Roatan - Day 39

M convinced us to take the day off today to have one last play day before we leave tomorrow.  J and I didn’t need too much convincing.  We’ve really been working hard here (contrary to what Instagram might show you…).  M picked J and I up this morning bright and early to meet B and her parents at Earth Mama’s for breakfast.  Nothing like banana nutella coconut drizzled crepes with fresh fruit to start the day!  Then we all piled into the truck for a 30 minute drive up north to the Iguana Farm.  J was a little hesitant about going since she thought the iguanas might try to bite at her feet and she wouldn’t feel them, but that wasn’t the case.  All they want is fresh leaves to choke down whole.  Those suckers were HUGE.  I even dared myself to pick one up!  Those are the craziest creatures ever; they are like miniature dinosaurs.  There were also turtles, monkeys, and giant fish including a barracuda.  J introduced herself to the Iguana Farm owner and proceeded to chat it up with him, which won her a free Sprite (after I paid a steep $2 for mine…).  I like her tactics.

On the way back, B’s dad and I kicked it in the back of the truck and talked about everything from the housing crisis to why people behave the way they do to places I must visit when I go to Maine.  He’s a very likeable guy, both of her parents are.  We enjoyed the scenery on our grand tour of the island.  Riding in the back of a truck is definitely the way to see it best.  I wish I could have captured the people and things I observed (typical island life) in photos to show to you.

M took us for a tour through the public hospital in Coxen Hole, the only one on the island.  I’ve seen hospitals in third world countries before so I wasn’t too shocked at what I saw.  Let’s just say the clinic we’ve been working at here is 10 times nicer.  To give you some indication… the door into Labor and Delivery was an old front screen door and the door into Surgery was two pieces of plywood making a swinging door.  The word out there is that you only go to the hospital for two reasons – either to have a baby or to die.  So true.  There’s no way I would ever want to spend ANY time there.

B headed back to the clinic for her afternoon shift and then M, J, B’s parents, and I headed to West Bay to drop B’s parents at their hotel.  But first we ate lunch at Nice n’ Spicy where I enjoyed a delicious Thai beef salad.    M dropped us off at our apt. where we took a short nap then I headed off to basketball practice to assist the hondureño doctor with his basketball teams. 

I love how important God is in the lives of the people here and how much recognition they give Him.  The doc/coach always starts and ends practice in a team huddle with a prayer.  So he had me lead out with a prayer today, a real honor.  I introduced some new drills, worked with the post players on their inside moves, coached one of the girls teams playing 5 on 5, then played with the girls’ team against the boys.  Oh yeah.  I embarrassed the heck out of myself when I airballed 2 free throws IN A ROW (I literally haven’t shot a free throw in 2 years, sad I know).  But I redeemed myself on the next free throw and made basket, not to mention defense.  The hondureño doc (who calls me “Doc”) said the kids were impressed and thought I could probably dunk it.  If only that were the case….

Well turns out I was at practice for 2.5 hrs and still had to leave early to meet up with the rest of the gang in West End to say goodbye before they all took off.  The hondureño doc just up and left his practice just to drive me to West End.  We stopped for a delicious pastelito on the way.  Caught the gang for a few then M drove us all home.  We said goodbye to B and her parents.  Now we get to spend late hours into the night getting evaluations done and packing.  Can’t believe 6 weeks has already gone by…

CANNOT WAIT to take a warm shower, drink water out of the faucet, throw toilet paper in the toilet, wear cute clothes & jewelry, and actually do my hair and makeup.  It’s going to be a good day to be back in the U.S.

Roatan - Day 38

Once again, J and I had complete autonomy seeing patients today.  J is fighting some type of upper respiratory virus and was grateful I gave her the opportunity to talk and cough it out (she saw the first 3 patients).  Today was our last day working at the clinic so we took pictures with everyone and said our goodbyes.  Hopefully in the future someday I can come back for a week or two to volunteer (and vacation).  J and I had a great experience at the clinic.  I feel like I fine-tuned my knowledge and management of diabetes and hypertension, not to mention really progressed in formulating my own plan for the patient.

