Tropical Depression E-12

Unless you watch the weather channel religiously like my grandmother, you probably have no idea what has been going on off the Pacific coast in Central America. First, Hurricane Jova hit south-western Mexico, followed shortly by Hurricane Irwin. The outskirts of these storms includes tropical depression E-12, which came straight over Guatemala. Starting Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, while we were all sleeping, the rain started to bucket down all over Guatemala. I woke around 4am, surprised by the force of the rain. I have come accustomed to afternoon and evening rain but not round-the-clock rain. The rain continued until at 11am in Xela. The combination of the HUGE amount of rain, drains clogged with trash and debris, loose dirt hillsides, and poorly constructed homes has led to a significant amount of flooding, landslides, and a general shut down of normal life. As of Friday, some 12 people, including two children who were trapped in their house when the walls collapsed, have died as a result of the storm. Many freeways have been closed due to landslide, bridge destructions, and ongoing rains.

On Wednesday, I was supposed to go to the clinic in Xela. However, we could not get there. The Rotunda is a nearby bus stop to all parts of town and was impassible with waist-deep water. The neighborhood of Las Rosas where the clinic is located was flooded as the river that runs about 300 feet from the clinic rose and overflowed onto the already muddy road. I spent the morning inside watching the news with my family and helping clean up in our house. We only had some minor water leaks from excessive rain on the roof. I had a light flow of drops, which I had discovered before going to bed on Tuesday, were falling on my pillow. Needless to say after a few days of rain and continued leaking, my room has still been rearranged and a towel resides on the floor to collect the drops. Hannah woke up Wednesday to find a lake around her bed. She is on the opposite side of the patio. The wind blew rain off the roof onto her door, which subsequently went to the space between her door and door frame, dripped down the door, and found home on her bedroom floor. She didn’t even realize this happened until her feet went “splash” in the water the next morning. Yaki’s room had the worst leak. She woke up in the middle of the night because her feet were frozen cold. She has several leaking spots, one directly over her bed. There was also water falling on her armoire and bookcase. As a result, the top mattress from her bed is in the front hallway (smells like mold, gross) and her room has been rearranged as well. The doorway to the kitchen, which leaks even with light rain, was a mess. The paint and plaster are pealing; its very slippery.

Wednesday afternoon Korrin and I were able to escape to a café for a bit. All of the banks, schools, grocery stores, and roads were closed in the morning. As we walked around town, there was still a tremendous amount of water on the roads and a light rain falling. We scoured the Internet for information about the roads and villages but there was nothing. The radio in my kitchen was the best source of news. The local television showed broadcast of communities and streets in Xela but they did not share information about which roads were washed out, which rivers flooded, only that you should stay home. Wednesday evening our conference was cancelled on account of anticipated rain.

Thursday the damages from the previous day and new rain resulting in new landslides persisted. The road to our San Antonio clinic was impassable so Korrin and I stayed home again. We spent most of our morning watching Easy A at Korrin’s house and at a café trying to connect to the outside world and stay warm. Thursday I went to salsa after discovering that ESPN was super delayed only played post-season MLB.

Friday we had our group Spanish class in the morning. We had some rather unmeaningful conversations and some interesting ones. We were most concerned with how to spend our weekend. Our initial plans called for a day-long volunteer project in a very rural community called Alaska, about an hour outside of Xela, and a fun day at a waterpark. With the storm, we are unable to travel to either of these locations. The community suffered some damages but everyone is safe. Erika and Kate rescheduled these activities to the following weekend but I will be in Boston for my interview – bummer. In the mean time, we will all be trapped more or less in Xela. It is very risky to travel with the unstable hillsides, still raging rivers, and threat of more rain. Friday afternoon Korrin, Hannah, Harim, and I snuggled in my room and watched Bridesmaids on Korrin’s computer. I made popcorn in our microwave after the power came back on and it was a nice afternoon. Hopefully this weekend will lead to some more excitement. Right now we are planning to stay inside, watch some movies, knit, and bake brownies. It is not safe to leave because we may get stranded somewhere.

This weekend, we are planning to meet with the Mormon church in the afternoon and assist them with some relief efforts. Hannah, Aeja, and Jeff spent time with the firefighters on the volunteer projects earlier in the storm. On Wednesday morning, Hannah waded through knee deep water to help evacuate people from a flooded hotel. She later paddled a BOAT to rescue people for second and third story floors of their homes. I would imagine we will spend our time helping clear mud and debris from flooded homes. Luckily, I have my boots.

