Friday, May 31st 2019

Over the past two days we visited two places of healing. The first was a clinic just outside Xela and was called Primeros Pasos. They are actually a NGO that is serving four local communities in an isolated valley. They are totally funded through what the patients can pay, through grants, and foreign aid. The Guatemalan government actually passed legislation that prevents it from supporting any NGO’s throughout the country. This means that while the government provides free vaccines to all government health centers, Primeros Pasos is unable to deliver these vaccines to the community they serve. If it weren’t for Primeros Pasos, the people in the valley would have to travel almost an hour to the nearest health clinic in Xela. They serve a vital role in medical care, dental care, and public health and education. They go weekly into the communities to give classes about sex ed, diabetes, and other necessary topics. Of course Primeros Pasos, like all NGOs, has their fair share of problems. They are currently struggling to get community involvement in their services. Many times, people come to the clinic after they are already sick, however there could be serious improvements in the communities health if they took preventative steps.

Today we went to the 2nd largest public hospital in Guatemala, San Juan de Dios. It was the size of a medium sized US hospital. I believe it housed close to 400 in patients with about 50 beds in the emergency room. After yesterday at the clinic, I had pretty low expectations. Fortunately, I was surprised with a lot of what I saw. We started our tour in the outpatient section. This was two floors with hundreds of people waiting for specific specialists. Everybody stared at us as 16 non-guatemalans walked through the lobby. Afterwards we got to see the inpatient wards. They were about what I expected, 6 or so people per room with very limited supplies and amenities. I didn’t like the communal showers. Lastly, we got to peak into the emergency room. There were four or five large rooms with close to 15 beds in each room; no curtains, no privacy, no family. It was quite sad. Both days I felt pretty awkward taking photos or videos because, after all, it still is a hospital. Heres another group photo that we took earlier today. In about I have a pre-trip meeting for what I am about to do this weekend. Come back after the weekend to see where I go!

Wednesday, May 29th 2019

Another three days of Spanish class and two more amazing lectures later, we have reached the end of our class week. On Monday we had the opportunity to hear from Teresa Mejia. She is a woman who immigrated to the US illegally in the late 90’s. She told us of the horrific stories and experiences that she suffered while traveling. She told us that she walked nearly the whole way to the US. It was difficult for her to tell, and difficult to listen to as well. She told us that she enjoyed sharing her story with us, it’s something like a coping mechanism for her. To me, the most amazing part was that she made her way to the US in hopes of findings her sister who was already in the states. She didn’t know her phone number, address, or any from of contact. When arriving in the US, the coyote held Teresa until she was able to pay the remaining $500 of her balance. Luckily, a fellow immigrant had her brother come to pick her up, and coincidentally the brother knew Teresa’s sister due to a close knit Guatemala community. Teresa was able to contact her sister and ultimately pay off the Coyote. She made money in the US as a Nanny and really enjoyed her time here. She sent most of the money back home to her family in Guatemala. After four years, she was forced to return home to care for her sick mother who was taking care of her children. It is interesting that every immigrant story I have heard is almost always motivated by a parent needing to provide for their child. I think this motivation is one of the strongest in life, and it seems most parents will push their lives to the end just to provide for their child.

Friday, May 24th 2019

The lake has been an amazing weekend! On Thursday, we took a boat over to Santiago Atitlán to visit a small nonprofit hospital called Hospitalito Atitlan. It was also our first experience riding tuk-tuks. They are a hospital that serves the town of Santiago with many outpatient clinics and specialists, inpatient services and even a 6 bed emergency room. The hospital has an amazing model. They charge for their services here, but they are often highly subsidized by grants that the hospital receives from external sources. In addition they serve everybody that walks through the door, and when a family can not pay, a social worker works out a payment plan for the family, or in true financial difficulties, the bill can be completely waived. After the hospital we went back to Panajachel and spent the afternoon shopping in the street markets. I found my mother the perfect birthday present.

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Saturday, May 25th 2019

Saturday was another adventure. It was a beautifully calm morning out on the lake. We started out our morning by picking up two local women from San Pedro. They took us to San Marcos and gave us a weaving demonstration. This particular shop was composed of 22 women who handmade all of the things in the store, and each item was labeled by the woman who crafted it. Almost all of the money goes toward the woman and her family. Afterwards we walked around the town of San Juan before we left for San Marcos. There is a place called “Trampolin” in a nature reserve right on the water. Unfortunately, this is not an actual trampoline, but instead a 20 meter high platform to jump into the lake water below. I took a ton a video that I’ll put together in a few days. We got dinner on our own tonight. The group was getting hangry and jumped at the first restaurant we passed. It was gross, we were the only people in the restaurant and the menu they gave me was covered in a sticky slime. Jennifer and I left to go get pupusas and we brought them back; everyone was jealous after. We spent the night enjoying our time together as a group. We didn’t even go out at all, but we had a party in Urm and Jennifers room. We were right above Dr. Quinn, so we had to keep shushing each other when the roars of laughter exceeded the boundaries of the room. Afterwards, five or six of us migrated to my room. Some of us wathed A Star is Born on my laptop while Donnovan and Jorge played Smash (if you know, you know) on the Nintendo Switch. 

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Sunday, May 26th 2019

The group got up early to go kayaking this morning. I didn’t really feel like kayaking, and I needed some alone time after two weeks of seeing everybody all the time. I walked around the town and looked for a place to set up my hammock. After all, I brought it all this way and haven’t used it yet. I found a perfect little spot right on the water at the end of the docs. Unfortunately, as soon as I started setting up, one of the boat captains asked me to move. Apparently I had chosen a very popular walkway. I packed up and continued to explore the town. I just wondered for about 2 hours, stopping and browsing shops as if I were actually going to buy something. At one point I ended up in a very sketchy alley on the outskirts of town, but I got out of there quick. The group all went back to the pupuseria for lunch, I was fine with this because I just love pupusas that much. We got there about 15 minutes before they opened, but they let us all in early. After lunch I went back to go buy my mom’s birthday gift. I tried my bartering, but because it was a high quality handmade good, I didn’t get very far. I was happy with the purchase regardless, I know my mom will love it. We got back on our two buses and set off back for Xela. We all spent the rest of the night finishing our rough drafts because they are due tonight. 

Tuesday, May 21st 2019

Spanish classes are back in full swing after a fun weekend. The classes are passing fairly quickly and we are snacking at the mercado or Donna Poncha Choclateria everyday during the pausa. Yesterday we had a local primary care physician give us two lectures. I wasn’t expecting the lectures to be in Spanish, but I understood more than I expected to. The first was a general overview of the health care system in Guatemala. He explained the different branches and roles of different sections. He then explained some of the pitfalls and shortcomings of the current system. The Guatemalan constitution guarantees healthcare for all, but the country is falling short of providing this. There is a major lack of medical care, especially in the rural communities. His second lecture was about some of the biggest medical problems in Guatemala, from diabetes to malnutrition. We had another Salsa class today where we learned a lot more spins. Were slowly getting better. I hope we can get into dips by the end of the month. After salsa we went out to the wine bar with Dr. Quinn; turns out it’s right next door to where she’s living. Afterwards we went to Trivia night again at King & Queens. It’s 10Q buy in per person and the winning team gets all the money along with a round of beers. We didn’t do too hot this week, but we befriended all the bartenders and got a free round of Tequila shots, so who’re the real winners here?