Week 5

During this week, like each of the other weeks, several interesting opportunities arose for me to take part in. To begin with, on Monday at 7:00am, I went to the Guacucal health post, like usual. There, I met Doctora Lejarza, who had come from León rather than Sauce. I worked there with Doctora until 2:00pm and then we went back to Sauce, but on the return home, Doctora asked me if I wanted to work with her the rest of that day and night in the clinic, during el tourno. I said “yes” rather quickly, and then asked what the hours of the shift were. She responded that I would have time to go home and eat lunch, meet her back at the Centro de Salud after 3:00pm, and we would stay there, attending to patients until 7:00am, at which point we would leave the Centro de Salud, take the bus to Panales, and ride horses into a country post. She said this all rather nonchalantly as we walked toward the bus stop, then paused to look back at me, standing there with my mouth open, slowly turning into a huge smile due to my embarrassing and surprise. After seeing my face, Doctora began to smile as well and laughed as I warned that, even with sleep, there is a likelihood of me falling off a horse. But with all my experience in Ocotal, riding the horses for all of an hour-and-a-half, I felt more than prepared! Well, maybe. Prepared or not, I was eager about the rest of the day.

When I got home to Ileana’s house, I excitedly told her about my plans for the evening and the rest of the day. It’s easy to tell when Ileana gets really excited or anxious about something because she becomes even more animated than normal. Her eyes open wider, she gets a big grin on her face, quickly asks what she can do to help, and if she’s really excited, she starts to wave her right hand in a way that is difficult for me to mimic. Anyway, Ileana repeated my plans back to me (to ensure no loss of communication), widened her eyes, and then asked me if I needed her to pack a dinner for me to take. I said it was not necessary because I could just have a later lunch around 2:30-3:00pm. So instead, she settled on making me a Tupperware container of coffee to bring to the clinic. After eating lunch, I went to the office to check in with the others and make sure with Yaccy that I could miss English class that night, though she only seemed to be concerned about my dinner that night. “Did you ask Ileana to pack you a dinner?” “You are going to get hungry,” “Kellan and I will bring you food”. My response was “No, Yaccy, I’ll be fine! I ate a late lunch which was far too big, as usual”. Ten minutes later, on my way out the door, she stops mid-sentence while talking to someone else to say “Sarah, we’ll send you food or stop by sometime class!” Haha, thanks, Yaccy.

I got to the Centro de Salud and found Doctora there around 3:30pm. At this point we had been without power for the entire day and the return of light was not looking very promising. Furthermore, without any windows (besides the open doorways) the rooms in el Centro were very dark. When 6:00pm came around, it started to become difficult to read or take blood pressures inside the rooms without leaning towards the doorway for a dim light source. At 7:00pm it was dark and the power still had not returned, so candles were lit and one small flashlight was brought out. I was sitting next to Doctora when I heard some commotion outside (the door to the center is always locked with a door man guarding the door to let people in or out) and then my name being called. Apparently, Corey (my roommate) been sent to bring me my dinner from Ileana. Corey also thought to bring my small reading flashlight, which Doctora enjoyed while writing her patient assessments. However, as the night went on without light, the patients began to dwindle and, for some of those who did come in hopes of treatment, little was able to be done in the darkness. This was the case for my friend Leslie from English class who had brought her son to the center for an injection and was turned away because the nurse needed more light for such a procedure. Disappointed with the conditions, I came to realize it would be a very slow night without any light sources besides a few small candles, and around 10:00pm Doctora asked me if I wanted to go home to rest for tomorrow since it was likely that they wouldn’t have many more patients for the rest of the night. I reluctantly agreed, not wanting to miss out on anything interesting that night, but also realizing that I was starting to get very tired in the darkness and should probably sleep before riding horses in the morning.
In the morning, I woke up refreshed, ate Ileana’s breakfast, and rode the bus to Panales. There, we hurriedly filled a vinyl sac with as many medical supplies as we could, brought the thermos of vaccines, and got back on the bus for another 5 or 10 minutes until we reached a different stop where a few horses were tied up. After counting up the horses, I realized that there were one-too-few horses. Hmm, this could be a problem. But as it turned out, it just meant that I would have the pleasure of sharing one of these small horses with Amparo, the nurse. It looked very uncomfortable to me, the way she perched herself behind me and the saddle, on the horse’s bare, skinny back, and had to reach around me to grab hold of the reins, but she assured me that she was a very accustomed rider and that it was not a problem. So we rode along together for about 45 minutes, set up a post at a family’s house, ate lunch there, talked with the family, and then left around 1:00pm, this time with an extra horse for Amparo to ride, thankfully.

