Things in Chicaman are much more relaxed than in Antigua. I’ve just been hanging out, studying a bit here and there. Eni is letting me borrow her 501 Spanish verbs book and it is been pretty helpful. I am trying to learn a thing or two each day and then put it into practice while talking to Eni, Miny and Lesbi. I feel like I am talking more and more each day, especially at nights. I think my brain has some sort of dial that is turned a little bit each hour until I reach full power by dinner time. I am really enjoying being in Chicaman and I’m so glad that I decided to come here first before trying to travel to other cities in Guatemala. Andrea (a friend I met at Mundo in Antigua) put it very simply when I was trying to decide where to go next after Antigua, would I rather have more time in Chicaman and if I so choose, decide to leave early to travel elsewhere or have less time in Chicaman and regret later that I didn’t have enough time.
At first I didn’t have much to do besides learn verb forms from 501 Spanish verbs but now my days are starting to fill up. Yesterday, Eni took me to the Centro de Salud (Heath Center for the Chicaman area) and we asked the director if it was okay for me to observe in the mornings. She said yes, although she seemed a bit hesitant and I was a little worried she wouldn’t let me observe. I didn’t quite understand all of the conversation between her, Eni and me but eventually she showed me back to the Emergency area and introduced me to the doctor on call that day. He was much more willing to let me observe. He showed me around the clinic, introduced me to most of the staff and then let me observe as he tended to patients in the Emergency department. In this heath center, and I think health centers similar in other areas in Guatemala, women who choose to have their babies with the help of a doctor, come to the Emergency department. It just so happens that two women had come into the heath center the night before and were recovering from their deliveries while I was observing yesterday. The doctor showed me how to feel the shrinking uterus and explained to me and to the women, that even though it may hurt, they should be massaging their lower abdomens so that the uterus quickly returns to its normal size. Both women were very experienced in the birthing process. The newest addition to the family was number 6 for one woman and number 7 for the other. It was really interesting to observe at the health center. Although, I think I was a bit frazzled from the conversation with the director and didn’t quite comprehend everything that the doctor said to me. I got a little scared every time someone would ask me a question because I started psyching myself out thinking I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Also, at the health center that day was a group of medical educators doing a presentation on the correct way to do a breast examination. It was very interesting because it is pretty much exactly what we were taught in ICE last semester. They even had a female bust to practice on and one breast had lumps in various quadrants. The participants in the presentation took turns practicing on the dummy and most of them found the four lumps in the left breast. I passed up the chance to practice, probably because I was a little afraid that someone would say something to me and I wouldn’t understand what he or she was saying. Had the presentation been today, I might have tried.
I went back to the health center this morning and this time, a female doctor was there and I introduced myself and asked if it was alright to observe today as well. She said it was fine and proceeded to talk slowly and explain everything she was doing. I understood her much better than the doctor yesterday and was able to participate a little more in the physical exams. I also felt much more comfortable speaking with her than the doctor the day before but that might just be because I was more relaxed this morning. We saw about ten or twelve patients this morning and she invited me to come back in the afternoon but I had already planned do a bit of studying as well as get in a bit of running in the early evening. I told her thanks for letting me observe and that I’d probably be back on Monday to observe again. Little by little, I am learning more about how the health center works. From what I understand, patients can see the doctors at the clinic and get their medications for free at the clinic pharmacy (as long as the pharmacy has that specific medication in stock). Like I said before, this is also where women come to have babies, if they so choose. However, the clinic does not have a laboratory, other diagnostic equipment or the capacity to do surgeries. So, patients that need surgeries, x-rays or some other sort of test, have to go to Uspantán, San Cristóbal, Cobán or Guatemala City. I’m looking forward to going back to the clinic on Monday. If time permits, maybe I’ll even stop in during the weekend to see if I could observe for a short time.
I finally went running yesterday afternoon after I had let lunch settle. I plan on doing that again today but might have to wait an extra hour because I had a big lunch today! Eni showed me where to run and off I went in the direction of Cobán. The road went uphill for a bit but then took a steep downhill turn and I thought to myself, crap this is going to be a pain in the ass to run back up. But, I kept going and turned around after I had been running downhill for about 8 minutes because I knew it would take me at least 50% more time to run back up the hill. It wasn’t too bad and I’m looking forward to running that route again today. There was just one stretch that was super steep and I had to walk for a bit but I’m okay with that because I know that the NYC marathon doesn’t have any hills quite that steep. During our evening conversation, Miny told me that Jenny used to run to Uspantán and back when she was living here and even when she was pregnant. So, maybe I’ll try that this weekend. Someone told me that it’s only about 8 km from Chicaman to Uspantán so 16 km would be a good long run for the weekend. We’ll see…
After running yesterday, I colored a little bit with Catharinne, the daughter of the woman who helps Eni around the house and with processing the dairy products that the family makes. She and I have had a good time in the afternoons coloring, reading children’s magazines and a couple days ago we walked up to an old church on a huge hill to see the entire town of Chicaman. I think the church is called the Calbario but I’m not sure of the spelling. It has 76 steps up to the top and has a great view of Chicaman. I took a few pictures…
Yesterday at the end of my run, I climbed the steps again. My thought was to run the stairs but when I got to the first step, I was pooped and just walked them. Hopefully, before I leave Chicaman, I will run to the top of the stairs and do a little Rocky dance before descending them.
To complete my busy day, I attended mass with Miny and although I know the order of the catholic mass, it was pretty hard for me to understand what the priest was saying during most of the mass. It made me realize that I don’t know the English mass quite as well as I thought I did…so much for 9 years of catholic education. Before the mass, Miny introduced me to two Canadians who are staying with the priests of the church and are helping with various construction projects around the Chicaman area. They invited me to come with them on a short trip tomorrow to a very small primitive village where the priests go to say mass once a month. I’m pretty excited about this experience and again, really glad I came to Chicaman first before going anywhere else. Had I decided to go to Xela first, I would not have been able to meet as many people and wouldn’t have the same experience that I’m having now. Eni keeps asking if things are going well and I keep saying that yes, things are going really well but I hope I am saying it with enough emphasis to let her know how glad I am that she is letting me stay with her and her family.
So, I’m not quite sure what my schedule will be next week but I’ll probably stay in Chicaman until next weekend at least and then head back to Guatemala City on Sunday the 25th or Monday the 26th.
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