Pictures

Pictures of the beautiful Antigua, Guatemala, a city about 30 min from here.

Day 1 in la emergencia

Ok this has been quite an interesting day. I was supposed to spend part of the day in surgery, but I never ran into a surgeon (nothing is too pre-planned here), so I just spent the day in the emergency room. By 10 am I had seen an arma blanca wound to the buttocks (side note: it was not explained to me what an arma blanca is. It was just stated to me as the mechanism of injury, as if I was supposed to know what it was. I was foiled in googling it because it´s also the name of a Spanish rap group. I finally had to inquire around the house, and it turns out it´s a long piercing knife-like thing. I guess everyone in the ER knows what this is, and people come in with these wounds all the time, like everyone in the UMass ED knows what a switchblade is.), a cockroach-from-the-ear extraction, and two amputated fingers (on the same person). And I seriously got to put my rusty suturing skills to good use today. And every time I sutured I was surrounded by 3-8 students, who I gather were the Guatemalan equivalent of pre-med (they said they were in high school but were wearing matching uniforms...they were probably 17 years old). At one point the (only) doctor said, "I´m going to a meeting. You can finish suturing this cut then sew up that head wound over there?", and before I could process the fact that she had just annouced she was leaving, I was on my own. (HELLO?!? Imagine leaving a fourth-year in charge of the UMass ED. Disaster couldn´t be far behind.) At the time I felt ok, I could definitely suture these people up in a vaguely competent fashion. But of course in short order there were trauma victims coming in, and paramedics (we´ll call them that...I mean the people that bring patients in on stretchers) were telling me about car and motorcycle accidents, and nurses were coming up to me saying, "Doctora, (something in Spanish I barely understood and even if I understood the question I didn´t know the answer)." One of the nurses located the doctor´s stamp, which she had left behind (with her name; it´s what you need to write orders), so I could write xray orders (hey, it takes hardly any Spanish to elicit C-spine tenderness). And of course, everywhere I went there was a gaggle of white-uniformed students following me, who may or may not have been under the impression that I had any idea what was going on. FUN TIMES. Everyone lived though, and everyone eventually stopped bleeding. (i.e. no harm came to anyone, in case there´s some liability lawyer or med school administrator that´s eventually going to read this.) More later. I took some pretty (I hope, I haven´t seen them yet) pictures yesterday that I want to upload. Besos a todos. :)

Life is good

Alright! I have figured out a way to update this blog. I have to type the entry into word on my computer, then transfer it via USB drive to the house computer and upload it when the internet works. Thus far, the internet has stayed working long enough to let me check one email account. (addendum: this post took more than 24 hours between writing and uploading due to the vagaries of the internet connection. So...I guess they´ll be a little like snail-mail in the sense that 'today' isn´t actually today (or the posted date).)
But life is good. I wish I had very exciting things to report, but I don’t. I don’t actually start working in the hospital until tomorrow. But for now, some observations for you:
1. It’s wet. Very wet. Only after 2 pm though. How is it sunny all morning, then every day at 2 pm for 6 months it pours? Mother nature is a mysterious lady. I belive “winter” (what the rainy season is called) ends at the end of October.
2. Mayan (or whatever you want to call them) women stash cell phones in small pockets sewn into the inside of the neck of their (traditional) shirts.
3. Mayan/indigenous women wear traditional dress consisting of a high-waisted extremely colorful skirt that goes to mid-calf, and a tucked-in blouse. And, often, heels. The men for some reason wear regular old western clothing. Why is this.
4. Guatemala is nowhere near as poor as Nicaragua is. I kind of expected it to be similar (being the only other central American country I’ve been to). Wrong. We went to a shopping mall the other night that was bigger and fancier than most malls I’ve been to in the US. The cars here are all pretty nice and new (whereas the cars in Nicaragua looked like if they went over a big enough pothole they would collapse into a heap of parts). Homes have computers! And cable TV! (Confession: I watched ‘Gossip Girl’ last night. I know, I know, that’s hardly advancing my Spanish or medical knowledge. But lord was it enjoyable.) And washing machines! Obviously there is still exteme poverty here. But there was extreme poverty in Nicaragua, without the obvious displays of wealth right alongside.
I have been lucky enough to land in the middle of an extended family of musicians. The father in my house is trying to teach me how to play American songs on the guitar, which are apparently “classics” but because I was raised on a diet of Mozart and Gilbert & Sullivan (thanks, dad!), I have never heard any of them before (or my strongest recognition is “hmm this part sounds sort of familiar”). I’m amused that he’s teaching me songs from my own culture. And the doctor who’s organizing my entire trip (I’m living with his sister’s family) is a good guitar player and singer, but mostly plays the marimba. Heaven.
Um, so if someone could please locate some information on the Mayans and what exactly happened to them, that would be great. It hurts my eyes to read this computer screen too long, and the bookstores only carry books in Spanish or something. But I’m curious, so if someone could find out a little history there and get back to me, that would be great. Thanks, Nat. :)

