Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I cannot begin to explain how much I am missing home right now. I had the hardest time falling asleep last night because I kept thinking about everything I would be missing today: waking up early to cook with my dad, lounging at home watching tv and baking with my mom, dinner with family, etc, etc. I'm extremely blessed and thankful to be in Belize and I am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner tonight with everyone here, but I still wish I were home.

This morning Adam wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and it took all my willpower not to cry. It's hard enough that it's the last week here and I'm ready to come home, but adding the holiday to that just makes me infinitely more emotional (and of course you all know how emotional I am anyway).

I want to thank all of my family and friends for supporting me on this trip and throughout life. I'm grateful for the abundance of opportunities life has presented to me. I'm thankful to be coming home in 2 days.

I may not post again before I return to the states, but I'll be thinking of all of you on the way back. See you soon!

Tom Owen's Island

Well we're back from an amazing weekend. Left Friday afternoon and headed out to Tom Owen's Island in Sapodilla Cayes. Just relaxed and had a delicious dinner of stew chicken, mash potatoes and rice and beans. Later we set up a bonfire and made smores. Saturday morning we got up and went snorkeling around the island. Then took the boat out to do some tubing and finally ended the day by doing some fishing and island hopping. That's when I got the picture of the starfish. For dinner Saturday night we has lobster, conch, and grouper that we caught and barbecued. It was so good. Another bonfire and more smores ensued. This morning we just relaxed on the island before heading home.

The island is tiny and we were the only people on it. You can see every side of it from the middle. There's a main house with 3 bedrooms and 3 cabanas out on the island with beds in them. It was a fun time but I'm glad to be back to running water and flush toilets. Not to mention I'm getting ready to head home. It'll be a decently short week: mobile clinics Monday and Tuesday, Clinic here on Wednesday, half-day in Barranco on Thursday (ending with Thanksgiving dinner), and a half day on Friday.

See you all in a week or two!

Settlement Day

On November 19, Belize will celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of 500 Garifunas to the country in 1823. A national holiday, Garifuna Settlement Day, is celebrated with food, song and dance throughout Belize, but mainly in the southern areas. From their infectious music and dancing to their colorful clothing, Garifunas have no doubt left their blueprint on the Caribbean and Central America.

HISTORY

While Garifuna Settlement Day remembers the exodus of the Garifunas to Belize in 1823, their history dates back to nearly 200 hundred years before, to the year 1635. This was the year when two Spanish ships carrying African slaves for transport to their buyers were shipwrecked off the coast of Saint Vincent. Soon the Yellow Caribs were created, a mixture of African, Venezuelan Caribs and the indigenous island group called Arawaks. By 1750, a new race called the Garifuna was born - a combination of African, Arawaks and the Yellow Caribs - and which remains to this day. The Garifunas are sometimes called Black Caribs and Garinagu as well.

In 1797, after decades of fighting the British invading forces, many Garifunas were deported to the Bay Islands of Honduras while some remained. Some of the deported Garifunas, unhappy with their small area to live, pleaded with the Spanish authorities to allow them to live on the mainland. Soon they were employed as soldiers and spread throughout the region. Today, approximately 98,000 Garifunas live in Honduras, and in coastal regions of Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala.

CULTURE

The Garifunas' strong African and Carib roots allow their culture to thrive, with very little change throughout the centuries. Garifunas, depending on their region, speak English, Spanish or Igneri, a Garifuna dialect with Arahuaco, Swahili, French and Bantu roots, or all three.

Music and dance are a huge part of their culture. Punta, a Garifunan secular class of music and dance, recreates the cock and hen mating dance. Its movements are composed of the intense shuffling of the feet and the quick motion of the hips and buttocks, while the upper torso remains still. The music is generally accompanied by two drums, rattles and conch shell trumpets.

Dew Point

I'm sitting out on the front porch this morning in my scrubs, eating my oatmeal and drinking my coffee (yay starbucks!) and waiting for my laundry to be ready to put out on the line. The sight this morning is one I haven't seen before down here in Belize: there's dew all over the cars. We've had some mornings where the grass has been a little wet, but that's mostly attributable to the rain. This morning there is definitely dew everywhere. It's so weird. I cannot believe how incredibly lucky we have been with the weather. It hasn't been unbareably hot, in fact most nights are pretty cool. I slept with a blanket on all night last night. I know it's no comparison to how the weather is fairing in Wisconsin, but personally I think the weather so far has been absolutely perfect.

