love quads (haha). I try to drive them every chance I get, which is mainly only at Matt's grandparents farm. I was the only one who knew how to drive the thing! I drove us, and taught the other girls to drive... It was a blast! Only in Nicaragua could you rent a quad for $10 and drive it on a highway, without signing any waivers on top of it all...haha

We made it to the springs in good time. We were told that the water contained many minerals that were good for the skin and muscles - my slightly sunburned skin and sore muscles from work felt wonderful after our swim! We quadded it back to Santo Domingo - the locals laughed at the 4 "chelas" (white girls) on this quad. Too funny...

There wasn't much of anything to do after 5pm, as everything closes then. Regardless, we were happy to spend the evening exploring the town a bit and getting to know each other better. The "tranquilo" Nicaraguan vibe allows for a lot of time to just talk, and enjoy the people you're with.

This morning, myself and another volunteer woke bright and early. We rented horses for the morning for $5.00, and a mini-dream came true of mine today as we cantered along the beaches. It was incredibly fun and peaceful. I could have done it all day!

We left Playa Santo Domingo around 11am, and traced our travels backwards home to Jinotepe. It was a relaxing, peaceful weekend. So nice :)

Day 41

I went to bed extremely early last night in an attempt to catch up on some much needed sleep!

Woke up at 6:00 again this morning, not really feeling any more rested, but I'm sure the sleep helped!

I had a great day today! My shift at the hospital was interesting...I learned all about catheters today, as a woman 6 cm dilated needed one. I was walked through the procedure for newborns, and I'm hoping I'll have the opportunity to do it once or twice! Everything from measurements in weight and length and width, to Vitamin K injections, to stamping the baby's footprint.

At the clinic, I learned all about appendicitis - super interesting!

Also, a woman who had come into the clinic a few weeks ago due to an extremely irregular menstrual cycle returned today with her ultrasound results. She has 2 uteruses! The doctor told me that this is extremely rare - only 1 in about 1 000 000 women have 2 uteruses!

I did some laundry via good old fashioned stone washing, and hung my clothes on the line just in time for the rain (haha). After dinner, we started planning our weekend trip - we're headed to the volcanic island of Ometepe. I'm extremely excited! It's supposed to be beautiful and very unique. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back on Sunday night!

Have a great weekend!

Day 40

At the hospital, a 15-year-old woman delivered a baby in 15 minutes! It was insane! I finished taking the vital signs of all the women in the pre-labor room, and I popped my head into the delivery room to see if there were any patients. There were none, and the nurses didn't need help with anything, so I told them I was going to take vital signs of the women another room. There were only 4 women, so I was back about 20 minutes later. I walk into the delivery room, and I hear a newborn baby crying. I'm thinking...huh? The nurse is laughing and telling me it was an "Expulsivo!" labor...haha Considering most women are moved into the delivery room when they are about 5 cm dilated, and they don't reach the full 10 cm dilation until about 2 hours later, it was CRAZY to think that this woman delivered her first baby so quickly.

I worked with a different doctor at the clinic today. It was interesting to see another style of practise...he dealt with his patients in quite a different manner than the doctor I'm used to working with. We'll see where I end up tomorrow!

Day 39

Today at the hospital, I learned how to use a fetal doppler and checked the baby's heart rate every half hour. It was really neat! I helped another mom through labor today. And I think helping a baby coming into this world is one of the best experiences ever :)

The clinic this afternoon was extremely busy. There were about twice as many patients as there usually are!

We had dance class, which was just as fun as the last time we did it. I can't say that we were any better than we were last week! haha

We watched the documentary "Food, Inc." tonight, which was really eye-opening. I would highly recommend watching it! It really changes your perspective on food...makes you think a little bit more about what you're eating! It educates about corporate farming in the US, and the unhealthy and environmentally-harmful consequences of the meat and poultry industries. Really interesting...

Day 38

I saw some tough stuff today...it definitely shook me up a bit.

I was helping in the delivery room again today. The soon-to-be mom I spent my morning with today was 15 years old. She was definitely in a lot of pain, and she was definitely scared. And alone. But this doesn't seem to be anything new, as nearly every woman I've seen in maternity seems to be in the same boat. As her contractions grew stronger, she was moved to the labor bed. The nurses were encouraging her to push, just as they do with every other patient. Then, one of the nurses jabs a massive needle into her, grabs a pair of scissors, and goes to town. It took me a few seconds to process what had just happened. There was just so much blood, and the woman was just screaming in pain. I had to leave the room...my stomach was weak, and my heart went out to this woman. It was just so hard to watch. I took a breather for a few minutes, and went back in to help clean up. I guess I witnessed my first episiotomy, although I learned the word in Spanish before I knew it in English.

