6-20
How do I sum up the last week of Ecuador?
It all is sort of a blur.
It was my first time working in a clinic setting.
I found myself running around like a ferret.
Since I had been there for 2 weeks already and knew the area, and Jen, and the translators, and the people of Nigeria it was expected that I knew what was going on all the time.
The good thing is that by some miracle, I did know what was going on most of the time.
The funniest thing to me was when a team member would come up to me for something and the first thing they would ask me is if I was translating at that exact moment. haha
Me translating? Muy chistoso!
Thanks to my training I also found myself able to work every part of the clinic.
One moment I would be at the check in table using my broken Spanish to tell people to sign there name here, and write their age in another place. The next moment I am being rushed over to listen to some child with a heart murmur. Then I am checking spines. Then someone would get my attention to do a urine analysis, then I would look over and there was no one taking BP's so I would go take a BP on probably 30 people back to back
I loved it! My brain works so much better when it is forced to think about alot of things all at once. If I have to try and learn Spanish while doing a urine sample, and answer a persons question about which meds we had on hand, then I am a very happy person.
I joked with Ashley, who was in Pharmacy, about needing to strap a camera to my head that we could call "the ferret cam".
Though I was running around like a crazy person, my tummy was bothering me a bit. I would have to take breaks from time to time and just sit and focus on breathing through the pain.
By the second night of Clinic I went to bed as soon as we got back to the hotel and didn't care that it was 5pm and I would be missing dinner.
That next day I felt a bit better and still managed to scurry around the clinic at anyone's beckoning call.
The things I saw and learned were amazing.
I got to work with some brilliant Doctors and Nurses.
There was also this really good-looking translator that I got to work with from time to time.
After Clinic on the Wed. night, Jen, Andres, one of the other translators (his name escapes me) and I got dropped off by the yogurt place. We met up with Erick and ate yogurt and talked and laughed.
We had really gotten comfortable with each other and enjoyed each others company so much.
The boys joked about some handkerchief trick that they somehow all knew despite not growing up together. Maybe it was one of those things that all Ecuadorian boys learn at some point. It was some way of folding the handkercheif so that it ended up as a bra. They got so excited when they realized that they all knew this trick. They then went on to try and remember it. When they could not remember it, they went and asked the guy working at the yogurt place in hopes that he would know. Sadly we did not get to see this trick played out that night. BUT WE DID GET TO SEE IT A DAY LATER!!! SO FUNNY!!!
We then walked to the church that we had called home for 2 weeks.
It was the mid-week service. We were really wanting some Jesus time, and we were also excited to see our friends again.
Andres also told me that I would meet his family at church.
I had spent all day working in Nigeria and sweating, and I no doubt looked and smelt terrible, but meet them I must.
AFter the service he took me to where his parents were and introduced me.
He had not yet told his family that he had a girlfriend, so shock was expected. Rather than shock, his Mom was just like "I know she is your girlfriend.".
She then proceeds to hug and kiss me and welcome me to the family. She then go on to speak blessings over me and Andres and our entire relationship. Then his Dad hugs and kisses me and all the while I am being told that they love me and about how excited they were. AS this is going on I look over at Andres who is rocking back and forth onto his toes like a very well pleased little boy at seeing his family except me so warmly.
I was then invited to dinner for the following night at his house.
I then said good bye to the family with more hugs and kisses.
We then go outside and are talking with so many familiar faces.
They are asking me about when I leave, and what I am going to do when I got back.
I told them that I had no idea. I had no house, no family there (aside from my sister in another state) and no job. My heart was so alive and in love with Ecuador that I didn't even want to think about going back to the States.
They then said that they should pray for me.
They called over everyone who was outside, interrupting and breaking up other peoples conversations, and my story was relayed to all of them.
It was a group of probably 20 young people that looked at me with the most caring and sincere faces. They then gathered around me and prayed for me in Spanish. It was such a great feeling to have these people care so deeply and honestly about a person they hardly knew.
That is how churches and people who love Jesus should act every day of their lives.