The next couple of days passed without too much excitement. On Wednesday, the bus never showed up because it had broken-down for the day, so I went to the office to do some of my work for my Spanish literature course. On Thursday, I went as I normally did to the Panales health post. On Friday, Doctora went to León, so I planned to help Yaccy, Allie, and Corey with their presentation at the San Luis elementary school, where Allie and Corey had been giving an arts and crafts course. This presentation was a final celebration for the kids and their parents, as the kids presented their songs and skits in fronts of the small crowd of other students and parents. I was glad to come along to see how Allie and Corey had become part of these girls’ lives and how much fun the children had as Allie and Corey had taught them crafts, songs, and skits to present to their families.

Week 4

Monday- Guacucal with Doctora Lajarza, Enfermera Olga, and 5th year medical student. I shadowed the Doctora and learned how to feel the stomach of a pregnant woman in order to determine how the baby is positioned and to measure the length of the baby by using a measuring tape, started at the pelvic bone, or pubis, and measuring until the end of the baby. I helped the doctor by weighing the patients and taking their blood pressures.
Tuesday- Panales Health Post with Doctora Lajarza. I shadowed the doctor again because Emfermera Amparo was unable to make it. Today I saw how a PAP smear is done, and I couldn’t believe how clearly the process enables you to see the neck of the uterus and the cervix.
Friday- We all left for León at 11:50am on the bus. After arriving, we dropped off our things at the hostel, Lazy Bones, and went to the Rubén Darío museum. Afterwards, we walked around the markets near the cathedral, I ate mango for the first time (which has now become my favorite fruit), and I developed some photos to bring back to el Sauce for my host family, the people I work with, and Yaccy and Kellan. Afterward, we walked back to the hostel, relaxed a bit, used the internet, played pool, and went across the street for dinner: pizza and pasta. After dinner some of the group went out to a bar to listen to some music, but Mike and I walked back to the hostel and just chatted for a while before going to bed.
Saturday- We woke up around 7:00am, ate breakfast there (fruit, granola, and yogurt), and walked to a hostel down the street at 7:45am to leave for volcano boarding. There, we met other people going to the volcano, Cerro Negro, and we all piled into the back of two trucks. The ride was about 45 minutes, and before driving directly to the base of the volcano, we stopped to regroup, use the bathrooms, and check out the rattle snakes, lizards, and iguanas in captivity at one of their volcano post. Then we continued to drive a bit more. When we got out, we each grabbed a board and an orange bag which had our jumpsuits and goggles. Carrying these things and my camera, we then started the 45-minute-hike to the peak of the volcano. The first three-quarters of the hike mostly consisted of scrambling up an upward bank of black volcanic rocks of all sizes. We eventually wrapped around the mountain, climbed up the steep incline, then walked on the peak of the volcano, around its crater. The view was unreal. At the top there were millions of yellow flying bugs that literally were everywhere. If you stood in the same place for more than a minute or so, you would have them all over your legs and body. As far as I know, though, they are harmless enough! Another interesting thing that was at the peak was a seismic shack that is used to measure seismic activity of the volcano. After checking out the crater, we were ready to “sled” down the volcano on our boards.
Sunday- We woke up early again, ate breakfast at the hostel (pancakes and fruit), took a taxi to the bus, and took the bus to the beach. Being my first time at a beach with real waves, I was completely amazed by the strength of the water and the undertow.

Final Post!

 Before I started to write this final evaluation, I sat looking out the
door at the bright street reflecting on my experience here. First, a few
ox and a wagon passed and I smiled (buey and carreta are just two of the
many new words I have learned). Then, I thought of two girls from the arts
and sports program I passed on the way to the office. They had skipped by
me, both wearing the bracelets that they made in the program, and said,
“adios”. Unlike some of the other participants, I knew a bit more
about my program and what I would be doing. However, I was still extremely
nervous and unsure how everything would turn out.  I had so many goals and
plans and no experience living in a different country or with teaching.

