I knew it! I just knew it!
I knew I wouldn't blog very much when I got home. I knew it!
Truth is... I don't have very many exciting things to talk about. I spend my days at the pool, teaching swim lessons. When I have the day off I usually end up there laying out. And then there are our staff meeting/in-services, that, once again, land me at the Y. Needless to say... I live there now.
I've stayed really busy this past week (yes, laying by the pool, but there were other activities as well)! I caught up with some friends, had several lunch dates and even got to take Sydney to the movies. We saw Ramona and Beezus - very cute movie for anyone who read the books! Reminded me of my childhood and my mom reading me Ramona the Brave! :)
I'm ready for school to start. I'm ready to get back into the swing of a job, and classes, and all the people I've been missing. There will be lots of parties and back to school events that are always fun. Very ready.
That's me!
7.26.2010
7.19.2010
Home
Yeah, so it feels weird being home.
I thought I was going to feel a physical rush of relief as we landed on US soil... not really. I thought I was going to like being home... nah. I thought I was going to love not having Spanish all around me... not so much.
The first few days were hard for me actually. I just wanted to lay around. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to be alone.
I talked to Katie the next day:
Katie: I feel weird.
Morgan: I know, me too. I feel sort of blah.
Katie: Yeah, it's like I don't want to be around anyone, but I don't want to be alone either.
Morgan: Exactly how I feel.
Katie: Ya know, sometimes we're one in the same. :)
She explained it so well. I was depressed. I think the bottom line is that I grew close to my nursing buddies on the trip. We experienced things together that not everyone will understand or be able to appreciate. We bonded. We talked. We learned about a new culture and submersed ourselves in it. We became community health nurses. We saw the needs of a community and strove to meet them.
So, yeah, I'm glad to be home, but Panama is still on my mind.
I thought I was going to feel a physical rush of relief as we landed on US soil... not really. I thought I was going to like being home... nah. I thought I was going to love not having Spanish all around me... not so much.
The first few days were hard for me actually. I just wanted to lay around. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to be alone.
I talked to Katie the next day:
Katie: I feel weird.
Morgan: I know, me too. I feel sort of blah.
Katie: Yeah, it's like I don't want to be around anyone, but I don't want to be alone either.
Morgan: Exactly how I feel.
Katie: Ya know, sometimes we're one in the same. :)
She explained it so well. I was depressed. I think the bottom line is that I grew close to my nursing buddies on the trip. We experienced things together that not everyone will understand or be able to appreciate. We bonded. We talked. We learned about a new culture and submersed ourselves in it. We became community health nurses. We saw the needs of a community and strove to meet them.
So, yeah, I'm glad to be home, but Panama is still on my mind.
7.11.2010
7.9.2010
I definitely didn't think these last few days in Panama City were going to be any kind of fun, but they have been!
On Thursday we went to the YMCA where all the local people set up stands to sell things. I had a few gifts to buy, but I was disappointed because everything was so touristy. It all said Panama all over it. Haha. Guess I'm not the typical tourist. We spent like 3-4 hours there. I wanted to leave the whole time because I wasn't feeling well, but I managed to find a few things.
After we were done shopping, our dear bus driver, Dario, drove us to The Causeway for more shopping and food. Dario must think all we do is eat and shop - we stopped at shops and food markets easily once a day. :) We love to eat.
The causeway was gorgeous! You could see mountains in the background, then the huge high rises in downtown, and then the water and boats. Muy bonita! There were tons of ships in the distance too, waiting to enter the canal. We walked through the shops a little bit, and while everyone else ate lunch (Katie and I had pbjs cause we were tired of spending money on food) we walked the length of the causeway and found an amazing froyo place. We had coco froyo. Wow - it was so good.
We all came back and chilled out for a few hours... ate dinner. There was talk that some people wanted to go out (we did have 2 birthdays during the trip), and I didn't really want to, but I knew if I didn't I would regret it. We had a blast! I'm so glad I went. We all got dressed up and went to some salsa bars to practice the salsa we learned at our salsa class. ;) There was one place that was playing English music too, but it was only like 4 songs and then it was back to Spanish. Haha. A blast. I didn't go to bed until like 4am.
There are certain members among our party (who shall remain nameless) who are very demanding. If they don't want to do something - we don't do it. If they do want to do something - we do it. Very frustrating. But, you'll be happy/surprised to know that I practiced patience the entire trip and didn't say one word. :)
In any case, the said party wanted to get up early to go to the mall - so we did.. even after our late night. The mall was ridiculously huge. It was about 4x the size of international mall - easily 6-7 times the size of the Ocala mall. There were 4 major food courts... with 20 resturants a piece. Poor Katie and I got lost and she almost had a panick attack. We kept going around in circles and couldn't find a way to the other side of the mall. By the time we made it out of section D it was almost time to leave. Oops. And every time we would try and go up or down on the escalators they were always going in the opposite direction than we needed. If we were trying to go down, they would be going up, and vice versa. It was terrible. I felt like I was stuck in a weird dream - and everyone was speaking Spanish. BTW: ordering Subway in Spanish - es muy dificil. Between getting lost and eating a sandwich that wasn't what I wanted... I was ready to leave. To top it all off, Katie and I found NOTHING we liked. Absolutely nothing. We did buy $1.50 world cup shirts though. :D
We got back at about 5:30 or so and had to rush and get ready for dinner. When we first got to Panama City we had a welcome-to-Panama dinner. So, when we got back, we had a so-long-Panama dinner. :) We went to a dinner theater type restaurant where they danced all the traditional dances for you. Per usual, the menu was in Spanish, and a lot of the stuff I didn't recognize. So, I ordered the thing I did recognize: filet mignon. Unfortunately, it was no bueno. :/ And since I haven't had red meat in weeks - it made me sick. :/ It was nice for all of us to get dressed up and hang out all together though. We got Dr. Cadena a Panama shirt and on the back we wrote: "We couldn't have survived the jungle without you!" and all signed it. It turned out really cute - and she loved it!
I kinda wished we got to see all the dances at the beginning of the trip because they explained to us all the pieces of the formal dress, and the costumes they wear. There were several shops that sold dolls dressed up like the dancers, etc, but I didn't buy any because I didn't know what their significance was. Oh, well. The dancing was really cool. It was very sensual, per the typical latin-ish dance, and the boys were Cuuuuute. :) There was a live band singing and playing for us - they were awesome too!
Towards the end of the show the dancers came out into the audience to choose partners to dance with them. All the dancers chose partners; I was so relieved I didn't get picked. :) Then I felt a tap on my shoulder... Profesora Lordes (who also joined us for dinner) told one of the dancers to come get me. She makes me laugh. I did my best... pulled my best salsa/merengue moves. :) I told the guy: "I don't know what to do!" and he gave me a thumbs up. There's video of it, but I won't bore you. ;)
It was another late night, and I hadn't packed yet. We got home at 11 and Katie's and my room was a mess. Per usual. We stayed up until 1:30am trying to get everything packed and semi-organized. I tried to fit everything in one suitcase, but I was just too tired to try very hard. Good thing I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it cause my larger bag was 54lbs. I had to pull out some books and toiletries and stuff them in my other bag to get it back under weight. I wasn't about to pay $50 dollars for 4 lbs.
I'm surprised the entire traveling situation wasn't more chaotic with 22 people flying together... but it never has been. Everything went smoothly getting through security, so Katie and I went on a search for coffee. :) We wanted to go back to the little cafe shop we went to at the beginning of the trip at Cuidad del Saber before we left for the airport, but it didn't work out. Dunkin Donuts was the next best thing. Once again, ordering Spanish. It's so much harder than you think it will be. There's a lot of pointing and "no!". Haha.
The flight to Miami was rough. I thought I was going throw-up the entire 3 hours. Miserable. But, we made it here. Katie and I grabbed our bags and went through security on our own. We ended up going to the wrong gate though, so we had to backtrack. Oops. Both of us were on the phone and just following the crowd. It worked out though, because we got away from the group. We were needing a break. :) Our first American dinner? Chinese food. Haha. It wasn't that good, but at least it wasn't rice. Ironically... we both got pollo.
Getting through customs was no issue. And the passport guy even spoke English to me. What a concept! I told him how happy that made me and he just smiled and said: "You'll feel like you're back in Panama when you get downstairs!" Sure enough, I did. Everything's in Spanish.
Katie and I are just hanging out now... probably going to play cards or something.
It feels good to be back stateside!
P.S. When we could see Miami out the window we started singing 'God Bless America'. We're so patriotic!
On Thursday we went to the YMCA where all the local people set up stands to sell things. I had a few gifts to buy, but I was disappointed because everything was so touristy. It all said Panama all over it. Haha. Guess I'm not the typical tourist. We spent like 3-4 hours there. I wanted to leave the whole time because I wasn't feeling well, but I managed to find a few things.
