Cockroach butts, Giardia and Witchcraft.

As I took my first pull of fresh Dominican coffee I felt something brush against my upper lip. I thought nothing of it. Maybe it was a little clump of dirt, or a grain of rice. These are pretty common things to find at the bottom of your coffee here. As the object brushed my lip for the second time I decided to take a look. I baptized my fork in the rich dark goodness and lifted out the bottom half of a cockroach......

.....I did not finish the coffee.....

Well, since the last time i updated this blog (2013) I have had a wisdom tooth removed and gone through the painful motions of Giardia (look it up).....simultaneously. I had been on a pretty good role, but when it rains it pours, I guess.

The past two months we have been hosting a 4th year medical student who is doing a short international rotation in the Hospital here in town. He spends the mornings in the Hospital shadowing physicians and consulting patients and in the afternoons he collaborates with our regular programming; chicas maravillas, diabetes clubs, school first aid kits, etc. We have also executed 3 mobile clinics in areas with little or no access to a health post.

First aid training w/kit in Los Cerezos

Consulting a whole mess of kids at a mobile clinic in Valle Nuevo 

Teaching our new Mariano Cestero Diabetes Club the importance of a balanced diet 

Consulting patients at our mobile clinic in Cruz de Cabrera

Female anatomy lesson to our Chicas Maravillas group in Restauracion

First aid training w/kit in Trinitaria

Doing some chair aerobics with Restauracion Diabetes Club. (They are pretty old so you have to work with what you got).

Explaining to over 100 kids in El Carrizal the importance of personal hygiene and how proper hand washing can help prevent many diseases.

Proper hand-washing demonstration.

We are leaving today for La Jagua for another mobile clinic. We have been keeping busy and its only two more weeks until the first group of March volunteers arrives! We expect around 50 volunteers next month. Some of the cool project we plan to do with them include: Chicas Maravillas conference, diabetes walk-a-thon, health fairs, dental hygiene campaigns AND what I am most excited about is our introduction into Haiti.
I mean it has always been there, but we are just starting to really develop it and have met a few of the right people (finally) to help us. We are going to start with some basic health education in this school.

Built by World Vision (of course)

Hopefully, this will get our foot in the door and begin to understand the goings on in Tiroli. We also had the odd fortune of meeting a witch doctor named Marino. After following 3 Haitian men crammed onto one motorcycle for what seemed like 2 miles outside of town we arrived at the "brujos" house. We were shown into his room of witchcraft and wizardry. 

You place your hand on the skull to drive out evil spirits. Marino referred to it in Spanish/Kreyol as the "enfermedad zombie" or "zombie sickness". Its like a movie or something.

He makes all of his medicine himself. 

Pretty wild stuff. Their is actually a license to practice this form of Voo Doo. Marino has been gracious enough to agree to meet with our volunteer groups in March and answer any questions we might have about this style of "alternative medicine". There might be one or two questions.

A lot of exciting stuff is happening here! On the flip side my contract ends in April and I will be transitioning back to the United States. I am trying not to think about it so I don't get too sad just yet. It will be a tough goodbye.....

Well, Hasta Luego!