In all, I am safe but thankful. This is my first natural disaster experience that has resulted in a such a change of lifestyle. I am limited by what I can do and information dispersal. The lack of centralized information is the most frustrating. There is no website or phone number or radio or TV station that states the status of freeways, buses, schools, or the airport. Hopefully, things will be cleared quickly and there is no more loss of life or property. I’m hoping that I can easily leave Xela next Friday to travel to Guate and my flight back to the States. Oh boy!

These are two simple newspaper articles:

http://www.guatemala-times.com/news/guatemala/2534-guatemala-red-alert-due-to-tropical-depression.html

http://channel6newsonline.com/2011/10/tropical-depression-kills-at-least-16-in-guatemala-2/

This is a video of the bridge we needed to cross this weekend but cannot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1kbhVO8a0&feature=player_embedded

The Little Things

It has now been nearly four months since my arrival in Xela. After a weekend free of activities and commitments, I had time to reflect on the little things.

Walking: I really enjoy walking in the sunshine. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were beautiful. Without anywhere to be, I walked without a backpack in a tshirt (it was warm) and enjoyed the sites of Xela. I got a coffee, ran into Rachel, and we wandered through the street fair celebrating the birthday of the Virgin Rosario (Virgin Mary).

Coffee: I drink easily three cups of coffee a day: one with breakfast and one with dinner and usually one in the afternoon at a coffee shop. I thought I had a coffee addiction before I came here – woah! The coffee at my house is super diluted and usually just flavored warm water but there is good black coffee and iced lattes around town. The baristas recognize me and one of them knows my name.

Clean sheets: Every Saturday without fail my sheets and comforter are changed. The two wool blankets between the sheets and comforter remain the same. I left the house for less than an hour Saturday morning and returned to find my bed changed and my computer and papers returned to the same position on top of the bed.

Power outages: Sunday night around 8pm the power went out. I had my flashlight handy and helped Patty find the candles in the store. Without a few minutes, the house was illuminated with the flicker of candlelight. Rain and cold usually results in a periodic power outages but it is no surprise to anyone – not even me anymore. I was ready to settle into bed for an early night and the power came back.

Reading: In the States, the only time I have to read is on airplanes and vacations. Without internet at home or movies to watch on my computer (there is TV but I choose not to watch it), I have found myself with lots of free time before bed. I have read Enrique’s Journey (a true immigration story), Mountains Beyond Mountains (highly recommend for anyone interested in public or international health), and Water for Elephants (a fast read). I am currently reading La Alquimista (yes, The Alchemist, in Spanish) and My Life in a Harem (about a modern call girl who finds herself part of an prince’s harem).

Laundry: A family who lives around the corner from me does my laundry about every week. There store is called Las Burbujas (the bubbles), which is comprised of two washing machines and two dryers. They wash and dry everything and fold it. The feeling of warm clothing on a cold night is wonderous. Occasionally I run into family members around town and it brings a smile to my face. Their two-year-old son always wants to run out and play. The family knows each of us and asks about our trips.

Xela: I feel at home here. Whenever we leave, it is always nice to come back to Xela. I know what to expect, where to go for whatever I need, and the customs of the people here. I recognize people and run into friends, teachers, and common faces all the time. It will be very strange to leave for good. The lush green mountains surrounding the city are beautiful and glisten against the blue sky when the sun is out. At night, you can see the twinkle of lights on the hillsides. When we run around the streets, I know where to go and enjoy passing familiar sights. Xela will always hold a special place in my heart.

Second week at Salud y Paz

I feel well-acclimated to our clinic adventures. It feels very natural to wake up early (my body wakes up by itself now), eat breakfast, and hop a micro to another micro to the clinic. This week I am spending most of my time having direct patient contact. Monday and Tuesday I was assigned signos vitals to take blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and weight of all the patients before they are seen by the doctor. I encountered patients who only spoke Quiche, who could not see well, and one who only spoke Quiche and could not see (her daughter was essentially dragging her around and translating for her). The patients ranged in age from 7 to 70. A few had high blood pressure, all had regular heart rates, and they all weighed less than me except one woman (over 200 pounds). Some people appeared more sick than others. During a lull in the influx of patients, I spent my time with Sarah, the 4^th medical student from UVA. She gets to see patients on her own and then consult with the nurse practioner Chery or Dr. Fredy. I worked with her to help translate and hand her supplies as necessary for laboratory tests or exams. Her Spanish is pretty good but she is not always confident or knows the right word. I often repeat what she says in slightly different words to help the patients understand. She lets me listen to the heart and lung sounds and look at patients’ concerns. She is a great resource for answering questions.

