Saturday, August 14, 2010: Earth Lodge & Dinner with the Girls

It’s the first morning of no field school. No more waking up to walk to some sort of obligation. No more Casa Maria. No more Spanish classes. But most of all, no more field school students roaming the streets of Antigua. It was strange walking around this morning because most of the students took early flights out so the normal day to day running into people was not the same today. I didn’t see anyone I knew which felt so odd and a little scary because I really feel like a foreigner now. It’s like day 1 all over again.

A few stragglers did stay behind including Sue Coppola (the OT Practice Supervisor), her daughter Josie, Joy, Ellen, Jessica, and Nicole. We all headed for a day trip up to Earth Lodge, an Eco-Resort a 15 min drive up a hill near Antigua, which we did standing in the back of a pick-up truck. It was a sight to see and when we got to the very top of the steep mountain, we saw people living in a place that didn’t seem possible. Here we were trying to get away and be in a more primitive environment as a change from the norm, and for these Mayans, it was the norm.

Anyway, Earth Lodge is a cute little place on the top of a steep hill with magnificent views of Antigua and the surrounding areas. We played Farkle, ate amazing food, playing with the resort dogs, and just lounged in the quietness of nature (with our laptops of course!). I liked it so much that I booked a night for my amigos who are visiting for the week so we have a guaranteed getaway in one of their unique treehouse rooms where we can just enjoy doing nothing for a change.

At 3pm, Joy and I headed back to town to have dinner and drinks with Mary and Jennifer, an OT student from the pediatrics component. Now that the field school is over, we all got together to discuss our thoughts, feelings, and impressions of the whole experience, which I have to say, are mixed. When you bring people from different backgrounds, experiences, and with different expectations together, they all have different experiences no matter how much you try to make them the same. That’s my way of saying that some people loved the program and some people didn’t. I can see both sides, but I guess I liked it more than I didn’t and I don’t think we’ll know what we’ve gotten out of this until we get home and start putting our new skills to work.

Brian comes tomorrow!!! So much to do… can’t wait to see him!

Friday, August 13, 2010: Last Day at Casa Maria & Spanish Graduation

We had a Despedida (or Farewell Party) today at Casa Maria. It was the first time I think I realized that these people actually like us. It’s weird because the residents started crying when we announced it was our last day there. I don’t know why it was so weird so me or shocking, but I just felt like we were simply another group of volunteers to them and I didn’t entirely understand that we meant so much to them… until the tears started to come.

Did I mention that I’m not good with emotional good-byes? I don’t do them… it’s too hard. So I shook a few people’s hands and then went and sat with my little woman who always says things in such a distressed manner but she’s really just saying “hello” or “it’s nice to see you.” But by the way she talks, you’d think she was scared to death when she’s not. Today she asked me to take her somewhere in the same voice so I took her to a chair about 10 feet from her bed and just sat with her. I asked if I could have a picture to remember her and she said yes. Then I showed it to her and she was a little confused by the look on her face in the foto. She looks terrified like always but that’s just her. I’m so going to miss her!

After the party we went to the Tecun Uman graduation where we all got graduation certificated and Don Mario served us carrot cake. This was our chance to say goodbye to everyone and again, I sort of chickened out, shook a few hands, gave a few hugs and snuck out the back way. Goodbyes really aren’t my thing since I’ll stay in contact with the people who I’ve connected with the most. These days with Facebook and email, you really cant hide from anyone.

Lisa, Erika, and I spent the rest of the evening in the market, bargaining for the mejor precio (best price) and trying to convince people that another man offered the same item to us for less. After 2 hours in the alleyways we were exhausted and  worn down from trying to get an extra 5Q off an item, the equivalent of 70 cents. It’s so absurd when you really think about it but it comes with the territory.

We ended the night at Lisa’s house, just hanging out, reminiscing, and watching Lisa pack. We were supposed to go to La Sala, a club where people were going to all meet to say their goodbyes, get a little tipsy, and dance. But we were all so tired and it seemed like the 6 weeks of work finally caught up with us. As much as we all wanted to say goodbye, we all felt like it was better to stay in and just spend quality time with each other…. It was perfect.

Thursday, August 12, 2010: Casa Maria, Transitions English Class & Dessert Party

This morning at Casa Maria we just spent with the people, hanging out and starting to prepare for the party on the last day. Ana Lydia pulled some of us aside and asked us to refrain from using the term “fiesta” when talking about the party tomorrow. She thought the residents were getting too excited and wanted them to not expect too much from us. We did plan to deliver on our “fiesta” though, since any sort of party we have would be more action then these people have seen in quite awhile.

Afterward, Peggy and the rest of the research crew (all 3 of us) headed next door to Finca Filadelfia, a coffee plantation/ resort that no one seemed to even know existed. We had frappacinos and walked around the beautiful grounds. It’s a stark contrast to the dreariness of Casa Maria and it’s right in the home’s backyard. I had pushed to be able to bring residents for strolls through the gardens there but nothing came of it. Hopefully in the coming year, the residents will be able to venture there.

At 4:30 pm, Devva invited me and a couple of others to a weekly English class that is held at the Transitions house. The guys come over after working at the factory and they learn basic conversational English. The Disabilities Studies team brought over pizza and pastries for their last day with the guys, and I just sat back and watched. It was interesting to hear the guys speak English the way that I speak Spanish. Finally I stopped feeling so bad for butchering their language because we were on a now level playing field.

Can I tell you the joy that I got out of hanging out with these guys? I guess from Casa Maria, I came to expect people with some sort of disability to be a little down, but these guys were joking, loving life, picking on each other, and just having fun. I loved that! I saw one guy move his legs and he was in a wheelchair so I pointed at it. He smiled and said it was a miracle. Then he told me he had polio when he was a kid and could walk little bits but preferred to use a chair. I felt a little silly really thinking a miracle could happen in front of me. Another guy with one leg invited me to watch him play soccer. When I asked how he was able to run around the field, he said he just can… I have to see that.

One of our missions as an OT is to help people live fulfilled lives, so I can’t tell you enough how amazed I am that these guys are doing that. They’re living with a disability, but they aren’t disabled by it. As a therapist, I feel like these guys have more to offer me than I could ever offer them… they’re just inspiring. I’m coming back next week with my friends so they can meet them.

As part of our final farewell, the NAPA-OT group hosted a Dessert Party at a beautiful hotel for us. Everyone in the field school came for a dessert bar of cakes, mousses, and coffee. It was so delicious. We followed it up with a piñata in the shape of a clown which survived all of 4 people hitting it. We used the “torch” feature on our Guatemalan cell phones to light up the grass and find all of the candy. Afterwards, I snuck out since I’m not much for sappy goodbyes. I’ll see them all again soon.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010: Presentations, Shopping with Devva, and Meeting Old Friends

Wednesdays mean another day of Integrative Seminars. However today was special because instead of doing the same old PBL Groups (or Problem Based Learning), we all had a chance for our groups to present about what we’ve been doing during our time here. After all, it’s our last chance to all meet at Hotel Candelaria and what a better way to end it.

Ok, so maybe we started off with an hour long session of quiet time to fill out our program evals. It was interesting because everyone brought their laptops and went to little corners of the hotel to write about all their deep thoughts on how they would change things for next year. Hindsight is 20/20, but I didn’t feel like I had much to offer in the way of criticism. We’re here to learn… everyone’s here to learn… you’re bound to mess a few things up in a 6 week period of learning right? Who are we to tell people that we could do it better?! I guess a few people wanted to change things so we took a long time filling out these long evals.

The presentations were interesting. Pediatrics talked about working in the hospital with the kids and then visiting their homes. Of course many of the girls fell in love with their patients. How could you not? Guatemalan kids are so cute! Then we Gero people talked about our experience at Casa Maria. The Disabilities Studies team talked about advocating for people and the rights that their supposed to have but no one does. (Welcome to Guatemala, the land of many laws that no one really follows because there’s no money to enforce them). The guys from the Medical Anthropology surprisingly did not talk about getting robbed at gunpoint at one of the largest slums in Latin America, but they did say a lot about clean water and the lack of it in Guatemala.

