Duran Duran

I thought I would be so much better at blogging since I love to journal, but its been tough getting to a computer that is fast enough to upload, so I apologize for those of you who have bee faithful in checking this and have been dissapointed.

Beach Day:

this past weekend was the first time that we went out of town for what we call ¨needed vacations.¨ Amy, Gina, Tracy and I all headed to the imfamous beaching spot in Ecuador, which we were told by everyone to visit. So come 6 in the morning we are awake, lotioning up and packing lunches and towels to go. It was a lovely 3 hour bus ride to the coast, but our dreams of laying in the sun all day were smushed by one small factor: there was no sun that day. In the cloudy and windy weather, so unlike what we have experienced here, we forged on to the beach to find an empty and mildly deserted strip of sand. It was cold and we shuffled along the playa looking for a dry spot to camp out and rest. While we were lookiung for spots a woman walked up to us and in frank Ecuadorian style she asked why were at the ugly beach. We said we didn´t know, and she invited us to follow her to the pretty beach.

After walking across the naval base we arrived at what appeared to be a much more tranquil and appealing spot and we proceeded to get to know our new friend. She was from Quito and offered up her house and free tour guides (her 2 sons) whenever we would have another weekend to get away. Before we knew it we were like old friends, chatting and regaling over the chilly weather. When her husband arrived, dressed lavishly in business attire, they proceeded to buy us peanuts with lime juice from a passing vendor and soon after we all had Pilsners, the local beer, in our hands. Their generosity was greatly appreciated and for a small moment I had my own flashback to Milwaukee, minus the lime.

We spent the rest of the day chasing away bored vendors who had the most intertesting assortment of things. From shell earrings to fresh lobster to table ends and lamps. We saw it all. We concluded the day at the beach with a rampage for the perfect eatery, trays over flowing with patecones, maderas and french fries, and then a final walk to the local ice cream store. Perfect.

To our surprise, we went to the bus stop and a bus headed to Guayaquil pulled in immediately. We boared, assuming a 15 minute wait to fill the bus. But sure enough, the second we hopped on the bus driver got on board and took off, leaving us to our own private coach bus. We chatted with the bus driver and his attendant, and after a while we were all taking pictures, including some shots offered by the driver to sit up on the coveted motor. Haha. Jimmy and Manuel proceeded to try to get our numbers for their upcoming 12 day vacation, but we politely declined and giggled our way back to the safe surrondings of Arbolito after our chillest day yet in Ecuador.

Scrubs:

The scrubs finally came in this week, and boy did it change more than we thought. To start, mine are 3 sizes too big so I feel like a little girl playing dressup or a college-aged student going out on Halloween. Everytime we leave the house I feel like an imposter. The first day on the bus though, all eyes were on us and it felt pretty funny to me that people thought we were doctors. If only they knew that I was in the stupid-kid science class at Marquette, ¨Plants, Pathogens and People¨ for non-science majors. Even when we crossed the busy streets, cars would stop and let us pass by, and one guy even offered us a friendly good morning and welcome to my country in english. nice.

but the best thing about the scrubs is the sudden transformation in the hospital staff we have seen, that may or may not be coincidental. The first day I wore the scrubs a nurse pulled me out of a room and invited me to have snacks in the forbidden break room where Andrew and I aren´t really allowed to go. After that another nurse approached me and asked for my help taking a patient down to get an X ray. On top of that, they have now asked us to help with more home visits (see next paragraph) and today when I brought in my latest medical slip, they gave me all of my medications for free and we had a good laugh about the parasites (following paragraph) that have been living in me.


Home Visits:

Our technical names at the hospital are case workers, but really they should call us entertainment directors or clowns because our main jobs are not nearly as important as they sound. I spend a good majority of the morning making silly faces at babies and having tickle fights with the kids. However, after a meeting with the head of the Department she feels like we are being under-utlized, which we agree, and she decided that we could start visting the homes of the outpatients with the social worker. My first visit was this past week. We went to a home a half hour outside the city. and when we arrived we had to climb up the broken steps to a second floor apartment. The room was bascially empty, save the piles of large medical boxes which we came to learn were for the grandmother who is bed ridden and needs a feeding tube.

After talking to the grandmother, who is the sole caregiver of our patient, we discovered that the downstairs was infested with rats, and that the aunt who was living with them at the time could only be there for another week. That means that the 13 year old girl is responsible for all duties in the house, and the 15 year old brother is responsible for providing for the family. It was heart breaking, to hear their struggles and know that the happy little boy in the hospital would return to this home, where he would have to grow up much quicker than any child.

The same can be said of all the children I have encountered here so far. Their eyes tell stories and hold wisdom that most children in the states will not carry until their early adult years.


Parasites:

I am the second to last person in the house to bring in a poop test, a process that every volunteer in the past has gone through. So earlier this week I finally took in my sample and the results came back as no surprise. Two parasites. I currently have worms and another parasite that I don´t know what it is in english. As of right now, everyone in the house has something, and most of us have the same thing. It isn´t serious, its nothing that some antibiotics won´t kill and I dont feel sick at all. In fact, after eating today I realized that the worms in me are also eating my food, and therefore figured out that I can technically get away with eating a lot more. Natural diet? I wouldn´t advise it. But when in Ecuador . . .

Jesus:

Jesus has been my most constant friend here. We did a spirituality night on the person of Jesus last week that focused on his Divine Humaness. Jesus was more human than any of us are, and the God we serve is in the same. He is a humble servant, continually loving us and serving us and taking the lowest position in our lives. God does not want to control us and have our obedience. He wants to give us everything He has, and on top of that He wants us to know that we are loved and free. Thinking of Jesus at the bottom makes me desire the same nothingness that he preached. That letting go of self has been one of my huge struggles here, and I am praying that I continue to walk in the divine humaness of Christ, instead of an exalted state of spiritual being. Many days when I feel tired and burdened by the weight of the world in Duran, I remember that Jesus too carried all of the emotions and pain, and that He walks with me through it all.