After we were done shopping, our dear bus driver, Dario, drove us to The Causeway for more shopping and food. Dario must think all we do is eat and shop - we stopped at shops and food markets easily once a day. :) We love to eat.
The causeway was gorgeous! You could see mountains in the background, then the huge high rises in downtown, and then the water and boats. Muy bonita! There were tons of ships in the distance too, waiting to enter the canal. We walked through the shops a little bit, and while everyone else ate lunch (Katie and I had pbjs cause we were tired of spending money on food) we walked the length of the causeway and found an amazing froyo place. We had coco froyo. Wow - it was so good.
We all came back and chilled out for a few hours... ate dinner. There was talk that some people wanted to go out (we did have 2 birthdays during the trip), and I didn't really want to, but I knew if I didn't I would regret it. We had a blast! I'm so glad I went. We all got dressed up and went to some salsa bars to practice the salsa we learned at our salsa class. ;) There was one place that was playing English music too, but it was only like 4 songs and then it was back to Spanish. Haha. A blast. I didn't go to bed until like 4am.
There are certain members among our party (who shall remain nameless) who are very demanding. If they don't want to do something - we don't do it. If they do want to do something - we do it. Very frustrating. But, you'll be happy/surprised to know that I practiced patience the entire trip and didn't say one word. :)
In any case, the said party wanted to get up early to go to the mall - so we did.. even after our late night. The mall was ridiculously huge. It was about 4x the size of international mall - easily 6-7 times the size of the Ocala mall. There were 4 major food courts... with 20 resturants a piece. Poor Katie and I got lost and she almost had a panick attack. We kept going around in circles and couldn't find a way to the other side of the mall. By the time we made it out of section D it was almost time to leave. Oops. And every time we would try and go up or down on the escalators they were always going in the opposite direction than we needed. If we were trying to go down, they would be going up, and vice versa. It was terrible. I felt like I was stuck in a weird dream - and everyone was speaking Spanish. BTW: ordering Subway in Spanish - es muy dificil. Between getting lost and eating a sandwich that wasn't what I wanted... I was ready to leave. To top it all off, Katie and I found NOTHING we liked. Absolutely nothing. We did buy $1.50 world cup shirts though. :D
We got back at about 5:30 or so and had to rush and get ready for dinner. When we first got to Panama City we had a welcome-to-Panama dinner. So, when we got back, we had a so-long-Panama dinner. :) We went to a dinner theater type restaurant where they danced all the traditional dances for you. Per usual, the menu was in Spanish, and a lot of the stuff I didn't recognize. So, I ordered the thing I did recognize: filet mignon. Unfortunately, it was no bueno. :/ And since I haven't had red meat in weeks - it made me sick. :/ It was nice for all of us to get dressed up and hang out all together though. We got Dr. Cadena a Panama shirt and on the back we wrote: "We couldn't have survived the jungle without you!" and all signed it. It turned out really cute - and she loved it!
I kinda wished we got to see all the dances at the beginning of the trip because they explained to us all the pieces of the formal dress, and the costumes they wear. There were several shops that sold dolls dressed up like the dancers, etc, but I didn't buy any because I didn't know what their significance was. Oh, well. The dancing was really cool. It was very sensual, per the typical latin-ish dance, and the boys were Cuuuuute. :) There was a live band singing and playing for us - they were awesome too!
Towards the end of the show the dancers came out into the audience to choose partners to dance with them. All the dancers chose partners; I was so relieved I didn't get picked. :) Then I felt a tap on my shoulder... Profesora Lordes (who also joined us for dinner) told one of the dancers to come get me. She makes me laugh. I did my best... pulled my best salsa/merengue moves. :) I told the guy: "I don't know what to do!" and he gave me a thumbs up. There's video of it, but I won't bore you. ;)
It was another late night, and I hadn't packed yet. We got home at 11 and Katie's and my room was a mess. Per usual. We stayed up until 1:30am trying to get everything packed and semi-organized. I tried to fit everything in one suitcase, but I was just too tired to try very hard. Good thing I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it cause my larger bag was 54lbs. I had to pull out some books and toiletries and stuff them in my other bag to get it back under weight. I wasn't about to pay $50 dollars for 4 lbs.
I'm surprised the entire traveling situation wasn't more chaotic with 22 people flying together... but it never has been. Everything went smoothly getting through security, so Katie and I went on a search for coffee. :) We wanted to go back to the little cafe shop we went to at the beginning of the trip at Cuidad del Saber before we left for the airport, but it didn't work out. Dunkin Donuts was the next best thing. Once again, ordering Spanish. It's so much harder than you think it will be. There's a lot of pointing and "no!". Haha.
The flight to Miami was rough. I thought I was going throw-up the entire 3 hours. Miserable. But, we made it here. Katie and I grabbed our bags and went through security on our own. We ended up going to the wrong gate though, so we had to backtrack. Oops. Both of us were on the phone and just following the crowd. It worked out though, because we got away from the group. We were needing a break. :) Our first American dinner? Chinese food. Haha. It wasn't that good, but at least it wasn't rice. Ironically... we both got pollo.
Getting through customs was no issue. And the passport guy even spoke English to me. What a concept! I told him how happy that made me and he just smiled and said: "You'll feel like you're back in Panama when you get downstairs!" Sure enough, I did. Everything's in Spanish.
Katie and I are just hanging out now... probably going to play cards or something.
It feels good to be back stateside!
P.S. When we could see Miami out the window we started singing 'God Bless America'. We're so patriotic!
7.07.2010
7.6.2010
Last day in San Felix!! We're all so glad to be leaving. No more trickling showers. No more creepy men standing outside our bathroom trying to look inside. No more wearing shoes every waking moment of every day. No applying bugspray immediately following a shower. No more sharing a room with 15 other people. No mas! No mas! No mas!
We leave for Panama City - and the city of knowledge - tomorrow morning, hopefully by 9am. We're always a little late (due primarily to our faculty), so we'll see if that actually happens. ;)
Today was another sort of boring day. Our final presentations were due at 9am - when we had to present to the health staff here in La Comarca. The nurses and some of the doctors we had been working with at the clinics in Alto Caballero, Soloy, and Hato Juli were present. My group was the environment and health portion of our trip. We basically talked about the different things we saw. We pointed out positive things we saw (like health promotion for TB and malaria) and negative things too (like biohazardous waste being dumped into holes in the ground). For our particular topics, it was hard not to be negative because most of what we saw were not good, healthy practices. Thankfully, none of this was news to these health officials. We made sure to point out issues that America shared with them. For instance, we discussed litter and trash here. No matter where you go, litter is everywhere. In the urban areas, in the rural areas... It doesn't matter. We shared with them that litter is a problem in the states too - and if you're caught littering - you have to pay a fine.
The other groups were 'the nurses role in the community,' 'school visits,' and 'Survey statistics.' The other groups summarized those very things. Because one of the main reasons for our visit was to conduct the domestic violence surveys, the health officials were interested primarily in the prelimenary statistics that were presented. They were very thankful that we came and for all our efforts. We're hopeful that the next trip will be more organized, and the students will be more prepared and they are too.
The presentations took about 3 hours - so it was lunch time after that. The health officials and our translators (that we worked with the first week) stayed for lunch and were presented with certificates of thanks from USF Health. It was a nice gesture, I thought. Lunch was.... Drum roll please.... Chicken and rice!!! A big thing here is to serve white rice, chicken and baked beans. It sounds a little gross, but I've grown accustomed to it. It makes the rice go down a little easier. Haha.
After lunch we left for the UNACHI (the university of Chiriqui) for a formal welcome from their faculty and a tour of the campus. The school was part of the university of Panama for years, but they've since become their own entity - completely independent. The college of nursing is only about 12 years old - total they've had 340 graduates. One of the faculty told us that there are only 60 students admitted each year. They have two classrooms for nursing classes, and a very small lab. The lab consisted of a table, some books, and maybe some sample NG tubes and such to practice with. There were no mannequins, or dummys like we have at USF. Profesora Lordes told the faculty about our simulation lab - and they were just in awe of what she was saying. Our dummies can birth babies... it's pretty neat!
This was the first time USF and Profesora Lordes (who works with the university of Panama) had any type of formal meeting with UNACHI - so it was cool to be a part of it. They are very receptive to accomodating more students next summer and it being more of a partnership with their school. We didn't really know about them until this last week. So, we didn't work with their students at all. They started discussing how our trips would benefit them, and I hope there will be opportunity and funds to support some of their students coming to USF to study. They would be amazed!
Because Dr. Cadena is good with money and budgeting, we had enough money for us all to go to dinner tonight. We chose TGIF, which was one of the only American restuarants that we saw in David. It was fantastic. I had real diet coke (I have pictures of the experience), and pasta. It was lovely. They even had wifi, so I was able to get online for a bit.
