Gratitude

I am lucky enough to see the sunrise most mornings and there is just something about water...staring out at it has such a calming effect. I will often see some pelicans and maybe a fish or two. Yesterday, I saw a fin pop above the surface. Surely that can't be right, I thought. Then, I could see the whole dolphin! I ran in to wake the kids and we stood on our porch/at the window watching a group (pod?) of dolphins frolic in our front yard.
I am grateful every day for being able to do the work that I love in a place that is magical. Sometimes things are hard, though, and Deirdre's response to that has been to try to think of one thing to be thankful for every day.
I am thankful every day for my amazing and wonderful family. I am honored to be part of such an amazing crew of humans who are bettering life on this planet - each in a different way. I know that I couldn't do what I do or be where I am if I didn't have them behind me.
I am thankful for my colleagues at work - the permanent staff, the short termers, the long termers, the board - everyone is working together to better the health of people in the Toledo district. The permanent Belizean staff are an exceptional crew who are the real engine of Hillside. I am grateful for their tolerance of my learning on a daily, even hourly, basis.
I am thankful for friends who I have grown with throughout the years and new friends that come into my life.
I just want everyone to know that I am thankful for YOU! Enjoy today and all of the special moments within. Hug each other for me!
Sending lots of light and love...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cultural Day

Every rotation, students have a whole day where they are exposed to the diversity of cultures in Belize. I had not attended this day with the students yet and wanted to be able to enjoy it with the kids. This rotation, we finally went! What a whirlwind of a day, but certainly fun and informative.
The day started with one of our staff, Yolanda, giving an overview of the different cultures in Belize. Amongst others, these include the Mayan - Mopan and Ketchi (so many different spellings of this one), the East Indians, Creole, Garifuna, and Mennonite - amongst others.
Then, we traveled to one of the ruins - Nim Li Punit which means "Big Hat."

We learned about the Jipi Japa tree - you can eat the hearts of the shoots (it's like hearts of palm) and the leaves are used for weaving here. It tasted delicious!

We also learned about the cahoun palm and the rubber tree and many other plants!
After this, we went to a women's cooperative to learn how to make cornmeal and tortillas...

And then eat them with a traditional Mayan lunch!

We learned about basket making and weaving as well. These women work hard!

After lunch, we traveled to Blue Creek to hike up into the caves. This was incredible. We hiked along the water until we reached the entrance to the caves. We tightened our life vests and entered the water of the cave. We swam and climbed and scrambled to three different waterfalls within the cave! We were surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites and bats. Deirdre and Brennan were troopers...even though it was scary at times! The students were awesome and encouraging and helped them along. Thanks, students! So much fun!

No need to wonder where Blue Creek got its name

Deirdre, Brennan and the guide at the entrance to the cave

Beautiful jungle scene - the cave is at the top of the photo

We survived the blackness of the cave

We stopped by the Mennonite ice cream store on the way to have a Garifuna dinner with drumming and dance lessons.

Tasty Hudut - fish in a coconut milk sauce - mmmmm

Do you notice that this is the same drummer that you have seen in almost all of the previous photos? "Ray" (given name forthcoming but he goes by Ray) spent days drumming! Still so amazing...not sure where he gets the energy!

Battle of the Drums and Garifuna Settlement Day

November is a big month here in Belize. They celebrate the arrival of the Garifuna people from the Caribbean. The story goes like this: A slave ship wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent and the slaves swam for shore. A large number of them drowned trying to reach shore. They settled the island, but the British and French were already there. The British did not like them, but they got along okay with the French. Finally, the British just kicked them out. They set sail in dories - dugout canoes - and tried to find a different place to settle. By this time, they had mixed with many other cultures...the French, Carib, and Spanish...and blended that with the West African culture that they came with to form a distinct Garifuna culture. Some settled in Honduras and other places along the coast of the Caribbean Sea. A group sailed to Belize and sought entry. A British soldier met them and turned them back...three times. The fourth time, they were allowed to settle here in Belize.
To celebrate the Garifuna culture, Punta Gorda hosts a Battle of the Drums where people come from all over (even from Honduras!) to demonstrate their amazing Garifuna drumming skills. It was a lively event and the drumming was spectacular. Below are some photos and a video of the event:

Then, November 19th is Garifuna Settlement Day. It starts essentially the night before and there is drumming literally all night long. The next morning at dawn (ish - this is Belize) they re-enact the arrival, rejection, and eventual acceptance of the Garifuna people to Belize. We arrived at 5:30 am and there were people milling around the wharf. Most had not been to sleep the night before and many were at varying levels of intoxication. We found some of the students and staff from Hillside and began the wait for the event. And wait. And wait.
A man was talking with the group and he was pretty intoxicated. He told us that he was our neighbor and talked in circles for a good 15 minutes before a light bulb went on and he said, "I have a dory (dugout canoe)! I'm gonna go get it! Want to ride in the dory?" Hmm. Paddling while intoxicated. No thanks. He proceeded to leave. He did indeed have a dory and he paddled it (with a 2X4) back toward us while drinking a beer and waving a palm frond enthusiastically. We were laughing at his silliness.

