Babies, Boa Constrictors, and New Friends

A while ago I got called in to the hospital at night to help deliver a baby! It wasn't this week, but I realized I never blogged about it. Anyways, it was a great experience and the first time I had seen a baby delivered. It was a smooth delivery that only lasted a little over 2 hours. The woman didn't want (and didn't need) any type of anesthesia or pain meds and powered through--screaming and determined to have her baby. It was incredible to see how high of a tolerance for pain Honduran women have. This is only one example of many cases where I think "Wow, if that was me, I would've gone to the doctor yesterday if my shoulder was dislocated." Or the fact that taking something for the pain or swelling of any type of problem usually doesn't even cross their minds. They just deal with it and receive help once they have transportation to the hospital or a clinic nearby. But about the baby delivery: I helped with the clean up process, taking the baby's vital signs and recording his APGAR scores. And he scored a 9!! Woo hoo! :)
I had the surprise of not only a tarantula in my kitchen sink a few weeks ago, but last week I also was visited by a boa constrictor eating a chicken in my front yard. Literally eating. As in, I went out there because someone ran up to my front door telling me I had to come outside right now, and walked out there to find it all curled up, nearly blending in with the grass and other plants around it, with the lower half of a now dead chicken hanging out of it's mouth that was clamped around it and the snake's upper half of it's body was contracting in waves to slowly digest the gallina. Once I realized it was still very much alive I snapped a few pictures and quickly walked a good distance away from it to keep watching, unlike the 2 inches away from it I had been moments earlier... :/ Ya. A video of it is posted on the blog post before this one if you want to see it!!
God has blessed me with a new friend named Judith this past week!! She's from Germany but lived most of her childhood in Brasil. She's also a nursing student back in Germany and we get along so well! I'm very glad she's here and that she's my neighbor-in the studio apartment right next to mine :) I'm looking forward to spending more time with her, and everyone else too of course, these next couple of weeks.
I can't believe it's already the end of July!!! Where did the time go!?! Tomorrow will mark the 30 day mark of me being here. And what an incredible 30 days it has been so far :)
Prayer requests:
-For my Spanish to continue to improve and that I would be able to speak clearly and convey what I'm trying to say to patients in a clear and easy way for them to understand.
-Safety. Where I live is relatively safe..and people in the community really respect and look out for the missionaries and volunteers here because they are grateful to have us here, but there is definitely always a risk of danger here. Luckily, I haven't really had many scary moments. And don't worry, I don't walk alone at night! But safety is always a concern. Luckily, most people here think I'm from Puerto Rico and not America, so I look less like a gringa than I could so that's good :)
-My family back home.
-My 'family' here.
-The children who live at the Children's Home.
-For the hospital to be supported not only financially but continuously lifted up in prayer as well.

Boa Constrictor

Here is a video of what I saw when I went into my front yard this afternoon...a boa constrictor eating one of our chickens...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=3922901124009&saved

Traveling and Life

Last weekend I went with the Ward family to Copan, Belen Gualcho, Gracias, and Santa Rosa, all cities in the Western area of Honduras. It was so much fun seeing different parts of the country--it's crazy how different each one is too, even if it's only a couple of hours away from where I'm living. The climate is different (actually having to use blankets when you sleep!?! crazy. It got really cold at night when we were in Belen, which is a small village up in the mountains), the food, accents, and even the way people talk and certain words they use are all different each place we traveled to. Yes, they all speak Spanish and they're all still in Honduras- but definitely a distinction between each sub culture.

Unfortunately I got sick again :/ Luckily not the flu or anything that bad like last time, but I had (I'm almost all the way over it now) some type of cold thing with some lung issues along with it. So, I am thankful for feeling better now--but would also like to ask for prayer for continued health especially with dehydration when the heat gets really hard to deal with, and work in, as well.

This morning I moved out of my room and am living with the Wards for the next week since we're putting on a kids camp and they'll all be living in staff housing for the week(where I normally live). And the Wards have a/c in two of their rooms here!!!! Praise Jesus!! SO nice to have some air conditioning even if it's only for a week :)

Work in the hospital is going well--I'm mostly just taking and recording each patient's vital signs before they see the doctor and also assisting in surgery when I'm needed as a translator, and some of the doctors are really great about letting me in on surgery even if they speak Spanish and don't need a translator, because they know I'm going into nursing and they want to provide me with as many educational experiences while I'm here, especially because most of them I wouldn't be able to do in the States. :) And I was out of town when there were a bunch of babies born last weekend!!! Such a bummer. But, since I'm here for the rest of the summer--the obgyn said he'd call me whenever some one goes into labor or the next time there's a c-section scheduled. So excited!!!