Yesterday after clinic (really, really slow day in Laguna), Hailey, Liz, Christy and I rode into PG to head to the Western Union (THANKS MOM AND DAD!) and to check out the "Chocolate Center of the Universe" We got a free tour covering how they make the chocolate and some free samples. They make these chocolates that are shaped like barrels and bottles and they contain rum and coconut rum respectively. They are delicious. I'm trying to figure out a way to get them back to the US without them melting and making a huge mess - any suggestions?

Today is clinic in the morning and then lecture. This afternoon I get to help old people exercise - hahaha. It should be fun though.

Back to breakfast and laundry: Tchao!

Guatemala

The whole group went over to Guatemala today. We spent the morning laying out on Playa Blanco enjoying the sun and the sand. Roberto BBQ'd some chicken and grilled some hotdogs for us. We played a little beach volleyball too. It was awesome. I could have stayed there all day. Afterwards we headed to the Seven Altars which is a series of waterfalls. Unfortunately rain has been scarce so the waterfalls we more like trickles, but we had fun anyway. I went up to jump off the falls into the pool below and ended up being pulled down by Adam (jump raped). After the falls we rode over to Livingston to do some shopping and just see a little of Guatemala. Got back tonight after 8 hours out with Roberto and we're all completely beat. I'm almost ready for bed right now and it's only twenty to seven.

I'm starting to get some color which is nice. Not enough to avoid the "Hey white girls" comments though. Monday starts week 3 in Belize. We have a holiday on Thursday and I personally plan on doing absolutely nothing all day. Aside from the Adam, Becky and I get to go hang out with old people on Wednesday and help them exercise and take their blood pressures; should be interesting... Next weekend is the big trip to Sapodilla Cayes. Can't wait! If this weekend is any indication the caliber of the next trip we're going to have a blast.

Anyhoo, Adam is whipping up some delicious smelling chicken parmesan again. Time to eat!

It's the Freakin' Weekend Baby

So despite all the previous talk we stayed in town this weekend. Yesterday Hailey, Mirek, Liz, I, and 2 of the nurses went out with Roberto on his boat the "Wild Thing" to go snorkeling at Snake Cayes, search for dolphins and manatees in the mangroves, and go tubing. It was so much fun. I saw hundreds of fish and am really excited to dive now. Parrot fish, barracuda, etc. I even held 2 starfish and saw dozens more. It was incredible. Unfortunately I neglected to reapply sunscreen so I am paying for the whole adventure dearly, but I still had a blast. After snorkeling we went to an island to eat lunch (bologna sandwiches, apple, plantain chips, and a fig newton-like bar made with pineapple). The snake cayes are known for the red-tailed boa so Roberto found us some to see and HOLD. Liz has pictures of all of us so I have to make sure I get those from here to share. We searched for manatees and dolphins for a long time but came up with nothing so we headed back towards town to go tubing. When I say tubing I mean just like at home only this was on the ocean, with twin outboard motors, and a tube the size of a love-seat. I wiped out pretty good after staying on through 5-6 ridiculous turns.

Last night we had comfort food again for dinner (vegetable soup and grilled cheese) then packed 10 of us in the van once again to head into PG. THe whole country is celebrating Garifuna settlement this coming week (actually holiday on thursday) so there was a battle of the drums last night. So cool. I have some pictures and a video that I'll post when I get home.

Today it's off to Guatemala for cliff jumping, waterfalls, and shopping. Then back to clinic on Monday.

Tchao!

Scorpion

Bet you can't guess the first thing I saw when I set up the pharmacy at the mobile clinic this morning... a scorpion. He even had a friend with him on the floor. Thankfully after a few photo-ops, Adam and Mirek took it upon themselves to kill them and Maria was kind enough to throw them out. Clinic went well after that - extremely busy though. We saw 63 patients in about 4 hours with 1 pharmacist (me). It was insane. I'm going to miss the autonomy I have here. I can change scripts if we don't have a drug or the amount seems incorrect; every prescriber listens intently to my recommendations. Coming back to the U.S. is going to be rough.

After clinic we went to dinner at Gomier's. This guy moved to Belize from St. Lucia in 1996 and opened his restaurant in 1997. He's big into health food: vegetarian, makes his own tofu and soy milk. Amazing story teller too. He told us tons about his life and his adventures, he likes and dislikes, his theories and thoughts about life and about health. He's an amazing man and an even more amazing cook. I had the vegetarian lasagna which was spectacular, the curried fish was delicious as well. Also tried his chocolate ice cream. And the whole meal cost me a whopping US$10. And afterward he picked fresh lemon grass for us to take home and make tea. He also showed us his dreadlocks that he has been growing since 1980. The end of his hair is older than I am. It's taller than he is and we could pass it around the table. The ends are dark brown while the top is stark white. We're heading back there next Tuesday for cooking lessons.