As his dory approached, Deirdre said "When he lands, can we count that as seeing the re-enactment? I'm tired and we're just standing around!"
After he beached his dory, a group of people in Garifuna garb started getting into the canoe...his canoe was actually the one being used for re-enactment. They brought bigger paddles, though. The canoe approached the wharf and was rejected three times by a gentleman dressed as a British colonial soldier.

Then, they were finally allowed to land. This was followed by a procession of drumming and dancing...well, a procession of drumming and dancing then a whole day of drumming and dancing!

Beautiful people, beautiful culture! I'm so grateful to be able to experience them both!

It's NOT normal

I was chatting with someone back in the states and telling them how excited the kids were to be going to their dad's house for Christmas. He said, "Yeah, being back on American soil, normal life...I mean, um, I'm sure life is normal there, but...um." I interjected "It's okay. I KNOW that life here is NOT normal and they are looking forward to it!"
I'm glad I don't live a 'normal' life. It's more fun this way. It does have its challenges, though.
I bought a cereal last week that was a Mexican version of something like Cocoa Puffs for a treat. We got it home and I decided to have a bowl of it...with shelf milk. It had both the consistency and taste of cardboard. Wasted money.

Then, I was at the grocery store and saw branded Froot Loops. Being that the national bird here is a toucan, I thought "Perfect! Toucan Sam and REAL Froot Loops! What a great treat!" I brought it home and excitedly told the kids that I found REAL cereal. Brennan took one look at it and said "Mom. It's not real Froot Loops - it's in Spanish! It's Mexican Froot Loops!" Oops. The box has not yet been opened. Here's hoping it tastes like an American treat!

Still too soon

WARNING! Not for the squeamish....
I asked Deirdre what she thought about me posting this - is it still too soon? Her response was that it is always too soon, but that I could go ahead and post anyway. She is such a trooper.
That bite on her back? My poor little lady was bitten by something carrying the eggs of a botfly. The larva hatched and grew under her skin. Her discomfort was feeling the little devil chew away at her flesh for weeks. Ew! Several of the docs and nurse practitioners (all from the states) looked at the little hole in her back and thought "Hmm, strange, but not infected and not looking too bad." It was only after I said, "Let me get a good look at this with my headlamp (thank you, friends at Rushville Community Health Center!)" that I saw the little beast coming out for air. I was really grossed out but didn't know what manner of worm was inside my child! I took her to the doc here in Punta Gorda and said "I know it's a worm, but I don't know what kind. YOU know your worms - I don't!" Dr. Arzu took a brief look and said "It's a beefworm. People here just take them out in the villages. They don't need a doctor. I would take it out right now but someone is in labor and about to deliver a baby so I can't. Just put some petroleum jelly on it and take it out when it comes out for air."
Deirdre did not sleep that night and we repeatedly put anbesol in the hole to numb him throughout the night. The next morning, the medical director here, Mischa, opened the clinic and put some lidocaine in her back but was not successful in removing said beastie. We occluded again and waited. By the time evening rolled around, we couldn't wait anymore. Mischa reinjected Deirdre with lidocaine and squeezed while his partner, Carly, tweezed. Success! Beastie was removed. Thank you Mischa and Carly!

This was where he was living in Deirdre's back

Beastie himself - he held on tight with those awful barbs!

We then sent the beast out to sea on a watermelon rind funeral pyre while listening to Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" Light 'em up up up, light 'em up up up - I'm on fire! So long sucker!
Apparently camphor prevents the eggs from hatching, so we now put a spot of vick's vapor rub on almost all of our bites! (At least I do - no larva under my skin, please!)

Update from Last Mile Health

Again, I am really excited to be part of this organization, so I am going to keep sharing our updates!

See that training material? We created that! How exciting to get to see it in action!

Direct Relief blog post on the impact of Ebola on Last Mile Health's childhood pneumonia program in Konobo, in honor of World Pneumonia Day (November 12, 2014). 

NBC News story by Maggie Smith, on how it will never be enough to just eradicate Ebola. Though Ebola interventions are the first priority, LMH's Raj Panjabi said it's important to keep an eye on the long game. He said, “The goal has to be to not just contain Ebola." (November 9, 2014). 

Guardian op-ed by LMH Liberia Board Member Robtel Pailey titled 'Nigeria, Ebola and the Myth of White Saviors.' She wrote, "While the US has been scrambling to address the few cases of Ebola on its shores with a series of policy missteps, Nigeria showed that it could be done by an African country on its own terms." (November 8, 2014). 

Huffington Post op-ed by Francine LeFrak highlighting Last Mile Health as an organization to support during the holiday season. She wrote, "I was with founder Raj Panjabi in Liberia last October, and I saw firsthand how [LMH has] revolutionized how to deliver healthcare to these communities." (November 4, 2014). 