 My trip to El Sauce started early. Because I was interested in a career
in medicine (at that time, dentistry), I had asked Dr. McEwen about a way
to combine dentistry with Spanish (my major) in a service project in a
Spanish speaking country. She recommended El Sauce. The best part of this
program is that the student can design his or her own program in El
Sauce, based on the needs of the community. It gives the student a sense
of responsibility that no other class can. I took a directed study for
only two credits and happily put more hours of work into this than any
other class.  The work I did for this project was not just for me. As I
learned about the high extraction rate in the public clinic through Dr.
Garcia, who recommended teaching the children about better dental
hygiene. My mind swirled with ideas, activities and cartoons that I could
use. Dr. McEwen asked me to enter it in a CASE grant competition. My
first reaction was, “Me? This is a huge responsibility and I’m pretty
sure I’m not capable.” So, I called my dad. He said what he always
says when I say I can’t do something (reminiscing the quote from Woody
Allen): “90 % of the job is just showing up. For God’s sake, Allie,
have some more confidence in yourself and just try.”

 I tried and the project won! From then on, I figured I would just do my
best and just “show up,” as my dad said. I “showed up” to dental
club and Biology meetings to try and recruit and called and wrote letters
and email to sticker, crayon, toothbrush companies, and even the Girl
Scouts (who collected 3 huge boxes full). I went to the dorms and put a
box for donation of toothbrushes. However, I was having trouble receiving
enough dental supply donations, even with a “connection” from a friend
of a friend. Dr. McEwen and Kellan got in touch with the Colgate in
Nicaragua and worked very hard and the project got their support.
From then on, everything seemed like it happened so fast. I just kept
“showing up,” doing my best, and seeing everything come together.  The
group of students went on a tour the first night in El Sauce and stopped a
10 or 11 year old girl selling elote to try one. She smiled and I saw her
teeth. She was missing one or two and many were covered in black.  I
remember thinking about how many others were like her and hoping she
attended a school.  During my first full day in El Sauce, I spent the
morning with the 200 or so teachers from the schools in El
Sauce ready to receive a lesson from the dentist from colgate. Each
student was to receive two toothbrushes, a toothpaste, and dental
activities. That evening and the next day, we organized the boxes the hand
out to the teachers. Everything seemed so much bigger than the work I had
done during the year. All that “showing up” paid off. Some teenagers
feel that because they are one of a billion people, they can’t make a
difference and they don’t even vote. I feel the opposite. I am just one
girl who just kept showing , making phone calls, writing emails and trying
her best. I can’t believe how much impact I have made on the lives of
people who live so far away from me.

 During the first three weeks, I worked with Dani on the dental campaign
and present the lesson. After the first two schools, we made some changes
in the plan and I think we perfected it (making changes for the younger
and older kids). It was really cool to have someone with
me who knew El Sauce a bit better and to travel a bit to see different
schools. During these weeks, I got to see how the schools were run. Poor
dental health was obvious among the kids and mostly due to recess habits.
During recess, the kids go to buy the sugary snacks at school, chomp away
at something sugary, and return to class with a lollypop in their mouth.
The kids loved me and Dani and sometimes would give us little gifts at
recess (usually candy, which I would then remind them to brush their teeth
after recess).

 I think I liked going to the schools alone even more. My favorite part about this
time of the program was my time spent talking to the teachers. I learned
about their lives, their children and their family or friends in the US.
They told me everything about themselves and what they thought about
Americans. They taught me vocabulary and threw in help with grammar. In
only one day with a teacher, I felt extremely close with them. The dental
program was great for me but I lacked getting to know people for more than
one day at a time.

 But, then when there was vacation for two weeks, I was able to plan and
participate in an arts and sports program for girls with Corey. I loved
art as a kid and was excited to teach these girls any cool tricks that I
knew. This program was amazing because Corey and I were able to get to
know these girls really well. Everywhere we walked, the girls wanted to
hold our hands and walk with us. After class one time, I had three of the
girls in the program who live across from me, and three others who the
girls knew, over to my house to finish/ or to make masks. That was so much
fun (and a little crazy). Now whenever I leave my house I hear, “Adios,
Alis!!! Alisss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The celebracion de despedidas was
so fun and I found myself getting a bit chocked up when Marialysi looked
up at me with teary eyes as she kissed my cheek goodbye for the 5th time.
I am so happy that I did this program with Corey.
The day of giving out the filters was yet another cool moment here when I
saw how big of an impact the project has on the lives of the people here.