Later in the morning, a woman in the pre-labor room just started crying and screaming - I had taken her vital signs earlier, and I've been getting to know her, as she has been there since last Monday! The doctors and nurses rushed her to another room, and then someone came to get her with another bed. They wheeled her off to the OR for a cesarean section. I tried to ask one of the doctors what had happened (as it caused quite a commotion on the unit, especially with the women in the same room whose vital signs I was in the midst of taking...!). I didn't understand what had happened, and I guess I'll never know. It was so frustrating to not be able to understand...although I'm getting more and more used to that feeling. It still only encourages me to work and study harder so that I can understand better!

Tonight, we went out for a traditional Nicaraguan meal. Most all Nicaraguan food is fried. Ines, the BaseCamp cook (or as we call her, Mama Nica), still fries the food, but it is a lot lighter than most food here - and I realized this in going out for this traditional meal. So much grease! We all had immediate stomach aches...yuck! Oh well, part of the culture! It was interesting to try a lot of the different dishes, although between the fried cheese and the deep fried potato, I think my stomach is going to need a bit of a break!

Day 37

I fell asleep around 10:30 (ridiculously early for me...) and woke up 1 minute before my alarm would have gone off on a weekday. My body has definitely adapted to this routine! 6:00am was far too early for a Sunday morning, so I was able to sleep in til about 8:00. I did some yoga in the morning sun - pure bliss. :)

We had a light breakfast, as we were planning on going to a Chinese vegetarian place for lunch (it's supposed to be healthy and delicious!). We were disappointed to see that it was closed! We are not normally in town on Sundays for lunch, so we were surprised to find that most everywhere was closed! We ended up eating at a little Pizzeria.

We left for the market after lunch. I got all kinds of gifts and souvenirs - it was a great afternoon!

We came home around 5:30, had some dinner, and have just spent the night relaxing. I had planned on doing laundry, but there is no running water. I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow!

Day 35/36

What an AMAZING weekend!

First off, placement on Friday was really incredible. I spent the first few hours helping a few nurses sterilize the delivery room. Needless to say, I worked up quite a sweat scrubbing and cleaning! They clean the room once per week, every Friday morning. They sterilize (or rinse...) the equipment after each birth, but everything else in the room is only cleaned once per week. Cleaning that room in itself was rather eye-opening...from the dried blood in places I couldn't figure out how it could have got there, to the items I cleaned that didn't look like that had ever been cleaned, let alone once per week. I also noticed how simple and old the equipment was...it just made me think about the standard of equipment in Canada.

A women came into the delivery room shortly there after. She looked like she was in so much pain. She went to sit on a bed, and she was sweating and shaking. I couldn't believe how little attention she got! No one was supporting her as she tried to climb up on the bed, and she was just in so much pain. Suddenly, she just started vomiting, right onto the floor. I grabbed a garbage can and ran over. I put my headband in her hair, and rubbed her back as she threw up (because I know EXACTLY how what helps when I'm throwing up...someone rubbing my back and holding back my hair...). Seeing as she was sweating, and she had vomit on her face, I wanted to get her a cold cloth. I go to ask the nurse if I can have one, and she says they don't have any. She says it's not necessary. And all I can think of is that one cold cloth would probably make her feel a heck of a lot better.

They hook her up to an IV. She just looked so scared and in so much pain. And she was all alone. I just wanted to go over and hold her hand, and tell her it was going to be okay, but then judging by how much attention she was getting from the nurses, I wasn't sure that it was culturally acceptable or appropriate. When she started another contraction, I decided that I didn't care...I went over and took her hand. She squeezed it so hard...but I welcomed it. I wanted to help her. She looked at me, and I could see that she was crying. I just wanted to help her so badly. I didn't even know this woman's name yet, but I knew I wanted to help her through this...

Her name was Sonia.

She threw up a few more times, and her contractions seemed to get more and more painful. A nurse would come over, and check to see how far along she was. When she was finally satisfied, she had Sonia move into the delivery room. I supported her as she walked over, and I helped her onto the bed. Ten minutes later, her baby boy was born. She cried and repeated prayers in Spanish over and over again.