Katie and I made some coffee when we finally got back to the compound - and we spent some time talking about how the trip has affected us and how we think it will change (or has changed) who we are...
Amanda brought up earlier that we get to leave... we get to leave the poverty and sickness behind. We get to leave the dirty water and lack of electricty behind. We leave the domestic violence behind. These people stay. Their children stay. What did we really do to help them?
Unfortunately, with how politics plays such a role in health care - though it really shouldn't be that way - there will be no immediate change. The soap we handed out will be gone by next week... so will the toothpaste. The shoes and clothes and shampoo we're leaving will hopefully be useful... for a while. And the research we did? If it results in some policy changes, we won't see it for another 7-10 years. And that's just the policy changes... that doesn't include the actual implementation of the new policies.
It's a little bit sobering to realize those things. I hope USF has more opportunities in the future to be apart of improving health care here in Panama - especially in the Comarca among the Ngobe Bugle.
I would come again in a heartbeat. Even with cold showers, constant shoe and bugspray wearing, and even with sharing a room and bathroom with 15 other girls for 3 weeks. God brought me here for a reason - and one of the biggest reasons, I think, was to show me my own sinful and selfish heart. I hope I don't forget...
We leave for Panama City - and the city of knowledge - tomorrow morning, hopefully by 9am. We're always a little late (due primarily to our faculty), so we'll see if that actually happens. ;)
Today was another sort of boring day. Our final presentations were due at 9am - when we had to present to the health staff here in La Comarca. The nurses and some of the doctors we had been working with at the clinics in Alto Caballero, Soloy, and Hato Juli were present. My group was the environment and health portion of our trip. We basically talked about the different things we saw. We pointed out positive things we saw (like health promotion for TB and malaria) and negative things too (like biohazardous waste being dumped into holes in the ground). For our particular topics, it was hard not to be negative because most of what we saw were not good, healthy practices. Thankfully, none of this was news to these health officials. We made sure to point out issues that America shared with them. For instance, we discussed litter and trash here. No matter where you go, litter is everywhere. In the urban areas, in the rural areas... It doesn't matter. We shared with them that litter is a problem in the states too - and if you're caught littering - you have to pay a fine.
The other groups were 'the nurses role in the community,' 'school visits,' and 'Survey statistics.' The other groups summarized those very things. Because one of the main reasons for our visit was to conduct the domestic violence surveys, the health officials were interested primarily in the prelimenary statistics that were presented. They were very thankful that we came and for all our efforts. We're hopeful that the next trip will be more organized, and the students will be more prepared and they are too.
The presentations took about 3 hours - so it was lunch time after that. The health officials and our translators (that we worked with the first week) stayed for lunch and were presented with certificates of thanks from USF Health. It was a nice gesture, I thought. Lunch was.... Drum roll please.... Chicken and rice!!! A big thing here is to serve white rice, chicken and baked beans. It sounds a little gross, but I've grown accustomed to it. It makes the rice go down a little easier. Haha.
After lunch we left for the UNACHI (the university of Chiriqui) for a formal welcome from their faculty and a tour of the campus. The school was part of the university of Panama for years, but they've since become their own entity - completely independent. The college of nursing is only about 12 years old - total they've had 340 graduates. One of the faculty told us that there are only 60 students admitted each year. They have two classrooms for nursing classes, and a very small lab. The lab consisted of a table, some books, and maybe some sample NG tubes and such to practice with. There were no mannequins, or dummys like we have at USF. Profesora Lordes told the faculty about our simulation lab - and they were just in awe of what she was saying. Our dummies can birth babies... it's pretty neat!
This was the first time USF and Profesora Lordes (who works with the university of Panama) had any type of formal meeting with UNACHI - so it was cool to be a part of it. They are very receptive to accomodating more students next summer and it being more of a partnership with their school. We didn't really know about them until this last week. So, we didn't work with their students at all. They started discussing how our trips would benefit them, and I hope there will be opportunity and funds to support some of their students coming to USF to study. They would be amazed!
Because Dr. Cadena is good with money and budgeting, we had enough money for us all to go to dinner tonight. We chose TGIF, which was one of the only American restuarants that we saw in David. It was fantastic. I had real diet coke (I have pictures of the experience), and pasta. It was lovely. They even had wifi, so I was able to get online for a bit.
Katie and I made some coffee when we finally got back to the compound - and we spent some time talking about how the trip has affected us and how we think it will change (or has changed) who we are...
Amanda brought up earlier that we get to leave... we get to leave the poverty and sickness behind. We get to leave the dirty water and lack of electricty behind. We leave the domestic violence behind. These people stay. Their children stay. What did we really do to help them?
Unfortunately, with how politics plays such a role in health care - though it really shouldn't be that way - there will be no immediate change. The soap we handed out will be gone by next week... so will the toothpaste. The shoes and clothes and shampoo we're leaving will hopefully be useful... for a while. And the research we did? If it results in some policy changes, we won't see it for another 7-10 years. And that's just the policy changes... that doesn't include the actual implementation of the new policies.
It's a little bit sobering to realize those things. I hope USF has more opportunities in the future to be apart of improving health care here in Panama - especially in the Comarca among the Ngobe Bugle.
I would come again in a heartbeat. Even with cold showers, constant shoe and bugspray wearing, and even with sharing a room and bathroom with 15 other girls for 3 weeks. God brought me here for a reason - and one of the biggest reasons, I think, was to show me my own sinful and selfish heart. I hope I don't forget...
7.05.2010
7.5.2010
I think today was my least favorite day of the whole trip. Botanical gardens sounds so exotic. Yeah, not in the oogly boogly jungle. I got to sleep in until like 7am this morning... such a treat. :) I didn't shower after we got back from Boqete, so I hopped in this morning. It was freezing! I attempted to shave my legs, and it worked at first... and then i got goosebumps. So long smooth legs. We've all given up on trying to be girly and pretty. As soon as you walk outside you look and feel nasty.
Our dress code changes on a daily basis, and today was walking shorts and polos with tennis shoes. Well, after that hike, my right foot doesn't fit into my shoes anymore. So, I wore flip flops to the gardens,. It didn't work out very well, but there's was nothing I could do. The mud was extremely slippery and the hike was almost 2 miles from the road. I wish I could say that the plants and flowers were worth the hike and it was fun... not so much.
When we got there we were introduced to the doctors and midwives that ran the whole thing. Then we had to hike up a giant hill just to look at some plants that looked the same as all the other plants. It's not like a garden in the US. The plants are on a hill amongst every other plant that grows there... weeds included.
After a trip all the way around the village we went to the meeting house, which is basically just a covered cement slab. Thankfully, they had plastic chairs for us to sit in. The next hour was filled with a Spanish doctor talking about how great he was... in Spanish. I stopped listening very early on; it was incredibly boring. As soon as he finished talking we all clapped, took a picture, and took off running to the bus. It rains every day starting from noon on, and I was not about to get rained on for the second day in a row. I was running out of clean dry clothes.
On the way back to the bus two twin brothers came up to me and started walking next to me. One reached out and grabbed my hand - Jose and Monerto. I eventually had to tear my hand away so they wouldn't try and get on the bus with us. Then it was back across the rickety old swing bridge. It was probably about 50 yards across and felt like it could fall at any moment. Then, when the people behind you start walking - the whole things bounces and you're sure you're going to fall off. Ew. I didn't like that.
We made it to the bus without getting wet - and then it was back to the compound to listen to a lecture from El Padre that runs this joint. On our way back to the bus Jim (one of our faculty) fell in the mud. When he got back to the bus he looked at his arm that he hit on the way down and there was a huge hematoma... and it was growing. It was probably the size of half a tennis ball. What great company he was in though - with all these gorgeous and smart nurses. We rapped him, and he's doing fine. :) We need him to be fine - he speaks Spanish!
I took a nap after we got back - and we've been working on our final presentations ever since. So, not a very exciting day. Tomorrow we're presenting to the doctors and nurses and health staff that work in this area.
I'm very ready to come home. I don't even really want to go back to Ciudad del Saber. I just want to be back in the states.
**Daddy, when I come home... can you please cook me a steak and tons of veggies. And whatever you make, please, NO RICE!!!
**Gracie Brand: you would be so upset if you saw the animals down here. I saw a horse today whose back was raw with tons of ulcers on it where the saddle had been left. All the animals are stick thin and the kids kick and hit them often. :( Don't come to Panama, unless you plan to adopt more pets! :)
One more day in this town. Yay!
