As I’ve said, I have been sick since I got back from vacation in Livingston with my parents. The symptoms would come and go, so for a while I thought that I was getting better – slowly but surely. It turns out that I was not getting better but almost deathly ill, and after getting home from using the computer on Sunday night I could barely move. Luckily, I now live with Amy, who called our directors to take me to the emergency room right that second. I was pretty out of it, and they took me to the only private hospital open on a Sunday night: which happened to be ridiculously named “The Private Hospital.” I was pretty out of it when I arrived there, and I had to be wheeled in for an exam by the cutest medical student ever. My resting heart rate is usually between 65 and 70: my heart rate Sunday night was up to 130bpm… sooo scary. Needless to say, they had to keep me overnight.
I was going to a private room, but they nurse forgot which one and opened the door to a room full of Amish people. Turns out I was next door in my lucky number Room #4. They took a blood sample – which was BLACK, very poorly inserted an IV in my arm (and by poorly I mean, blood squirted all over my bed and they had to change my sheets after they got it in, and right when I was about to pass out they told me I needed to take X-Rays of my chest. At first I refused to take them because I was so weak I couldn’t stand, but the cute doctor convinced me otherwise. The X-Ray man looked like he has lived in that little room for 40 years and never left- so I was a little scared of him. He also tried to convince me the straps of my tanktop had metal clips (they are plastic…it is from Forever21…seriously). Either way, he won the battle, and I had to put on a pink hospital gown without snaps or ties over my head and my IV bottle had to be woven through the sleeve also. It was almost impossible and I almost refused to get the x-rays altogether. After he took the 1st one, he came in screaming that I didn’t breath in enough and I had to redo it. I FINALLY got it the 2nd time and returned sweating and exhausted to my room. I was planning on leaving the stupid pink gown on to sleep and the nurse told me I wasn’t allowed. She told me they had to return the gown to the x-ray room… apparently they only have one. GO FIGURE. I finally got to sleep, but they nurse kept coming in saying I was bending my arm and my iv wasn’t working then, so they had to chain my arm flat to the bed for the night. Amy & Antonette stayed with me the first night too- and they basically shared a very small, uncomfortable wooden board for the night. They left at 5:30am and Lauren came at 7:30am the second day.
I forgot to mention my doctor: who had to be the most annoying man in the world. There was NEVER a split second of silence, as he filled any pause or space with Mmmhmm, mmmhmmm, mmm, hmmm…repeatedly. I had a big rash on my stomach at the beginning of day 2, so he told me I had to stay another night. My teacher Marta came to visit in the morning, and she made sure to ask the doctor everything, so we knew exactly what was going on. Other teachers and a few kids in my group filtered in and out all day, so it was nice to see people. I was on an IV all day Monday, and they finally stopped it at 10:30pm. Four to six nurses would come in at a time to do a one person job, so I was annoyed because they were ALWAYS there. One nurse came in at 5:00am Tuesday to ask if she could change my sheets. I told her I was still sleeping and she was out of her mind, and she eventually left. More nurses woke me at 6:00am JUST to ask me how I slept. I told them I was still sleeping and they giggled and left. Lauren stayed with me for night number 2, so it was nice to have some company again during the night.
I left the hospital with Amy & Antonette at 11am Friday after a throat infection, a parasite, a UTI, a fever (still not sure how high it was, they use Celsius), tachycardia, and extreme dehydration which they tell me was all caused by food I ate… I still find that hard to believe. I feel better but am confined to 2 more days of pure bed rest with a little walking. I think I’m gonna make it! It was a pretty scary experience, but also very entertaining in the end. Quite the experience…
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Jodi & Aaron's Wedding
I want to start off by clearing up any confusion: Jodi is NOT marrying a Guatemalan man. She was proposed to right before she left for this trip in July, and her and her fiancée Aaron decided to get married down here after our vacation. The wedding was held in the garden of the school, which to quote the director and owner of our school, Gladis, “the garden gives off good vibes… if anyone else wants to get married here.”
The day started early: most of the group was in charge of setting up everything at the school while Amy, Lauren, and I were helping get Jodi ready. As always, I was in charge of the hairdo of the bride, so we played around until finally deciding on something. The wedding was supposed to start at 11:00am, which is 12:30pm Guatemalan time. Weddings here are pretty different: the bride and groom sit at a table front and center facing the guests, and a lawyer (who is also our very own teacher Marta) sits with our back to us and does more of a legal speech than a love speech. Then, after they sign a paper, they ask for witnesses out of the crowd to go up and sign also…kinda weird. Jodi & Aaron did say their own vows at the end, and then they were whisked away under this hand made paper mache thing where a cord was pulled and rice rained down directly on their heads. We then had all had a glass of wine to CHEERS with, and the after party began.
