I cannot believe it is already jueves (Thursday.) Our time here is flying by so quickly. Our host father, Domingo, left yesterday for Guatemala City and it was so hard to say goodbye! It's hard to find the right words for a goodbye, even when you're both fluent in the same language.
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| The Mayan Nose...do you see it?! |
Other than that sad moment, this week has been full of happiness. Monday, we went to visit a midwife in San Juan. The conversation was fascinating. She visits local mothers every three days and eventually delivers their babies for absolutely no charge. She makes her living and supports her children by making and selling scarves. She told us that she learned how to be a midwife in her dreams, dreaming throughout her childhood of how to cut the cord and ease the birthing process. After experiencing these dreams, she delivered three of her own children.
Tuesday, we had a free morning, so some of the nurses and I braved the climb to the Mayan Nose, a local mountain shaped like a face. The trip was about a two hour journey from our meeting spot. We started bright and early at 3:30 a.m., and arrived at the nose around 5:30 a.m., ready for the sunrise. The problem? Sunrise wasn't until 6:30 a.m. and it turns out it gets wicked cold the in the Guatemalan mountains! We shivered in the darkness for an hour, and the wait was certainly worth it--by far the most breathtaking sunrise I've ever seen! Our guide, Juan (aka Johnny Tiger) built a small fire for us and we warmed our hands and soaked in the sun. From there, we went walked to Santa Clara to go zip lining across the mountains! I expected myself to be a little scared, but when push came to shove, I wasn't scared, just amazed by the beautiful sights around me. More scary than the zip line was the truck ride back to San Pedro! But all is well and we made it here safe and sound.
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| Amanda watching the sunrise from the Mayan Nose. |
Wednesday, we got a taste of what medicine is like when you don't have ideal technology. We visited a couple patients with the local cuandero, Pedro. Pedro used a series of massages to help some of his patients, and a simple remedy of olive oil, salt and lime for another. Similar to the midwives, Pedro doesn't try to make a profit with his services--he only charges what the medicine he gives costs.
This morning we woke up bright and early to go on a lakeside walk with our host mom, Melida, and her daughter, Melanie. Melida has diabetes, which is actually quite a large problem here, and she makes a great effort to exercise and eat well every day. We strolled the lake as the sun rose and it was truly a lovely moment, just chatting across language barriers as the sun creeped over the mountains.
As usual, we've been going to Spanish class this week, and learning more and more every day. I am truly a nerd--I have always loved going to school and I am so happy to be a student again. It's going to be hard saying goodbye to our teachers, but if I work hard, hopefully in the future I'll be able to send them a letter in fluent Spanish!
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| Volcan San Pedro, here we come! |
Though our time here is coming to an end, we still have some adventures planned for the rest of the week. Tonight we're attending a Mayan ceremony and tomorrow morning at 2:00 a.m. four of us (are crazy) and making a hike up the closest volcano! Don't worry mom--we're going with a guide and the volcano is inactive. It's supposed to be a 3-4 hour hike up, then we have to hike back down. Needless to say, it's going to be an immense struggle, but with a positive mindset, I'll see another beautiful sunrise tomorrow morning. After class, we're treating our host parents to pizza, giving some gifts, and very sadly packing our things for home. Saturday morning we're headed out bright and early for a hotel in Guatemala City, then we're flying back to Kansas City on Sunday.
But before I get too far ahead of myself here--it's only jueves, and I have class in just a couple minutes! The next time I talk to you, I'll have (hopefully) climbed a volcano!
-Melissa
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