Our dress code changes on a daily basis, and today was walking shorts and polos with tennis shoes. Well, after that hike, my right foot doesn't fit into my shoes anymore. So, I wore flip flops to the gardens,. It didn't work out very well, but there's was nothing I could do. The mud was extremely slippery and the hike was almost 2 miles from the road. I wish I could say that the plants and flowers were worth the hike and it was fun... not so much.
When we got there we were introduced to the doctors and midwives that ran the whole thing. Then we had to hike up a giant hill just to look at some plants that looked the same as all the other plants. It's not like a garden in the US. The plants are on a hill amongst every other plant that grows there... weeds included.
After a trip all the way around the village we went to the meeting house, which is basically just a covered cement slab. Thankfully, they had plastic chairs for us to sit in. The next hour was filled with a Spanish doctor talking about how great he was... in Spanish. I stopped listening very early on; it was incredibly boring. As soon as he finished talking we all clapped, took a picture, and took off running to the bus. It rains every day starting from noon on, and I was not about to get rained on for the second day in a row. I was running out of clean dry clothes.
On the way back to the bus two twin brothers came up to me and started walking next to me. One reached out and grabbed my hand - Jose and Monerto. I eventually had to tear my hand away so they wouldn't try and get on the bus with us. Then it was back across the rickety old swing bridge. It was probably about 50 yards across and felt like it could fall at any moment. Then, when the people behind you start walking - the whole things bounces and you're sure you're going to fall off. Ew. I didn't like that.
We made it to the bus without getting wet - and then it was back to the compound to listen to a lecture from El Padre that runs this joint. On our way back to the bus Jim (one of our faculty) fell in the mud. When he got back to the bus he looked at his arm that he hit on the way down and there was a huge hematoma... and it was growing. It was probably the size of half a tennis ball. What great company he was in though - with all these gorgeous and smart nurses. We rapped him, and he's doing fine. :) We need him to be fine - he speaks Spanish!
I took a nap after we got back - and we've been working on our final presentations ever since. So, not a very exciting day. Tomorrow we're presenting to the doctors and nurses and health staff that work in this area.
I'm very ready to come home. I don't even really want to go back to Ciudad del Saber. I just want to be back in the states.
**Daddy, when I come home... can you please cook me a steak and tons of veggies. And whatever you make, please, NO RICE!!!
**Gracie Brand: you would be so upset if you saw the animals down here. I saw a horse today whose back was raw with tons of ulcers on it where the saddle had been left. All the animals are stick thin and the kids kick and hit them often. :( Don't come to Panama, unless you plan to adopt more pets! :)
One more day in this town. Yay!
Photo update
Some photos so far...
Eli and I on top of Volcan Baru. He was holding onto me so I wouldn't fall off. He knows how clutzy I am.
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOxHgUY3A2s9CloDnOYMArpZypZKwBZ5V7kocekStKMl859W1KMcB-g246Bhn187oSHcNe7eQ25F-llu84mJ9NYbRV12nKAj9q4onF9X0zYZifbaI8r0j9Vi8GxZMIjlPT438lMnn/s1600/IMG_2575.JPG">
Injections at the health fair in Alto Caballero.
This little raincoat was $1.50. Unfortunately, it didn't last the weekend before ripping. It was kinda cute though.
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgEKhnu4FDmC_xIx0FGNBkNayyjVM-0eeFK__LIfeFoPS24XRCGrhyXdeKXmRYJYiJRqMxdOWWvKSpd5KilJpgeKiphttfgpVwU1yM3FM3Wcb0rSulV6lYGSjVynBc8vObLJoHoA9/s1600/IMG_3227.JPG">
Katie and I with Dr. Cadena. Lunch was sooooo good in this little cafe!
*Please note my attempt at patriotism on the 4th!
:) This one is one of my favorites! On top of Baru - the highest point in Panama! And the only place in the world where you can see two oceans!
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YbL7465Ef4Aq3jH3xkWokD5o0f_LPwkm0hT8wLjLH-_hiv39eecEHfL1tP9yW3J6Sktlj_a_yX65WUEXIh7enA_3ZDQEzNiU7QdpJW-Q5Inx2y07RUnwaIXSlKwPWDOFHArTdT7S/s1600/P7030902.JPG">
Jumping for joy that we made it to the top.
And Josh and I on the hike up. This was when I was still smiling.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I have hundreds to show y'all when I get back.
P.S. Sorry about the formatting issues, I can't seem to fix them.
Eli and I on top of Volcan Baru. He was holding onto me so I wouldn't fall off. He knows how clutzy I am.
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOxHgUY3A2s9CloDnOYMArpZypZKwBZ5V7kocekStKMl859W1KMcB-g246Bhn187oSHcNe7eQ25F-llu84mJ9NYbRV12nKAj9q4onF9X0zYZifbaI8r0j9Vi8GxZMIjlPT438lMnn/s1600/IMG_2575.JPG">
Injections at the health fair in Alto Caballero.
This little raincoat was $1.50. Unfortunately, it didn't last the weekend before ripping. It was kinda cute though.
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgEKhnu4FDmC_xIx0FGNBkNayyjVM-0eeFK__LIfeFoPS24XRCGrhyXdeKXmRYJYiJRqMxdOWWvKSpd5KilJpgeKiphttfgpVwU1yM3FM3Wcb0rSulV6lYGSjVynBc8vObLJoHoA9/s1600/IMG_3227.JPG">
Katie and I with Dr. Cadena. Lunch was sooooo good in this little cafe!
*Please note my attempt at patriotism on the 4th!
:) This one is one of my favorites! On top of Baru - the highest point in Panama! And the only place in the world where you can see two oceans!
a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YbL7465Ef4Aq3jH3xkWokD5o0f_LPwkm0hT8wLjLH-_hiv39eecEHfL1tP9yW3J6Sktlj_a_yX65WUEXIh7enA_3ZDQEzNiU7QdpJW-Q5Inx2y07RUnwaIXSlKwPWDOFHArTdT7S/s1600/P7030902.JPG">
Jumping for joy that we made it to the top.
And Josh and I on the hike up. This was when I was still smiling.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I have hundreds to show y'all when I get back.
P.S. Sorry about the formatting issues, I can't seem to fix them.
7.4.2010
Happy 4th of July!!! I made sure to wear red, white, and blue, as well as my shirt with the American flag on it today. :) Several of the shopkeepers I saw today greeted me with: "Happy 4th of Yuly! Hehe.
We were supposed to go white-water rafting today, but after the intense workout yesterday none of us felt up to it. And because we weren't going, the other half of the group didn't want to go either. I thought I was going to get to sleep in, but no. I was woken up at 7, by Kira asking if we wanted to zip line. Poor thing was just the messanger, but we were crabby. I told her I would come find her when/if I wanted to zip line. And could she please leave now. :) Haha.
We wandered downstairs shortly thereafter (it was too noisy to go back to sleep). The owners of the hostal were cooking breakfast for us. It was eggs, toast and fried ham. There was also amazing coffee and orange juice! The guava jelly they had was good too.
Once our tummys were full, we were more willing to talk about our plans for the day. Since there were only 10 spots available to go zip-lining, and it was $70 to go, we let other people go. It turned out to be a great decision.
We all got ready and a small group of us headed out to do some shopping. We got to look through all the little shops and stands in the downtown square area. Then we stopped in for lunch in a little cafe. I ordered a chicken sandwich and it was delicious. I treated myself to a coca cola light, which is almost the same as diet coke... except it's not. It tastes flat almost and is a lot more syrupy. I thought it was disgusting at first, but I'm growing accustomed to it!
The girls that we were having lunch with had to leave for zip-lining, so Katie and I finished lunch by ourselves and headed back out to shop some more.
We both needed to call our parents, so we started looking for a phone booth. We found two that were back-to-back and it worked out great! We could both talk at the same time so we didn't have to spend 2x as much time at the phone. I think we both talked for about an hour to different people. I had to call my dad's cell, mom's cell, home, and finally the Richmond's to get ahold of my parents. :)
I have a really cute picture of me standing in my red raincoat, in the rain, talking on the phone. Haha.
After our phone calls, we shopped some more. We walked into one store and they had a bakery. The baked goods are awesome here! I bought a danish for 40 cents. So good. Thinking about it now makes me hungry. :)
We took our danishes and walked to a coffee shop. The zip-lining crew was supposed to arrive at the same plaza, so we were hoping we could catch a ride with them back to the hostal. Since we were supposed to leave to go back to San Felix at 5, and they weren't back by 4:50, we thought we better just walk. We didn't know if they had been dropped off there already. So, we finished our coffee... made a couple friends with some nerdy American middle school boys who thought we were cute, and headed back up town to the Hostal. At this point it was literally pouring.