Did I miss anything? Honestly, I spent a lot of time just taking pictures and feeling the hope that we all had in the room. It’s like we each got more out of talking about what we did than anyone else got out of hearing it. When you’re in the moment and doing the everyday tasks, you forget that you’re really accomplishing something pretty huge. I think when we had a chance to put it into words, we understood that we weren’t just enjoying the beauty of Guatemala, we were actually making a pretty big impact. I wish people did their presentations before they filled out those silly evaluation forms because I think many of the negative statements that were written (there were a couple) maybe wouldn’t have been there because people realized that they got more out of the experience than they’d hoped to.

So after lunch, Devva, Lisa and I headed to the markets to shop for some last minute gifts. Did I mention how much I love hanging out with Devva? We watched Lisa haggle and get amazing deals on coffee, bookmarks, and rum. Devva pointed out where the products were made, most of which were from India. We gossiped a little and then walked her back to her house in the rain.

We were supposed to have a Despedida (Farewell Party) at our host family’s house tonight for me, Armando, Jackie, and Sharon… my current roommates from the group. I attended it for the first hour and Don Mario, the owner of Tecun Uman, our Spanish school, came over for the BBQ. At 8pm though, I asked Armando to walk me around the corner to Erika’s house so we could walk to visit Jorge and Marie (our first host family). Are you following all this? Well, since Armando was already with us, Erika and I invited him to come along since it was dark out and he has a sense of adventure. We took a TukTuk to Jorge and Marie’s house and they were thrilled to see us.

Sitting at their kitchen table was just like old times. Marie served us Atol (a drink made from Plantains) and little empanadas cut in the shapes of leaves. They were so cute and Armando finally understood why we needed to see these people so bad. Although we only spent our first week in their home, Erika and I felt like we never left. They were so warm, welcoming, and just good people. It was nice for someone else from our group to see that too. We talk about them so much and it’s not because we were spoiled by them… they’re just a rare breed. Genuine. Warm. Amazing People.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010: Casa Maria and Transiciones

Party decorations! Remember those chains we used to make as kids out of paper? We made so many of those today at Casa Maria with some of the residents! This one lady who calls me “Mi Reina” (my queen) was so intent on cutting strips of painted newspaper the exact same size and width… I’ve never seen anyone concentrate so hard! Some school kids came by and sang us songs then handed out cookies to everyone. We asked her if she wanted her cookies and she said “work first, then eat when you’re finished!” Yes ma’am! I love her!!!

After lunch, I went to McDonalds for the first time here in Antigua to meet with a group on a presentation for tomorrow. Boy, the US McDonalds are so crummy compared to this place! It’s like a palace with an open garden and a covered patio with cozy chairs and couches. Clean, quiet, upscale! Three words that people never say about Mc Donalds in the US!

Next, I headed to the Transiciones house for the first time, in a Tuktuk. Neither I, nor the driver knew where we were going, but somehow we managed to find the place. The Transiciones House is the house that guys who work at the wheelchair factory live in. It’s completely accessible to suite the men’s needs, many of whom are in wheelchairs.

I assisted Erika and Devva in recording a focus group they held with the men who are from Transiciones. We had 10 men and our goal was to figure out what it’s like for them to live in Guatemala with some sort of disability, how they felt about it, if they knew what their rights were, and if they see things changing for them in the future. From what I heard, it seems like there are many laws here but no one enforces them, and there’s never funding for mandates that are imposed. People in Antigua are more considerate of people living with disabilities because of Transiciones’ presence in the community. However, most towns outside of Guatemala aren’t as open-minded and the towns are incredibly inaccessible. I was surprised to hear many of the men say that they consider Antigua to be an easy place to maneuver in a wheelchair. Cobblestone streets, foot high curbs, narrow sidewalks… nothing about this place is easy! It makes you wonder what “hard to maneuver” must be like!

One story worth hearing though- I met one of the founders of Transiciones today.  In short, they make wheelchairs out of bike parts and stainless steel so that the chairs last longer and can be fixed at any bike shop in the country. All of the employees have a disability and they learn the trade, with the goal to move on and start a new place or work with the skills they have learned. The man I met is 27, and contracted polio at the age of 2. He uses a wheelchair, but he is able to walk for short distances. He started Transiciones with 3 other guys at the age of 10! I was astonished when he told me this… The things this organization does is beyond incredible. I can’t imagine how a group of 10 to 13 year olds could come up with and continue to run a place like this, with a mission of helping people the way that it does. 

Monday, August 9, 2010: The Beginning of the End

I spent the morning at Rainbow Café, sending emails, and preparing for my upcoming wedding, hounding people for their addresses and researching some places to stay in the upcoming week in Guatemala. I want to see my grandpa in Chiquimula, find a place for Brian to surf, head to Semuc Champey to swim with a candle in my mouth, and see my cousin Kikix again. I don’t know how it’s all going to happen though. Guatemala is a small country but it takes so long to get everywhere because of all the mountains and volcanoes. I’m excited though to see Brian, Ana, Vin, and Andrea on Sunday. I really can’t wait.

We were supposed to watch Kelly from our research group give a lecture to the staff at Fray Rodrigo, but they had to cancel because someone died. So I had more time to research, plan, and most of all to relax, which was very welcomed after our busy weekend.

During the afternoon we interviewed Ana Lydia, the owner of Casa Maria for the second time. Devva and Erika from Disability Studies came and asked some interesting questions about the laws that govern senior care facilities here in Guatemala. Interestingly enough, there are many laws that Ana Lydia told us about, most of which she doesn’t follow. Her reasoning for not following them was this: The government doesn’t help her, so why should she follow the laws? They can’t shut her down because there’s nowhere to put all the residents, so Casa Maria gets to exist. It’s interesting to see that the government not providing help is reason enough not to follow the laws. I wonder what the US would be like if we all adopted that attitude. However, as astonished as I was at the things Ana Lydia said, Erika and Devva said that it’s a common thing they’ve heard in their many interviews here. 

Sunday, August 8, 2010: Market in Chichi

We went to the market in Chichicastenango today. It was so huge, with tons of alleyways and Joy and I almost got lost a few times. We found some cute things though and I got started on my Christmas shopping way too early this year. I’m now known as “the bag lady” in my group because all I buy are bags. How can you resist when they’re all so beautiful. I love it!!! I guess my biggest issue when I get home is going to be letting go of them because I want to keep everything that I’ve gotten. 

Sunday, August 8, 2010: Market in Chichi

We went to the market in Chichicastenango today. It was so huge, with tons of alleyways and Joy and I almost got lost a few times. We found some cute things though and I got started on my Christmas shopping way too early this year. I’m now known as “the bag lady” in my group because all I buy are bags. How can you resist when they’re all so beautiful. I love it!!! I guess my biggest issue when I get home is going to be letting go of them because I want to keep everything that I’ve gotten. 

Saturday August 7, 2010: An 8 Hour Boat Ride

Last night we had dinner at an amazing Uruguayan restaurant! I’m not sure what Uruguayan food is, but it tasted like really good steak and some other red stuff. It was so good! We liked it so much, we all decided to go back as a group for a typical breakfast. In Guatemala, a typical breakfast consists of eggs, black beans, plantains, tortillas, and ours came with bacon! During this trip, which is sponsored by the field school (they’re paying the bill), we all have to eat at the same place on one check. It’s hard enough to decide what I want to eat, let alone get 14 other women to agree on a place. Thankfully, we all love the Uruguayan place, so we’re headed back for breakfast tomorrow too!

After breakfast, we all followed a man to his boat for a journey around the lake. The plan: Santa Catalina, Something Atitlan, San Pedro, then Panajachel again. Santa Catalina was cute and we stopped at a weaving coop where the kids and their parents make things to sell and raise money for their school. Everyone bought a lot of stuff, for charity of course! Then we visited some church, then a local family in their house to show us what it looks like. They didn’t have beds, clean water, a fridge, or proper floors, but they did have a TV and some chickens. The family is Mayan and they live the way their ancestors live, however I have a feeling their ancestors didn’t watch TV. All in all, it was interesting to learn more about their lives and meet a really family unit who lives in the village.

Next we headed to something something Atitlan. I don’t remember the name. But I did see another church. Not that I don’t like churches, but I wanted to see the town and I got annoyed that our guide was so excited about spending all our time in a church. One interesting thing did happen though. As we stood around the guide outside the church and he was saying something about it in really fast Spanish, a young lady dressed in Mayan dress of the town came up and gave him a big hug from behind. She must’ve been about 18 and she had Down’s Syndrome. She’s the first indigenous person I’ve seen with it. Next, she came and gave all of us a big hug each. Then she settled on our coordinator Ellen, called her “Mi major amiga” (my best friend) grabbed her arm and accompanied us on our tour of the church. She was so excited to be in the middle of our group and I was more thrilled to have her nearby too!