Once they finished praying for me, they looked at Jen and said "ok, Jen's turn!".
We walked back to the Hotel with Andres and Marcel feeling all the beauty of this place and the whole night.
The next day was our last day of clinic.
I had awoken with a terrible stomach ache still, but now it was worse. Jen gave me a course of antibiotics to start taking. I took the morning dose and went off to clinic.
When I arrived I was just too sick to really do anything right away. The women there were so worried about me when they learned that I was sick. They began to assess my health and think of ways to help me. They decided that I needed tea. One woman also offered to let me go rest at her house. I decided to stay at the church so I could do some more work If I felt better. A cot was set up for me in a back room and I lay there and snoozed for a few hours.
As I lay there on this cot I took in my surroundings. I lay in a cement room, with barred windows that contained no glass, the yard outside was like a swamp due to all the flooding. The nearest bathroom was not only at the day care down the street but the toilets also had to be manually flushed. I smelt all the time now, and my sandals were coated with as much dog poo as mud. As I took it all in I realized how happy I was. "I could spend the rest of my life in a place like this; doing this sort of work. Loving these people, and learning from them" I thought.
As I am thinking this, a figure appears in the doorway. It is some good looking Latino boy who begins to ask if I am feeling better. He then walks over to my cot and starts preparing the tea and hot water that the local woman had sent over. He tells me how worried he is about me, and that he wished he could do more to help me. Then he gives me his cell phone to play games on if I got bored.
He then had to go back and translate.
I then thought about how my mom always asked me if I was "over-romanticizing" this whole mission medic thing. I am not a romantic person naturally, so that question struck me as odd. Then I thought to myself, "Over-romanticizing???? I don't think I romanticized it enough!".
I did feel well enough after a little while, that I was able to go back to analyzing urine, and doing glucose readings and all that stuff.
This was the last day of clinic. It was a hard day for me.
I cried when I had to say goodbye to the women there in Nigeria.
(I am crying just remembering it now)
All of those beautiful people that shared their lives with me while I was there.
The thought that this was our last day in Nigeria was so upsetting.
I hope you didn't forget about dinner with Andres's family though.
Though I had to say goodbye to Nigeria for the time being, I had a family to spend the evening with.
We arrived at Andres's house after a long ride on a crowded bus.
We were greeted so warmly by his mom.
She told me right away "Mi casa es su casa!".
Great!
We sat down and talked for a while. It was really funny because at this point I was understanding quite a bit of Spanish, and his mom speaks some English, and understands some English.
So it was a conversation between two Spanglish speaking women with the occasional look over at Andres to translate for us. haha
Some really incredible things happened this night. I just don't know how to explain it through typing, and I am being a little selfish in not wanting to type it. I would tell you in person, but not on my blog.
We did have a wonderful dinner. After dinner I hooked my camera up to their computer and showed them photos of my family from when I was in Dubai the month before.
Andres's parents drove me to the hotel after dinner, and again I felt the saddness of knowing that I would not see these people for a while.
I was leaving the next day to go back to Los Estados Unidos.
I took my second antibiotic and went to bed.
I woke up the next morning with a swollen left eye.
Aparently I am allergic to Cipro.
Good thing the reaction was mild and left me with only swollen eyes.
A bit of panic set in though when I looked at my swollen eye, and then at the clock and realized that I was supposed to meet Andres downstairs in 30 minutes!!!
I held my puffy-eyed head up proudly as I walked down to the lobby. haha
Jen wanted to pray for Andres and I this morning.
We walked to the Iguana park and talked with Jen.
Then there was yogurt to drink, and pan de yuka to eat and some tango dancing to learn before heading back to the hotel and then on to the airport.
It didn't feel real to be loading into a van that would be taking me to the airport. To think that It was all ending.
I didn't cry though. I was strong even though the flight back was filled with frustrations and problems.
There were many times that I almost turned around and went back to Ecuador.
Maybe I will talk about the flight back later, but I am sure that everyone is getting sick of my airport drama stories. I am sick of living them. haha
1 comment:
ohh my, i love this. <3
Post a Comment