She thanked me over and over again, and so so sincerely. It made me teary, just to think how grateful she was. And to think that she was all alone... From the look in her eyes, I knew that I had made her morning a little brighter.

We left for Mombacho Volcano in the afternoon. We hiked up the Volcano from about 3:30-6:30. It was quite gruelling, as it was a constant and steep incline the entire way up. By the time we had got to the top, we were actually above the clouds. At one point, we were in the clouds. It was one of the coolest moments in my life. The forest on Mombacho Volcano is called Cloud Forest (similar to rainforest), because there it is literally in the clouds. It is extremely humid and wet.

When we finally got to the top, we had dinner and dried off (as it had been raining). We prepared for the night hike. On the night hike, we hiked to search for a frog and salamander species unique to Mombacho Volcano. We also saw a poisonous caterpillar; if you touched the caterpillar, it would burn and scar your skin, and it would make you very sick and give you a fever. It's crazy to think that such a seemingly harmless bug could be so dangerous!

We all slept like babies that night.

Saturday morning, after a big breakfast, we hiked about 5 hours total. We did the Puma trail, which goes through the 3 volcano craters. There were over 5000 stairs up! It was super intense, but really wonderful! I needed to physically exhaust my body, and that's exactly what this hike did! I felt great after :)

We took a truck to the base of the Volcano. We zip-lined over the canopy. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There were 11 platforms. On one of them, I flew like Superman...and it actually felt like I was flying.

We came home and watched a movie. We went to bed shortly thereafter.

I dreamt of flying.

Day 34

Today was definitely a day of realizations. For some reason, I just woke up in an especially analytical, "critical-thinking" mood...and so I was doing a lot of reflecting. It was actually a really incredible day...

I had a wonderful, much needed conversation via Skype with a dear friend. It was one of those heart-to-heart conversations about life; the ones that just inspire you, and make you love life for, and despite, all of it's challenges and mysteries.

I spent the rest of the night journalling. I'm finding a lot of the things that I've been wanting to explore and learn more about, but that I've just never had time, I'm having the time to really think about now - and I'm grateful for the time, for the quiet, and for the inner peace I have found.

Day 33

Awesome day :)

I spent my morning at the hospital in Maternity today. They needed someone who could go around and check the pre- and post-labor women's vital signs every half hour. I would check their breathing rate, heart rate, and take their blood pressure and temperature. It was really great to be able to practise what I learned yesterday! I definitely got a lot faster and more efficient at it! The best part about the whole morning was being able to talk to the new (or soon to be!) moms! Even though their vital signs are supposed to be checked every half hour, I noticed on the charts that the last time anyone had checked their vital signs was at 5:00am. I also noticed that in the pre-labor room of 12 women, only one of the women was accompanied by the dad (or anyone for that matter!). They were all sitting there alone, having to go through this life changing journey on their own. I was really able to look at this in a social context...and the reality is that most of these moms are going to have to raise their baby on their own. And then when another volunteer working in a local clinic told me this evening that at her clinic, she was assisting with the Depo Provera shots (a form of birth control - fully funded by the government thank goodness!). She also told me that there was a 13 year-old girl with a 2 week-old baby, all alone. Now, that's not to say that this doesn't happen in Canada. It happens in every country, in every nationality. It's just that where there are resources and services in Canada to help those in difficult situations succeed, in Nicaragua there are none (or very few...). Another reason why I am grateful to live in Canada.

My afternoon at the clinic was great. I am really learning a lot about clinical health care here, and getting a general idea of what the most common diagnoses are here.

Remember how I said that one of the other volunteers was super sick? Well she had some tests done today, and she has 2 parasites and an intestinal infection. Poor girl! And she could have got it from anything. Pretty scary stuff!

Day 32

Today pushed me.

I started at the hospital at 7am again this morning, working in the "Emergencia de los ninos" (Emergency Pediatrics). The great nurse I worked with yesterday was in another unit today, and I realized what a difference one person can make! She totally took me under her wing yesterday, and patiently answered my questions and listened to me as I struggled to express myself. Today, the nurses weren't quite as patient - they actually rolled their eyes at me when I didn't understand what they were saying. It made me really sad, and frustrated. I was trying really hard, and it was really frustrating to have people not understand that effort! It's definitely a challenge for me to learn these hospital tasks in a language that I've only been learning for one month. And the thing is I can understand! I've had many successful conversations with a lot of different people! But I can't understand what someone is saying if they are not willing to speak a little slower for me. I've always tried to be patient and empathetic of people learning English in Canada, and my experiences here will only further my empathy, patience, and understanding.