The plans for this weekend now include snorkeling, drumming and Guatemala. Next weekend we'll attempt the dives the following weekend at Sapodilla Cayes.

Wednesday

Well we’re halfway through another week in Belize. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here this long already. Monday was a mobile clinic to Blue Creek – we had a pretty late start as usual but things got up and running smoothly enough. Hailey and I were masters in the pharmacy yet again. And no worries about the creek flooding this time :-D Monday night we relaxed and Adam made Mac ‘n’ Cheese with BBQ chicken for dinner which was really good comfort food after a long day. We also watched the Hangover after dinner (pirated movies rock).

Tuesday was mobile day in Big Falls, but Christy and I were in charge of teaching kids about hand-washing and general health all day. We started with little kids: kindergarten and first grade in the morning then worked with older kids in the afternoon (up to 6^th grade or so – they use the British system here so I have no clue how old some of these kids are). We had an amazing Belizean lunch at a buffet called Coleman’s in Big Falls – curry chicken, kahune cabbage, beans and rice, fried plantains, and bread pudding. We did have some excitement on Tuesday in clinic. A volunteer from the Mennonite church stopped by with a pre patellar abscess that we incised and drained and then gave him some ceftriaxone. Then in the morning before lunch we had a little boy who needed to be transported to PG via “ambulance” because he was having trouble breathing. It was a big snafu though… no equipment, no meds, the doc was rushing people inappropriately. Tuesday night we needed to get away so we went to Marian’s for dinner. The ride in we fit 9 people in a mini-van that traveled about 5 miles an hour the whole way there – but for US$4 roundtrip we couldn’t go wrong. Marian cooks delicious food – fish, veggies, and help yourself to Belikens. The restaurant is also right on the ocean with tables on the balcony overlooking the water.

Today we had clinic here. Nothing too exciting to tell you the truth. Ran into town to try and order meds but didn’t have all the right information. Yummy lunch and dinner yet again – care of Miss Janice and Adam respectively. Now we’re watching I Love You Man. Tomorrow night we’re going to Gomier’s for dinner which should be amazing and I think we’re planning to do a cooking class with him next week.

Internet might be up tomorrow – could be awesome!

Sunday

I’m sitting on the porch writing this post, listening to the sounds of the night. Crickets are chirping, frogs are ribbiting, and Maurice the security guard is listening to the radio. Inside everyone is laughing and talking. We had an amazing day. Got up around 8:30 and had a leisurely breakfast. Around 10:30 or so everyone was ready so we biked into PG. The ride seems much shorted the second time around. Once in PG 4 people went kayaking and Kristin, Christy and I rode downtown. We were ridiculously hot at this point so we stopped at Brad’s convenience store to get a cool drink and biked down to the Coral House. There we ran into Emily who is a JVI and works as a counselor at the high school. Christy has connections to the JVI’s here in PG so we’re trying to meet up with them for dinner at some point. The Coral House is gorgeous. The pool was refreshing and shockingly deep. The Inn is right on the water so you can look out onto the ocean. The bar is fully stocked and the honor system works quite well. We spent the entire day there lounging in the sun, swimming in the pool, and drinking Belikens for a whopping BZ$14 (BZ$10 for the day and BZ$4 for the beer). We biked back to the clinic around 4pm – the ride back still seems really long and hard. Took a relaxing break to read/watch Pirates while dinner finished up – enchilada soup! Mirek and Kristin also made a no-bake cheesecake which was a delicious dessert. I’m well on my way to being nicely bronzed after just one day in the sun – can’t wait for the rest of the weekends!

Oh, and internet is shitty again – We think all of PG might be without right now because we couldn’t get it at the Coral House either. Hopefully it’s up sometime soon so I can post my last 2.

