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!!! :)