And it’s a good thing I’m leaving Central America soon… I’m sure I would get diabetes myself if I stayed too much longer.  I just can’t seem to stay away from the tortillas, beans & rice, fried plantains, coconut puffs, and Coca-Cola.  SO GOOD.  But way too many carbs and sugar.

After work, we hit up Marco’s one last time for our last baleada.  We invited the new pediatricians to join us for lunch.  I think they appreciated the new $1 baleada discovery.  I’m sure Marco will be sad not to have us frequent their place at least 3 times each week.  I’m sure their income is about to hit a steep drop off…

M picked us up for a quick drive to Flowers Bay for our last purchase of coconut puffs.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought FIVE of them!  How on earth am I going to eat them before they lose their freshness and savor?  I’ll do my best.  Those small pieces of heaven cannot be wasted!

Today was also our last day tutoring.  I worked with E one last time.  E is a first grader who does extremely well in math, but dislikes reading very much.  Her pronunciation is still off so she struggles reading aloud.  Not until today did I come up with a good method to help her read.  We would read the paragraph together at least twice, I would guide her through at least twice, then she would read on her own twice.  This really helped improve her fluidity.  It was super cute… she took my pointer finger in her hand and moved it along with each word as she read.  It was a successful day and I hope she impresses her teacher tomorrow.  I like working with kids and teaching them.  So naturally, I’m grateful for the opportunity for the patient education that comes along with being a PA.

Made a few quick stops in West End this evening and regretfully decided to share a pepperoni pizza with J for dinner, after I had just eaten a third of my coconut bread.  Bad idea.  I’m STILL full.  But I just had to eat a coconut puff for desert later tonight.  If I’m not careful, I’m going to easily gain back the 9 pounds I lost over the last 6 weeks.  No way!

Roatan - Day 37

Today was pretty uneventful, but a good day just the same.  J and I had forgotten to look at the schedule on Friday to see when we were working this week.  I even tried to call the nurse that makes the schedule, but to no avail.  So we decided to just show up in the morning and hope that we didn’t have to take a taxi ride straight back home.  Well, it was our lucky day.  We in fact were scheduled to work in the afternoon, but one of the nurses enthusiastically asked us to stay and work in the morning instead as there were no doctors on duty just yet.  So we immediately set to work seeing patients for the rest of the day, just J and I.  That’s what we like!  We had a good variety of cases too.  We were pumping them out right and left.

After work, I dropped J off at a souvenir shop while I took a quick trip to West End to restock our mango supply for the night.  Yes, I spent an extra $2.50 to get 4 more mangos, but definitely worth it considering the amount of time we have left.  Ha, there was another man at the fruit stand buying his own supply of fruit who complimented me on my Spanish, “You have very good Spanish, doctor.”  He was very liberal with his commentary as the only word (yes, just one) I said was “sesenta” (I was conversing with the boy about how much my 4 mangos were going to cost).  He was even more impressed as I continued speaking in Spanish.  His compliments are NOT to be trusted in the future…

This afternoon was the most boring one of them yet.  I had a community medicine project and paper to write for this rotation (J already did hers for another rotation) so I worked on that for one too many hours while J got to chat it up with her friends on Skype.  Jealous.  I mostly got it done and now I am looking forward to a dinner of mangos, plantain chips, and Coca-Cola.

Roatan - Day 36

Just another typical Sunday, yet our last Sunday in Roatan.  Met a few ophthalmologists at church this morning that will be working with the clinic, then set off for Infinity Bay to meet up with J.  The taxi driver wanted to charge bookoo bucks to get there, so I took a water taxi from West End instead.  On the ride to West End, the driver first said that he wanted to work at the clinic with me (never mind he has no medical experience) then said he wanted to come visit me in Arizona (never mind he’s never been to the States).  Oh boy… I guess being a foot taller really doesn’t account for much down here.