My afternoon at the clinic was really interesting again! I shadowed another doctor though, simply because when I arrived at the clinic, the doctor I was working with yesterday was on his lunch break. When I finished work for the day, I spent a solid 2 hours going through Spanish terms with Leo. I had written down all of the words I didn't understand today while at work (just words I would hear, or see on posters and such...). I had over 4 pages of words and phrases! It helped a lot, but my brain is tired from all of the language confusion!

We had dance lessons tonight! It was sooo much fun! We danced for over an hour and a half. A few of our friends from the English classes at BaseCamp came to teach us. We learned all kinds of Latin dances! We laughed and laughed and laughed. :)

I'm absolutely exhausted though, so I'm off to bed early(ish) tonight.

Day 31

First day of my volunteer placement - how exciting! :)

Today was honestly one of the best days of my life – I can’t even express how happy I am right now! :)

It was my first day at my volunteer placements. I’ve been dreaming of volunteering abroad for as long as I can remember, and quite simply, today was like a dream come true. Not that I haven’t loved the last 4 weeks here, because I most certainly have, but the purpose of my being here, and what I've been looking forward to most, is volunteering. Of course, there were many things I needed to learn in order to begin volunteering, and for that, the last 4 weeks have been essential. All I can say is that I just can’t wait for all that the next 6 weeks will bring!

I could hardly sleep last night, partially because I was worrying about my credit card issue, but more so because I was just ridiculously excited for today! I woke up at 5:50am, and was smiling ear to ear as soon as I heard the alarm go off (which is a definite first...haha). I basically danced around as I made myself breakfast and got ready. Putting on a pair of scrubs (for the first time!) out of my shower brought me more joy than it probably should have :) I enjoyed the walk to the hospital in the morning sun.

When I first arrived, I had to do a lot of waiting. Everyone was just so busy, and no one really had time to show me around, which is completely understandable! I mean, here I am at their hospital, and although I have eager, sincere intentions to help as much as I possibly can, I don't really have much more than that to offer! I definitely understand that for me to be able to help, someone has to teach me how to help! This means that I am going to be somewhat of a burden to this hospital before I can contribute. I was introduced to a few different people, and was basically just passed around from person to person for the first hour or so. No one had time to teach me! Finally, I ended up in Emergency Pediatrics. A really friendly (and busy!) nurse took me under her wing. She did a 30 second run down of how to take temperature, weight, and height (not that it really requires exuberant amounts of explanation…) and she put me to work! I would call patients from the waiting area (there were probably close to 100 people waiting). And just for clarification, when I refer to a waiting area, I really mean outside of the hospital. There are just people crowded outside; parents standing in the sun holding their sick children. And here I am, barely able to speak and comprehend this language, and I’m calling children into the hospital. I had to laugh at myself, trying to pronounce half of these names was a mission and a half! Especially because here, each person has 4 names: 2 first names, and 2 last names. Oh dear. It got to the point where the staff and security guards were just laughing at my unsuccessful attempts to call out these names. Every time I would pop outside to call more names, the staff would be smiling before I would even open my mouth. It became like this mutual inside joke. It was actually a really great icebreaker! Hopefully I can improve my pronunciation of these names, especially as I become more familiar with Spanish names! After I called the patients in, I would weigh them, measure their height, and take their temperature. Keep in mind that they have old (non-digital) models of this equipment! There was one scale in the entire unit, and only 4 thermometers. And the thermometers were the classic mercury ones. We had to shake the mercury down below 35°C before using it. Now, I have no experience using medical equipment in Canada, so I really don’t know how they compare. However, I am assuming we have more than 4 thermometers per unit, and I assuming these thermometers take a digital, accurate reading in about 5 seconds, which is a heck of a lot better than the thermometers here that need to be kept in the same spot for at least 3 minutes! Regardless of how efficient it is, it does get the job done, which in the end is really all that matters!