I think it went really well. Sahrita, my host mom and local doctor, did a great job giving the talk
about contaminated water and I think it was best that it came from a
doctor. The teachers knew when and where to come, everything was really
organized (all the materials were labeled and placed in sections- Thanks
Yacarely and Kellan!) and went smoothly. I also think that the lesson
plan was really good. The only thing I would change is that I was too
timid about talking in front of the group. I could have done a better
job. However, a few teachers have come individually to the office and I
have done well explaining everything to them.  I’m not the best public
speaker in English. So, public speaking in Spanish was a bit too much to
handle.

I went to Guacucal to look at the filters and saw labeled cups and the
kids using the water filter to brush their teeth. I also revisited San
Jose and saw that a student’s mom made a special toothbrush holder for
the class. It was absolutely fantastic. I wish that I could have seen some
decorated filters but the teachers did not do the lesson plan yet with
their students. I am added some of my favorite pictures of the schools that I had put a side because for some reason they couldnt add before. I hope everyone enjoys them!

Final Post

Well, we are back from El Sauce and I really miss the place.  The United States is a strange and scary country.  There are too many cars on the road and no one says hello to you.  El Sauce was an incredible experience for me.  For one thing, i got a friend out of it- Juan Pablo, with whom I worked construction, and I now plan to email and talk via skype.  I am looking forward to practicing my spanish with him, as I typically have a lack of opportunities to speak spanish while I am in the U.S.  Furthermore, working construction in El Sauce was a great decision, although it was not my original reason for going.  By doing so I was able to witness the way poorer, typical Nicaraguans live on a daily basis (alternatively, the house I lived in was absolutely beautiful).  The houses we built were tiny, yet they were an improvement upon the crumbling shacks that we replaced.  All in all, I worked on three different houses while I was in Nicaragua, and the recipients were always gracious, hospitable, and fun.  Between laying bricks we talked about differences between here and there, joked around, and enjoyed the occasional cup of sweet coffee.  Sometimes they would even give me food, not taking no for an answer, and I would respectfully eat it and disregard the huge lunch that I knew I would receive upon my return to Alida's house.  The experience was incredible, although it has contributed a lot to my current sadness as I reflect upon how much more compassionate and sincerely friendly and caring these people were relative to many Americans.  The houses I built, as well as Juan Pablo's house, has caused me to reflect very much upon the unnecessary luxuries that I have here and has made me feel quite guilty about the things I previously took for granted.  I even felt guilty and overpriveledged there after Juan Pablo saw my overpriced ipod touch and blackberry.  Nevertheless, I can only hope that the experience helps me conserve water and electricity more, and to become a bit more frugal when it comes to buying unnecessary goods.  Moving forward, the literacy program that I helped out with was successful in that I was able to practice my spanish very much, and I felt that I was highly successful teaching in spanish.  I feel a little strange about leaving because the students will now be left with a subpar teacher, who refuses to stray from the book or ask any critical questions, enforcing an idea that answers must be copied verbatim from the text.  This is the major problem with this literacy program, and in the future Geneseo students could help out just as much with the teacher as with the students.  On numerous occasions, I found myself teaching the students, as well as the teacher.  However, this is by no means the fault of the teacher.  All teachers are volunteers, as this is "educación popular", and it is a great to witness ordinary people helping out the people in their neighborhood who want to learn.  Thus far the idea of free education with unpaid teachers has not reached our country, but it seems to be pretty successful in Nicaragua, where people have a strong feeling of community and commitment to one another.  Just sitting alone in the bus stop in San Jose, people would come up to me and shake my hand, saying "mucho gusto".  There is a very cool sense of community that I will surely miss in this country.  Right now I am very much missing my Nicaraguan friends and my El Sauce community, and I have left with a strong desire to return and to continue to help out in any way that i can, raising money for four walls and encouraging other Geneseo students to participate in the program.

Hooray for El Sauce!