I remembered once we left that there was a bridge at the edge of town that I wanted to see before we left. So, in the pouring rain, we walked in the opposite direction of our hostal to see the river and bridge. We also got to see a drum line performing. My raincoat didn't make it through all the running, hopping, and skipping we had to do to manuever through the streets. They seemed to turn into rivers, ankle deep at points. We were soaked by the time we made it back. Several men honked at us as they drove by, but none offered us a ride. We wouldn't have accepted, but it still would've been nice. Hah. I'm sure everyone thought we were crazy because we weren't finding shelter, but we were not about to be left behind.
We were so glad we didn't go zip-lining. We had an awesome day just being by ourselves (a rarety) and hanging out. Plus getting drenched. That was fun too. On top of that, the crew that went got soaked too, and it rained so hard they said it hurt their faces to go from platform to platform. :P
Hot cinnamon tea was waiting for us at the hostal. Soooo good. We changed, grabbed our stuff and some tea and it was time to load onto the bus. It took us another hour to load the bus and get everyone on it. Then we started the 2.5 hour bus ride back to the compound. No one was happy about it. We enjoyed so much the weather in Boqete. It was in the mid 60's - to low 70's. Just to have a little R&R felt great.
Now, we're back at the compound. It's hot here and very sticky, just like I remember. There's also a new crew of Panamanian men staying here. Yay us! The water pressure is still non-existent. I'm hopeful it will get better. We only have 3 more nights here and then it's back to the city of knowledge.
Tomorrow we're going to the botanical gardens and then meeting with the Universidad of Chiriqui nursing students (that's the province where we're working). I think they are feeding us too... arroz con pollo, no doubt. :)
Hope everyone had a great 4th. I missed out on all the patriotic activities I always look forward to. LIke lake days, good food, and sparklers. I guess I just have to wait until next year. :/
We were supposed to go white-water rafting today, but after the intense workout yesterday none of us felt up to it. And because we weren't going, the other half of the group didn't want to go either. I thought I was going to get to sleep in, but no. I was woken up at 7, by Kira asking if we wanted to zip line. Poor thing was just the messanger, but we were crabby. I told her I would come find her when/if I wanted to zip line. And could she please leave now. :) Haha.
We wandered downstairs shortly thereafter (it was too noisy to go back to sleep). The owners of the hostal were cooking breakfast for us. It was eggs, toast and fried ham. There was also amazing coffee and orange juice! The guava jelly they had was good too.
Once our tummys were full, we were more willing to talk about our plans for the day. Since there were only 10 spots available to go zip-lining, and it was $70 to go, we let other people go. It turned out to be a great decision.
We all got ready and a small group of us headed out to do some shopping. We got to look through all the little shops and stands in the downtown square area. Then we stopped in for lunch in a little cafe. I ordered a chicken sandwich and it was delicious. I treated myself to a coca cola light, which is almost the same as diet coke... except it's not. It tastes flat almost and is a lot more syrupy. I thought it was disgusting at first, but I'm growing accustomed to it!
The girls that we were having lunch with had to leave for zip-lining, so Katie and I finished lunch by ourselves and headed back out to shop some more.
We both needed to call our parents, so we started looking for a phone booth. We found two that were back-to-back and it worked out great! We could both talk at the same time so we didn't have to spend 2x as much time at the phone. I think we both talked for about an hour to different people. I had to call my dad's cell, mom's cell, home, and finally the Richmond's to get ahold of my parents. :)
I have a really cute picture of me standing in my red raincoat, in the rain, talking on the phone. Haha.
After our phone calls, we shopped some more. We walked into one store and they had a bakery. The baked goods are awesome here! I bought a danish for 40 cents. So good. Thinking about it now makes me hungry. :)
We took our danishes and walked to a coffee shop. The zip-lining crew was supposed to arrive at the same plaza, so we were hoping we could catch a ride with them back to the hostal. Since we were supposed to leave to go back to San Felix at 5, and they weren't back by 4:50, we thought we better just walk. We didn't know if they had been dropped off there already. So, we finished our coffee... made a couple friends with some nerdy American middle school boys who thought we were cute, and headed back up town to the Hostal. At this point it was literally pouring.
I remembered once we left that there was a bridge at the edge of town that I wanted to see before we left. So, in the pouring rain, we walked in the opposite direction of our hostal to see the river and bridge. We also got to see a drum line performing. My raincoat didn't make it through all the running, hopping, and skipping we had to do to manuever through the streets. They seemed to turn into rivers, ankle deep at points. We were soaked by the time we made it back. Several men honked at us as they drove by, but none offered us a ride. We wouldn't have accepted, but it still would've been nice. Hah. I'm sure everyone thought we were crazy because we weren't finding shelter, but we were not about to be left behind.
We were so glad we didn't go zip-lining. We had an awesome day just being by ourselves (a rarety) and hanging out. Plus getting drenched. That was fun too. On top of that, the crew that went got soaked too, and it rained so hard they said it hurt their faces to go from platform to platform. :P
Hot cinnamon tea was waiting for us at the hostal. Soooo good. We changed, grabbed our stuff and some tea and it was time to load onto the bus. It took us another hour to load the bus and get everyone on it. Then we started the 2.5 hour bus ride back to the compound. No one was happy about it. We enjoyed so much the weather in Boqete. It was in the mid 60's - to low 70's. Just to have a little R&R felt great.
Now, we're back at the compound. It's hot here and very sticky, just like I remember. There's also a new crew of Panamanian men staying here. Yay us! The water pressure is still non-existent. I'm hopeful it will get better. We only have 3 more nights here and then it's back to the city of knowledge.
Tomorrow we're going to the botanical gardens and then meeting with the Universidad of Chiriqui nursing students (that's the province where we're working). I think they are feeding us too... arroz con pollo, no doubt. :)
Hope everyone had a great 4th. I missed out on all the patriotic activities I always look forward to. LIke lake days, good food, and sparklers. I guess I just have to wait until next year. :/
7.3.2010
4:30am came very early. Thankfully, I wasn't woken up by any drunk people and I slept farely well. It was extremely cold when we woke up - it was probably high 50s. I threw on my hiking pants, which I borrowed from Kira, a tshirt and two cotton jackets, and my shoes and we headed out the door. We had to wait about 30 minutes for Mario to show up. He did, and we started the 30 minute drive to the trailhead.
As we were driving, we could see the sun rising through the mountains. It was beautiful!
We got to the trailhead, got out of the car, took a few pictures and then started climbing the first of many giant hills. I decided at that moment I wasn't going to regret my decision to come.
The entire hike up the mountain was 7.6 miles, but we climbed 7000 feet in the 7 miles. So the trail was extremely steep for the most part. At the top of the first part I was already drenched in sweat. When you sweat it doesn't evaporate at all since the air is so saturated already. The pictures at the top of the first hill are pretty. You can see the sun rising in the background and the hills of coffee beans. :) Mmmm... coffee!
Up and up and up and up we climbed. And then up some more. Our group started together and then it separated a little. The group the was ahead would stop at points and wait for the others to catch up just to make sure everyone was ok. At the beginning of the hike I was in the front... then I was in the back - and then I was in the middle.
We had to keep reminding our tourguide that we live at sea level and are not at all used to the altitude. I took ibuprophen to help prevent a headache from the altitude and the limited water I had. I only brought 2 liters, because it weighed so much. Haha. My backpack didn't seem that heavy at first. About 3 hours into it, it weighed about 60 lbs. :)
The trail itself was not what I thought it would be. It was pretty wide in most parts and was very rocky. It wasn't like the jungle - though the jungle was on both sides. We would climb and climb and someone that was ahead would yell: "it flattens out up here!" and we'd get all excited! That gave us just enough push to keep going. At some points it went down and we would get excited - and then we realized that each time that happened we would lose feet that we were going to have reclimb again. I began to dread the downhill parts. There were a few really awesome viewpoints on the way that motivated us to keep going. If they were that awesome, how much more awesome would the summit be?!?
It took us 6 hours to hike up to the summit. We had separated into groups at the end. Robert and I climbed to the finish together. We started singing "Ain't no mountain high..." Haha. The last hill was by far the steepest part of the climb. I was on my hands and knees at one point. Just when I told Robert I wasn't sure I was going to make it I heard Katie and Josh from the top cheering us on. I knew I had to finish. Robert was just ahead of me and I kept wishing that I could be where he was. Haha. And finally... the top!!!
Not going to lie... I was disappointed. Why? There were tons of cell towers up there. You couldn't see much. Then I realized I had to walk to the other end of the top. From there you could see the Pacific ocean. Gorgeous. Then I saw it. A cross... up high. It was the actual summit of the climb, and to get to it we had to literally rock climb on the side of the volcano. I didn't want to go up another foot, but we were determined. We all climbed up and over and around and finally reached the cross. There weren't any cell towers in the way anymore. You could see for miles. You could see both the atlantic and the pacific at the same time. You could see little towns and hills and more hills. We were above some clounds and surrounded by others. The view of was indescribable and worth every step of the hike. We took tons of awesome pictures - I can't wait to post them!
