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.