From there, any child with a fever would be given Acetaminophen, and those without fevers would be sent back to the waiting room. It was really difficult for me to understand much more than that, because I couldn’t understand the coversations between nurses and doctors. I could only understand what was being said to me directly (because the person would usually try to speak slower and clearer), and even then it was a challenge! Over 70 children later, we took a brief break (less than 5 minutes…) for a half cup of juice and a graham cracker. We were back to work right away after that! I was doing miscellaneous tasks between taking measurements and temperatures such as preparing “suero oral” solutions to help with dehydration, bringing cold cloths to overheated patients, and updating records. All of these tasks were rather simple, but there was no doubt that they were important ones! Someone has to do these things! And I felt as if I was really helping, which was a great feeling! I was really happy to have been able to help as much as I did considering it was only my first few hours of work. I imagine I will be back there tomorrow, however my understanding is that I will be moving around to wherever needs me. We’ll see what this placement brings! And I hope I can continue to contribute, even if only through these seemingly small and simple tasks.

I went back to BaseCamp for lunch (from 12-1) and then spent the afternoon at the clinic. I was expecting to be doing much of the same types of tasks, but I definitely learned totally new things! When I was introduced to the head doctor, he didn’t seem very interested in me. He actually hardly looked up from his paperwork. I imagined he thought that I wouldn’t be much help to him, as I didn’t know how to take blood pressure or give vaccinations or anything. I didn’t understand all of what he was saying, but I understood enough to know he wasn’t going to waste his time on me. I piped up, and I explained to him that I may not know much now, but that I am eager and quick to learn! I told him that if he would be willing to teach me things, even if only one, brief time, I would learn. I told him that I really wanted to learn, and to be able to help more, I just really need someone who will take the time to teach me. He looked up at me, and with a half smiled he said “Okay. You can stay with me.”

So I was allowed to stay in the office of this doctor, with another doctor. The three of us sat around his desk, and when the first patient entered, I was expecting to quietly observe as the doctors performed the routine check-up. I was wrong. Apparently this doctor took me very seriously when I told him I wanted to learn (and I couldn’t have been happier!). He said “Alright Meagan, now you will learn how to take blood pressure.” (in Spanish, of course). So he had the other doctor show me once how to do it, they gave me a stethoscope, and away I went. This doctor was firm with me – he had me do it three times until he was sure I would do it properly, and he was very critical. But I loved it. I so enjoy the challenge of learning something new, and the way he pushed me to learn what he was teaching me, and to comprehend the explanation in Spanish, was exactly the type of challenge I wanted. And it didn’t end there. He had me take notes of every medical (Spanish) word that came out of his mouth. These are words that I wouldn't even know what they meant in English, let alone Spanish! And he made it very clear to me that if I was to shadow him, I would have to do research on the internet of all that we covered each day. The doctor was very thorough in his explanations, and I soaked up everything he was explaining. I learned perhaps the most I’ve ever learned in a single day. He taught me how to check for tonsillitis (both by feeling the neck, and by using the wooden stick). He taught me how to administer a vaccine (although because it was only a one-time thing, it wasn’t something I could practise after watching him do it). He taught me the normal and abnormal values for blood pressure, temperature, and the proper conversions between values. He taught me how to calculate the IMC (in Spanish – no idea what it stands for in English!). And all of this in one hour. He sent me one after 6 patients because he said I had a lot of research to do. I have spent a good portion of the night researching all of the vocabulary and conditions and medication he had me write down. I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn tomorrow!

Day 28/29/30

Basilica Cathedral de la Asuncion (1747)

Inside the Ortiz Gurdian Museum

(I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the artwork, only the halls and garden...)

Government propaganda for Daniel Ortega (current President)

La Recoleccion (1780)

What a fantastic weekend we had!

We finished Spanish class on Friday, which means we've studied 80 hours of Spanish! Crazy! I feel like I've come a loooong way, there is no doubt about that! However, I see a lot of room for improvement. There's definitely a lot I still don't know, but I look forward to learning it! After having studied French for so many years, I understand that language learning is a lifelong process. It's definitely not something that you can master in 4 weeks! I'm hoping to learn a lot in the next 6 weeks, where I'll be practicing Spanish in a work environment as opposed to a classroom.

We left for Leon on Friday afternoon. Leon is a city of about 250,000 people, and it’s known to be the hottest place in all of Central America (it definitely lived up to that reputation!). We took a bus to Managua, and from there, we took a bus to Leon. The trip took us about 4 hours total. Leon is a colonial city (like Granada), and thus it is quite touristy. Of course, when I say “touristy”, I mean touristy for Nicaragua – tourism here really doesn’t compare to places like Mexico, Jamaica, Belize, or Peru. We stayed in a hostel called BigFoot for $6 USD per night. Friday evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner and made many new local friends!