When we were traveling last weekend we went to some small cities but also a very very rural village called Belen Gualcho up in the mountains of Ocotepeque, Honduras. Below is a picture of the cathedral there. It is absolutely breath takingly beautiful. The pastor welcomed us and he even let us go on top of the roof of the buliding- where the dome is and everything and look out upon the "city" and all the beautiful trees, fields, and mountains surrounding us. Some of the most beautiful views I've seen in my life.

While we were there I was introduced as "This is Maria, she's from the States and is working in the hospital in Balfate as a nurse" (except in Spanish obviously). It's hard to explain how I'm technically only a CNA, not an RN, but yet I'm doing work that an RN would normally do. So to make it simple we always just say that I'm an enfermera. The point of me writing this though, is that once people heard that I was a nurse they would ask me random health questions about problems they've been having, have me look at something, etc and expect that I had an answer. A daughter of the lady we were staying with had a bump behind each of her ears and it hurt when I pressed on them. I told her that if it started hurting without anyone touching them she should take the trip into town to see a doctor (which is a few hours away by bus and is an expensive, all day trip to make). One woman who was pregnant came up and was talking with me and then she placed my hand on her stomach (she was about 7 months along) and asked me if the baby was healthy or not. It started moving while my hand was on her and I asked her a few questions about how her pregnancy had gone so far and told her that I didn't think there were any problems as far as I could tell, but that she'd need to see a doctor to be sure. Then she asked me if it was a boy or a girl. At first I thought she was kidding, but while I paused before I answered I realized she was only partially kidding--I think part of her truly believed I would be able to tell the sex of her child by my hand on her stomach and since I was an American nurse, I'm educated and know these types of things. I smiled (in response to the supposed 'joke' she made, or just to be friendly-I let her decide which since I didn't know if she was being serious or not) and told her that she would need an ultra sound at the hospital to see if it was a boy or girl. She was hoping for a boy though since she only had girls so far and so I told her "Who knows--maybe it will be a boy!!" And everyone was all excited about the idea of possibly having a boy and then the conversation changed to something else. It was so strange to experience how someone sees you in such an obvious way. She knew only a few things about me and had only known me for a few hours of talking and eating together, but she knew this much: American/gringa, educated, is a nurse, speaks Spanish. What these added up to: I am able capable of diagnosing and treating ailments the family has along with giving her advice and answers about the child she is carrying. After figuring out how to respond and handle the situation, it gave me perspective on how they saw me because of these traits. I praise God for the level of education I have had thus far and am so grateful to have the opportunities I am blessed with to continue in school, so that one day I actually WILL be able to better treat ailments and problems that people ask me about, or at least have better general advice for them about health issues. But until then, I will be navigating how to respond besides with an "I don't know", because I know they are seeking hope or at least some type of answer.

Prayer requests:
-Safety!!! This is always something I'm praying about--especially when I'm in the bigger cities an no matter how tan I am or how well I speak Spanish, people always know I'm not Honduran. Although most people think I'm from Puerto Rico or Mexico, which is better than being seen as a Gringa, so that's good.
-Health: Not getting dehydrated and NO MORE getting sick! Oh, and not getting Malaria too, that'd be good. I'm taking anti malaria pills though so my chances are lower.
-Making more friends here and getting to know people better.
-For my Spanish to improve even more. It has already improved even just being here a few weeks-but sometimes it is frustrating when a conversation is flowing and then all of a sudden my brain just decides to not want to think in Spanish anymore. Very imconvenient.
-The patients and staff of the hospital.
-Kids camp that's going on next week.
-Wards are moving back to the States on Thursday.

Thank you for following my blog and like always your prayers are very very appreciated!!! :)

Sickness, Wellness and Newness.

First of all, I want to thank you guys for your prayers for health and safety. This weekend they were much needed. Today I think I'm finally over a nasty nasty flu virus I've had for the past few days :/ My stomach started feeling yucky Thursday night and then I was vomiting before you know it that night and then for the next few days so I had to go to the hospital (which is luckily just down the road!) for an saline i.v. so I wouldn't get too dehydrated (which is the main concern, since it's so so SO hot here and I had lost a lot of fluid). But! Good news now. That was Thursday night, and now it is finally Sunday and I am finally able to eat normal food and I'm fully rehydrated. Praise the Lord!! :) So, needless to say I did not work Friday like I normally would, so my second day of work will be tomorrow, Monday, and I am excited to see what this new week brings! Thursday I leave for Copan, Honduras with the Ward family, so I am so beyond grateful to have this flu thing out of my system and so thankful that God's timing is bastante perfecto in that I wouldn't be sick while traveling! Such a blessing.
Another thing to be thankful for is that I found out one of the doctors here dances West Coast Swing too!! Whattt!?!?!?! YES. YES!!!!! Ahem. So, we plan on breaking out some music and dancing in the kitchen together every once in a while :)
So I've realized the past couple of days there's a lot of things that are very different from home that I assume you guys know, when in fact you very well might not. So for todays post I've decided to do a bullet point list...