Saturday

Got up this morning after a glorious night sleeping – I actually had to use a blanket. Unfortunately the sun is super bright here in the morning so I didn’t really get to sleep in much (I know, I know, I never do anyway…). We all went into town and had breakfast at Grace’s. They have these fried dough things called Fry Jacks that are amazing! They’re kinda like elephant ears and you dip them in either jelly or beans. We didn’t try the bean combo, but I can see how it would be good. After breakfast we drove to Lubaantun: Place of Fallen Rocks which is a nearby site of Mayan Ruins. I rode in the back of the pickup with Hailey, Meredith, and Liz. Actually we were all in the back of the truck for every trip today. At the ruins we had a guide show us around and tell us all about the site. It was really quite amazing to hear all about the history and the excavation because our guide actually worked on the digs. After the ruins we drove to Blue Creek which is the place where the bridge flooded this week. We took a small hike to a dock and hung out there to have lunch. A bunch of us jumped off the dock into the water which was amazingly refreshing. It was nice and cool and clean. The current was ridiculously strong though. We tried to swim up to the waterfalls but couldn’t make it. It got to the point where we were swimming and not getting anywhere. This evening we had delicious taco salad for dinner – care of Adam yet again. We’re getting ready to head over to the bar in a few and relax for the night. Internet is shotty yet again so I’m sure this post will be late.

P.s. I really, really, really like reading email so you should send me one!!!

Internet is Not so Hot

Good Morning - just wanted to update on the whole internet situation. we haven't had a connection for 5 days now and I don't see it getting fixed anytime soon. So posts will continue to be sporadic. There are a few internet cafes in town so hopefully I get on at one of those. I'm teaching hygiene and health at a school in Big Falls today with Christy and we had some downtime so they let us use the internet. My inbox was completely flooded, however not with fun emails from friends - soooooo:

SEND ME EMAILS PLEASE!!!

End of Week 1

It’s the end of week one. I was up in the pharmacy for clinic this morning. Lots of chronic medications – metformin, glyburide (glibenclamide), simvastatin, amlodipine. The toughest part today was trying to figure out how to provide meds for everyone that needed them when we hardly had enough of anything. It was pretty busy upstairs too. We’re supposed to have one of the PA students up with us, but they keep calling them back down. It’s kind of annoying actually. I really like that everyone is willing to learn from pharmacy and to teach us the clinical/diagnosis aspect of everything they see. But it would be nice to be able to give them more information about pharmacy up in the pharmacy. Hopefully next week is better…

After clinic and finishing up pharmacy work (evals, home meds, etc) we road into town to go to dinner at Grace’s and watch a cultural talent show put on by the highschool teachers. John and Mary Pat and 3 of the nurses joined us for dinner (p.s. major drama within the nursing group). The show was good, very funny, but really long. We were having tons of fun living vicariously through 15 year olds. The show was really sexual though…

Tomorrow we’re doing breakfast at grace’s then heading to Blue Creek/Lubaantun/RioBlanco. Sunday is hopefully still dive day, keep your fingers crossed that Ida is passed by then.

Internet is back in action so I may be able to update more often!

Did I mention that Andy fell last night and hurt his neck, practically broke it actually. He’s been in a soft collar all day, poor guy. Still managed to cook us lunch though.

Things I miss...

- Being Dry: it’s ridiculously humid and rainy here all the time. my clothes are never dry, my hair is never dry and I never feel dry.

- Feeling Clean: it can be a grand total of 20 seconds after my shower and my hair feels greasy and dirty. I don’t know if it’s the water or my shampoo or just the environment down here, but it’s crazy. Plus I feel greasy and oily after just 5 minutes out the shower (plus I’m still wet).

- Milk: so we’ve been drinking “shelf milk” lately because it last longer. the stuff in the jugs claims it is pasteurized but it goes bad in a few days. the shelf milk comes in a box, doesn’t need to be refrigerated and is written in Arabic… I miss my skim milk.

- Internet/Cell Phone: I know this is an experience; an immersion, but I miss being connected to the universe. I miss being able to be online whenever I want to be. I miss talking to people. Even just picking up a phone to call the clinic about a prescription instead of walking to find the person would be wonderful. I’m adding a set of walkie-talkies to the list of donations the clinic should receive, so if you have a set and are willing to part with it, let me know.

- Bug-Free Environments: there are ants in the kitchen, in my room, on my bed, on my computer. there was a spider in the kitchen, in our room, in the bathroom. I know bugs are “important” in the whole scheme of things, but I miss knowing that I wasn’t going to wake up in the morning with 5 new bug bites of unknown origin.

Being Barefoot: carpets are amazing. cherish them while you have them. I am so sick of constantly wearing my flip-flops everywhere. I want to walk around barefoot but there’s so much dirt and so many bugs it just isn’t practical.

Friends and Famly: you knew you guys would be on the list somewhere.


Things I Don’t Miss from Home:

- Insurance Companies: all prescriptions are free at the clinic = no insurance ever. I can’t even begin to tell you how much better this system is.