I think I have posted very recently, but I am not ready for sleep yet and kind of feel like writing. Things in San Jose are going well. In fact, I think I've successfully taught long division to a spanish speaking person who has never seen division before. It needs to be gone over some more, but I was pretty impressed (at least as much with him as I was with myself). I am glad I have gotten to be a part of this literacy program. The books I use to teach are fantastic, as I get to learn along with the students. They are full of lessons about nicaraguan history and geography, as well as frightful stories about awful catastrophic natural disasters. I am hoping the next earthquake does not strike while I am here. However, the coolest aspect of this free program provided by the government is that people, no matter their age or gender, want to learn for the sake of learning. The people I am teaching have no desire to reach the top of any career ladder. They are farmers and housewives who simply want to know what they missed by not getting the chance to go to school. They want to learn the things their children have already learned. They want to know what else is out there, soley for the sake of knowing it. That is what makes this program so enjoyable. Besides the literacy program, I am excited for this weekend. I finally will not be traveling and will be able to see what El Sauce is like on the weekends. Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the liberation of el sauce and there will be festivals and plenty of balloons. There are even rumors that Daniel Ortega is going to make the trek out here to speak. That would be incredible. One other thing I wanted to mention is the amazing extent to which you cannot escape the U.S. wherever you go in this world. American advertisements and products are ubiquitous, as is American music. And Michael Jackson has just passed away and somehow I think people are even sadder here than in the U.S. Juan Pablo's brother cried when he heard the news, and I'm sure he was not the only one in el sauce to have done so. I am in a third world country, but I can never feel completely shut off from the world I know. That is comforting, though at the same time a bit sad.

