Since it has been quite some time since we were able to update the blog and there has been an enormous amount of things I want to share, I have decided to split this time into various entries and comment on highlights from each day.
On our first day, we traveled from Guatemala City to Chiquimulilia to stay at the home of Dennis & Elvira. They took us into the heart of the city to see a local grocery store and explore the local market. Many of the girls commented feeling like we were a parade as we walked through the vendors. It was quite obvious that a bunch of "gringas" were in town - this is slang in Guatemala for white people. Our translator Jeanette bought us an unusual fruit in the market called licha for us to try. The covering of the fruit had to be popped off to be edible, but the fruit has a large seed in the middle of it, as well. Suzanne bit into the fruit and caught a good portion of the seed... quite the memorable moment.
The evening was an eventful one for myself (Elise). I ended up getting extremely sick later that evening and needed to be rehydrated. Nancy, Jeanette, and Dennis (our host) ended up taking me to the local public clinic for help... this was quite the experience. Although I was shocked by the lack of basic supplies the clinic had (it did not have an IV), I was more overwhelmed by the experience of being a patient in a foreign clinic. Since they were unable to rehydrate me at the clinic, they took me to a private hospital in the city. Here they started an IV and gave me other medication. While in the moment this was a terrifying experience and I do not wish this upon anyone, looking back I am grateful for what it has taught me. I have learned firsthand the importance of helping patients to feel safe and cared for, despite their level of understanding our language. I know that this experience my career as a nurse, especially with non-English speaking patients. I returned home a few hours later and since then I have been feeling much better!!! Suedo viva (rehydration salts) have become my new best friend.
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