They served up some traditional style Guatemalan food for the “reception” part. A hired Guatemalan ELVIS PRESLEY was the entertainment as a gift to J & A…and he sang the 2nd verse of the happy birthday song when the cake was being brought out. Elise (our director) made the biggest cake ever for the occasion and it was delicious. We finally got to play some of our music for the 1st dance. Following the dance was the bouquet toss: where the bride stands on a chair as the single women walk around her in a circle. She randomly throws it to the circle, and whoever gets it on the 3rd time keeps it. Erin caught it for the girls and this boy that works at the school that we loathe caught it for the boys. Those two were then forced to dance together to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. We followed and ended by more dancing and talking. It was fabulous.
The day started early: most of the group was in charge of setting up everything at the school while Amy, Lauren, and I were helping get Jodi ready. As always, I was in charge of the hairdo of the bride, so we played around until finally deciding on something. The wedding was supposed to start at 11:00am, which is 12:30pm Guatemalan time. Weddings here are pretty different: the bride and groom sit at a table front and center facing the guests, and a lawyer (who is also our very own teacher Marta) sits with our back to us and does more of a legal speech than a love speech. Then, after they sign a paper, they ask for witnesses out of the crowd to go up and sign also…kinda weird. Jodi & Aaron did say their own vows at the end, and then they were whisked away under this hand made paper mache thing where a cord was pulled and rice rained down directly on their heads. We then had all had a glass of wine to CHEERS with, and the after party began.
They served up some traditional style Guatemalan food for the “reception” part. A hired Guatemalan ELVIS PRESLEY was the entertainment as a gift to J & A…and he sang the 2nd verse of the happy birthday song when the cake was being brought out. Elise (our director) made the biggest cake ever for the occasion and it was delicious. We finally got to play some of our music for the 1st dance. Following the dance was the bouquet toss: where the bride stands on a chair as the single women walk around her in a circle. She randomly throws it to the circle, and whoever gets it on the 3rd time keeps it. Erin caught it for the girls and this boy that works at the school that we loathe caught it for the boys. Those two were then forced to dance together to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. We followed and ended by more dancing and talking. It was fabulous.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Livingston Pics!
Thee gran hotel
Mom & Dad relaxin by the poolside
Lauren and I at 7 altares
Mom & Dad at 7 Altares
The mouth of the Rio Dulce
Dad, Mom, and Me out for dinner
Lauren and I day drinking... it was so hot.
Round #? ...tequila shots
SALUD!
Dad, host mom, Mom, and me at the bus stationLivingston with the Parents!
At 3am on Monday the 10th, I awoke for fall break. We caught the 4am bus to Guatemala City, so I could get to the airport in time to pick up my parents. As a surprise, my host mom Elena rode with me to the capital, just so she could meet my parents for a really short amount of time. Their plane got in a little late, but low and behold they made it, so we headed for the next bus station to head out to the Caribbean coast for the week. I spent a little over an hour playing translator between my real parents and my host parents- but it went really well, and we left at 3pm for Puerto Barrios. The bus ride was pretty long, but riding in a first class bus makes the biggest difference ever and the ride was in fact only 6 hours. We stayed in a hotel in Puerto Barrios for the night that was actually made of all wood for some reason- quite the antique hotel. We took a boat to Livingston the next day- the only way to get there and arrived at our hotel, Villa Caribe after 30 minutes. The hotel was really nice- a nice surprise from the shady hotel the night before.
Livingston is on the Caribbean coast, so the temperature was stifling hot, but the tropical atmosphere was beauuuuuutiful! Much to our surprise, the town wasn’t that touristy, so I played a key translator role all week for my parents. Mom actually tried to pick up on some Spanish, while dad continued to say things in English and when they didn’t understand- he’d shout the same exact thing in English as if they would understand him this time. Regardless, we had an amazing time. A friend from the group Lauren also came to Livingston with 2 of her friends- so the 6 of us kept busy.