Week 3 in El Sauce

Monday morning I had planned to meet the Doctora Lajarza at the bus station at 6:50am, but she wasn’t there. I knew we were planning on going to the Guacucal Health Post, which I had been to on my first day of work in el Sauce, so I decided to take the bus anyway and see about meeting Enfermera Olga at the post instead. With some luck, it worked out and at the post I met Olga again, for the second time. Apparently, the Doctora had gone to Leon again, so a 5th year medical school took her place that day (instead of four years at a general university and then another four years at a medical school, here, medical students attend a total of five years of medical school without needing four years of undergraduate education).
On Tuesday, I met the Doctora at 6:30am to go to a fair in Sabano Grande with two other doctors and two more nurses. Along with some other people and the fair supplies (piñata, gifts, candy, etc.), we all piled into the back of the truck. The roads/trails were barely passable by truck to Sabano Grande and for about 30 minutes we were stuck in a creek bed because, with all the weight in the back, the truck tires sunk deeply into the sand. For at least 20 minutes we tried pushing the truck and shoving rocks under the tires, but it was no use. Finally I saw a wagon pulled by two bull cows passing us in the river. Nothing too surprising. But when the animals stopped directly in front of the truck, I realized that the wagon was not simply passing us—it was going to act as our tow truck! To my disbelief, the “towing” worked very well, and we were out of the creek within seconds of the animals beginning to pull. When we arrived at the health post, it was situated right next to a school and there was already a line of at least 60 patients. It was the greatest number of patients I had seen so far at one time, but this time there was more than one doctor, so the line went quickly and we were done by 2:00pm. One of the doctors, Jorge, met with his parents from Leon there. Jorge’s father is also a doctor and his mother is a pharmacist in Leon. I worked with Sandra, Jorge’s mother, in the pharmacy and helped distribute the medications as needed by the patients after their consultations with the doctors. It was a very good opportunity to learn from Sandra, who was very patient with by Spanish-speaking skills, allowing us to have very interesting conversations. In addition to providing physical help that day, Sandra had brought medications and other medical supplies from her pharmacy in Leon to help the patients in Sabano Grande. Unfortunately, although she brought many supplies, she wished she had brought more because the pharmacy in Sabano was lacking many essential supplies and very few of the medications that were most often used were in stock. (For example, Acetomenofén tablets for adults are very commonly prescribed, but there were only about 30 tablets in stock, and other medications, such as Indomedicina, were completely absent.) Meanwhile, as patients were being seen in the health post, next door was a very loud and exciting party of kids gathered around the piñata, dancing, chatting, and listening to the music. After nearly all of the patients were taken care of, I went over to check out the festivities with Sandra, Jorge Sr., and Jorge Jr., but we didn’t stay over there long because there were so many people inside, standing in the doorway, and around the windows, that I couldn’t even see into classroom. Everyone was very excited about the party, candy, and small gifts. Afterward, I walked back to health post to help the doctors and nurses to clean up and organize the post. Then, with Doctora Lajarza, another Doctora (a licensed doctor who I had met the previous week during the Panales supervisión), and I walked down the road a bit to somebody’s house, went in, sat down, and paid a couple cordobas for a piece of bread and drink. When we walked back to the school, the women had cooked everyone lunch (rice, beans, and tortillas) and were graciously handing them out to all the people who had worked in the post, along with a thick pineapple drink in a bag (in Nicaragua, most drinks are in plastic bags; to drink it, you either stick a straw into the top and grasp the bag around the straw, or a knot is tied at the open end of the bag so you bite a bottom corner and squeeze the drink into your mouth).
That day, after returning from the health post, it began to rain. Here, during the rainy season, rain storms usually don’t “sprinkle” rain from the sky, it is literally poured down and lasts so long that the roads are impassable by foot due to flooding. Since Tuesday night was one of these cases of rain storms, English class at 6:00pm was cancelled (most students wouldn’t attempt the rain anyways). But at around 7:00pm, it slowed down slightly and everyone decided to meet for dinner and drinks at one of the local restaurants: El Viajaron. Since I already had eaten at home, I just went to hang out and buy a drink. I ordered a juice, and was slightly surprised when I received a can of Apple nectar, which is as stick as syrup and incredibly sweet (I made sure to find out that the juice wasn’t actually nectar every time I ordered a drink after that!)
On Wednesday, I went to the Centro de Salud to meet the doctor at 6:50am, but didn’t actually find her until around 7:30am, at which time we met up with Vista Mundial (“World Vision”) and rode in the back of a pickup truck into the country, specifically to Los Loros. We only go out to Los Loros once or twice every two weeks, but it is one of my favorite places to go because the ride is so fun and the people there are always happy to see us and incredibly nice. On this occasion, we were going there in order to obtain blood samples or urine samples if the patients presented a variety of symptoms, in addition to performing regular check-ups, weighing the children to identify malnutrition if present, and providing medications to those who needed them. In Los Loros there isn’t an actual health post; it is actually the main room of someone’s house, where they also have a small business selling snack foods. The room is made of a sort of brick material, has two open doorframes, dirt floors, and two smaller rooms come off the back wall, with a light curtain serving as a door. When nearly all of the patients were finished, I decided to wander around outside a little bit and found a few boys, around 5 to 10-years-old, playing a game with marbles on the ground. I wasn’t sure exactly of the rules of the game, but I could see that the basic concept was to try to hit the other person’s marble, so I asked them if I could play. They responded by giggling and handing me a translucent, light blue marble. In the 15 minutes or so that I played with them, I didn’t think I was doing that bad, but I did manage to attract a small crowd of other kids and some adults who let out giggles through the huge grins on their faces.
On Thursday, I took the 7:00am bus to the health post at Panales, where I met the two nurses (Emparo Palacios and Chepito Sanchez). Doctora Lajarza had to work in the clinic at the Centro de Salud that day, so a different 5th year medical student-doctor took Lajarza’s position for the day. That night, the English class was cut short at around 7:00pm and everyone came back to Ileana’s house (it is also a restaurant) to eat. Except when we got there, all the students from the English class were there, and a large surprise going-away party was awaiting everyone, for the four Geneseo students (Mandy, Dani, Meagan, and Hannah) who were leaving at this three-week interval. We ate food, played games, and hung out with everyone there until about 12:00am, and then the four leaving said their sad goodbyes to all the English students.
On Friday, none of the doctors or nurses went out to health posts. Instead everyone met in the Centro de Salud to do paperwork, and then Doctora Lajarza gave a lecture/workshop on mother-child malnutrition and sickness. During the workshop, she read aloud a scenario of a medical case of a child to about 30 doctors and nurses gathered around. Then, she told everyone to split into two groups and figure out the plan for treatment. It was very interesting to take part in this and to see all the health care workers working together to collaborate their ideas.
That night at 6:00pm we met at the nun’s convent. Since a few of the girls taught English to children in the Catholic schools and since several of the nun’s themselves were students in our night English class, we were invited to the teachers’ celebration, in which the nun’s provided a show and dinner to all the teachers in the schools. Afterward, we all went out to a club in celebration of the four girls’ last night here. The activity was put on by the students of a local high school, from whom we brought our tickets.
Saturday was my first weekend staying home in el Sauce, and it was so nice just to hang out with Ileana and her family for the day. We said our goodbye’s to Hannah after lunch, and then I sat around reading and talking with the family for the rest of the day.

