Blink...

...and six weeks are gone. I realized this morning that I haven't posted in far too long! The following posts will get you caught up with what the Charles family has been up to recently. Where to start?

After World TB Day, we flew back to the states for a few days to celebrate my only brother's wedding. It was a wonderful few days with friends and family. It had been a few years since my family had been all together and much much longer since we had all been able to spend time with our cousins!

Cousins and the groom!

Yay! Rehearsal dinner with family

The Murray side with the groom and the incredibly beautiful bride - welcome, new sister!

All dolled up

Fun with friends and family

The sibs at the wedding - one of my favorite photos of us

The wedding was absolutely beautiful at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, LA. The reception was a bus ride away at the Nottoway Plantation. Beautiful, magical, wonderful. It was so amazing to be a part of Luke and Crystal's special day! I am so excited to welcome Crystal to our family!
We were able to enjoy New Orleans food, street music, and the fun atmosphere of the French Quarter before hopping on a plane and heading back to Belize.

Riverwalk, New Orleans

Street performance and St. Louis Cathedral

World TB Day

Today is World TB Day! The World Health Organization uses today as a call to action to stop one of the top infectious disease killers globally.
From the NIH statement on TB Day:
"World TB Day, March 24, marks the day in 1882 when German microbiologist Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Despite the considerable progress made since that discovery, TB remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases. In 2013, an estimated 9 million people became ill with TB, and 1.5 million people died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This airborne disease is a leading killer of women and children worldwide. TB co-infection is the major cause of death among HIV-infected people killing roughly 1 in 4 who are co-infected. The growing problems of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB further intensify the TB crisis."

The theme for this year's TB Day

 Hillside was able to participate in a TB health fair at one of the Polyclinics here in Belize. The day started with a parade as school children marched up to the clinic carrying signs with messages about tuberculosis.

After prayer and introductory speeches, this Mayan couple showed a traditional dance. When their dance was done, the woman gave a speech about having pride in your heritage and upholding tradition. Inspiring!

We were asked to talk about nutrition at our booth. We had lots of little customers learning about how to stay healthy!

Our booth with Jimmy (PA student), Angela (CHW), Britt (Hillside nurse), Deirdre, me, and Brennan

Jimmy talking to kids about nutrition

Deirdre teaching!

Britt in action

 It wasn't all work, though. There were games! Hillside was asked to participate - and we pretty much dominated! Jimmy was on the winning tug-of-war team. Britt and I won the egg toss.

And Deirdre won the watermelon eating contest!

It was great to be able to participate! They were kind enough to feed us lunch - caldo, which is a traditional soup. The chicken was really tasty, but Brennan was a little surprised to find a chicken foot in his! Angela (the community health worker) said that it was her son's favorite part of the chicken. None of us were brave enough to try it.

I have a link on this page to Partners in Health - they are a group that has been fighting the fight against TB for a looong time. Check out their website to see their good work!

Diving in Utila

Deirdre, Brennan and I with Shelly, our awesome dive instructor. Thanks, Shelly!

We had an amazing week learning to dive in Utila, Honduras. It was a scary adventure trying to get there - ferry to taxi to collective taxi to hired driver to bus to ferry to tuk tuk (breathe) - and it took a day and a half. We stopped for the night in La Ceiba and as we were checking into a nice hotel, Brennan said, "I don't care how much this place costs. I've had about enough dodgy things today, Mom. I want to stay here." We did.
I was so relieved to be there and dreaded the trip back all week after hearing "Well, make sure you don't take a bus that looks like THAT. They go into the villages and are robbed by bandits all the time." Or "Don't stay in San Pedro Sula. It's really not a safe place." They way back was easier to navigate and just time consuming...not unsafe! I feel more confident and comfortable navigating the system in Honduras now, but it was awful to do it for the first time with kids in tow.

I was so glad to be on this ferry from La Ceiba to Utila!

 I'm telling you, after all of that travel, it was fantastic to get off the ferry in Utila and see that someone was standing there with a sign with my name on it! Tuk tuk to Alton's Dive Center was waiting for us!

Deirdre and Brennan in their first tuk tuk (motorized rickshaw)

Diving in Utila? Worth the trouble. I have been terrified of this my whole life. I grew up with the knowledge that this was how my grandfather had died in 1960 when my grandmother was pregnant with their 6th child. No one I know scuba dives (that I am aware of, anyway, though I know it doesn't often come up in casual conversation), so it has been somewhat of an enigma to me, fueling that fear. I started snorkeling down here and have lots of fun with that, so I figured it was about that time to conquer that fear.