As far as the subject of this young lady goes, here might be a good place to address some beliefs of the Mayan culture. First, there’s many different tribes, 22 I believe, so customs and beliefs are unique to each tribe, just like the pattern of their weaving and dress. Over 50% are malnourished, medical care is hard to come by, and the lifestyle is based on traditions passed down through the generations. It’s not uncommon for families to have a couple of children die. Many believe that disabilities are a punishment from God so they get embarrassed and don’t bring the kids out of their house. This is why I was surprised and excited to see this young lady come up to us and hang out for the tour. 

Friday, August 6, 2010: Journey to Atitlan

We left at 8:30 am for a much needed Gero group vacation for the weekend. After loading into 2 camionetas (or vans) we headed out to Lago de Atitlan for a little getaway. Atitlan is a famous, amazingly beautiful lake set between 3 volcanoes, with towns of different Mayan tribes surrounding the lake. Many of these towns are only accessible by boat or on foot, hiking through the steep hills and cliffs. The lake is also a spiritual retreat for people of many religions like Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims.

During the 2 hour ride, we encountered quite a few mudslides and places where the road was washed away, leaving a small patch to cross with a view straight down the edge of a cliff where the rest of the road once was. I’m not a fan of heights or crazy road trips, so I was a little nervous. The driver seemed to know what he was doing though, so I was able to remain calm.

We arrived in Panajachel after a ride down the side of a very steep hill. Immediately the place just felt calm and serene. Something about being near the water mellows people out. Our group leader told us we had to triple up in rooms, so I decided to stay with Joy and Nicki, people I haven’t yet mentioned. Joy is from New Mexico, she’s in her last year of OT, and she’s done some crazy jobs in her life like working on an Alaskan fishing boat (who does that?!). Nicki is an OT student at St. Louis University, super sweet and one of the youngest girls in our group… 21 I think.

After lunch and getting settled in our room, Joy, Nicki, and I went out to see the strip of stores and market stalls along the main road. This man saw us admiring his ashtrays made of Coke cans, so he started talking to us, trying to sell us something. We immediately noticed he was wasted, so I asked him if he knew of a good bar in the area. He reached in his pocket to offer us a drink of his ethanol-flavored liquor, when it slipped out of his hand and shattered on the floor. We took that as our cue to run, so we left him looking so sad that he couldn’t finish whatever he was drinking. I’m sure that was for the best because it didn’t look like he needed it!

Thursday, August 5, 2010: Dinner with the Director

Once a week Gelya, our program director, hosts a Mix and Match Dinner at her house with students and faculty from each of the components. Tonight it was my turn along with 2 other gero students, a pediatric OT, the Med Anthro professor and her student, along with 2 women visitors from the Human Rights Foundation, based out of Washington DC.

The ladies from WA DC were so interesting because their purpose is advocating for human rights here in Guatemala by changing US foreign policy to affect change. They talked about femininicide here in Guatemala; the brutal killing of women that goes on here and that often goes unprosecuted. They also talked about the US policies that are intended to assist people, but often just enable a corrupt system to function and often unintentionally support corruption even more. There’s so many things going on here and people come in with good intentions, but intention isn’t everything and moves need to be made carefully here because the situation is so complicated.

So we got to talking about our experiences here, how our thoughts and experiences in Guatemala have changed us, and how we will look at things differently. It’s interesting to see the differences in people’s values, past times, work conditions, and child care… among other things here. Although life here is incredibly simple, people work hard to have the tiniest amount of possessions. It’s not uncommon to hear about people working 7 or 8 days a week (here they say there’s 8 days in a week, but don’t ask me what the 8^th day is), and the simplest of tasks in the US is incredibly time consuming here. For example, washing clothes. No one has a dryer, and only the rich have washers, so most things are done by hand. Dishes- no dishwashers, and food is so complicated to cook here so there’s piles of dishes all the time. Anyway, my point is all this is to say that what we value is the US is so different from what people value here. I still don’t entirely understand how everything gets done, but I will say that my fiancé is not marrying a true Guatemalan woman because I will never do as much at these women do.

Thursday, August 5, 2010: Early Morning at Casa Maria and Spanish

We left for Casa Maria extra early this morning to see what happens during the shift change. The gero practice group planned to catch workers during the overlapping time in order to conduct what is known as a case conference. This entails picking out a patient that they either have difficulty with or simply want to understand more, and we’d assist by talking about things that might help that particular person, and hopefully this assistance will in turn assist other patients.

Well, when we got there at 6:45 am, the nurses were busy as usual and they told us we’d have to wait until 9am when they had more time. Instead of waiting around, we asked if we could help them do some of their tasks, which turned into all 15 of us in the gero group feeding patients and serving breakfast. It was a lot of fun- way more interesting than sitting on damp couches in the lobby (don’t ask why they’re damp because the answer is gross).

When the staff finished their tasks, we all gathered in the lobby area and Sue, the OT supervisor of our group, told them how much she admired their work and how great all the employees were. Then we asked them if there’s anything we could offer, or that they thought would be interesting to know about. They responded: techniques for handling aggressive patients, and how to lift someone without hurting yourself. Sue was great about turning the conversation into a positive one by encouraging the staff to tell us how they handled the situations, then she told them again what a fantastic job they were doing despite having questions. She went on to encourage all of us to share techniques that we’ve learned and all in all, everyone was able to share so much. We learned from them, they learned from us…. It was just so great!!!

My last day of Spanish was today as well! I was a little sad but welcomed having one more thing crossed off the list here in Guatemala. Our Spanish school offers trips that the teachers are free to join in on, so I invited Jessica, my professora, to Aguas Calientes, a town 20 minutes out of Antigua where they are known for weaving patterns that show up on both sides of the cloth. The school took us to a weaving cooperative and the women there gave us a demonstration on how their weaving works, what the patterns mean, and then they had a demonstration of a typical wedding ceremony. It was really fun and cute to watch, and the things these women made were unbelievably beautiful. Jessica and I had a great time there, and it was the perfect ending to my time in Spanish school.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010: Integrative Seminar and Transiciones

Wednesdays are integrative seminar days. They’re long, interesting, sad, and can be a bit boring. Josie was our facilitator today as Gelya was a bit preoccupied with some secret meeting. We talked about a man who had dementia which turned out to be just an infection. Then we discussed what happens when Americans think they know just how to help, but end up wasting money. For example, in our case study, an NGO bought a bunch of people mattresses to assist them after Hurricane Agatha. They didn’t buy bed frames though, in an effort to buy more mattresses for more people. But in the shelter where these people were staying, the ground was soaked, so all the mattresses got molding and were moldy and unusable after one week. So the family again had nowhere to sleep, and much of their small temporary shack was taken up by a moldy mattress. The moral of this story- if you’re going to help, don’t cut corners and make things worse.

We talk a lot about what people who come here to help are really accomplishing. One speaker made a joke that is really true. She said: “Every time I hear about people coming down here to build churches, I have to laugh. The last thing Guatemala needs is more unskilled labor.” It makes you think about all the missionaries here…. There’s a lot of them! But, are they really helping out here? Or are they taking away jobs from other people? Wouldn’t it be better to pay some of the guys here to build the church instead of buying plane tickets so some American can feel good about himself? There’s so many guys here looking for work! Sorry, but now that I’m here, a lot of things we do seems really backwards.

Anyway, after lunch, we headed to the Trancisiones Wheelchair Factory here in Antigua. The abbreviated backstory goes like this: A special ed teacher from the US took a tour of Hermano Pedro, the local hospital, and met a man in a wheelchair who needed surgery for bedsores. He arranged for the man to get an operation in the US. The man stayed in the US and studied graphic design, then came back to Guatemala and paid for his friends to get surgery in the US. This group of guys, all in wheelchairs, started a wheelchair factory in Antigua that makes wheelchairs out of stainless steel and bike parts so any wheelchair can be fixed in any town in Guatemala. Now they provide wheelchairs to tons of people here, and they teach people in wheelchairs skills in this factory so they can go out and start their own factories or work elsewhere. Really cool! My professor Kim will love this, so I took lots of pictures for her!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010: A New Room

I spent the morning trying to catch up on field notes, sending emails, and planning the next couple of weeks as we wind down. When I arrived home, I noticed that the family here had cleaned my room and the furniture was moved completely around. My dresser was on the opposite wall, with the bed and desk moved too. It’s a nice change, but a little unexpected. I know that my room is clean now, but it’s a little odd to see all my belongings in a different area.