- Angry Patients: the people down here are so nice and so appreciative of the care we’re providing. I haven’t had a single patient yell at me, swear at me, threaten me. It’s a true Godsend.

- Internet/Cell Phone: I know I griped about this already, but I do think it’s a good thing to be disconnected a bit too. it’s hard to deal with, but I’m learning. I’ve wanted to rely on my cell phone less lately so this is a really good excuse for that.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday was our first day of clinic at Hillside. I was downstairs in the clinic in the morning and upstairs in the pharmacy in the afternoon. Clinic was good – did quite a bit of recommending as well as working out the kinks in workflow. The afternoon was really slow but it was nice to actually consult patients.

We ran to the market in the morning before clinic and got the makings for salsa, a couple red snapper (fresh – filleted), and potatoes as well as the beginnings of guacamole. Adam (medical resident from St. Louis) is an amazing cook and has been making meals for us. Wednesday night was Red Snapper marinated in a lime butter and pan seared and covered with fresh cilantro lime salsa with a vegetable medley of zucchini, carrot and onion and mashed potatoes. Thursday night was Chicken Parmesan with rotini and fresh tomato and garlic bread. This guy is amazing!

Wednesday night we also hooked up the projector to watch a movie (Gone in 60 Seconds) – but I was too tired to make it all the way through. I feel like I’m almost always tired here. It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get, I’m still drained at the end of the day. Part of it is probably the humidity (the heat has actually been rather bearable) and part of it is the work we do, but I still feel like I am more tired here than I have been in a long time. (Just killed an ant running across my computer screen).

Thursday most of us went to the mobile clinic in Aguacate (literally miles from the Guatemalan border). We saw 46 patients in 4.5 hours in a building with 3 rooms total. Pharmacy filled roughly 55 prescriptions with 2 people working. We were crazy busy all day. On the way to Aguacate we went over a bridge over Blue Creek. The water was already rushing pretty fast and high on the way into town. On the way back the bridge was completely flooded. So instead of a tiring 1 hours ride back to the clinic on bumpy dirt roads with 12 people, we went on a 2.5 hour detour.

The countryside was beautiful and it was a fun experience – but my legs and butt are so sore from sitting. Not to mention we were all gross and sweaty from the day. Thankfully Adam had dinner in the oven for us when we got back, aaaaand fruity drinks were had. Tonight has been low-key. I needed to shower and put laundry away, plus write for all of you. :-D

Day 4 - Tuesdaay

Well it’s day 4 in Belize and we went to our first mobile clinic today. We went out to San Marcos which is about 30 minutes from the clinic. We left after 8am – which was way late, but that’s kinda the way it is here. Hailey and I were in charge of the pharmacy which was placed on a pile of 2x4’s. We got 2 boxes and 2 bags of drugs from the Ministry of Health which consisted of a lot of amoxicillin, sulfa, some APAP, and hydrocortisone along with a few other random drugs. Hailey and I took turns running the pharmacy and consulting with the PA students. IT was great being able to offer suggestions to the other students not just based on clinical guidelines but also based on what was available. We’ve also been lucky enough that the PA students haven’t really written prescriptions before so we’ve been making them into better Rx writers: allergies and dx included on every script.

About halfway through the day the kids got off school for lunch and then they came back again after school was out. They are all ridiculously adorable and fun to talk to. They’re really interested in our names and what we’re doing. They also like to talk about us in Mayan so we can’t understand them. It’s really cute. They’re also huge hams and love to smile for the camera.

After the clinic we came back and changed and got a ride into town to have dinner at Grace’s. I got the shrimp fajita with a side of white rice and stew beans (which is different from beans and rice). Dinner was delicious. My dinner mate – Renauldo the Lizard – hung out above me for most of the meal. Then we walked around and caught a bus that got us maybe a quarter of the way back and then had to walk the rest of the way. Second night in a row with a decent work out.

Tomorrow I’m downstairs in the clinic in the morning and then upstairs in the pharmacy for the evening clinic. We’re planning to bike into town in the afternoon between clinics to take a dip and pick up some chips for guac when we make it tomorrow.

Time for fruity drinks with the group (p.s. these people are awesome).

Day 3 - Orientation

Woke up early – as per usual – showered and had breakfast. We went to the market at 8am for produce. Packed 10 people into the car – there will be more like 12 people in there tomorrow for our first mobile clinic. We had a little extra time while we were down there so we checked out a few supermarkets too. When we got back to the clinic it was orientation all morning. I still need to manage to write something up for everyone about good old Dr. Dick. But anyhoo. Hailey and I got to check out the pharmacy (air conditioning!!!) and talk with John and Maria about our goals for the rotation. I’m still a little lost as to what exactly goes on day-to-day, but I guess I’ll learn it as we go.