After we climbed to the cross, we climbed back down to have lunch. There was a police officer in one of the shack/building things that came out to see us. They take 15 day shifts - and they have to hike up and down themselves. He very graciously let us use his bathroom, as well as let us sign the log book of hikers that climbed Volcan Baru. We have pictures of all our names in the book as well. So neat.
We stayed at the top for about an hour total, then we started the long hike back. I thought it was going pretty well at first. Each step hurt, yes, but it was a step closer to us being at the bottom. Then it started to rain. That's when it got difficult. Everything was so slippery and all the rocks would shift when you stood on them. there were little rivers running through the trail too. Before I knew it I was at the back with Lexi and Sarah.
There were a couple of points on the way down where I just wanted to sit and tell them to leave me there. I was done. Over it. My knees and feet were killing me. I was wearing old tennis shoes that were all wet and it was cold, so my hands were numb. They were also extremely swollen, which made them even more difficult to articulate.
The others in front of us never stopped to let us catch up, which I understood - we all wanted to be the heck off this volcano. So, it was just Lex and I hiking down the volcano (Sarah had fallen a little behind with the guide). We kept stopping to let her catch up - because we didnt want her to be alone with the guide. Thank goodness nothing happened, because we had no physical strength to do anything if something did happen to her. At one point, Lexi and I were completely alone. We kept asking each other: "Do you remember this part?" And the answer was always no. I think we were trying to repress painful memories already. Haha. There were a couple splits in the trail and we thought we were making the right choicese as far as which way to go. Then we came to this one spot that seemed completely wrong. We really thought we were lost and for some odd reason it was hysterically funny. (I think we were just really dehydrated and delirious at this point because this was the same stop when Lex thought a rock smiled at her). Lexi asked: "What are we going to do, Morgan. I don't want to die here." Through the laughter I told her we were going to keep going, find a road, hopefully someone who knew where the hostal was and call a taxi... or we were just going to sit there and die. The second option sounded kind of appealing, not even lying. :) A couple seconds later we heard a cayote. It was our tourguide that snuck up on us. We weren't lost.
We couldn't see very far ahead of us because of the clouds/mist/fog. So we had no idea how far we were from the end. We kept telling each other it must be just around this corner. I cried at one point. Laughed hysterically at other points. Then we saw it... the finish... and the rest of the group cheering us on!! I have never been so happy in all my life. And, guess what?!? I made it up and down the entire volcano without falling once! That I've very proud of.
We only had one more hill to climb down to meet the van. When I saw it, I nearly cried. It look us 5 hours to reach the bottom again. When I went to climb into the van, and I literally had to crawl in. My legs wouldn't work anymore. It felt so good to sit down. We were all soaking wet and smelly, but we did not care. We packed in that van as fast as we could and started the ride home.
Getting out of the car when we got home was worse than getting in. Then, I had to climb a set of stairs to get to my room. The rest of the crew was there when we got back and they laughed at us as we limped and hobbled inside. We looked pretty rough!
I rinsed the mud off my legs and feet, changed and climbed into bed. Yes, I know that's gross, but I was freezing already, completely spent, and not about to climb into a numbingly cold shower. Besides, that was the last night I was going to have to sleep on those sheets. I made sure to take Ibuprophen before I went to bed and I was out cold.
The hike was a really great team building thing. We all got to know each other even better than we already did and it was awesome to see everyone encouraging every one else. We each had points where we didn't want to go on, and someone was always there to encourage. I said it was just like nursing school: You don't want to do it, it sucks, it's long, it's hard, you're not sure you can make it, you think you might die (and sometimes you want to); but you don't. You make it - and you're a better person because of it.
This was, by far, the most physically demanding and mentally challenging thing I've ever done. And I am extremely proud of myself because it sure wasn't easy.
****Fun Facts: Mario said if we could hike this volcano we could hike anything in Central and South Americas minus the Andes. This is the only place in the world where you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was the highest point in Panama. Mario called our group: "Pays to suffer" (that's exactly how kyaking was too!). And our faculty that went (ms. Metzger) said this was the hardest trail she had ever hiked and she's a hiker.
In the words of Mason Richmond: "I'm a BEAST!"
As we were driving, we could see the sun rising through the mountains. It was beautiful!
We got to the trailhead, got out of the car, took a few pictures and then started climbing the first of many giant hills. I decided at that moment I wasn't going to regret my decision to come.
The entire hike up the mountain was 7.6 miles, but we climbed 7000 feet in the 7 miles. So the trail was extremely steep for the most part. At the top of the first part I was already drenched in sweat. When you sweat it doesn't evaporate at all since the air is so saturated already. The pictures at the top of the first hill are pretty. You can see the sun rising in the background and the hills of coffee beans. :) Mmmm... coffee!
Up and up and up and up we climbed. And then up some more. Our group started together and then it separated a little. The group the was ahead would stop at points and wait for the others to catch up just to make sure everyone was ok. At the beginning of the hike I was in the front... then I was in the back - and then I was in the middle.
We had to keep reminding our tourguide that we live at sea level and are not at all used to the altitude. I took ibuprophen to help prevent a headache from the altitude and the limited water I had. I only brought 2 liters, because it weighed so much. Haha. My backpack didn't seem that heavy at first. About 3 hours into it, it weighed about 60 lbs. :)
The trail itself was not what I thought it would be. It was pretty wide in most parts and was very rocky. It wasn't like the jungle - though the jungle was on both sides. We would climb and climb and someone that was ahead would yell: "it flattens out up here!" and we'd get all excited! That gave us just enough push to keep going. At some points it went down and we would get excited - and then we realized that each time that happened we would lose feet that we were going to have reclimb again. I began to dread the downhill parts. There were a few really awesome viewpoints on the way that motivated us to keep going. If they were that awesome, how much more awesome would the summit be?!?
It took us 6 hours to hike up to the summit. We had separated into groups at the end. Robert and I climbed to the finish together. We started singing "Ain't no mountain high..." Haha. The last hill was by far the steepest part of the climb. I was on my hands and knees at one point. Just when I told Robert I wasn't sure I was going to make it I heard Katie and Josh from the top cheering us on. I knew I had to finish. Robert was just ahead of me and I kept wishing that I could be where he was. Haha. And finally... the top!!!
Not going to lie... I was disappointed. Why? There were tons of cell towers up there. You couldn't see much. Then I realized I had to walk to the other end of the top. From there you could see the Pacific ocean. Gorgeous. Then I saw it. A cross... up high. It was the actual summit of the climb, and to get to it we had to literally rock climb on the side of the volcano. I didn't want to go up another foot, but we were determined. We all climbed up and over and around and finally reached the cross. There weren't any cell towers in the way anymore. You could see for miles. You could see both the atlantic and the pacific at the same time. You could see little towns and hills and more hills. We were above some clounds and surrounded by others. The view of was indescribable and worth every step of the hike. We took tons of awesome pictures - I can't wait to post them!
After we climbed to the cross, we climbed back down to have lunch. There was a police officer in one of the shack/building things that came out to see us. They take 15 day shifts - and they have to hike up and down themselves. He very graciously let us use his bathroom, as well as let us sign the log book of hikers that climbed Volcan Baru. We have pictures of all our names in the book as well. So neat.
We stayed at the top for about an hour total, then we started the long hike back. I thought it was going pretty well at first. Each step hurt, yes, but it was a step closer to us being at the bottom. Then it started to rain. That's when it got difficult. Everything was so slippery and all the rocks would shift when you stood on them. there were little rivers running through the trail too. Before I knew it I was at the back with Lexi and Sarah.
There were a couple of points on the way down where I just wanted to sit and tell them to leave me there. I was done. Over it. My knees and feet were killing me. I was wearing old tennis shoes that were all wet and it was cold, so my hands were numb. They were also extremely swollen, which made them even more difficult to articulate.
The others in front of us never stopped to let us catch up, which I understood - we all wanted to be the heck off this volcano. So, it was just Lex and I hiking down the volcano (Sarah had fallen a little behind with the guide). We kept stopping to let her catch up - because we didnt want her to be alone with the guide. Thank goodness nothing happened, because we had no physical strength to do anything if something did happen to her. At one point, Lexi and I were completely alone. We kept asking each other: "Do you remember this part?" And the answer was always no. I think we were trying to repress painful memories already. Haha. There were a couple splits in the trail and we thought we were making the right choicese as far as which way to go. Then we came to this one spot that seemed completely wrong. We really thought we were lost and for some odd reason it was hysterically funny. (I think we were just really dehydrated and delirious at this point because this was the same stop when Lex thought a rock smiled at her). Lexi asked: "What are we going to do, Morgan. I don't want to die here." Through the laughter I told her we were going to keep going, find a road, hopefully someone who knew where the hostal was and call a taxi... or we were just going to sit there and die. The second option sounded kind of appealing, not even lying. :) A couple seconds later we heard a cayote. It was our tourguide that snuck up on us. We weren't lost.