Hope everyone’s good! Thanks for reading. :) If you’ve just skipped to the end, well, thanks for visiting anyways.

p.s. Dear Dad,
I have not been trapped beneath a mudslide, fallen into a volcano, had my car hijacked, been kidnapped by rebels, or contracted Dengue fever. I am in fact alive and well, and for the most part feel pretty much like I’m in the US, except for the cold showers and the volcanos.
Love,
Your daughter

Pictures!
This is my new best friend, Chispa. I tried to take her picture sitting upright looking at the camera, but every time I tried to get her attention by calling her name or touching her, she flopped over pathetically on her back.

This is a tree. Um, I forget what it’s called, but it’s the national tree of Guatemala. And…they look cool. (I´m pretty sure I´m going to be able to parlay this eloquent blog into a lucrative book deal.)
This is one building of the main public university in Guatemala; it’s in Guatemala City, and it’s called the Universidad de Juan Carlos. I enjoyed the placement of a centuries-old Mayan sculpture in front of a university named after the leader of the people that invaded and decimated the indigenous culture.

I´m alive

in case you were worrying. :)

I arrived in Guatemala city this afternoon, after almost missing my connection in Miami (but making it!). I am staying with a v. nice family with two girls living here (and a son living elsewhere). I have my own room, and, most importantly, the house comes equipped with a very small white fluffy dog that likes to have its stomach rubbed and 3 (three!) beautiful guitars in the corner of the living room. I have met my soulmate, Guatemalan-houses-wise. Since I am lucky enough to have internet in this house, I really have no excuses for not updating this regularly. So...feel free to harass me for a post if I seem to be slacking. :)

I just...love this picture

I love how Republicans are talking about how they're going to be a "change" in Washington. Give me a break. I guess they think voters are actually dumb enough to forget that they have been the ones tanking this country for the last eight years. Well, a picture is worth a thousand words. It beautifully and clearly displays how the current Republican candidate feels about W and his s*****y policies.

Thank god, only 115 days left

(or, however many...see widget below) (I tried to find one that fit in a more streamlined way into the layout of this blog, but I couldn't. So...it's big and bulky but it's ok, it does its job.)

So I was having dinner with an old friend the other night, who's very level-headed (well, like most of my friends...but her in particular) (Caroline I'm talking to you), and we were discussing the inane stupidity of the current administration. And how mad they make us. Thinking about George Bush is actually one of the only things on earth that makes me mad. Like, heart-rate-up mad. So rather than sit here with steam coming out of my ears, I'm gonna channel the anger into enjoying some lovely music, courtesy of everyone's favorite folk singer, Antje Duvekot. It's a new song called Christian Boys. And it's the new Song of the Week! (See the little mp3 player to the right.) Lyrics below:
How does a poor man on a bench become a criminal
While the rich man on the hill hails to the thieves?
How does revenge equate to pride until the flag becomes a gun
How will the sun go down after the war is won?
How come the wise man is so quiet
While the killer speaks so loud?
He is hollering from out of my TV
And he is claiming that he knows me
He is taking little bows
But he is drinking from the silver palms of greed

And Mama, aren't you proud
Oh, he plays with such big toys
And he thinks it's all a game
Your little virtuous Christian boys

So you're playing by the rules
But every time it is your turn
He moves the net a little higher up
And you think it must be fair
'Cause that is what you've learned
But he scores every time
And you score none

And Mama, aren't you proud
Oh, he plays with such big toys
And he thinks it's all a game
Your little virtuous Christian boys

Oh but this is an impressionist painting
And we are standing way too close
We are sitting in the circus tent
Just waiting for the show
While the cannibal elite
Eats from their sacrificial plate
And they are lying through their teeth
Making a mockery of faith
And your dollar lets you buy
Yet another empty cup
And that is how they fund their lies
And they hope we don't wake up
And they are feeding us this fear
They are feeding us the news
And they know we're biting off
Less than we could chew

And Mama, aren't you proud
Oh, he plays with such big toys
And he thinks it's all a game
Your little virtuous Christian boys

It's here! It's finally here!

What we've all been waiting for for the past 364 days...International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Before you think I'm totally crazy, this day is bona fide: it was in the New York Times crossword puzzle today (8 down: "Well I'll be" as might be said on Sept 19. Answer: Shiver me timbers). And no holiday can be solely in the counterculture if it makes it into the crossword puzzle. So why have TLAP day? Why not! According to the website, the whole point of TLAP day is that there is no point. So have a great day! And remember, today's the one day of the year you can't make too many harrrrrible pirate jokes. :)

p.s. whoops, somehow I neglected to actually post this one. okay, it's now a week after TLAP day. well...close enough. :)