B’s parents flew in today so they all met up with J and me later in the afternoon.  We went out for our last snorkel (no exciting new sightings to report…) then we all took a water taxi back to West End to dine with her parents, super great people!  I struck out twice today with food...  The baleada I convinced our waiter to make for me at lunch (not on the menu) was less than satisfactory, ok not good whatsoever.  I mean come on, it wasn’t even made on a homemade tortilla.  $7 for THAT when I can get an authentic one for $1?!  Never again.  Then my nachos at dinner weren’t that good either.  That’ll teach me to eat out on Sunday I guess…

With just 3 days left here, J and I have to make EVERY minute count.

Roatan - Day 35

Having Wednesday off this week really threw me off and I felt like we had to go to the clinic today for work.  Fortunately we had a play day instead.  B, J and I met up at Carambola Gardens this morning and wandered around a tropical garden paradise.  We saw chocolate trees, cashew trees, mahogany trees, and all kinds of flowers.  I even hiked to the top of the mountain, which yielded an AMAZING viewpoint of some keys (smaller islands) off the main island.  It got me excited for Hawaii and all of the great hikes I will hopefully be doing there.

The rest of the day we literally sat on the beach.  We had ginormous delicious smoothies from Earth Mama’s and plantain chips for lunch on the beach.  We chatted some.  I read some.  The sun shone through the clouds some.  It was perfect… not too hot to sit there for 4-5 hours (guilty) with clouds and a cool breeze.  I’ve never seen so many ocean waves either since there usually are none (usually break at the edge of the reef).  There’s just something to hearing the waves crash on the beach.

We walked into town to find some chips for our guacamole/mango dinner and ended up running into one of our patients we saw at the clinic on our first week here.  He invited us into his store for some homemade tuna salad and hondureño coffee (he graciously gave me a Coke instead).  Little did I know I was about to eat the MOST DELICIOUS tuna salad EVER.  There’s something to be said for fresh fish.  A little lime addition always helps too.  SO GOOD.  We chatted it up for a while and then headed back to B’s place overlooking the ocean for our mango and guacamole dinner.  Finished the night off watching Transformers (my first time) with only one minor interruption due to the curtain moving unexpectedly.  After checking it out, a gecko flopped onto the floor and scurried under the fridge.  Hopefully he survived the fall…

Roatan - Day 34

J and I woke up disappointed to find a thick cloud cover on our morning off.  We had planned to dine out for breakfast at Earth Mama’s for a repeat of banana pineapple pancakes and then some sunbathing on our dock.  I headed out the door for a quick run on the beach, giving J PLENTY of warning to get up and going.  I ran along the beach until I saw a couple of homeless dogs kicking it on the beach, waiting for a helpless American lady like me to spread their fleas or rabies to, so I headed back.  I felt like I could have run a bit longer, but J and I had made a plan to be out the door by 8:15 (rain or no rain), so we stuck to it.

After arriving at Earth Mama’s, J suggested I go for another run while she sipped a cup of coffee.  So I tentatively set off in the sprinkling rain with the fresh memory of us getting soaked from the downpour the other week.  I ran like mad, getting back sooner than I wanted, but just in time to beat the downpour.  We enjoyed our pancakes while listening to the rain pitter patter and the fresh breeze on our faces.  A nice change from the stagnant hot humid weather over the last 3 days.

Instead of sunbathing, we did some souvenir shopping and replenished our mango and avocado supply.  As we were walking down the street, I heard a taxi driver say, “You wanna ride?”  We get lots of comments from taxi drivers (like the one time they called J “baby”), but when I turned my head was very surprised to see Peggy driving by, taunting us with her deep voice.  Ha, too funny.