We couldn't see very far ahead of us because of the clouds/mist/fog. So we had no idea how far we were from the end. We kept telling each other it must be just around this corner. I cried at one point. Laughed hysterically at other points. Then we saw it... the finish... and the rest of the group cheering us on!! I have never been so happy in all my life. And, guess what?!? I made it up and down the entire volcano without falling once! That I've very proud of.
We only had one more hill to climb down to meet the van. When I saw it, I nearly cried. It look us 5 hours to reach the bottom again. When I went to climb into the van, and I literally had to crawl in. My legs wouldn't work anymore. It felt so good to sit down. We were all soaking wet and smelly, but we did not care. We packed in that van as fast as we could and started the ride home.
Getting out of the car when we got home was worse than getting in. Then, I had to climb a set of stairs to get to my room. The rest of the crew was there when we got back and they laughed at us as we limped and hobbled inside. We looked pretty rough!
I rinsed the mud off my legs and feet, changed and climbed into bed. Yes, I know that's gross, but I was freezing already, completely spent, and not about to climb into a numbingly cold shower. Besides, that was the last night I was going to have to sleep on those sheets. I made sure to take Ibuprophen before I went to bed and I was out cold.
The hike was a really great team building thing. We all got to know each other even better than we already did and it was awesome to see everyone encouraging every one else. We each had points where we didn't want to go on, and someone was always there to encourage. I said it was just like nursing school: You don't want to do it, it sucks, it's long, it's hard, you're not sure you can make it, you think you might die (and sometimes you want to); but you don't. You make it - and you're a better person because of it.
This was, by far, the most physically demanding and mentally challenging thing I've ever done. And I am extremely proud of myself because it sure wasn't easy.
****Fun Facts: Mario said if we could hike this volcano we could hike anything in Central and South Americas minus the Andes. This is the only place in the world where you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was the highest point in Panama. Mario called our group: "Pays to suffer" (that's exactly how kyaking was too!). And our faculty that went (ms. Metzger) said this was the hardest trail she had ever hiked and she's a hiker.
In the words of Mason Richmond: "I'm a BEAST!"
7.2.2010
I haven't had time this weekend to journal/blog very much. Hopefully I can remember all the details of each day. 7.2.2010 was our hospital day. We got to "sleep in"... which meant waking up at 7 instead of 6:30. Haha. Everyone's really good about being up and on time - aside from our faculty. They are always the last ones on the bus.
We loaded onto the bus and head down the street to the clinic of San Felix. We stood outside for quite some time waiting for our nurse to take us to tour the hospital. Apparently she wasn't working that day - so we had to about a mile up the road to the hospital and find someone to give us a tour on our own.
Fred was our tour guide. He was very involved with the nurses association here in the Comarca, as well as the board of nurses at his hospital. He welcomed us graciously, and showed us around.
The first thing I saw when we arrived to the hospital was a stray dog walking through the doors. He just walked right inside. It baffled me. You walk in and it's sort of like a courtyard with some chairs and doors on the perimeter that are designated for different things. There were only a few rooms that had AC. Those rooms were the nutritionists office, the lab, the X-ray room, and the pharmacy.
Right next to the hospital is the "outpatient clinic" of sorts. There were two nurses and one doctor. The doctor used his best English (which didn't make much sense) to try and welcome us. There were probably 30 people standing around waiting to be seen. I saw one baby with a horrible case of chicken pox. The children seem to really be plagued with skin conditions, a lot of impetigo and leichmaniasis. Look 'em up - they're awful and gross!
We walked through the ER next. I didn't really like taking tours of the different wings. There is no patient privacy, and I felt like we were exploiting the patients. When we walked through the ER we just walked right through the main part and saw all the patients and the Dr.s told us what they were in for. There was one couple hooked up to IVs (the wife was pregnant), and they were being treated with antivenom. There was a snake in a bag on the bed next to them. Ew. In the ER there was a room called the "telecommunication room." It was sponsered by The University of Arizona. It had a laptop (one of the only computers in the hospital that you could review Xrays on) and two video phones. They said it was used mostly for when they were receiving patients from clinics so they could get information about the injuries, etc. I though it was very cool. The ER doc was pretty cute... about 30. :)
They we went to the exam rooms, which were in the main courtyard I told you about. They had a room for gyn, peds, OB, etc. We met the pediatrician - he was sooo nice! I wish Dr.s in the states were as nice as the doctors here. They have all been awesome!
Next we went up to the Pediatric unit. There was a nurses station outside two rooms that were back to back. There were no doors - and the openings were wide enough for us to see all the patients inside. They had an "ICU" on one side... I definitely wouldn't want my baby to be sick here. There were no heart monitors. There were no respirators. There were simply IVs. They only called it the ICU because the children were in more critical condition. There was one nurse and one tech for the entire Peds portion. There were nearly 14 patients. An average patient load in the states is 4-6 for a nurse plus a tech. In the peds ICU in the states a nurse would have 1-2 patients. So sad.
Then we walked down to the internal medicine section, it was connected to OB room. There were only a few patients in these rooms. Again, one tech and one nurse. There was a lady who just delivered a baby last night - Fred walked us right inside the room and showed us the woman and the baby. How many of you would want 20 strangers walking into your room to look at you and your baby the day after you had it - and they spoke a different language. It was sad. I didn't go in.
We were shown the cafeteria - the food smelled so good! Then came the lab, the sterilization room, the labor and delivery rooms, Xray room, and the orthapedic room. There were a lot of new looking pieces of equipment in the physical therapy room. It had been donated by a group in the US called project CURE. It was the only state-of-the-art things we saw. These doctors and nurses are using technology and equipement we haven't used in 30 years. It's crazy and incredibly humbling.
There was a woman delivery and some people got to go back and watch, but I didn't go. Again, I felt like we were exploiting patients. The only thing I saw in the hospital that I actually approved of/liked was the pharmacy. There was an actual pharmacists there and it seemed to be very organized.
We walked back to the compound - which was about 2 miles at 11am. So hot. We were drenched by the time we made it back. The humidity is just crazy. Once we got back we ate, and packed our stuff to head to Boqete for the weekend. We weren't supposed to leave until Saturday, but we begged our teachers - and they worked it out! Yay!
The drive was about 2.5 hours. We had to drive over to David and then up to Boqete. When we were driving in I kept thinking of Gatlinburg. It was a small-ish town in the mountains with all kinds of shops and resturants and old buildings. It wasn't as rich of an area obviously, but it looked kinda like it. We drove to our hostal (Villa Verde Hostal) and unloaded our suitcases... these girls pack soooo much every they go. But I guess it's a good thing; if anyone needs anything someone is sure to have it. Especially meds, we're nursing students after all. :)
The couple that ran the hostal was extremely nice and they spoke English, which is always a plus in Panama. Haha. There were only 2 other guests staying in the hostal. We rented out all the other rooms. Katie and I got our own room... most people were rooming with 2 or three. It was almost like a bed and breakfast - not a hostal. We walked in to an awesome room with a tv, two fulls beds (one for each!!!) and two walls full of windows with a view of the mountains. It was gorgeous.
After we unpacked we all loaded up to go get dinner. Before we went to the pizza place (everyone wanted pizza and beer!), we stopped at the market to meet our tour guide for our volcano hike. Ten of us (Josh, Robert, Eli, Addie, Sarah, Katie, Lexi, Kira, Ms. Metzger, and myself) were planning to hike Volcan Baru starting at midnight to make it to the top in time for the sunrise. We pulled up to the market and got out of the bus to try and find Mario (our tour guide). It was pouring. Several us went inside and bought these little $1 raincoat/ponchos. They were made for kids, so the sleeves were a little short, but they totally worked! We've all become very resourceful and have no shame! Haha.
Mario was a very nice young guy, who spoke broken english. He explained to us that it was a very bad night for hiking Baru because of the rain. He also mentioned that it was 25 or so degrees at the top. I decided I wasn't going at that point - and almost all the others agreed. We were already putting together makeshift outfits just to hike. We were definitely not prepared for the kind of cold. Plans changed a little. We decided to leave at 5am and hike up as the sun was rising. I still wasn't sold on the idea. It sounded bad from the beginning.
When we were done we drove down to the pizza parlor. It was so cute. There was a man playing the keyboard inside... and it smelled fantastic! Katie and I ordered a chicken and spinach pizza. It was delicious! Wow. I have a picture of it I'll upload later. By the time we were finished and had paid it was after 10. The hikers (besides Eli) walked back to the condo to get to bed for our hike. The other girls (and Eli, because he's such a protector) went out drinking/clubbing. All I cared was that they didn't wake me up when they came back really late.