For Spanish class, I talked more to Jessica about the speaker from last Wednesday. The speaker said something to the effect that people here are malnourished because they just like to eat rice and beans all the time. This made me a little angry because many people here have so little, so it’s hard to believe that they only want to eat rice and beans. I explained this to my Spanish teacher and she said it is actually a little true. She said for many people here, corn is a major part of their diet, and a big study just showed that when people consume corn, their bodies absorb fewer nutrients from other foods.

Many people start feeding their babies corn tortillas at 3 or 4 months of age and the mothers stop nursing so the babies are malnourished and many of them die. Between 7 months to 2 years of age, kids eat coffee and bread for breakfast, and few fruits are given because of the belief that kids will be parasites from them. I’m not sure how true all of this is, but it’s still interesting to hear. I should also mention that my Spanish teacher has attended 8 years at the university level so she’s not a completely unreliable source. Nevertheless, the info is so different from our US customs that it would be interesting to look into more.

One more thing… There’s something here called the Canicula. It’s a period of a week in the rainy season without rain. We are not in it, but it’s supposed to happen sometime soon and we’ve all been waiting for it to happen. My feet are constantly soggy, whether I wear shoes or not, and there’s maybe been 3 days in the past month without rain for at least part of the day… 2 of them were this weekend (for most of the day). After a long winter in New Jersey, I was so looking forward to a beautiful summer, which this is definitely turning out to be. However, I do wish that the Canicula would start sometime soon because I love wearing dry clothes!

Monday, August 2, 2010: Casa Maria and Spanish

When we arrived at Casa Maria today, we found out that 2 people had passed away over the weekend. One of them was a man who was overly friendly with the ladies and I feel a little guilty that I have spent most of my time trying to keep an arm’s length or more away from him. I don’t recognize the name of the other man, but it’s very sad nevertheless. I’m curious as to what people were told about their passing, and since most are unable to leave the facility, I wonder if they got a chance to say their goodbyes.

The atmosphere was livelier today, and I watched several interesting interactions in the back room. One man was playing ball with the OT practice group and it’s the most I’ve seen him interact with anyone. Other residents were painting crosses and a group of men were talking while sanding some wood. This was so different from the regular arrangement around the perimeter of the courtyard, and the residents seemed to enjoy themselves, smiling and happy, showing off their artwork. It was a dramatic shift from the norm, in a great way.

Afterward, we interviewed a man more in depth and started listening to his story about how he came to live in Casa Maria. It was really sad, like a soap opera, with so many twists and turns to it. I’ve been reading the book by Rigoberta Menchu, a Mayan woman who learned Spanish so she could tell her story and then she won the Nobel Peace Prize. I’m halfway through the book, and I wish I would have read it sooner because it tells a lot about what people go through here. It’s not really Rigoberta’s story, but a narrative about her people.

Anyway, the man I interviewed today, his story was a striking parallel to her story told in the book. It went from words in a book to suddenly becoming real, and it’s terrifying that anyone could live a life like that. An example I can give is about working on the coffee farms (or fincas) here, or at least in the past. Hundreds of people live on the finca, sleeping on the floor of a covered patio with no walls, with animals and children, no bathrooms, and very little food. They stay here for months, work incredibly hard for fractions of a dollar for a long day of exhausting work. Their kids die on these fincas from malnutrition or illnesses, and then the people are docked pay for the burial expense, then may be asked to leave if they miss work to mourn their dead child. This is what is said in the Rigoberta Menchu book, and it’s not the far off from this man’s story. It’s sad to hear, but I’m glad he shared it with us.

On a lighter note- I returned to Spanish class with my teacher Jessica, and we went over something else in Spanish. She’s teaching me parts of grammar and told me that I say things that long way, which is sort of correct, but that I sound funny. So we went over pronouns or something of the sort. I never really know what to call them, but it helps shorten my sentences and I can understand more of what people say to me so I guess that’s a good thing.

Sunday, August 1, 2010: Food and Some Info

I feel like this was the weekend I got to learn about Antiguan cuisine. Anita and I spent the morning searching for a breakfast place and we ended up at Dona Luisa’s, a place with phenomenal fresh baked banana bread, among other things. We shopped in an Artisan market, walked around Antigua and searched for places to stay when our friends arrive at the end of our field school.

At 3pm, we had a charity comedy show for Casa Maria, which we had been encouraged to sell tickets for and to help out at the door. So, Anita and I went and met with a group of other gero students. Sadly, there were very few people there and the only thing we could do was sit in the audience and wait for the show to start. None of us really wanted to see the show though since it was all in Spanish and we weren’t going to understand it. So Amanda, Anita, and I decided to leave after one hour. We came to help, offered our services, and then left when we could be of no more use. Some of the other students stayed behind and they said they regretted it because they didn’t understand a thing and thought the comedians were making fun of them.

 Maybe here is a good place for a bit of a dose of reality. Of the people in our group, there has been some dissatisfaction with the organization and management of our field school. I say this not to be negative, but to demonstrate that there are 2 sides to every story. Some people are struggling with our overall purpose here and they’re questioning whether the amount of money that has gone into it is really being recuperated in terms of knowledge and experiences on behalf of the students. It’s not cheap to be here particularly when you consider the field school tuition, Spanish school, homestay costs, incidentals and weekend meals, plane tickets, and school tuition for those getting fieldwork credit. So the question is, what are we really paying for and is it worth it?

So I can’t entirely answer this question for anyone but myself. This is a field school in a 3^rd world country, and so there’s bound to be issues and blips on the radar. This comes with the territory. However, any issue that I’ve ever brought up has been promptly addressed like my toes, my homestays… I guess that’s it. Additionally, this experience is about exploring OT abroad as much as it is to learn about my roots, so my view is much more skewed than students with no ties to Guatemala. There are some other things that I wish were slightly different, however I will address those in a more private forum. Overall though, I feel like this experience is what we make of it, and no one can make things happen for you. There’s so many things to see, to learn, to experience here… it’s easy to overlook everything that we’re absorbing, but at the end of the night, we’re all exhausted from taking in so much. 

Saturday, July 31, 2010: OT’s in the Capital and Antigua!

So one major thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that in between the search for tiramisu and the actual party, I went to Skype Brian from my professors’ house which has internet access. While I was chatting with him, my favorite professor Devva, whom I’ve described before, was seated nearby so I invited her to meet my fiancé. Both of them were equally as excited to see each other, and I was even more excited because here were two of my favorite people in the entire world getting a chance to meet face to face. Thank you Skype! I don’t think you can get a real sense of what or who Devva is just over the phone. You have to see her expressions, her mannerisms, her enthusiasm, and her entire demeanor to understand why she is like no other person you’ve ever met. She danced on the camera, patted my nose, and was just amazing. Later Brian told me he could tell why I am so enthralled by her, and he was equally as thrilled to meet her. He invited her to our wedding, which is a huge surprise considering our limited space, but I really hope she can come.

Our Gero and Disability Studies groups took an early morning private shuttle to Guatemala City to meet a class of OT students who attend San Carlos University. On the way there, our driver stopped on the side of the road to “pick something up.” That “something” was his buddy who needed a ride to somewhere, so he joined us. Very interesting…

We arrived at San Carlos University’s Cultural Center, off campus from the actual school. We later learned that the OT program is part of the psychology school and this week, the students took over the building in protest, because there are too few teachers for their classes. Our morning consisted of presentations by the San Carlos OT Program, the our program, then a woman from Peru who said things about reintroducing people to the work environment. Devva was upset because the woman told us about an “innovative” program they had that you just punch in people’s abilities after they’ve been disabled and then a recommendation for a job comes out of the computer and that’s what the person gets to do for their new career. Initially, I thought it was a cool idea, then she mentioned how dehumanizing it was to assign a person a career without their input. On second thought… I think I agree with Devva.