Ebola forum panel discussion featuring LMH Advisory Council member Dr. Lisa Cooper at the American Association of American Scientists, where she mentioned Last Mile Health's model (November 4, 2014). 

Washington Post op-ed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on investment in health systems as the long-term cure for Ebola in Liberia. She writes, "Countries like Liberia need long-term investment to build up our health systems to present outbreak of this scale from ever happening again." (October 19, 2014).

A Tarantula Named Inigo Montoya

Every overnight clinic, Mr. Rudy scopes out a good jungle river for us to "cool off" in. I suspect that he is just kind to our olfactory senses and knows that we must sleep in close quarters together after a long, hard (and sweaty!) day. We were walking to the river in Otoxha after dark when one of the Belizean staff members, Clarita, said "Loretta! Watch out!" I didn't stop my stride fast enough and half crushed a tarantula. I felt terrible about it and Clarita put it out of its misery. The next morning, we had a visitor in our clinic...

Rudy thought he might be coming to seek revenge. I called him Inigo Montoya: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"

The End of the Road

I have now officially been to all of the locations where we do overnights. Last week I went to Dolores and Otoxha. The road goes no further than that. There are trails to a couple of villages, though, and I'll get to visit one of these at the beginning of next month. Regardless, I happily drove my Jeep to the ends of the earth! (or just the end of the road)

We had a fairly busy clinic, complete with taking a break to do flouride treatments in the youngest two grades at the school (attached to the health post here).
We didn't have too far to drive back to Otoxha, and we were driving as the sun was setting in quite possibly the most beautiful area of Belize that I have yet encountered. The rolling hills remind me of home! (Though really, not much else does!)

Our community education on nutrition that evening was difficult - there is one flood lamp in the village that is solar powered, so we gathered under it to talk, but were still so reliant on headlamps:

I woke the next morning and looked out. I had a lovely view of the school and the water containers for the village. I was so impressed with their ingenious method of pumping water from the well into holding tanks:

That, my friends, is a see saw. The kids play on it and it pumps water into the tanks that you see. Those tanks are the village water supply. Have fun and be useful at the same time! Win/win!
Clinic the next day went well - a steady stream of patients - and flouride treatments in this town as well.

The Peace Corps volunteer who lives in this village wanted me to go visit one of the villagers at home. As we were headed out of the clinic, she was warned to take wood with her. I didn't really understand, but as we were walking along, she casually picked up a pretty hefty stick. Apparently this was for dogs! Eeks! We didn't encounter any, luckily.

There were several bushes with this lovely flower on it outside of the clinic. Rudy told me that it is one of the most commonly used spices in Belize -Recado. I have been using it on some of those rare occasions when I DO cook and didn't even know what it looked like in its original form!

View from inside clinic - you can see the bushes of that red flower (and a horse)!

Pizza night(s)

I am busy here in Belize. I usually gauge my level of frenzy by 2 things: pictures and cooking. I love to do both but I know things are crazy when I am not taking pictures or cooking food. Here, it's kind of a toss up. I take some pictures, but I sure don't cook.
First, the food is different! I'm not familiar with a lot of the stuff here. I think the kids are embarrassed to go to market with me because I always ask: So what is this? How do you cook it? And everyone graciously shares recipes, etc.
I remember going to Rialto Market in Venice and desperately wanting a kitchen to cook all of the beautiful things I was seeing - so many varieties of seafood! I try to remember that perspective because here I just see "Now what the heck are we going to eat this week?"
As fate would have it, I live next door to the "Best Pizza Around Town"

In case you were wondering, I just walked into my yard to take the photo. It's not the greatest, so maybe I'll add another later.

I'm on a first name basis with the owner, Byron. He's a funny little man who delivers pizza on bicycle with his baby in the back carrier. It's so cool! Byron helped me carry pizza back to my house because the boxes he had were flimsy and I purchased more than one to feed my kids and the Kelly boys. He asked how long we would be living in PG. He lit up when I said we would be here until next August and asked us to his Christmas party. I think it might be a bad sign that the pizza man counts us among his close personal friends to share Christmas with!
I will endeavor to cook more...  As many of you know, kitchen gadgets are my weakness. I love them and I have none here. I have so been missing my kitchen gadgets! A dear friend, Fred, mailed a garlic press and peeler to me. After about a month en route I actually got it and I am so excited! Thank you so much, Fred! Now I have to cook to try it out...
Maybe I'll take some Garifuna cooking lessons...

Hangin' out at the ruins

I know I have blogged about yoga at the ruins...it still is an amazing experience but it takes time to get out there, etc. I hadn't been out to Lubaantun in a while, so I decided to take the kids along on a weekend afternoon. They had no interest in participating in yoga, so I encouraged them to be creative with the camera and take some pictures. Here are the results.

Just creepy!