Sunset on our first day in Utila

We started Sunday afternoon with the theory portion, learning about the rules and equipment and how they work (and how to take care of them!). Monday morning was more theory and quizzes. In the afternoon, we got into the water...swim test, treading water for 10 minutes, then our underwater skills. We got our gear and started getting ready to get into the water when I noticed that my regulator (what you breathe out of) felt like it was difficult to breathe out of. That's not fun! I asked the assistant instructor about it and he said, "Yeah, it's a little difficult, but it is still within regulation. You can get air. If it's going to cause you psychological issues, we can switch it out." I said it was fine. Then we got under the water. Nope. Not fine. I was flipping out in my brain a bit. I asked for a new regulator. Not gonna lie, I was still flipping out in my brain a little under the water. We had to take our masks off under water and then put it back on and get the water out of it. Later, we had to take the mask off and breathe through the regulator for a minute with no mask...then put it back on and clear it. For me, it was the most difficult part. Deirdre and Brennan were all stars taking their masks off and putting them back on. They both had a little trouble with taking it off and leaving it off, though.
We were tired when we got out of the water on Monday and we were back at it on Tuesday morning...theory and quizzes in the morning and more skills in the afternoon...some in the shallow water but then we went out on the boat to actually dive. We had to repeat all of the skills that we had practiced in shallow water in deeper water. Brennan came down and went back up a lot, saying that his ear was bothering him. He snorkeled a bit while Deirdre and I did some skills and then swam around...the underwater world is truly fascinating! I had trouble staying under...I just kept floating to the top. I guess I am just a buoyant human.
Brennan ended up not being able to dive because he got an ear infection. Bummer! Deirdre and I finished the course and are scuba certified! Brennan will hopefully finish up his course with a conservation group here in Belize.
I am pretty mortified that I didn't get more pictures - I only have one of Deirdre in her scuba gear - you can see Brennan in the background in the water. I had stepped away for a moment when he emerged and he was out of his gear by the time I got there. The rest of the time was dive, dive, dive...no time for photos.

Deirdre (and Brennan) scuba-ing

The island with its dive sites

One of the dorms at Alton's Dive Center

The diving was spectacular - we were able to see so many tropical fishes (parrotfish, pufferfish, trunkfish, cowfish, flounder, and the list goes on!). We got pretty close to a few nurse sharks and a couple of moray eels - creepy! I was completely astounded by the coral formations. It was absolutely amazing to be able to see the underwater world. I swam in a school of creole wrasse and am constantly in awe of how the fish just don't seem bothered by our presence. Fascinating!

Our trip back through Honduras was long, but relatively smooth.

We got to see where bananas come from in Guatemala.

And then we were relieved to see this sign welcoming us back to Belize.

Shew. Long and awesome trip!

Just Another Day in Paradise

This weekend we went to Maya Day...celebrating the Maya heritage and traditions.

We got there a little late and missed the Deer Dance.

Deer Dance costumes...sigh

Deirdre and Brennan answering questions at the Peace Corps booth (for stickers!)

Tortilla making competition - they had to grind the corn and then make the tortillas!

This was the juice truck

We walked around a bit before deciding that we were just too hot, so we went to cool off in Blue Creek.

We returned to Maya Day festivities to see that we had missed the Stilt Dance.

And then bagged it all and came home. My yard is full of coconut trees, so Jacob and Brennan harvested some for us. Nothing like coconut water from the trees in my yard...so fun! Brennan is getting pretty good at opening them with a machete...I'm still working on it.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Machakil Ha

It's Women's Health month here in Belize and the Ministry of Health is doing PAP smear campaigns around the district. Hillside was asked to help out with providing PAP smears in some of the remote communities here. There are 2 villages that are only reachable by hiking in or by horse, Graham Creek and Machakil Ha. I hiked in to Graham Creek in December with the Maternal and Child Health Nurse and the Community Health Workers. It was a muddy amazing adventure that I will share pictures of when I get them.
On Friday, we started in Dolores (Remember my End of the Road post?) and hiked in to Machakil Ha with a physician working with the Ministry of Health as well as the Maternal Child Health Nurse, Community Health Workers, Peace Corps Volunteers and our long term volunteer, Jacob. We drove the Jeep as far as it would go through this...

And then finished the trek on foot (except Nurse Albia, who opted for the horse) while horses carried in our supplies.

It is amazing to be able to visit these communities! I am truly grateful that my work takes me to such amazing places! Just another day at the office!

Adventure bound

I know it seems like it's all play here. I work hard and we play hard. We are off to the Bay Islands of Honduras to learn how to scuba dive. We are nervous and excited!
As an aside, it's hard to get motivated to go running, especially when it is so hot. We were told about the Zombies, run! App and it is so cool! We want to go longer to get more stuff. It's so fun!

Under the Sea

These awesome photos from this weekend are courtesy of Steve - long term non-medical volunteer. Thanks for sharing, Steve!

Headed out to Silk Caye

Silk Caye - complete with restroom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diving for conch shells

Our swimming buddies - nurse sharks!