New Things Added to My Life:

-It gets dark by 6:00pm because Honduras doesn't do daylight savings.
-The howler monkeys that like to hangout in the trees by my bedroom window make the weirdest yelling/barking crazed-dog sound. I can't even describe it. But they tend to do this when it's dark out...when everyone's trying to sleep.
-Not speaking English!! Some of you would laugh at this one, because you feel like I already didn't speak English even when I was in the States. But yes, I'm having to get used to this as well.
-Being the minority...Bend, OR is about as white as it comes and now I'm the odd man out instead of the majority. Haha I thought I was somewhat tan while I was in Bend.....nope. Not at all. I am as white and gringo as it comes.
-Being able to walk to the beach <3
-Sweating.
-I take that back, not ever ceasing to sweat. Like take a shower and then dry off and you're sweaty again type of sweaty, because of the 90+ humidity along with the 90+ degree weather...and working in this heat as well.
-Not having a schedule!!!! :)))) It's the BEST THING EVER. I go to work by 8am and then i'm done whenever there's no more patients which is sometime before 3:30pm. After that, I'm free to do whatever I want. Go to the beach, READ A BOOK (when was the last time I did this for enjoyment--and NOT a class?? Crazy), do devotionals, take a nap (if it's not too hot..), just socialize with people and not have to set a time and place but just BE there and talk with someone until the conversation ends.
-Fresh fruit that's actually fresh goes bad pretty quickly...learning to grocery shop smart.
-Buying M&M's and then having to refrigerate them so they don't melt.
-Sleeping with a fan on.
-No siblings around :( I miss you guys!!!
-Going to church and listening to the sermon in Spanish. :)
-Not caring what I look like as much as I used to. Makeup usually sweats/melts off pretty quick here anyways.
-My hair is a continuously growing mound of frizziness. I should be on a hair commercial for the "before" shot of the crazy hair girl. But i doubt they even make a product that would fix this so they'd even have an "after" shot. But! I have been blessed with a few good hair days. 2, actually. Guys don't get this--girls, you realize how annoying this can be.
-Throwing tissue paper in a garbage can after you use it, and not in the toilet...(plumbing system is too sensitive). Gross, I know. But true.
-I know this may sound funny, but being around people with very thick Southern accents. A lot of the volunteers here are from South Carolina or Louisiana, etc. And also hearing Spanish trying to be spoken in a very Southern accent.
-Putting on bugspray to go outside--to the beach, on a walk, cooking in the kitchen downstairs, etc
-No Netflix when I'm bored. And this I know is a blessing! It's crazy how much time I wasted on there, now realizing that since I don't have it.
-No West Coast Swing dancing </3 In fact, dancing is seen as a bad thing here. They associate dancing with drugs and alcohol which then leads to sex with someone you're not married to and pregnancies. So altogether dancing is a huge no-no. People just goofing off once in a while dancing in the kitchen, etc is fine but a group of people dancing isn't ok.
-Not letting ice cubes sit out for more than 10 seconds, or else they'll start to melt.
-Living in a jungle. I. Love. It <3
-There are people carrying machine guns in front of stores, their property, or on trucks driving by to protect the goods they're transporting.
-Actually wearing sunscreen because I'm so much closer to the equator the sun actually will burn me here.
-Drinking lots and lots and lots of water to stay hydrated.
-The sound of pure nature, and no traffic or construction interrupting it's beautiful sound.
-Not having a cellphone, I LOVE IT!!! :) (okay, actually I DO have one--lots of people here do but it looks almost like a toy one it's so cheap, and it's just for emergencies, etc)
-Writing medical charts in Spanish.
-Weighing people in kilo's instead of pounds.
-Feeling more relaxed. I actually feel more at home here, in a foreign country. I know it sounds weird. But I love it here.  And I can't believe I'm actually here--after 4 years of praying for this opportunity, it's happened-I'm living it out here in Honduras. :)

Alright, there you have it! A wwaaaay too long of a list of my random thoughts of things that are new to me. I hope it's brought a better insight of how my life looks here in Balfate, Honduras! :)

Oh! one last thing.
Prayer requests:
-That no one else gets sick!!!! I really don't want anyone else to get the nasty flu bug I had.
Gracias!