Upon returning to Antigua, we went eat lunch at a place called Sabe Rico which has some of the best food ever. I had a a curry chicken sandwhich and watermelon juice with ginger and lemon. We loved it so much, we decided to go for dinner. Before though a group of 6 of us gero girls went shopping in Antigua to a cute indoor market called the NimPot. It’s got pottery, jewelry, textiles… an indoor swapmeet with everything. We returned to SabeRico for dinner and our OT Practice supervisor joined us with Dr. Perkinson (aka Peggy), Devva, my old housemate Erica, and Lisa from Disability Studies. It was equally as delicious, and I’m not at all embarrassed about going there twice in 5 hours.

Friday, July 30, 2010: 2 Meetings and a Party

Our Gero Research group met at Café Rainbow this morning to continue going over our notes. I won’t bore you with the details, but rather tell you that it’s tedious and sort of boring. We read, then ask questions, then read again. We end up with an endless supply of questions, and no real answers because we’re observers of this culture and can only make general theories about what goes on here and why. We don’t entirely know the whole story for sure though- hence all the questions.

After lunch, we met with the Gero Practice group to ask them some of our many questions and then they presented us with follow up questions. This is what qualitative research is like. We try to get to the bottom of things and just when we think we’re there, we realize we have so much further to dig!

My new housemate Sharon and I decided that we would celebrate our house dad, Nacho’s, birthday tonight since it is tomorrow and some of the other students will be away. During lunch, we asked Nacho what his favorite cake is, and he said tiramisu. So after our meeting this afternoon (Sharon is in the Gero Practice group), we went on a mad search for tiramisu in Antigua. After checking a few reposterias, we found a tray of Nacho’s favorite dessert at a cute place near the park called Café Condessa. It came in a Pyrex baking dish which we had to leave a deposit for and promise to return, but it was well worth it.

Dinner time is 7pm and we arrived in time for our Chile Rellenos but Nacho was nowhere to be found. His wife suspected he was out celebrating, but he walked in the door 25 min late with a fresh pineapple and crema de coco (coconut cream) to make us fresh pina coladas! Here is was his birthday and he was so concerned about having a cute girly drink for us. They were the best pina coladas I’ve ever had! Afterward we sang happy birthday to Nacho (who is 65), and his friend came over to drink some more. I went to bed, but I heard them celebrating until well into the morning.

Thursday, July 29, 2010: Casa Maria and Espanol… Again

Another morning at Casa Maria. We’re prepping for more formal interviews so we’ve started our informed consent process, which means reciting a lot of words to residents who just want to tell us their story. They don’t entirely understand the formality of the paperwork that lets them know they can withdrawal at any time, or get complete confidentiality… they just stare at us until they get to talk. There’s a lot of healthy people at Casa Maria and they seem to crave adult conversation with someone new.

So afterwards, I went to Spanish and I started talking to my teacher about the speaker from yesterday. I asked about family planning methods and cervical cancer rates and she said a lot of what the speaker told us- that Mayan women have a lot of traditions which they hold onto and they’re not about to change because things have been that way for a long time. Their faith in the Catholic church prevents them from using birth control, and their husbands think if they get checked for STD’s it’s cause the women are sleeping around (the husbands are usually the ones to be concerned about though).

There seems to be this idea that Mayan women and their families are ignorant, but I really just don’t believe that. There’s more to it because these people are resourceful and great sales people from what I’ve seen in the markets. Here in Guatemala, there is so much diversity : 22 Mayan tribes, 2 Garafuns, and Ladinos who all speak a different language and have different customs. It just seems like they don’t entirely understand each other’s ways. It doesn’t seem right to me to characterize a culture as ignorant though.

As Devva (my favorite professor here) says in regards to disabilities- “Disability does not reside in the person. I can’t give it away to someone else. I myself am not disabled if I can function in my own way. Disability lies in the interaction with another person, or the environment.” This is the same way I think about all of these different cultures. Within the same tribe, their customs make complete sense. They’re not ignorant; they’re following tradition and cultural norms. However, when another of the many cultures sees that here, it may seem different from their own ways. That doesn’t make them any less of a person or an ignorant or maladaptive culture, it’s the interaction between the cultures that creates the issue. I hope that sort of makes sense to everyone because that’s how I’ve processed it in my head.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010: Cabecitas De Algodon and Wheelchair Basketball

Another Wednesday which means another integrative seminar. Again, things are starting to get repetitive, and problem based learning is getting tedious… a consensus among many of us in the program. However, today was different since we started off with a speaker from Alas, an organization that provides family planning services and education to the people who want it in Guatemala, which is apparently a great area of need. 50% of children here under the age of 5 are chronically malnourished, which stunts growth, including inhibiting growth of the brain. We learned that although people here seem like they’re smaller than the rest of the world, it’s not necessarily genetic, but more of a result of chronic malnutrition…. Pretty surprising.

This afternoon, we took a tour of yet another hogar called Cabecitas de Algodon (or Little Heads of Cotton). It was started by a doctor who is also a preacher… the exactly religion, we’re not sure of, since when we asked, the nurse said “he believes in god.” So, whatever that religion is, he tells people about it all over the world. Then he saw a bunch of homeless dudes, and thought about how many homeless people were in his home country of Guatemala. When he came home, he took in seniors, and thus Cabecitas de Algodon was born. It’s half the size of Casa Maria with 3 times the staff and more money to support them. The place was small, but clean, and the people were so nice. After seeing how much different the conditions were here, it gave me hope that maybe we can change Casa Maria to be equally as comfortable.

There was another game of wheelchair basketball this afternoon, so a bunch of us from the Gero group headed over to support the guys. Guatemala against El Salvador- the Guatemalan guys are stronger and more organized, but the El Salvador team has better aim and thus they were able to get more points. There was another group there too with red shirts on and I didn’t recognize the team, but they played after the game was over just for fun. I haven’t ever seen so many functional, independent people in wheelchairs having so much fun in a single area… anywhere- not just Guatemala. With all of the dreariness of our speakers and the conditions here, it’s nice to see something to positive.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010: Fray Rodrigo and a Storm

We got approval to return to the public senior home that I mentioned in an earlier post: Fray Rodrigo De La Cruz. This morning, we were eager to take the hefes (or bosses) up on their offer to observe, and so we went to spend time in the Occupational Therapy Clinic. When the research team and I entered the room, the only OT started to tell us about… I’m not really sure what because I didn’t listen at all! I was distracted because a male resident was sitting right next to us, with his shirt off, and he was hemming the sleeves with an antique sewing machine.

After 5 minutes of ignoring the OT and observing the man, I asked the man what he was doing. He pulled 2 long sleeves out from his pocket and told me he hated the long sleeved shirts they gave him, so he cuts them off and turns his shirts into short-sleeved one. He said he was a tailor by trade and so it was easy for him. I was amazed that they even had a sewing machine, and better yet, let the man just use it at his will without supervision. While I don’t see anything wrong with this since he was perfectly capable of hemming a sleeve, I guess it was odd to see because senior homes in the US seem much more strict about things like that.

Soon after the man left with his new shirt, a group of residents came in for the morning activity of shoe shining. I never thought that this would be so popular but the room got crowded with men who wanted to shine their own shoes.  They all helped each other take off their shoes or shine them if someone couldn’t. I was in awe of everything that happened in the room during this activity… people were showing off their newly shined shoes to us, taking turns helping one another out, engaging in conversation… so many things! What a difference from Casa Maria.

I also met a nice young man who became a good friend. When I say young, I mean under 70. My new buddy is from the same town as my grandma of Quetzaltepece and he is a year or two older than her. It’s such a small town so when he told me the name I was thrilled, then he got excited because I had family from there… we had a connection. He taught me how to make alligator key chains out of beads and string. He lit a candle which I thought was a strange attempt at setting the mood, and then I observed him burning parts of the string and putting the flame out with his fingers… again- probably against the rules in the US assisted livings, but it’s fine here in Guatemala. I learned about his family, I told him about mine, and then I taught him how to say his name with an English accent, which he thought was hilarious.

After this morning, I returned to Spanish class to tell my teacher about everything I saw. She knows both places well and it was hard for me to be neutral on the subject. There’s just so much more to do at Fray Rodrigo that I feel different when I leave the place. If Casa Maria is so boring to me after only spending a couple of hours there, I can’t imagine how the residents must feel. We all need things in our life to look forward to, no matter how simple they are. I’m sure some people at Casa Maria have that, but there’s way more people at Fray Rodrigo that have that. 