Saturday, we had an awesome breakfast at an organic, fair-trade café before heading out Las Penitas – a small community on the ocean. We enjoyed the sunshine and the ocean, and had some lunch. We headed back to Leon later that afternoon. We spent the evening socializing with the friends we had made the night before. It was a really fantastic opportunity to practise the Spanish we had learned!

On Sunday morning, I walked around Leon. I explored the parks, admired the (many…) churches, and visited the Ortiz Gurdian Museum. It was an absolutely beautiful museum, featuring artwork from artists all over Central and South America! I will admit that I wasn’t expecting much in going, so the numerous original Picasso paintings, beautiful gardens and decor, and immense diversity in artwork surprised me! I was the only person in the entire museum. The staff literally followed me from room to room, turning lights and fountains on before I got there, and turning them off as I left. I thought it was a good example of how Nicaragua is trying to increase tourism, and how tourists aren’t at the point where they consider Nicaragua in their travelling expeditions. I would recommend travelling here to anyone! Nicaragua really is a hidden gem…and due to their lack of natural resources (they have none, other than lumber), they desperately need to boost their economy through international tourism!

I tried to go to another museum, the Rubin Dario Museum, but it was closed! Rubin Dario is a famous Nicaraguan poet. It would have been neat to learn more about him!

We left early Sunday afternoon for home. We arrived in Jinotepe around 5:30pm. Two new volunteers, one from Montreal and the other from Ottawa, arrived Friday night after we had left for Leon. We met them when we arrived home. They are so wonderful, and it is really exciting to have some new faces in the house! We enjoyed a “welcome” dinner with them – so fun!

We got back to the house around 8:30 and I turned on my computer, as I was planning on writing my blog. I saw 4 new messages from my parents, with urgent subjects!

I’m skimming over these messages in shock…it’s all about credit card fraud! I’m not understanding any of it. I remember having my wallet removed from the safe Friday afternoon before we left for Leon, and giving it back to someone to put in the safe. I call my parents via skype, and I explain that I haven’t used my credit cards since I’ve arrived in Nicaragua! I also tell them that the credit cards were in my wallet when I left on Friday. My parents weren’t given any specific details, as they are my credit cards and the information could only be given to me, so all they could really tell me was to call the bank number.

I go and check my wallet, and sure enough, both of my credit cards are gone. Ooooooooh boy. All I can think of is how this could have happened!? I talked with the staff, and together, we figured out what must have happened. It’s a long and complicated story, but basically it was a really innocent mistake. Only one person here has control of the safe, and because the new volunteers were coming, it was an incredibly busy day at BaseCamp on Friday. My wallet wasn’t immediately returned to the safe, and there were some sketchy guests in the house that night (BaseCamp is a hostel, and although not often, there have been other guests in the house…). We figure that the cards were stolen from my wallet then, as all of the charges were made Saturday morning.

I talked to the people from the bank for about an hour. HSBC flagged the unusual charges (considering that the majority of the charges were at an Asian Casino, unusual seems like an understatement! haha) and they were able put a hold on both cards within a few hours. Unfortunately, the people with my cards were able to do considerable damage in those few hours - but I definitely realize how much worse it could have been! I am also very fortunate that they didn’t take my passport, or any of my cash. I don’t know what happens from here.

BaseCamp was incredibly professional and helpful about the entire situation. I am not upset in the least with any of this – if anything, this has made me very grateful to have such great customer service! Both BaseCamp and HSBC were really helpful through the entire process.

I also realized how grateful I am to live in Canada, where I can trust others to be truthful! I asked one of the staff members if we could report the incident to the police, and he told me the police would do nothing. In Nicaragua, it is a well known fact that you cannot trust police officers or government officials. We were actually warned that we should never be alone with the police, as they often will plant drugs on tourists, and then threaten to report you unless you pay them. We were also told that any victim of crime cannot count on the police to help them.

There’s no doubt that having had my credit cards stolen is inconvenient, and pretty scary, but at the same time, I’m very grateful that it was only my credit cards, as I feel it could have been a lot worse!

