Day 62

Today was a slow day in Maternity, so I had the opportunity to visit the operating room! I saw a foot surgery and an appendix removal, both of which were pediatric surgeries! It was really interesting!

Day 61

So guess what? There were NO babies born at all yesterday. All day. It's the first day of the year that there haven't been any babies born! Crazy, eh?

To make up for the lack of babies yesterday, there were 4 births this morning! Busy, busy, busy! It's as if all of these moms were waiting for today, because they didn't want to miss out on yesterday's festivities!

Day 60

Today was a holiday - the independence day of the Carazo region! The public health clinic was closed, and even though I spent my morning at the hospital, you would think that was closed too! There was half the staff there usually are, and a third of the patients. For the first time yet, not ONE baby had been delivered yet today. Even if a baby is not born while I am on shift, there was surely a birth between midnight and 7:00am - not today! The other girls, all working in schools, had the day off completely!

The festivities have definitely continued on today - there have been fireworks all night, and the marching band has yet to lose momentum! Cindy, the volunteer who just arrived on Friday evening, thinks all people do here is party! Too funny...

Day 59

Hipica!

We enjoyed a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast this morning - nacatamales. It's basically a cornmeal-like dough, filled with chicken, pork, tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and spices, wrapped in plantain banana leaves. It's then steamed for several hours, giving it a super unique flavour. It definitely tastes like nothing else I've had before!

Despite the pouring rain, the town was full of festivities! Music and street performers were everywhere, as were people selling handcrafts, clothing, and food. The streets were packed with people! We were told they come from all across Nicaragua for this festival. Hipica is a grand horse parade. You would think it was the Calgary Stampede the way people were dressed! I wished I had brought my cowboy boots, hat, and my plaid shirt, because I certainly would have fit in better!

The parade was beautiful. The horses were traditionally groomed and tacked, and there was no doubt the riders were proud to be showing their horses! It was really something to see. And the entire town was full of life!

The festivities continued late into the night - it seemed like people of all ages were out to celebrate!

Day 58

We had made plans today to spend the morning at the beach, and the early afternoon/evening doing a night tour of the Masaya volcano.

We woke up bright and early at 7am for breakfast, and headed out to the beach. We enjoyed the morning basking in the warm sunlight and splashing in the waves. We even rode horses for a bit!

Around 1:00pm, we headed back home for some lunch. We were bummed out to hear that our trip to Masaya wasn't going to work. There is no appropriate public transportation to get to Masaya volcano. The tour, especially because it is done after dark, requires you to have a personal driver (ie, a taxi). The BaseCamp taxi driver called to let us know something had come up.

We were actually happy to be hanging around Jinotepe for the night, as we quickly discovered the Hipica festivities had already begun! We walked around central park, enjoying music and food, and admiring the market crafts!

Day 57

So, I got my test results back today. Parasite.

The good news is that parasites are extremely common here, and therefore they are fairly easy to treat! The other good news is that, other than abdominal pain after I eat and a churning stomach through out the night, I am feeling fine! Totally functional, for sure! I'm happy that I can healthily go to placement and continue to volunteer. And I did! I went to placement all day today, and it was only afterwards that I went to get my test results. The doctor wasn't in though, so I couldn't get the appropriate treatment. I'll have to wait until Monday!

This is the first weekend we haven't left Jinotepe, and the reason for this is because one of the largest festivals in all of Nicaragua, Hipica, is taking place on Sunday right here! And conveniently enough, it seems everyone is in need of a bit of a chill weekend. Everyone is a little run down, and just really needs to catch up on some extra rest.

So the girls went to Managua for the evening. I didn't go because I went to pick up my test results after placement, and because I was feeling very tired.

A new volunteer, Cindy, arrived at the house late tonight. She's from UBC, studying history and Spanish. I can tell she's an awesome person already - I can't wait to get to know her better over the next 2 weeks!

Day 56

Happy Canada Day!

Seeing as we are all Canadian volunteers, we decided to throw a Canada day party! We bought cake mix from the supermarket, and sprinkles (they only had red, white and blue sprinkles, so we bought them and picked out the blue ones!). We made potato salad and barbecued some hot dogs. We invited our friends from our volunteer placements and from other organizations. We wore red and white, and even bought some face paint. We had quite the turn out for our little BBQ! We even sang "O Canada" as proudly and loudly as ever. It was a Canada day I will never forget, and the first I've ever celebrated in another country.

It was Sara and Brittany's last night here. After 8 weeks with them, it was incredibly hard to see them go. Especially because I felt like I was supposed to be going home too! We've done everything together since we've arrived. We were on the same flight here. We took Spanish classes together every day. We've been roomies. We've travelled on weekends together. We've hardly spent any time apart at all. And as I watched them pack and prepare to return to Canada, I felt as though I too should have been preparing to go home. But, I'm grateful to have the opportunity to spend another 2 weeks in this beautiful country, and I plan to make the most of my time left here!

I stayed up and watched a movie with the girls, and at 2am, we decided to sleep. Their cab came at 3:30am, and we were all up to say bye. It was so sad :(

So here's to Sara and Brittany for all the laughs and good times - I'm so happy to have been through this journey with the two of you. :)