Trembling out of Bed

Trembling out of Bed
I experienced my first earthquake this morning! That goodness Jenn and Marita woke me up, or I would have snored straight through it. We must be pretty far from the epicenter because it was just a minute of minor shaking. What a way to start the day! Aaron and Jeff made us girls (who tend to take advantage of every moment of shut-eye) eggs and toast this morning. We are enjoying our first day off today - the Duran volunteers are discerning their job placements as a group today. We Monte Sinai volunteers got to listen in on the discernment process last night. They have to work out as a group of 11 who will work at each site for the mornings, then divide into three afterschool programs, designating the directors and logistics coordinators. Diffucult task. Needless to say, I am delighted to be sitting in the Cyber right now.

The last few days, we have been exploring the different work sites. My lucky housemates got to accompany me (aka translate for me) two 3 hour long orientations for Hogar de Cristo. Needless to say, we now know a lot about this organization. It looks like I am going to be running the EKG clinic for the time being. (Not nearly as grandiose as it sounds). I had one 5 minute run-through on how to run a test on a machine with make-shift suction cups that are haphazardly taped on. My ´clinic´ is in the back of a classroom, behind an office divider. What have I gotten myself into this time...haha. I am also in charge of organizing a variety of ¨projects¨ throughout the year. The education department sends representatives to schools to identify families and kids who are struggling. If there are medical issues at home, I get to join the team to visit the home and develop a case, explaining the situation, and present it to Hogar de Cristo in hopes of getting free health care in the area, food baskets, etc. This will definitely be the hardest, but BEST part of my job. Most kids who perform poorly in school or stop attending school do so in order to work (often selling water, candy, or newspapers in the streets). Women are often left home to raise kids, while men are either working or out of the picture. Even if the man is working, the money often times does not come home. The situations get even tougher when there are developmental disabilities, infectious and cronic diseases, etc. Lack of sanitation, dirty water, and low nutrition cause many of these problems. The new clinic at my work place will hopefully be finished in two months. (In Ecua time, it could be another 6 months). However, they are interviewing doctors next week - so the situation looks promising! The will have ginecology, emergency room, minor surgury, dentistry, and general medicine services. My supervisor (Veronica) wants to train me in some surrounding clinincs to get a feel for the environment before our clinic starts up. Veronic and Dolores are in charge of me for the year. They are incredibly warm and friendly and super patient with my Spanish. It is going to be a phenomenal experience, no matter what I end up doing.

My four housemmates have sweet placements as well. I think I mentioned that Marita with be working with the San Felipe school right down the street from us. Jenn will be working with the Casa Don Bosco -- a street kids program in Guayquil. She will be organizing after school programs, doing some social work, and possbily teaching a few classes. Jeff will also be working with street kids, similar to Jenn´s placement. He is a phenomenal guitar player, so has much to offer in those respects. Aaron is working at a small medical clinic called Sonrisa Naranja (Orange smiles). Two Dutch doctors started this clinic two years ago. As they bring stories home from their placements, I will be sure to share them with you!

We only have four days left of orientation. Two days ago, we had the big bus quiz. It was a 10 hour scavenger hunt through Guayaquil and Duran. Megan (our in-country coordinator) was waiting in the middle with pizza and cake (Tres Leches!!). We ended at Las Peñas, a lighthouse downtown, which looks over the entire city. The day wore all of us out. But gave us a much needed tour of the city.

This was a short update, but I will have more coming soon.

Thanks for reading