Week 2 in El Sauce

This week at the health post was very similar to the first week, except for a few aspects. First, on Monday I did not go in to work because, after walking to the Centro de Salud at 7:00am, I talked to a few of the other people working there and learned that Doctora Lajaraza had gone to Leon for the day. Since she would not be returning until later, I didn’t work in the posts that day. Instead, I went back to the house and then the office to complete some of my reading. For the remainder of the week I worked on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the health post in Panales. In order to prepare the post for a health inspection (supervisión), we spent Tuesday and Wednesday updating flowcharts, graphs, and medical records and making posters and door signs, in addition to cleaning and organizing the pharmacy. On Thursday, three licensed doctors came in to do inspections at around 9:00am and stayed for the remainder of the day there to check records, graphs, and other aspects of the health post. Since there weren’t many patients scheduled for appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than usual on Thursday. Many women came in with their children for regular appointments, and there was also a man who came in for his diabetes medications, which I haven’t seen too many cases of so far. The majority of the children are prescribed sulfato ferroso (hierro) for anemia, liquid Acetaminofén, or Amoxicillin. If adult patients are experiencing some form of pain, often headaches, fever, or flu, they are given 10 Acetaminofén tablets. Amoxicillin is given for pneumonia or urinary infection.
During the weekend, another trip was planned and we left Friday at 11:00am, so I didn’t go into work at the health posts. The bus from el Sauce first went to Leon and then to Managua (about 3.5 hours). In Managua we stopped for something to eat and met Kellan, who was already in Managua with a van. Then we took the van from Managua to Grenada, which was about 45 minutes. Around 4:00pm we arrived in Grenada and went to the hostel to unpack our belongings then go to dinner. At dinner, my chicken caesar salad was especially delicious because it was the first time I had eaten salad in a while.
In the morning we left around 10:00am for Crater Lake, about 20 minutes away by car. Crater Lake is a large, circular lake that is situated on top of an old volcano; essentially, it is the crater of an old volcano. The water was nearly as clear blue as ocean water and the green mountains surrounding the crater on all sides were gorgeous, especially when we kayaked out to float in the middle of the lake. In the beach area there was a floating wooden raft to jump off, and we played several rounds of Mafia on it while baking in the sun. I didn’t realize how much sun I was getting, of course, until after we got back to the hostel around 5:00pm and my face began to resemble a tomato. Apparently, even if I had worn enough sunscreen (which I didn’t), the water in the lake would have rinsed it off very quickly due to the sulfur from the volcano. That night, we walked down town to the restaurant strip again, except that night we ate at a Mexican place, which was also delicious. During dinner we were serenaded by a band and other musical festivities on the strip.
During the weekend, another trip was planned and we left Friday at 11:00am, so I didn’t go into work at the health posts. The bus from el Sauce first went to Leon and then to Managua (about 3.5 hours). In Managua we stopped for something to eat and met Kellan, who was already in Managua with a van. Then we took the van from Managua to Grenada, which was about 45 minutes. Around 4:00pm we arrived in Grenada and went to the hostel to unpack our belongings then go to dinner. At dinner, my chicken caesar salad was especially delicious because it was the first time I had eaten salad in a while.
In the morning we left around 10:00am for Crater Lake, about 20 minutes away by car. Crater Lake is a large, circular lake that is situated on top of an old volcano; essentially, it is the crater of an old volcano. The water was nearly as clear blue as ocean water and the green mountains surrounding the crater on all sides were gorgeous, especially when we kayaked out to float in the middle of the lake. In the beach area there was a floating wooden raft to jump of, and we played several rounds of Mafia on it while baking in the sun. I didn’t realize how much sun I was getting, of course, until after we got back to the hostel around 5:00pm and my face began to resemble a tomato. Apparently, even if I had worn enough sunscreen (which I didn’t), the water in the lake would have rinsed it off very quickly due to the sulfur from the volcano. That night, we walked down town to the restaurant strip again, except that night we ate at a Mexican place, which was also delicious. During dinner we were serenaded by a band and other musical festivities on the strip.
The following morning, Sunday, we woke up early to catch an “American” breakfast, and it was well worth it! Mandy and I shared our breakfasts, which were pecan Belgium waffles and blueberry pancakes with coffee. In addition, I had a banana milkshake (or “banano con leche”). Afterwards, we walked back to the hostel, packed our things, and left by 10:00am in order to reach the markets in Masaya by 10:45am. We shopped and looked around the market there for about 45 minutes and then headed out for the active Masaya Volcano. After reaching the top of the volcano by car, we were able to hike up stairs to reach the peak, where a cross was situated. The view as we peered into the endless crater at the peak was break-taking. After seeing the volcano, I wanted to learn more about it, and I found online that the floor of the crater that I was looking into is generally covered by poorly vegetated lava. Only two lava flows have surfaced since the 16th century (in 1670 and 1772), but it continually emits a large amount of sulfur dioxide gas and several contained explosive events have occurred in the last 50 years, such as a explosion in 1999 when rocks of 60cm diameter were thrown into the sky and reached a distance of 500m from the crater.
After leaving the volcano, we grabbed lunch at a pizzeria, stopped at a small grocery store (where I excitedly bought Bran Cereal!), and then began the trip back to el Sauce in the van. Soon after we got home, we left again to go watch a movie at Irene’s house (Irene is a Peace Corps worker in el Sauce).