We took a couple day trips while we were there. One was the Rio Dulce. We had a private boat to ride down a beautiful river and make some stops along the way in 2 small communities and we stopped at some hot springs to swim. We also made a day trip to the 7 Alters, a series of little waterfalls with a huge one at the very end to swim in. We even jumped off the top of the waterfall which was pretty awesome. After the Alters we went to the Playa Blanca (white beach) to relax and swim and eat some pretty amazing packed lunches. Our packed lunched were part of the tour- and they consisted of some ham, cheese, mayonnaise, and ketchup sandwiches – ew. The rest of the week was spent swimming in the pool, catching some rays, relaxing, listenin’ to some music, and eating some pretty kick butt food. I saw my parents off at the airport on Monday morning, and Lauren and I jumped a bus back to Xela. I’ve been super sick all week and haven’t really left my bed except for Friday at Jodi’s wedding (more on that later). Hope you’re all doing well back at home! Miss you tons!
Livingston is on the Caribbean coast, so the temperature was stifling hot, but the tropical atmosphere was beauuuuuutiful! Much to our surprise, the town wasn’t that touristy, so I played a key translator role all week for my parents. Mom actually tried to pick up on some Spanish, while dad continued to say things in English and when they didn’t understand- he’d shout the same exact thing in English as if they would understand him this time. Regardless, we had an amazing time. A friend from the group Lauren also came to Livingston with 2 of her friends- so the 6 of us kept busy.
We took a couple day trips while we were there. One was the Rio Dulce. We had a private boat to ride down a beautiful river and make some stops along the way in 2 small communities and we stopped at some hot springs to swim. We also made a day trip to the 7 Alters, a series of little waterfalls with a huge one at the very end to swim in. We even jumped off the top of the waterfall which was pretty awesome. After the Alters we went to the Playa Blanca (white beach) to relax and swim and eat some pretty amazing packed lunches. Our packed lunched were part of the tour- and they consisted of some ham, cheese, mayonnaise, and ketchup sandwiches – ew. The rest of the week was spent swimming in the pool, catching some rays, relaxing, listenin’ to some music, and eating some pretty kick butt food. I saw my parents off at the airport on Monday morning, and Lauren and I jumped a bus back to Xela. I’ve been super sick all week and haven’t really left my bed except for Friday at Jodi’s wedding (more on that later). Hope you’re all doing well back at home! Miss you tons!
Presidential Election Pictures
Election site lines...
The riled up cowboys
we got in this truck...
...and now we are terrified
Team No Sale: me, molly, and stephPresidential Elections 2007!
The next week flew by as elections were approaching. We left at the crack of dawn on Saturday the 8th to head to San Marcos (which is 3 hours away). What we didn’t know is that we were actually going to Tacana (about 6 hours away by bus) after some sort of trickery went down. In order to score a ride back in a car with our director Joe the next day, I had to ride the bus TO Tacana. After each bus ride, I get off thinking – that could not have been any worse!... yet somehow I consistently proven wrong. Amy and I carefully planned this trip to be full of “fake sleeping” so I didn’t have to squish my arm with 5 people a seat. Regardless, while I was actually sleeping, someone fully placed there hand in my armpit to wake me up while yet another man tried to flat out sit on my neck & shoulder (the good one) to get me scoot over.
Finally arriving 6 hours later in Tacana, we ate a quick dinner and had a final observer meeting to iron out all the details for the next day. Another little catch came up, as we discovered only 3 of us were volunteering in the actual town of Tacana while the rest of us had to travel another hour or so to our sites. Molly, Stephanie, and I headed out to the boonies for Presidential Elections 2007. Our site had 5 different rooms to vote in, so we helped people find their number and pointed them in the right direction. We also let older women, pregnant women, and women with a bunch of children jump to the front of the line to vote. Of course this inspired about 10 men to tell me they were pregnant too and they also wanted to cut. For some reason, one line was full of only men and all of the men were wearing cowboy hats. That line by far was the most riled up, as I had to break up a fight at one point, but that was pretty much the excited point of the day – or so I though. Leaving the community was trickier than planned. Political parties paid for giant trucks to take people to vote and get home, and the three us climbed a ladder into the back of an empty truck to head to Tacana. We were locked in the back of this truck- which I can only imagine is used to move cattle or pigs or some sort of livestock – for an hour without movement. After finally getting out, we realized the road was blocked by a truck full of over 100 people which ran out of gas. We started to hike and finally hitched a ride in the back of a pickup the rest of the way home. We got back to Xela at 10pm and hit the sack- vacation started at 3am the next morning!
