Medical Missions and More

One of the Americans holding real chocolate. Thats what the fruit looks like when its picked off the tree.
Mercedes and her recycles rice bag purses.
A soap stone carver, making an elephant.
Ladies making chocolate bars mmm....
Trying to play a drum made out of a recycled gas tank. It sounds kind of like steel drums, but one side is just in one key.

So when I last left you I was about to leave for a medical mission up in the mountains. I left with a bunch of my close friends from the economic development sector to go help a fellow volunteer with translating for a medical mission in her town where she started a hospital, and her mom and fellow doctors were coming to train the doctors and nurses on the new equipment they were donating.... Sustainability! Great! But wow was this ride cozy. In Dominican Fashion they squished more people in the guagua (a run down van) then you would ever think is humanly possible. (A rather large dominican lady insisted sitting in the front seat with Justin and I and the chofer, and then continuously complained that she was uncomfortable, no duh lady!) So I was basically squished for a good hour and half up the mountain, but I made the most of it and sung the entire way up.

But the ride was worth it! My friend has done an awesome job getting this once vacant hospital up in running, which is really essential since its a hub town on top of this mountain for all the other smaller towns where it would take about 2 hours to reach a place to receive medical attention. In emergency situations, that is just not acceptable. So I helped set up logistically the hospital for the mission, and then I translated for my friends mom as they were giving general care. There was also a convoy of doctors and translators that would go to a different remote town every day to give care. The doctors had brought a Sonogram and EKG machine, and a bunch more equipment that they worked training the doctors and nurses on and also dualing helping patients by giving them these tests. I was only able to stay a day and a half because I had to get back for my library hours and artisan meeting, but it was a very neat experience especially to see one of my friends projects taking off!

Medical Missions are a big part of the volunteer life here in the Dominican Republic. There is a committee just to help organize getting volunteers to help translate. Sometimes volunteers can even bring in patients! Thats what I was able to do yesterday. On Saturday I brought down a young woman and her four your old son, whom had a hot water burn all down is body. The year before, he had gotten surgery on his foot at the same medical mission, and this year they were hoping to get surgery on his arm so he could fully move it. So on Saturday we went down and stayed at a small hotel in the capital. I tried to do what I could to make the boy feel comfortable, we went and got sandwiches and cookies. I forgot to bring any spanish movies, so we watched 3 episodes of Modern Family, a new sitcom, and he loved it! Then bright and early yesterday we made our way down to the Hospital where there were lines of people. Because the family was with me, we got to jump the line, and he was second to be seen, and he got his surgery scheduled! He should be getting surgery right now as I write this!

Last but not least. Since I have written, there were a group of Americans in my town helping out with the ceramic water filter production that my host dominican dad is involved with. They were planning on helping getting filters over to Haiti, but when it came down to it, it would of been them on the planes or more filters and rice, so they opted to stay here, since there were actually plenty of people to bring the food and filters over.

One couple both were potters, and the wife owned an art gallery but is interested in collecting Latin American Art and maybe from small artisan groups, kind of like Fair Trade. So they rented a car for 24 hours and we went exploring for small artisan projects. (After I gave them a full tour of our artisan workshops, obviously). The first man we visited makes musical instruments from recycled materials... he invited us but at first hesitantly to the opening of his friend's store, where he would be playing a concert that night. Although he was first hesitant he said we could be his special guests, so we took him up on it. We then later visited, my friends small chocolate factory. Then some stone carvers, and later a lady whom lives on the top of the mountain and makes bags from old rice sacks, with pockets and everything. To find her, we followed an old lady up on a motorcycle, and where she got off we asked for help to finds Mercedes house, and low and behold that was it. They was a group of the cutest old ladies having some singing mass. We overheard them saying they should invite us to listen the the World of the Lord, but we were able to buy our purses and make a quick escape. The next day we went exploring and found a group of basket weavers, whom had been practicing this heart for about 80 years! There bags and hats were beautiful, and were only US$5! Then we found the Amber mine and visited some mom and pop amber stores, I got some earings! We also stumbled upon the memorial of the Sisters Mirables. (For those of you whom haven't read the time of the butterflies, 3 high class woman were killed during the time of Trujillo, the evil dictator, because of their involvement with an uprising group. They were killed on the side of the mountain where I was, on the way back from visiting their husbands in jail). It was a fun and exciting time, and the woman I was with is now inspired to start an affordable artisan tour, that I will try to help her coordinate, where people can see the real Dominican Republic, and the different artisan mediums that they practice here. Neat huh?

But what about that party? Wow was it swanky. I went with my host parents, the visiting American couple, and another volunteer. We were served cosmopolitans and kabobs in martini glasses. Everything was pink, and the music, (world music genre), was amazing! The store from the outside appeared to be a victoria secret store, and it was placed as one of the first stores when you enter the new all glass mall in the center of Santiago. Then we were given giftbags and brochures, and realized it was not Victoria Secret... it was a swanky sex shop. We walked in and the hand held vibrators, and fallic images gave it away. Now, we understood our friends pause in inviting us! Either way it was a fun and free time, and we to listen to great music and free glow in the dark condom give-aways! Just another way, things appear similiar but our o-so different here.

Well with that I hope everyone is doing well! Send me an email or a card sometime, I have been getting a little lonely! And once again, only 9 more months for scheduling your trips on this beautiful Caribbean island!