Monday, July 26, 2010: Another Day at Casa Maria and Spanish…

The mornings are livelier at Casa Maria. I saw this when I went there for observations with the Practice Group for the first time. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that the people were more awake, or if there was more life in the place because the OT students had things for them to do. The fact is that I haven’t really seen the residents do much of anything other than sit, stare, and chat with each other on occasion. No one engages in “occupations.” Honestly, I stopped looking forward to my visits because the place was so boring and my role is to observe. I already saw the people sitting, so what else was there to do?

So this morning was a welcome change of pace. I watched the residents engage in an exercise class and I was surprised at the people who attended it- not at all the people I expected. Then the OTs had the residents make guacamole together… everyone helped cut tomatoes, onions, squeeze lime, and mash avocados. One woman spread the guacamole on tortilla pieces and everyone wanted to taste it. So many people helped out and the residents loved eating it. I was thrilled to see the residents so eager to participate, yet sad at the same time because it appeared that they craved activities of any kind, there’s just very little in place for them to do.

I switched my Spanish classes back to afternoons so I can go to Casa Maria in the mornings now. When I arrived, I was pleased to see that my teacher also switched so we can keep learning together. I made her come with me and a group of students to a wheelchair basketball game at a local college, which required a 15-minute walk in the rain. We saw Guatemala vs. El Salvador… I’m not sure who won, or even what the rules were, I was too busy examining each player and what their individual abilities were.

It was my Spanish teacher’s first time seeing anything like it, so I was trying to explain some of the logistics of how the guys were able to function. For example, one man had 2 prosthetic arms (the hooks), and no legs, but he was able to push his wheelchair, so I was explaining to my teacher how his arms worked. We practiced Spanish as we discussed what we thought the rules were, asked each other what we thought about it, other sports we like to watch… so many things! It was nice to be able to teach her something too, since it always seems to be me in the student role.

Sunday, July 25, 2010: Chiquimula Markets, Lunch, and My 3rd Home

Anita and I spent the night at my grandpa’s house in Chiquimula- which is so much hotter than Antigua. My grandpa doesn’t have hot water and he says he doesn’t need it. Considering that it’s winter here and Chiquimula was at least 95 degrees, he’s not kidding! My uncle Eric took Anita and I to the markets in town, which is more like a massive outdoor swap meet of vegetables, meats, cowboy hats, shoes… pretty much anything you can think of. After spending an hour in the market maze, we were so overheated and wanted to go home. So Eric took us to the only place in town with air conditioning- the freezer section of the local supermarket. We spent a good 15 minutes looking at the yogurts and butters before heading back out to the street for the walk home.

My grandpa’s house is pretty cool. It’s the first time I’ve been to his property since he built the house and wood workshop. He has a massive garden, with similar crops that we grew in CA: corn, cucumber, lemons, limes, avocado, banana, peppers… he had some extra exotic things to which I still don’t know the names of. His housekeeper, Mila, cooked for us over an open flame outside, grilling phenomenal steaks, roasting peppers and squash, and making us homemade tortillas. We ate so much food at his house, all with fresh ingredients from the market and painstakingly prepared by Mila.

After lunch, we had to head back to Antigua for a dinner meeting to plan our week, so we got back on the road with my cousins. After 3 hours, we made it back in time to meet the new Gerontology Practice supervisor, Sue Copolla (who seems like an amazing OT). She has so many ideas on what we can do with Casa Maria, it’s nice to get a fresh perspective from someone who is ready to jump in and get their hands dirty. Moreover, she’s warm, inviting, and trying to make our lives a bit easier while we’re here… which is so welcome since we’ve all started to get exhausted from our busy schedules. She’s definitely a welcome addition to our team her.

After dinner, I finally got a chance to see my new homestay. I moved in on Friday, but spent under an hour unpacking before I had to head out to Guatemala City for my weekend journey. The new place is cute. I have my own bathroom again, however I don’t have internet, which is sort of sad, but it’s only 3 more weeks. The family is composed of a couple my grandparents’ age, their daughter and her 2 children- one of whom is a 5 year old name Brian- so cute! Oh- and we have a parrot named Polly too. He’s cute, not very talkative, but a bit of a screamer. Nonetheless he’s cute and I’m excited to have more pets around.

Sunday, July 25, 2010: Chiquimula Markets, Lunch, and My 3rd Home

Anita and I spent the night at my grandpa’s house in Chiquimula- which is so much hotter than Antigua. My grandpa doesn’t have hot water and he says he doesn’t need it. Considering that it’s winter here and Chiquimula was at least 95 degrees, he’s not kidding! My uncle Eric took Anita and I to the markets in town, which is more like a massive outdoor swap meet of vegetables, meats, cowboy hats, shoes… pretty much anything you can think of. After spending an hour in the market maze, we were so overheated and wanted to go home. So Eric took us to the only place in town with air conditioning- the freezer section of the local supermarket. We spent a good 15 minutes looking at the yogurts and butters before heading back out to the street for the walk home.

My grandpa’s house is pretty cool. It’s the first time I’ve been to his property since he built the house and wood workshop. He has a massive garden, with similar crops that we grew in CA: corn, cucumber, lemons, limes, avocado, banana, peppers… he had some extra exotic things to which I still don’t know the names of. His housekeeper, Mila, cooked for us over an open flame outside, grilling phenomenal steaks, roasting peppers and squash, and making us homemade tortillas. We ate so much food at his house, all with fresh ingredients from the market and painstakingly prepared by Mila.

After lunch, we had to head back to Antigua for a dinner meeting to plan our week, so we got back on the road with my cousins. After 3 hours, we made it back in time to meet the new Gerontology Practice supervisor, Sue Copolla (who seems like an amazing OT). She has so many ideas on what we can do with Casa Maria, it’s nice to get a fresh perspective from someone who is ready to jump in and get their hands dirty. Moreover, she’s warm, inviting, and trying to make our lives a bit easier while we’re here… which is so welcome since we’ve all started to get exhausted from our busy schedules. She’s definitely a welcome addition to our team her.

After dinner, I finally got a chance to see my new homestay. I moved in on Friday, but spent under an hour unpacking before I had to head out to Guatemala City for my weekend journey. The new place is cute. I have my own bathroom again, however I don’t have internet, which is sort of sad, but it’s only 3 more weeks. The family is composed of a couple my grandparents’ age, their daughter and her 2 children- one of whom is a 5 year old name Brian- so cute! Oh- and we have a parrot named Polly too. He’s cute, not very talkative, but a bit of a screamer. Nonetheless he’s cute and I’m excited to have more pets around.

Sunday, July 25, 2010: Chiquimula Markets, Lunch, and My 3rd Home

Anita and I spent the night at my grandpa’s house in Chiquimula- which is so much hotter than Antigua. My grandpa doesn’t have hot water and he says he doesn’t need it. Considering that it’s winter here and Chiquimula was at least 95 degrees, he’s not kidding! My uncle Eric took Anita and I to the markets in town, which is more like a massive outdoor swap meet of vegetables, meats, cowboy hats, shoes… pretty much anything you can think of. After spending an hour in the market maze, we were so overheated and wanted to go home. So Eric took us to the only place in town with air conditioning- the freezer section of the local supermarket. We spent a good 15 minutes looking at the yogurts and butters before heading back out to the street for the walk home.

My grandpa’s house is pretty cool. It’s the first time I’ve been to his property since he built the house and wood workshop. He has a massive garden, with similar crops that we grew in CA: corn, cucumber, lemons, limes, avocado, banana, peppers… he had some extra exotic things to which I still don’t know the names of. His housekeeper, Mila, cooked for us over an open flame outside, grilling phenomenal steaks, roasting peppers and squash, and making us homemade tortillas. We ate so much food at his house, all with fresh ingredients from the market and painstakingly prepared by Mila.

After lunch, we had to head back to Antigua for a dinner meeting to plan our week, so we got back on the road with my cousins. After 3 hours, we made it back in time to meet the new Gerontology Practice supervisor, Sue Copolla (who seems like an amazing OT). She has so many ideas on what we can do with Casa Maria, it’s nice to get a fresh perspective from someone who is ready to jump in and get their hands dirty. Moreover, she’s warm, inviting, and trying to make our lives a bit easier while we’re here… which is so welcome since we’ve all started to get exhausted from our busy schedules. She’s definitely a welcome addition to our team her.