Day 27

Today in Spanish class, there were only 2 of us. Poor Brittany is terribly sick! It's the kind of sick the doctors warned us about...the one we all have an emergency, kill-everything-in-your-body antibiotic called Cipro for. Bad news bears...that's all I can say. The poor thing. It might just be bacterial (hopefully...), although it's quite probable that it's a parasite! Hopefully she starts to feel better really soon; she's been such a trooper!

We had planned on going to the Masayo Volcano this afternoon, but because Brittany isn't in a position to leave the house, we decided to raincheck - hopefully we can do it next week!

Our placement coordinator, Kaleigh, had this idea to create a mosaic to mount on the wall - sort of like a welcome, photo collage piece on the wall in the front room. She had picked up some broken tiles, all different colors, and we spent the afternoon breaking the tiles, deciding on a theme or design for the mosaic, and putting it together. And when I say we, I really mean Kaleigh and Sara (another volunteer...) because despite my initial gung-ho attitude, I fell asleep on the couch right in the middle of conversation. It was pretty hilarious, because the were using a hammer to break and smash these tiles into little pieces, and they had music on and everything. I didn't even flinch. Two hours later I wake up to find the outside of the mosaic totally finished. Oops! I felt pretty bad, although I guess I needed that little nap! I promise to post pictures of the mosaic when it's done! I've never done a mosaic before, and it's pretty awesome! It's a cool process, and it really demands a different kind of creativity.

We went out for the evening. We had a good two-hour long conversation - one of those conversations where you seem to touch on all of life's mysteries. We talked about death, and a lot about health in general. We shared some really sad stories - from car accidents to freak accidents to terminal illnesses - and as much as they make our heart ache, they also remind us of how lucky we are... It's easy to take your own health, or the health of your loved ones, for granted - but the reality is, if you don't have good health, you really don't have much at all. It was a good reminder to make sure the people we love and care about know how much we do...and to really live each day to the fullest.

Day 26

We had Spanish class again this morning. We have a new Spanish teacher because we've progressed to the "Advanced" level! How exciting!

I forgot to mention that despite the beautiful weather in Granada (and the sun in Jinotepe on Saturday morning before we left for Granada), it rained again in Jinotepe yesterday and today. After class and lunch, we braved the rain to go to the beach. We want to take advantage of our free afternoons this week, as this is our last week before we begin our 9-hours per day volunteer work! You might be wondering why we wanted to go to the beach in the pouring rain...I myself was wondering that at first! However, we had heard that even though the weather inland may be poor, it is usually sunny out on the coast. The majority of the 45-minute tuk-tuk trip out the the beach, it was miserable. The rain was coming down in sheets, and there were no signs of it letting up! But sure enough, as we neared the coast, we saw the first signs of sky breaking, and by the time we'd arrived at the Huhuete Beach, it was beautiful and sunny!

We enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine. It was lovely! The ocean was pretty wild though...not safe for swimming as far as I was concerned!

When the time came to look for a bus back to Jinotepe, we found that the town seemed rather deserted. We were starting to wonder where and when we might find a bus! A truck drives by and pulls over. They say that they are going to Diriamba (Jinotepe's neighboring city), and offer us a ride.

Just as a side note, I've come to realize that hitchhiking in Nicaragua is one of the most common means of travel! Although it's a big no-no in Canada, and I was nervous about it my first few times here, I've realized that it is one of the only ways of transport in many areas (seeing as there is no organized public transport at all...). There is this mutual understanding between ride-offerers and hitchhikers, and it's actually pretty cool! (Mom, please don't worry too much! haha)

The couple ended up driving us past their home in Diriamba right to the door of our home in Jinotepe. They were incredibly kind, and we talked the entire trip about Nicaraguan culture and people. I learned a lot about the country from a Nicaraguan's perspective!

Day 22/23/24/25

The view from the bell tower.

A Howler Monkey!

Lake Nicaragua (note the polluted water...)

Cathedral.

La Merced church.

First off, I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to post this blog! You'll see why as I tell you about my weekend adventures...

We had Spanish class on Friday morning, and the rain still hadn't stopped. I felt considerably better than I had felt on Thursday, so that was a good thing! We had decided as a group that we didn't want to hike Mombacho Volcano if it was going to be muddy. Plus, we knew that because of the rain, we wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the beautiful view once we got to the top! We therefore planned to spend the weekend in Granada. Granada is a colonial city about 40 minutes away from Jinotepe. We had planned to leave Friday afternoon, however, the rain did not motivate us to go. We decided to wait and leave on Saturday morning, hoping that by then the rain might let up a bit.