Finally arriving 6 hours later in Tacana, we ate a quick dinner and had a final observer meeting to iron out all the details for the next day. Another little catch came up, as we discovered only 3 of us were volunteering in the actual town of Tacana while the rest of us had to travel another hour or so to our sites. Molly, Stephanie, and I headed out to the boonies for Presidential Elections 2007. Our site had 5 different rooms to vote in, so we helped people find their number and pointed them in the right direction. We also let older women, pregnant women, and women with a bunch of children jump to the front of the line to vote. Of course this inspired about 10 men to tell me they were pregnant too and they also wanted to cut. For some reason, one line was full of only men and all of the men were wearing cowboy hats. That line by far was the most riled up, as I had to break up a fight at one point, but that was pretty much the excited point of the day – or so I though. Leaving the community was trickier than planned. Political parties paid for giant trucks to take people to vote and get home, and the three us climbed a ladder into the back of an empty truck to head to Tacana. We were locked in the back of this truck- which I can only imagine is used to move cattle or pigs or some sort of livestock – for an hour without movement. After finally getting out, we realized the road was blocked by a truck full of over 100 people which ran out of gas. We started to hike and finally hitched a ride in the back of a pickup the rest of the way home. We got back to Xela at 10pm and hit the sack- vacation started at 3am the next morning!
Still Alive (pics)
Some kids of Los Pinales...
First rock being laid down
Tilapita 1
Tilapita 2
non-smelly Mongrove viewStill Alive
So I just realized it has been almost 1 whole month since I last updated my blog. No need to worry though… I am alive and well (well being a loose term, as I have been sick for the last 8 days and have not really left my bed). But, since I can’t really do anything else, I’ll fill you all in on my life down in Central America.
The week following my birthday, we started our volunteer projects for PEILE – an organization that offers tons of free services to the communities, and travels the country building schools and hospitals for the communities most in need and most forgotten by the government. We got the chance to drive about an hour outside of Xela on a Wednesday morning for a “first brick laying ceremony” of a new school to be built in Los Pinales. The community only has a school for grades 1-5, and the children just stop going to school when they reach 6th grade. The whole ceremony was pretty cool, and they were really excited – they expect a 3 story school to be finished in 3 months.
The following weekend the group headed to Tilapita- a small black sand beach about 3 hours away from Xela for Jodi’s Bachelorette Party. (Jodi is a girl in the group who got engaged before she left and is getting married in Guatemala after spring break). Transportation is so extremely unreliable that we have come to double our ETA’s and end up being dead on: hence, by 3 hours, I actually mean 6 hours. We got the coast sweating- I have never felt weather that hot- especially after living comfortably at 60-70 degrees in Xela the past 2 months. Our accommodations were a pitfall. We stayed in a place called that was literally called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which consisted of a large, one room square cabin with 4 full size beds. I came to find, however, that the beds were in fact made of wooden planks – use your imagination- they were NOT comfortable. On top of the wood factor, we shared each bed 3 ways, had to use covers to keep the mosquitoes away, and almost sweat to death in the 4 hours of “sleep” we got. Other than our shanty cottage- the beach was beautiful, really hot, and the food we ate at the hotel next door was phenomenal. On our way out, we drove through a mangrove – which unlike in the Dominican Republic- did NOT smell like rotten eggs… it was actually quite enjoyable.
The week following my birthday, we started our volunteer projects for PEILE – an organization that offers tons of free services to the communities, and travels the country building schools and hospitals for the communities most in need and most forgotten by the government. We got the chance to drive about an hour outside of Xela on a Wednesday morning for a “first brick laying ceremony” of a new school to be built in Los Pinales. The community only has a school for grades 1-5, and the children just stop going to school when they reach 6th grade. The whole ceremony was pretty cool, and they were really excited – they expect a 3 story school to be finished in 3 months.
The following weekend the group headed to Tilapita- a small black sand beach about 3 hours away from Xela for Jodi’s Bachelorette Party. (Jodi is a girl in the group who got engaged before she left and is getting married in Guatemala after spring break). Transportation is so extremely unreliable that we have come to double our ETA’s and end up being dead on: hence, by 3 hours, I actually mean 6 hours. We got the coast sweating- I have never felt weather that hot- especially after living comfortably at 60-70 degrees in Xela the past 2 months. Our accommodations were a pitfall. We stayed in a place called that was literally called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which consisted of a large, one room square cabin with 4 full size beds. I came to find, however, that the beds were in fact made of wooden planks – use your imagination- they were NOT comfortable. On top of the wood factor, we shared each bed 3 ways, had to use covers to keep the mosquitoes away, and almost sweat to death in the 4 hours of “sleep” we got. Other than our shanty cottage- the beach was beautiful, really hot, and the food we ate at the hotel next door was phenomenal. On our way out, we drove through a mangrove – which unlike in the Dominican Republic- did NOT smell like rotten eggs… it was actually quite enjoyable.
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