After dinner, I finally got a chance to see my new homestay. I moved in on Friday, but spent under an hour unpacking before I had to head out to Guatemala City for my weekend journey. The new place is cute. I have my own bathroom again, however I don’t have internet, which is sort of sad, but it’s only 3 more weeks. The family is composed of a couple my grandparents’ age, their daughter and her 2 children- one of whom is a 5 year old name Brian- so cute! Oh- and we have a parrot named Polly too. He’s cute, not very talkative, but a bit of a screamer. Nonetheless he’s cute and I’m excited to have more pets around.

Saturday, July 24, 2010: Why We Decided to Be OTs...

We saw my cousin Kikix (Key-kay) today. My friend Anita (or Ann) and I made the 3 hour journey from Antigua to Esquipulas, by way of Guatemala City and Chiquimula to visit him and see what we could do. Anita is also a student in my program and she had done some work with people who have spinal injuries-- I needed all the help I could get. Kikix broke his neck at the C5 level in January, and he’s been receiving therapy at home for the past 6 months. I’d had a few conversations with him on the phone and he said he really wanted to be able to use his computer again because he makes a living by buying and selling items on the internet. So I promised him we’d find a way to make it happen before we left.

When we arrived at his house, we checked out all of the therapeutic devices Kikix had there. He told us whenever he went to a clinic for therapy, his family would take pictures of all of the equipment he used, and then they’d fabricate their own version of it at home. He had that arc thing with the rings on it that works on upper extremity range of motion, sensory devices for sensing hot and cold and textures, pulley systems to help him work out his arms, hand cycles, a verticalizer table… he had more equipment in his home than some clinics have- and so much of it was made from pictures!

Anita and I examined his abilities, and looked for ways that we could assist him. His strongest muscles were his biceps which allowed him to bend his elbow and rotate his forearm, however he had little strength in his wrists (but there’s some coming back which is amazing!) and he could not move his fingers. So our plan was to make a splint that kept his wrist straight, with a device near his palm that could act as a finger for typing. I promised him he’d be able to use his computer before we left, so we couldn’t let him down!!! After several experiments, Anita and I were able to make such a device out of a thin slat of wood, duct tape, and some Velcro the family ran out and found. We taped a pencil with the eraser side down to tap the keyboard, and viola!- Kikix had a new assistive device!

So here’s the cool part- when we put the splint on Kikix, he checked his email for the first time in 6 months, he played us some tunes from his computer, and checked facebook all on his own! He surprised Anita and I when he asked for his cell phone that has a touch screen- after a few attempts, he was able to work it… again for the first time since his accident 6 months ago. It was an amazing moment! Anita and I almost cried and Kikix was excited. He understood the concept and kept thinking of ideas of what he could do with the splint. It opened a new world of possibilities for him, which was more than we expected to give him.

I’m still in shock by what we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time, with so little. As Occupational Therapists, we focus so much on activities of daily living, and these things are so common, that it’s easy to forget how important they are to people. To many, it may not seem like being able to use a computer keyboard could change a person’s life, but if you could see Kikix’s look on his face (which I have a video of) you’d realize just how important it was to him. It gave him a piece of his life back- the first of many pieces that he’s just beginning to rebuild. More than anything, it gave him hope and understanding that life can go on and still be just as fulfilling… with or without a disability.

Friday, July 23, 2010: Notes, More Notes, and A Few Other Things

I spent my hour between breakfast and lecture this morning searching for a Laundromat that would wash my hiking shoes for me along with some clothes. I tried a place to wash my clothes last week, but the load came back a bluish color, so today, I wanted to switch. A woman at the new place was so nice and she seemed unusually happy to clean my shoes. In total I paid about $4 for a load of clean stuff and sparkling clean shoes.

I then headed to Rainbow Café, a cute little hipster café for tourists here with free wifi. Our component group (Gero Research) met to go over our meeting with Ana Lydia (the owner of Casa Maria) yesterday. It was interesting to see the different perspectives we each had on her explanations for recently asking residents to leave, or the way that she judged people as having more money by the car their family came to visit them in. She also seemed skeptical of everyone as she insinuated that many more people were able to pay her than were actually letting on.

Ana Lydia’s comments reminded me about Common Hope’s ideas about how giving things away leads to people devaluing the services that are offered to them. It’s not that people necessarily don’t want to pay Casa Maria, but if they can get away with it, then it’s convenient to have one less major expense to take care of. Maybe this isn’t the case, but that’s my take on what’s going on at this place. Particularly here, where people work so hard for what seems to be very little money, they can use all the money they have access to.

We spent the afternoon explaining what we learned from Ana Lydia to our Gerontology Practice group, the OT’s that perform services at Casa Maria. We’ve all been getting attached to the residents there, so it’s alarming when they suddenly disappear with no explanation. I wonder if the residents are told where their friends went… That’s another question for the residents on Monday! Where did your buddy go? 

Thursday, July 22, 2010: A Sick Day and An Interview

I slept in this morning… all morning until noon. It was so nice. I called in sick to Spanish class since my stomach has hurt all week and I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed a morning to recuperate and just let my body concentrate on whatever it was mad at. It worked! And by the afternoon, I was ready for the second half of the day.

We took the bus to Casa Maria (aka CM) to interview Ana Lydia, the owner of the joint. She was warm, welcoming, and a little cynical. She’s recently starting laying down the law, asking families to show her the money, or take their loved one home. It’s refreshing to see her start doing this, because I was getting worried. There are so many mouths to feed at CM, and not enough money to do it. Workers aren’t getting paid and many have started quitting, so something just had to give.

I can’t say whether Ana Lydia’s tactics are right, ethical, appropriate… It’s simply her decision and she’s doing what’s best for the people in her home that she’s agreed to take care of. I don’t blame her for asking people to leave, particularly when their families are able to take care of them. At this point, even if they ignored the person all day, it would not be entirely different from CM as long as they met their basic needs. 

Wednesday, July 21, 2010: Integrative Seminar, Dr. Kasnitz, and Another Hogar

Wednesdays have become quite busy for us here at the field school. We attended our 3rd Integrative Seminar where we followed up on a case study that we read last week, and we had some chances to offer our feedback based on the research we've been doing. The cases are based on actual experiences by our faculty, and this particular one was about a malnourished infant who ended up dying due to the lack of resources here in Guatemala. It's a depressing reality here and all too common. 50% of infants suffer from malnutrition here, a pretty appalling statistic.


Another alarming- yesterday I learned that cervical cancer is the leading killer of women here above anything else in Guatemala. This is one of the most treatable of all cancers but many women don't know they have it until it's too late. Part of the reason it's so deadly is that not many women get annual checkups and many husbands don't feel it's appropriate for their wives to let doctors examine them. Additionally, this is a highly machismo society where men have other women on the side, and cervical cancer is most commonly caused by an STD. Catholicism has a huge influence over the beliefs of this society as well, and  contraceptive use is not looked upon favorably. We talked about "structural violence" today in our seminar, which is this idea that certain parts of your society, culture, religion, etc., can do more harm than good in a person's life. It's and interesting concept when you think about it, and there seems to be some structural violence here in Guatemala.


So now on to my favorite part of the day: my walk home with Dr. Devva Kasnitz, our Disabilities Studies professor here, and one of my new favorite people in this world! It's hard to know what to say about her because she's brilliant, warm, enthusiastic, hilarious, talkative, loves to dance, and she happens to have Cerebral Palsy. I mention this last thing only because she's sort of what we're studying here in Guatemala... this idea that just because someone appears one way on the surface, we can't exclude them because everyone has something to offer. On the outside, she has her own way of walking and some people might not completely understand her when she talks, but she's so intelligent and when she leads a lecture, she's so engaging!


She has a more raw perspective on disability and encourages us to learn all of the bad terms in spanish so we know what people really think about it. It's cool because we spend so much time being politically correct and tiptoeing around things. But then she presents us with this crazy idea that when we learn what people really think about people living with disabilities, and what the people living with the disabilities really think about themselves (good, bad, and sometimes ugly labels they give themselves)... only then can we really get a sense of what society thinks and expects of people. It's an honest, yet radical perspective... We've all been asking our spanish teachers for slurs in the language so Devva can compile a list for all of us. None of the spanish teachers, who are ambassadors of their language, want to give us the dirty names, because what would all of us, who are advocates for people here, think about them?