Just as we were ready to leave Ed’s to get to the clinic early so I could work on my community medicine project, M gave us a call requesting our company for lunch.  He wanted to go to Earth Mama’s (we should have invited him for breakfast), but talked him into going to Marco’s instead.  It had been awhile since I’d had a baleada.  Turns out M saw me going for a run this morning EXCEPT he saw me JUST as I was turning onto my street from the main road and had stopped to walk for my cool down.  The joke is that I’ve been meaning to exercise the whole time I’ve been here, but I guiltily admit that I’ve only been running twice since I’ve been here.  He gave me a hard time about walking and that I need to start running.  If only he saw me running up that steep hill just prior to my street, he would know I mean business.

It was a GOOD day at the clinic today.  I saw 7 patients completely on my own and only had a few questions to run by the hondureño doc.  J had an interesting patient from Denmark that was planning to fly back home on Monday, but had broken her foot and had a cast on, which just happened 4 days previously.  Her doctor in Denmark wanted her to remove the cast before the flight because he figured her foot would swell up and might cause a DVT (look it up).  A little overboard, but whatever.  We tried to reason with her, but off it came.  Check this out… after the hondureño doc looked at her x-rays, turns out her foot wasn’t actually broken.  Whoever put the cast on at the hospital just did it for some extra cash on the side.  What a corrupt system.  It has to be hard not knowing if you and your family will have enough money to survive next month, let alone next week, but if the medical system in third world countries operates as such, just imagine what the political system is like…  No one is to be trusted.

We had a night out with M, B, E, and G since E and G were flying back to Utah the next day.  We all met up at Sundowner’s (beach bar) for some drinks, then made our way to Cannibal Café for dinner, then dancing at Blue Marlin.  It was a very entertaining night… lots of laughs over dinner and E (who is Asian) out dancing another Asian on the dance floor.  The music this time around was more up my alley, but due to the humidity I kept it simple.  I really like both E and G.  I was hoping to hang with them more this week, but they were staying so far away and working so hard they hardly had any free time.  Maybe we can be friends if I move to Utah.  But if not, I made plans with E to take a trip to Cuba this fall.  Yep, that’s right… Cuba!

So you of course know I LOVE to barter.  It is by far my FAVORITE activity when traveling abroad.  I don’t usually like to buy souvenirs, so fortunately I’ve had the opportunity to barter for taxi rides and even food.  I think everyone is duly impressed with my skills.  I can get what I want :)  Example #1 – we had a taxi driver in an Xterra (SUV) which is only 1 of 2 SUV taxis on the whole island.  Of course, gas is more expensive, thus prices are equally more expensive.  The going rate from Sandy Bay to West End is 25 lempiras each ($1.25) and he wanted 30 lempiras.  Well, I talked him down to 20 each.  Booyah.  Example #2 – for lunch one day at The Lighthouse (our favorite place to dine), I ordered a blackened fish sandwich that came with one side, either french fries or fried plantains.  Well, I wanted both.  So I talked him into doing half of each.  Then he told J “no” when she proceeded to ask for the same.  Example #3 – I fetched E and G a taxi at the end of our night dancing for $10 when the driver wanted $18.  In all instances it took some work to talk them down, but that is the best part AND is equally rewarding when they agree to your price.  Well, I failed at dinner… everyone was ordering the “fresh juice” which was orange and pineapple.  Another option was a mango smoothie.  Well… I wanted mango pineapple juice.  Seems logical, right?  They had all the right fruits, but our waiter just wouldn’t do it.  I guess because the mango has to be blended to make juice… added cost of the fruit?  Or added cost of electrical usage?  I put a lot of work into that one, but came up with orange pineapple juice just the same.  Oh well, it was good entertainment for everyone listening I’m sure.  I’m going to miss my bartering opportunities here!

Roatan - Day 33

Yet another disappointing day at the clinic...  J and I got roped into doing triage first thing for over an hour.  Then more women’s health exams.  Then only 2 patients on our own.  Then the donut man didn’t show up with our steak burritos.  So then we had Cup O’Noodles for lunch.  Glad to put that shift behind us!