We therefore spent Friday afternoon further exploring Jinotepe. We went to the market and looked around a bit. This Friday was pay-day, so there was a HUGE line-up outside of every bank. Leo always warns us to get our cash out of the bank before Friday, because the banks run out of cash fairly quickly!

I worked on Spanish homework during some of the evening, and just sort of did my own thing. I went to bed early to make sure I continued to feel better!

Saturday morning, we woke up to the most beautiful sound - someone popped their head in our room and announced that the sun was shining, the birds and butterflies were out, and that the rain was gone! YAY! We basically jumped out of bed, and went and stood out in the sunlight for a few minutes, appreciating it so much after having been without it for 4 days!

We left shortly after breakfast for Granada. After getting off of the bus, we began our hunt for a cheap hostel! We stopped at 5 different hostels before finding one - the three of us spent the night for $25, which was a good deal! The city was beautiful! It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nicaragua, and we definitely understood why. It was very well kept and clean city - much cleaner than Jinotepe! There was a large central park, many beautiful churches, and lots to see and do! Granada is just off of Lake Nicaragua, and slightly farther away is Lake Apoyo (the crater lake we saw when we went to Catarina, remember?). After we found a hostel, we headed down to the lake and went on a boat tour. One of the unique things about Lake Nicaragua is that it has 365 islands (the Nica people say one for every day of the year!). One of the first things I noticed was the colour of the water. It's brown hue made the level of pollution in the lake evident...yuck! Fish only live in the deeper, middle parts of the lake due to the pollution. And there was a lot of garbage floating in the lake. It was really sad to see the lack of care and appreciation for this a beautiful lake.

Our little boat tour took us around to see the islands. Some islands were only large enough for one house or little restaurant, others were much larger! We even saw a small island which was only inhabited by howler monkeys! The boat driver had the boat close enough that the monkey could have jumped right onto our boat! It was definitely something I will always remember.

I got sick on our boat ride...again...haha. I can't help it! I think it was more to do with me still recovering from my sickness over the past few days than with my motion sickness, but who knows.

We had some lunch, then walked around the city a bit. We met a couple from Edmonton - they were on their 10th week of a 16-week backpacking trip all over Central America. It was really cool to hear of their experiences so far. They had a lot of good advice on places to go and things to see.

We went up the bell tower on one of the churches just in time for sunset. It offered a fantastic view of the city!

We had some pizza at the Mona Lisa Pizzaria, then walked about. We met a lot of people from all over the world! It was Mother's Day on Sunday, so there was a huge horse show/celebration on the main street! We watched at least 50 riders parade around on their horses. There were bands playing music, and people celebrating everywhere! I was surprised that Mother's Day in Nicaragua was such a party!!

On Sunday, we left for Lake Apoyo at around 10:30am. Somehow, we weren't surprised when we found out the tour ride out the Lake Apoyo was in the back of a truck...haha I guess we're getting used to the Nica means of travel! We spent the day out at the lake, swimming and meeting the other people that were on the tour (there was about 10 of us). There was a Dane, an Austrian, a German, three women from England, an American from Kentucky who had moved to Quebec, the couple from Edmonton, and the three of us! Needless to say, we were quite the group!

When exploring the beach a little later, we found a clay slope. We dug up the hot, red clay and put it all over ourselves because the girls from England said the minerals were great for the skin. It was an awesome (free!) full-body moisturizer! And it sure felt nice on skin that had been out in the sun all day! The funniest part though was after, when we were rinsing off the red clay in the lake, we realized that everyone's bathing suits were dyed red!

The tour was scheduled to be back in Granada at 5:00, and we had planned to catch a bus back to Jinotepe right away after. However, everything runs on Nica-time here, and we didn't get back to Granada until 5:45. As a result of the Mother's Day festivities and because of the 6pm sunset, there were no more buses going to Jinotepe for the evening. We therefore had to check into a different hostel (one called The Bearded Monkey) for the night. They had no room left, so they told us we could sleep on the floor for $5 each. We met some really awesome people (and many, many Canadians!). It was quite the experience!

We caught the first bus to Jinotepe on Monday morning, and arrived back at the house around 10:30am. We then had Spanish class from 11:00-4:00.

In the evening, I had a Skype meeting for a school group. I unpacked from our weekend, and made plans for next weekend with the girls. We were all pretty tired from our first weekend on our own, so we all fell asleep pretty quickly!