Wednesday in Xela, I worked with Sarah the entire day. We saw a wide variety of cases. One of the most frustrating was an elderly man with a cataract. There is a surgical team coming to the Camanchaj clinic over the weekend to do eye surgeries. However, the list is full. He will need to come back to the clinic in a few months to get on the list for the team coming next year. He kept asking us for a medicine to fix the cataracts and unfortunately, the only solution is surgery, which is an option out of reach at the moment. Dr. Fredy gave us the name of another opthomological clinic in Xela but not how much it cost (another limiting factor for this patient). Hopefully, with a low sugar diet this patient will not develop a cataract in the other eye before the next year.

On Thursday, we trekked out to San Antonio again. Luckily, there was a clinic car going out there to bring our temporary doctor. Since Cheryl is back in the States for the next few weeks and Dr. Fredy works in Xela on Thursdays, there was no one to see patients in San Antonio. Dr. Manual lives in Xela so the clinic arranged transportation for him and we got to tag along (awesome!). We left two hours later than we did last week and arrived at the same time. I worked in the patient reception room to take vital signs. I measured blood pressure manually with the sphygmomanometer and took pulse and blood oxygen content with an electronic finger thingy (I do not know what it is called). I also recorded their temperature and current weight. I also taught Candelaria how to weigh patients. She usually works as the receptionist in Camanchaj and Xela but in San Antonio she does patient history. I really like helping her out because she wants to learn and I can practice my Spanish and share what I know. In between patients, I helped translate for Betty, a retired nurse from the States now living in Guatemala to volunteer indefinitely at the clinics. Unfortunately her approach to communicating with the staff is to yell loudly in English. Then they all look at me for help. It was nice to work on my translation skills but a bit awkward to be in the middle of it all. Betty has lots of concerns about the efficiency of the clinic but cannot communicate any of her questions to the staff so they all went through me - questions about lunch, questions about toys, questions about staff family members, questions about cooking. Through this process, I found myself preparing lunch. Maribel, the cook, does not travel with us to San Antonio but she prepared food for us that we need to reheat. Betty asked me where the water was, where the pots were, where the plates were, and was concerned about everyone not eating at the same time. In Guatemala, especially in the clinic, it is customary to eat when the food is hot and you have a break in your work. If you are still working, you keep working and join the table when you can. Betty did not want to offend anyone and serve all the plates pre-served at the same time. I tried to explain my experiences so far and how things work at the clinic but she was interested in learning for herself. Needless to say, we heated up chicken fried steak, veggies, and spaghetti. Tomin bought some tortillas and Victor bought Coke at the tienda across the street. The meal came out just fine and still warm.

Today my experience with Betty made me question why some people come to Guatemala. Don’t get me wrong: it is incredibly wonderful that people are willing to give up the comforts of home and volunteer their time and expertise for people who need it. But … If you cannot communicate with the people, you cannot learn from them. Very few people in Guatemala speak English. The fact that so many do in our clinic is a rarity and some of the doctors and nurses would be lost if those people were not there. If you do not spend time experiencing the culture, you cannot embrace it. Living with a family has been the best thing about this whole thing. I understand how families work and social norms because I live them myself everyday. Overall, my experience this week in the clinic has been great. I have learned a lot about communication and seen how scared some people are my modern healthcare. I realized that narrating while I am taking vital signs is comforting to the patients so they can learn from their visit too. I found this incredibly helpful with patients, especially children, who had never been to the clinic before. I also really want to learn Quiche. It is quite difficult to communicate with both you and the other person are speaking in a common second language. Unfortunately, Quiche is only recently a written language and is very difficult to learn. Luckily, I am making great connections with the staff :)

Momestenango

Sunday morning we met at 8am in the park, just in time to grab a delicious chocolate mint latter from &café. This morning we headed to a community outside of Xela called Momostenango. We traveled in a private micro with a representative from the family we visited. Every week, a husband, Luis, and wife, Thelma, team brings woven goods (purses, rugs, bracelets, etc) to our Spanish school to sell and this was the family we visited. Their weavings are a product of their family business. They presented us with the process for making the goods and the history of their family.