I journaled when I got back to the hostal.
"I'm going to climb a volcano at 5am... in the cold... in the rain. I may die. To be continued..."
We loaded onto the bus and head down the street to the clinic of San Felix. We stood outside for quite some time waiting for our nurse to take us to tour the hospital. Apparently she wasn't working that day - so we had to about a mile up the road to the hospital and find someone to give us a tour on our own.
Fred was our tour guide. He was very involved with the nurses association here in the Comarca, as well as the board of nurses at his hospital. He welcomed us graciously, and showed us around.
The first thing I saw when we arrived to the hospital was a stray dog walking through the doors. He just walked right inside. It baffled me. You walk in and it's sort of like a courtyard with some chairs and doors on the perimeter that are designated for different things. There were only a few rooms that had AC. Those rooms were the nutritionists office, the lab, the X-ray room, and the pharmacy.
Right next to the hospital is the "outpatient clinic" of sorts. There were two nurses and one doctor. The doctor used his best English (which didn't make much sense) to try and welcome us. There were probably 30 people standing around waiting to be seen. I saw one baby with a horrible case of chicken pox. The children seem to really be plagued with skin conditions, a lot of impetigo and leichmaniasis. Look 'em up - they're awful and gross!
We walked through the ER next. I didn't really like taking tours of the different wings. There is no patient privacy, and I felt like we were exploiting the patients. When we walked through the ER we just walked right through the main part and saw all the patients and the Dr.s told us what they were in for. There was one couple hooked up to IVs (the wife was pregnant), and they were being treated with antivenom. There was a snake in a bag on the bed next to them. Ew. In the ER there was a room called the "telecommunication room." It was sponsered by The University of Arizona. It had a laptop (one of the only computers in the hospital that you could review Xrays on) and two video phones. They said it was used mostly for when they were receiving patients from clinics so they could get information about the injuries, etc. I though it was very cool. The ER doc was pretty cute... about 30. :)
They we went to the exam rooms, which were in the main courtyard I told you about. They had a room for gyn, peds, OB, etc. We met the pediatrician - he was sooo nice! I wish Dr.s in the states were as nice as the doctors here. They have all been awesome!
Next we went up to the Pediatric unit. There was a nurses station outside two rooms that were back to back. There were no doors - and the openings were wide enough for us to see all the patients inside. They had an "ICU" on one side... I definitely wouldn't want my baby to be sick here. There were no heart monitors. There were no respirators. There were simply IVs. They only called it the ICU because the children were in more critical condition. There was one nurse and one tech for the entire Peds portion. There were nearly 14 patients. An average patient load in the states is 4-6 for a nurse plus a tech. In the peds ICU in the states a nurse would have 1-2 patients. So sad.
Then we walked down to the internal medicine section, it was connected to OB room. There were only a few patients in these rooms. Again, one tech and one nurse. There was a lady who just delivered a baby last night - Fred walked us right inside the room and showed us the woman and the baby. How many of you would want 20 strangers walking into your room to look at you and your baby the day after you had it - and they spoke a different language. It was sad. I didn't go in.
We were shown the cafeteria - the food smelled so good! Then came the lab, the sterilization room, the labor and delivery rooms, Xray room, and the orthapedic room. There were a lot of new looking pieces of equipment in the physical therapy room. It had been donated by a group in the US called project CURE. It was the only state-of-the-art things we saw. These doctors and nurses are using technology and equipement we haven't used in 30 years. It's crazy and incredibly humbling.
There was a woman delivery and some people got to go back and watch, but I didn't go. Again, I felt like we were exploiting patients. The only thing I saw in the hospital that I actually approved of/liked was the pharmacy. There was an actual pharmacists there and it seemed to be very organized.
We walked back to the compound - which was about 2 miles at 11am. So hot. We were drenched by the time we made it back. The humidity is just crazy. Once we got back we ate, and packed our stuff to head to Boqete for the weekend. We weren't supposed to leave until Saturday, but we begged our teachers - and they worked it out! Yay!
The drive was about 2.5 hours. We had to drive over to David and then up to Boqete. When we were driving in I kept thinking of Gatlinburg. It was a small-ish town in the mountains with all kinds of shops and resturants and old buildings. It wasn't as rich of an area obviously, but it looked kinda like it. We drove to our hostal (Villa Verde Hostal) and unloaded our suitcases... these girls pack soooo much every they go. But I guess it's a good thing; if anyone needs anything someone is sure to have it. Especially meds, we're nursing students after all. :)
The couple that ran the hostal was extremely nice and they spoke English, which is always a plus in Panama. Haha. There were only 2 other guests staying in the hostal. We rented out all the other rooms. Katie and I got our own room... most people were rooming with 2 or three. It was almost like a bed and breakfast - not a hostal. We walked in to an awesome room with a tv, two fulls beds (one for each!!!) and two walls full of windows with a view of the mountains. It was gorgeous.
After we unpacked we all loaded up to go get dinner. Before we went to the pizza place (everyone wanted pizza and beer!), we stopped at the market to meet our tour guide for our volcano hike. Ten of us (Josh, Robert, Eli, Addie, Sarah, Katie, Lexi, Kira, Ms. Metzger, and myself) were planning to hike Volcan Baru starting at midnight to make it to the top in time for the sunrise. We pulled up to the market and got out of the bus to try and find Mario (our tour guide). It was pouring. Several us went inside and bought these little $1 raincoat/ponchos. They were made for kids, so the sleeves were a little short, but they totally worked! We've all become very resourceful and have no shame! Haha.
Mario was a very nice young guy, who spoke broken english. He explained to us that it was a very bad night for hiking Baru because of the rain. He also mentioned that it was 25 or so degrees at the top. I decided I wasn't going at that point - and almost all the others agreed. We were already putting together makeshift outfits just to hike. We were definitely not prepared for the kind of cold. Plans changed a little. We decided to leave at 5am and hike up as the sun was rising. I still wasn't sold on the idea. It sounded bad from the beginning.
When we were done we drove down to the pizza parlor. It was so cute. There was a man playing the keyboard inside... and it smelled fantastic! Katie and I ordered a chicken and spinach pizza. It was delicious! Wow. I have a picture of it I'll upload later. By the time we were finished and had paid it was after 10. The hikers (besides Eli) walked back to the condo to get to bed for our hike. The other girls (and Eli, because he's such a protector) went out drinking/clubbing. All I cared was that they didn't wake me up when they came back really late.
I journaled when I got back to the hostal.
"I'm going to climb a volcano at 5am... in the cold... in the rain. I may die. To be continued..."
7.01.2010
This is crazy!
I´m sitting in a airconditioned classroom full of computers at a school in Alto Caballero. My group came to the school this morning to teach the kindergarteners about hand washing and brushing their teeth. We used a bowl full of water to wash their hands, and it was sooo dirty by the end. They knew plenty about how to do it, but I don´t think they have soap to do it with.
The assistant principal here speaks very good English, so he helped us interpret while we taught. I was the working model for demonstrating how to brush their teeth. I pretending to brush my knee with the toothbrush, and my hair - they laughed and yelled no! And then I pointed to my dientes - and they yelled Si!!!! It was so cute. :)
Sorry for the length of my previous posts. Like I said, I didn´t have time to go back and shorten them... cause a lot of them repeat the same information. Oh, well. It´ll only take a few hours of your time.
Tomorrow we head to David to see the botanical gardens there. And then Saturday we leave for Boqete to do zip-lining, rafting, and sleeping in a hostile. I´m so excited... I never mentioned that part to my parents. :)I´m sure it´s not like that one movie. Haha
Dad, I´m going to try and call you later... but they moved the phone and we don´t know where to. Miss you guys. I feel like I´ve been gone for months.
I´ll Post again next week probably.
The assistant principal here speaks very good English, so he helped us interpret while we taught. I was the working model for demonstrating how to brush their teeth. I pretending to brush my knee with the toothbrush, and my hair - they laughed and yelled no! And then I pointed to my dientes - and they yelled Si!!!! It was so cute. :)
Sorry for the length of my previous posts. Like I said, I didn´t have time to go back and shorten them... cause a lot of them repeat the same information. Oh, well. It´ll only take a few hours of your time.
Tomorrow we head to David to see the botanical gardens there. And then Saturday we leave for Boqete to do zip-lining, rafting, and sleeping in a hostile. I´m so excited... I never mentioned that part to my parents. :)I´m sure it´s not like that one movie. Haha
Dad, I´m going to try and call you later... but they moved the phone and we don´t know where to. Miss you guys. I feel like I´ve been gone for months.
I´ll Post again next week probably.
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