Now onto the "Hogar". An "Hogar" is another name for a Home... we called senior homes here Hogars for short. Today we went to Hogar Fray Rodruigo De La Cruz, the only public home for seniors in all of Guatemala... and it happens to be in the center of Antigua. First, I have to say, wow! The place has almost 2x as many people as Casa Maria and they are so much better taken care of. There's OT, PT, Nurses, social workers, cooks, janitors, and so many other people. I think I've seen maybe 5 staff members at Casa Maria, and usually I only see the janitor who helps the residents there. At Fray Rodruigo, there's artwork made by the residents, a chapel for mass, everyone gets their own clothes, an actual cafeteria, therapy rooms, a functioning fountain... The home is located in an old lavish hotel that is huge and ornate, and just amazingly beautiful!


So a few thoughts- I guess I'm a little disappointed because I can see what the possibilities are here in Guatemala, with some resources, but mainly with a lot of creativity. I also have some mixed feelings on things as far as ethics. Fray Rodruigo limits the number of people who allowed to live there in order to provide adequate and ethical care to everyone who lives there. However, the owner of Casa Maria allows most people in regardless of whether there is space, beds, or money to provide for them. So yes, some of these people may be saved from the streets, but is this at the expense of all the people in the home? Is it ethical to accept people that you can't reasonably provide for?

Tuesday July 20, 2010: Spanish and Common Hope Tour

I attended Spanish class this morning a few minutes late since my legs are not moving as fast on these uneven streets as they’re still very sore. My teacher was happy to see me, though I felt bad that I had not finished my homework of 15 sentences in past tense since all I can do at the moment is sleep to recover from the volcano trek.

We talked about my weekend, her weekend, and the war in the past. I could tell she was hesitant to offer information on the history of Guatemala, and she waited to see what I’d been taught before telling me if it was correct or if she saw things differently. For the most part, we tended to agree on things related to the US involvement in a sort of bad way. She told me her father had two friends who disappeared during the war and she thinks it’s related to their vocal disdain for the government in the 1980’s.  She thinks their dead, but nobody really knows where many of the people went.

I asked her why she thought the war and massacres occurred and she said a lot of it has to do with the government wanting land from the indigenous people that they did not want to give up. She mentioned one town in Coban, where the government wanted to build a dam to provide electricity but a pueblo of Mayans was located there. The government asked them to relocate, but they refused so they pushed all the men, women, and children into their buildings and set them on fire, killing everyone. Pretty crazy stuff, particularly when you find out who taught this government how to accomplish these things.

My day did get less depressing in the afternoon during a tour of Common Hope, in nearby San Pedro. Also called Las Familias de Esperanza, this is the NGO that helped our field school get it’s feet on the ground. We spent an hour or so in a classroom viewing a presentation by Tiffany Boggis, an OT professor at Pacific University in Oregon. She told us about her work in Nicaragua, establishing a field school for students attending her university, and the details of what they’ve accomplished in a couple of 2 week stays. Her focus on the well-elderly population is similar to our research, but she’s been able to get community organizations in Nicaragua to facilitate and continue much of her work throughout the year. This is something we need to do for Casa Maria.

After Tiffany’s presentation, we took a tour of Common Hope which was started in the 1980’s/ and restarted in the 1990’s by a couple from Minnesota who wanted to help kids attend school. The idea of this is that if kids here can graduate high school, they can go on to get better jobs, take care of their families, and they’re more likely to become decision makers in their communities, continuing the cycle of education. Common Hope focuses on education, health, and housing because all are necessary to attend school successfully.

A few really cool things about this place: each child who becomes affiliated with Common Hope gets healthcare through their private clinic along with everyone who lives with that child, all educational related materials are provided, and families donate time to accumulate volunteer hours that can purchase them a “mobile house” (100 to 450 hrs) and/ or stove (10 hrs). The stove can also be prescribed by a doctor for a person who gets frequent respiratory infections. The woman and children here get sick a lot from smoke inhalation from cooking over an open flame indoors, hence the prescribed stove which has a vent.  A “mobile house” is sort of a prefab, one or two room house with cement blocks for floors, all of which can be picked up and moved if the family needs to relocate. The reason for this is that many families are squatters here, so sometimes they need to leave, so this is a solution to letting them keep their homes at the same time.

One of Common Hope’s most interesting philosophies though, is in not giving anything away for free. Here in Guatemala, there are so many people that are extremely poor so there’s a tendency to want to just give people what they need. This gets dangerous though because it creates dependency and complacency. Even the poorest of people are asked to pay a “symbolic fee” for healthcare and other services because it creates a sense of value. When people pay for things, even if it’s very little, they hold it in higher regard and they’re more likely to follow through with the requirements set forth. The people also put in “sweat equity” to earn houses and stoves that they can keep. They help the organization run, which in turn provides services to them and their community. It’s more of a partnership that really seems to work. 

Monday, July 19, 2010: Common Hope and A Lady from Nicaragua

Josie picked me up this morning for my first trip to Common Hope. We’re taking a tour tomorrow but I had to see a doctor there today to check my toes. We took a chicken bus which just crams everyone into them sort of like chickens in those trucks. The clinic was in a beautiful compound and staffed by volunteer doctors from the states as well as local doctors. I saw Dr. Ali (or future Dr. Ali) who attends a med school in WA state. I told him about my daring trek up Acatenango and he told me that 2 of his friends did the same hike, and were as traumatized as I am by the experience.

After examining my toes. Dr. Ali said that I’ll get to keep them… Great news! However the nails may fall off at some point but should grow back. So much for cute pedicures! I’m thankful for the reassurance that my toes are safe for now and I don’t appear to have any sort of infection. He told me that when nails get soggy they break easier and it sounds like my toes got really soggy. That is an understatement!

I skipped Spanish to go to the doctor, and then spent much of the afternoon sleeping as I’m still exhausted from the hike. My legs are still not functioning and laying down is the most comfortable position for now.

We met with Tiffany Boggis this afternoon, an OT professor at Pacific University who is trying to start a field school like ours in Nicaragua. She’s interested in the Well-Elderly population (senior citizens who are considered healthy) and what they do with their time in Nicaragua. She said most people there are highly interested and involved in politics and read the newspapers often. The literacy rates are high, despite Nicaragua being one of the poorest countries in the Americas, second only to Haiti. We’ll meet with her tomorrow as well, and I hope to learn more about this Nicaragua school that sounds amazing!

Also, Josie informed my that I’ll be moving again on Friday to a new homestay so I don’t have to share a room when I’m paying to have my own. I’m excited because I feel like I haven’t connected much with this family so on to the next! The people in Guatemala are all so nice, so I’m excited to meet more of them!

Sunday, July 18: Trouble with stairs and a family visit

I woke up this morning in so much pain. My room is on the second floor and there’s a small step up to the bathroom here. I could barely lift my leg to climb the stair and walking down the stairs was excruciating. My two big toenails have yellow stuff coming out of them, which doesn’t sit well in my mind, so I called our coordinator Josie who is making an appointment at the Common Hope Medical Clinic on Monday so I can have them looked at.

Last night, I spent some time with Devva, a professor from Berkley who was robbed in the market earlier Saturday. She showed me her purse which had a small cut in the side which the thief made while she was shopping and then just reached in and stole her wallet and camera. The markets are crowded here, and she thought someone was a little too close behind her, but she didn’t realize her stuff was gone until the thief was long gone. It’s a frightening reminder to all of us that as safe as Antigua seems, we need to be vigilant about keeping an eye on our surroundings. Erika and I spent the evening with Devva as she called all her credit card companies to cancel them, and we brought her dinner from Pollo Campero. She’s such a sweet woman, it’s so sad to see her go through such a terrible ordeal.

As for today, my grandpa’s cousin Noelia came to visit me with her brother and his wife. They treated me and my friend Jackie to lunch at Las Palmas restaurant, and then took us to a huge coffee farm, Finca Filidelfia, for mochaccinos and a short walk. Noelia had planned to come a day earlier but I scheduled my hike before I knew she was coming, so I had told her I had some school commitments. Because of this, Jackie and I were in a lot of pain from our hike yesterday, but we were reluctant to share our tale. Nonetheless, every step of our walk was full of effort and we kept smiling at each other to keep our secret.

After our tour of Antigua, I came home and Skype’d Brian, showing him my new toenails, a told him about my journey for the day. I miss him so much, particularly now when I’m so achy from the trek. I can use a good adjustment. I have however, figured out the if I walk sideways up the stairs to my room, it doesn’t hurt as bad since I’m using different muscles. I may look a little weird, but it works for now.