To start, the family buys wool from a neighbor sheep farmer. They used to have their own sheep but when the children would herd the sheep in the forest, they would not want to return for their schoolwork so the family decided to get rid of them. After the wool is sheared, it is washed with soap and water. This washed wool is combed using two metal bristled paddles. The soften wool is spun into thread using a hand crank. The thread is then wrapped around wooden polls to create the long bundle shape. The long bundles are then colored using natural dyes. The green comes from plant leaves, the red from crushed insects from Mexico, the purple from fruit from Mexico, the orange from a nearby plant, and a combination of these. The grey and black are from the different type of sheep’s wool. They use ash and calcium to preserve the stained colors. Once the colors are set, they are set up on a foot loom. With a photograph of a previous design as a reference, they set out weaving the wool within pieces of string stretched out as the foundation. A rug takes two weeks and a larger rug or blanket takes longer.

Throughout the presentation, we had the opportunity to try each step. The weaving reminded me of an arts and craft kit I used in my childhood but the detail would never have matched. The process is incredibly tedious and requires lots of practice to become efficient. The products are made exclusively by Luis, Thelma, and their 7 children. Luis learned the process after 8 years of studying with is father. Their family is the fifth generation to participate in this process. All of the children go to school in the morning and work in the afternoon. Neither Luis nor Thelma can read or write so it was important to them that education be prioritized. The oldest of the children is 23 and currently attending the university in Xela to become a doctor. He continues to work in the business, too. He wants to serve as the doctor of Momostenango because there is not one in their community. The second oldest is a PE teacher in Xela. The youngest is only 2 years old.

After the presentation, we were offered fresh tortillas off the fire (delicious!) with beans, queso fresco, and guacamole. We also got to see the finished products. They had hats, gloves, jewelry, purses, jackets, and more. I bought a full-size blanket. I had been admiring their work at school for a while now but once I saw the process, I felt drawn to support this family. I am waiting for it to get colder before I start using it.

When we returned to Xela, we were dropped off at Artisano. I picked up my stuff bread (think sausage bread menus the sausage plus veggies and more cheese) and headed home. Hannah, Rachel, and I met up with Geoff (who had camped the night before) and went to the Xelaju soccer game. Xelaju won 1-0 after a goal by our drama queen in yellow kicks.

Laguna Chicabal

Saturday morning we met at the pharmacy/fire station round-a-bout at 6:30am. After a short walk, we boarded a micro toward the trail head. Upon our arrival, several people bought water for the hike ahead and camping overnight (5 people). We started the first part of the walk to the trail head down and back up from a creek. Luckily, we encountered a pickup that was willing to give us a lift to the trail. It was about a 20 minute bumpy ride with lots of inclines and drops. 13 of us girls piled (including Kate) climbed in the truck bed and the boys squeezed in the cab. We all sat quite uncomfortably but were grateful to avoid exhausting ourselves before the actual hike.

At the trail head, there were a few huts surrounded by farms and lots of the trees. The majority of the hike to the Laguna was straight up. There were a few switchbacks and a few flatter resting areas. This hike was much easier than my experience last weekend with Tajumulco. About an hour later, we reached a view point of the Laguna. It is a mountain lake surrounded by trees on all sides. This is the site of Mayan rituals and prayers. You are not allowed to swim or fish in the lake, although we heard some rumors about the fish and the water. From the viewpoint, we descended some 600 stairs to the lake. It was incredibly still and calm. There were a few ripples from some fish or animals. As we walked around the bank, the clouds began to descend over the water. Within 15 minutes, you could no longer see a few feet in front of you. Our adventure around the lake was not too adventurous. We had to climb over some fallen logs and walk gently through swampy marsh but nothing too radical. We saw several prayer alters around the lake with signs reminding people not to disturb them.

After our walk, 10 of us began the challenge of climbing back up 600 stairs. I served as Harim’s primary cheerleader as we stepped 24 steps at a time – in honor of her 24^th birthday today. The other 5 camped the night (I heard was very wet and cold but the fog cleared for a bit). The walk down the trail was more difficult then up because it was quite steep and slick. We chatted all the way to the huts. The same truck was waiting to take us the rest of the way down. We took another micro back to Xela and enjoyed some sandwiches with Carlos at Artesano.

Saturday afternoon we all spent separately and then reunited in the late afternoon. To celebrate Harim’s birthday we went to Megapaca (GIANT second hand clothing store), ate dinner in the Hiper food court – I had Dominos which didn’t quite taste like Dominos, and saw Bad Teacher at the movie theater with popcorn and skittles.