When the hour for tutoring arrived, M came up to me to ask a favor… if I would cover for him, as he had some other more important (doubt it) errands to run.  I told him yes, but he owed me a coconut puff.  And he thought I was joking….  Tutoring actually went really well for B, J, and I.  The kids were separated and didn’t have each other to distract themselves.  Much accomplishment today!

OH MY GOODNESS was it HOT today!  Just imagine 90 degree weather with 85% humidity and NO ocean breeze.  I’m sure the mosquitoes liked that.  Today was probably the worst day yet since we’ve been here.  There hasn’t been much wind the last couple of days… I didn’t realize what a big difference it makes.  I sure don’t envy my classmates who are coming later in the summer.  They might literally die…

The only excitement after tutoring tonight was that J and I each ate a whole giant mango for dinner.  SO GOOD.

Also, you might actually call me tan at this point.  It only took 5 weeks…

Roatan - Day 32

It’s a rare occasion when you get to celebrate Labor Day TWICE in one year… May in Honduras and September in the U.S.  The only solid plans we really made between M, B, J and I was to call each other in the morning.  Turns out that’s always a bad idea… we didn’t get going until 11:30 this morning.  I could have easily called my new BF Jorge (taxi driver) and been out in the sun by 10 am.  Oh well, at least J made me go for an impromptu run before we set off for the day.  15 minutes felt like 45 in that heat and humidity.  I think it took me at least 30 minutes to stop sweating once I got back.  Don’t worry, that’s only the first time I’ve exercised since being here (oops…) and I’ve still managed to lose 9 pounds somehow.

M picked us all up in his truck and we headed to Infinity Bay, where we usually hang on Sundays.  M tried to persuade us not to go since it was a cruise ship day and would be over packed with tourists.  Little did he know we’d have the whole beach pretty much to ourselves.  Good thing we ignored his advice.  We did the regular… ate lunch, chilled in the water, sunbathed on the beach chairs, and snorkeled to the edge of the reef.  No sharks to be seen, dang it.  Just a 3 foot barracuda only 10 feet away that I frantically swam away from and used J as my shield for protection.  Yep, guilty…

We were all impressed with M today as he ACTUALLY got in the water.  Most, if not all, of the Islanders don’t swim in the ocean, either because it’s too salty or they are afraid for some reason.  M said he couldn’t even remember the last time he was in the water.  Sad day!  He thoroughly enjoyed himself though.  I mean, who wouldn’t with 3 lovely ladies around?  What a celebrity he is!  EVERYWHERE we go, he literally says hello or stops and talks with EVERYONE he sees.  He even knows them all by name.  I admire what he does here.  After playing professional volleyball in Europe for 10+ years, he came back to this poor third world country (home for him) and now makes only $800/month working at the Clínica Esperanza.  He is doing tons for the youth though, by setting up a lot of sports programs and trying to give them more opportunities to play on the mainland.  He’s doing a lot for the people here and I think they recognize it.

Later in the afternoon, a local Islander came strolling down the beach singing a catchy tune that is STILL stuck in my head (just ask J).  [Beth, I’m sure you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.  Haha!]  “Baaa-na-na DO-nuts!”  I wanted to buy one of his banana donuts, but I already killed most of the coconut bread last night (J secretly despises me for it) and he wanted $2 for one.  Instead, I asked to take his picture after which he only agreed to do so if I was in the picture with him.  What would a trip to Latin America be without at least one picture of me and the local men?  I then persuaded him to bring us steak burritos at the clinic for lunch tomorrow.  Booyah! 

Come to find out ER #1 and ER #2 made it back from their weekend trip to Utila and are leaving to AZ tomorrow morning.  So all of us (including a few other girls from the clinic) got together for a final hoorah… dinner at Rotisserie Chicken, dessert at the ice cream shack, and kicking it on B’s deck overlooking the ocean.  J and I wanted to keep the night young, but didn’t get home till almost 11 pm.  I guess hanging with the boys on their last night was worth it.  They will be missed!