We got a quick glance at the hospital and polyclinic in PG this afternoon. Also got to check out the Coral House Inn – we’ll be there a lot, I guarantee it. They charge BZ$10 to use the pool and wi-fi, and the bar is on your honor. More grocery shopping was also done this afternoon – we spent a whopping US$40 for groceries for 8 people. I can currently smell our coconut curry chicken baking in the oven. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Liz, Hailey, Becky, me and Merik biked 6 miles into PG tonight to jump off the dock and swim in the ocean. It was like bath water it was so warm. Then we went all the way into PG to pick up some rum for the group and biked back to the clinic. I can definitely say I’ve had my workout for the day. But jumping in the ocean off the dock was a great experience – I’d do it again in an instant, I’d just take the bus into town instead…. :-D

John has managed to set up a dive for the 4 of us who are certified. We’ve got a divemaster lined up to work with Liz and I so I think things will be good and I’m pretty excited about it. The plan is to head out this weekend to the Cayes and dive from there on a day trip. We’ve got to work out the details but I think everything will go well. I’ve really adopted the Belizean idea of “go with the flow”. There’s no reason to get worked up about things down here. It’ll all work out in the end.

Internet is still spotty, by the way. We have 1 computer with access. So I may or may not be able to post this tonight, but I hope I’ll get to soon.

Day 2 a day late

I had the best continental breakfast I have ever had in my life this morning: A huge glass of OJ and a made to order egg sandwich. We had no troubles at all this morning. Made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Security went fine (I did have to surrender my safety scissors ☹ ). Once we got let out onto the airstrip Hailey, Merik and I boarded a 6 passenger plane. That’s right six passengers (pictures to come). It was only the 3 of us and the pilot. The entire flight was 50 minutes over the coast of Belize. It was gorgeous. Ran into a little ran along the way (which managed to make it into the plane on Hailey’s side), but nothing too serious. At the airstrip in PG we met Aprill. She’s the student coordinator at Hillside. She was born and raised in PG. She doesn’t look it, but she speaks Creole with the best of them. I’m considering asking for some lessons. The Creole dialect apparently came from the East Indians that settled in this area and lost their language, creating the Creole instead. It’s still difficult for me to understand most of the time, but I can catch bits and pieces. Aprill got us all to Hillside safe and sound and showed us around a little. We were the first ones here so we staked out our rooms and got settled while meeting Dr. Dick and John and Mary Pat. Dr. Dick deserves his own entry, so I’ll write more on him later…

John and Mary Pat took us up to the Bazaar held by the nuns. We had delicious, although mysteriously flavored, ice cream. Saw the church and school and hung with the locals for a while. Once back at the dorm we had PB and Gooseberry Jelly sandwiches so we could take our chloroquine. Hailey and I checked out the student log then ventured out on a walk down the road. Not 15 minutes later: downpour. We walked back to the clinic completely soaked. On the way we did meet a nice women who lives at the end of the road who invited us down to use her pool whenever we want. More students arrived at about 4pm – 4 girls in PA school at Marquette. We seem to get along with them pretty well. Aprill arranged for pizza to be delivered for dinner which was amazing! Then Meredith (med student here with Dr. Dick) told us about the local bar so we decided to head down for a drink. Meredith and Adam (medical resident from Indiana/St. Louis) arrived around 6pm. We befriended an adorable (although not quite as cute as Atty or Sprout) kitten at the bar, along with a couple stray dogs. Hailey and I both drank for a grand total of US$5 tonight – did I mention I love this country?

Tomorrow starts orientation. We get to go to the market in the morning and tour the polyclinic in town in the afternoon. We may also check out a mass at the cemetery in the afternoon too. We’ve already got a ton of plans for things to do throughout the week and I can’t wait to try all the places in and around PG. We’re planning on heading out to an island for the second weekend we’re here with Aprill’s husband. We’ll get the entire place to ourselves and the snorkeling is rumored to be amazing. I’ve also found 2 other divers in the group. Merik is Advanced Open Water certified and Liz just finished her Open Water certification a week ago – so with any luck John can get us a good deal on a couple of 2 tank dives.

Well, it’s 10pm and we’ve got a fairly early morning – especially with 16 people getting up in the morning. Expect more soon!

Did I mention no internet? That’s why this was late, sorry!