It is going too quickly

Well, the fourth week is already over and I am starting to realize that I will very soon be missing El Sauce and all of the wonderful people I have met here. Since Mandy left, I have completely taken over her post in San Jose, tutoring the same group of people everday. One woman is older and she has difficulty recognizing letters, sometimes due to vision, sometimes because she forgets what they look like. However, I have been spending time going over letters with her each day, as well as having her fill in the missing letters of words, and following along in the level one ýo si puedo´book. She is very thankful for the help, and a bunch of kids gather around to enjoy the lesson too. The other woman that I really enjoy tutoring is very enthusiastic and loves to learn. Her husband is working in Honduras so she is all alone with her two little kids, but when I come around she is so happy and grateful that someone is helping her learn new things, like math and reading. She is a very good reader and I only have to correct her occasionally. Math is a different story however. I also help out in the class with the teacher sometimes and with some other students. I am really happy that I have finally settled down somewhere and have a better routine. The first three weeks I would always travel with a man named Erving and never knew what I was doing or where I was going. I saw some great things with him- watching the farmers hike from all different directions up mountains and through the woods to an isolated house in the campos, where their teacher waited for them, was a really cool experience. These farmers really want to learn, mostly for their own self improvement and thirst for knowledge, and it is the same in San Jose. Everyday I here ¨¨gracias, gracias. que te vaya bien¨ about 5 times as I leave each house. Meanwhile, I should be the one thanking them for the experience. I am looking forward to a new week in San Jose starting tomorrow.

A long awaited post!

Well, it has been awhile since my last post and I'm sorry that it has taken me this long but i have been having so much fun. At first I thought that this week would be kind of slow. We found out last minute schools are canceled this week (in addition next week's vacation) and so, i would not be able to go to the schools for the dental health campaign. However, it ended up working out wonderfully. During the mornings, I work with Corey on an art and sport program for girls from 7:45-12. Last week and this week, in the afternoon, I have been working with the principal, Frania, of the preschool, El S.I.R Norita, which is funded bu Dr. Martin, a pediatrician from Rochester. I go with Frania on her surprise monthly visits to the students' houses and I hand out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a little pamphlet on oral health care to the parents. The kids in this preschool are extremely poor and I will remember their houses and some of the conditions that I have seen forever. I finished the last house yesterday and I will work with my host mom, Sarah, in the afternoons instead.

As for continuing the dental program, my brother, Mike just arrived and he will use the education materials that I made in the dental clinic waiting room. He also has toothbrushes, and other dental health related games to hand out. Also, when school resumes, my last week :( , I will return to three schools to give the dental lesson.

Half of the CASE grant was spent on 25 ceramic water filters. Eight schools, who are in regions of high rates of diarrhea from poor water, will receive filters. This week I will develop a lesson plan for the teachers to teach their class on how to use the filters and how to explain to them the importance of drinking the filtered water. I'm not sure what of all the details yet, but there will an arts and crafts section in which the kids assign special badges for their role in cleaning the filters, etc. I will teach the lesson plan to the teachers in a meeting my last week (all with the help of Yaci, of course).

I have been having such an amazing time here. I talk to any Nicaraguan every chance I get and each person is like my spanish teacher. There is a girl in the arts and sports program that I nicknamed, my profesorita. She doesn't know english but she is an excellent spanish teacher. She makes me pictures of things and writes the spanish word next to the picture. She has reviewed colors and animals so far and I'm exctied for the next lesson.

I also love my host family. I have gotten extremely close with everyone in the house and I am already looking foward to coming back for a visit in the near future.

I have been trying to upload photos for the last half hour but it does not work!!!!!!! I will submit this now and work on this on monday when we get back to el sauce (we are off to leon for the weekend!)