dis is da life: Day 4

Day 4

I cannot believe I've been here for four days. I want time to stop.

Today we took a taptap to the most rural village I have seen yet. I don't know if my pants made me extra hot today or if it was just extra humid but once we got off the taptap my body was literally drenched. Like all the way through my clothes. I thought my water bottle had leaked on me while on the taptap but nope! Turns out it was all just sweat. Lovely.

We then hiked down into the valley tucked between a circle of mountains. The mountains were each covered in corn, mango trees, avocado trees, bread fruit trees and I'm sure hundreds of other tropical plants I don't know the names of. The dirt road we hiked down was pretty steep and there were a lot of loose rocks. I don't think any motor vehicles would have been able to handle the trail, although in Haiti I'm constantly being shocked by what they can get there vehicles to do. The hike down took about a half hour. We got to a little village tucked back in a tropical forest. They had made a "school" out of wood, rope and tarps. 2 of the volunteers taught English classes while Matt, Rhiannon and I went around with a local girl who had been trained to take people's blood pressure. In this specific community Matt knew someone in charge of another organization who had been in contact with the community. He had agreed to help carry out what the organization had started while they were away. The girl we went through the Community with had a few people she was responsible for taking and recording their blood pressure. It was so interesting to go around and see how these people were living.

After she took the first mans blood pressure Stanley, one of our full time employees, noticed the man had what I thought was just a spot of dirt on his foot. Turns out the old man and gotten a stick stuck in his foot a couple of weeks earlier. He hadn't been sure what to do about it, so he rubbed dirt in it. He did what he thought would be best for getting rid of the wound. This was such a huge eye opener on the lack of education. Matt cleaned it and bandaged it. He also tried to explain to the man what he could do in the future when something like that happens.

Next we visited a woman who had just had a baby 7 days earlier! She was so far from any hospitals it made me think she must've just had her baby at home! She let us hold her baby.

We taught a class on the cardiovascular system, blood pressure and hypertension. We had Michael, one of the English volunteers translate into French with us. I felt more comfortable with him as a translator. It didn't feel like the audience was losing any information in translation. I really enjoyed teaching this group. Even though we weren't speaking the same language, I felt like one girl in particular was very dedicated to learning the information.

I love watching the other volunteers teach. I'm able to recognize what is working and what the community is having a hard time understanding. It helps me see what I need to focus on while I'm teaching.

The community provided lunch for us. It was some sort of pasta. Everyone here is so kind! We at in her home. It was one room, with a bed, a kitchen table, chairs and a cabinet.

Once back at the house Matt and I went to Bosea - the first community I went to on the day I got here. Matt set up days to educate the health leaders in that community. The three community leaders we had chosen had a couple very good questions. We told them that at the end of our training we would give them a certificate that stated they had been trained as a health educator. One of them asked if the certificate would help him get a job. Matt told him that it would. I didn't know this but apparently certificates from organizations are very useful here for a resume. The locals really love Matt. He takes the time to communicate with people in a personal level. He is also able to teach in a way that makes hard topics seem basic and easy to understand. He breaks each concept down until people can apply it to knowledge they already have. I learn a lot when I watch him teach - not only about how to teach but also about concepts that I thought I've understood for years.

There was another incredible lightening storm at night. I watched lightening bolts strike across the sky and light up the night. I love laying on the roof and watching the stars, the clouds and the rain. I like getting drenched in the rain.

I got into a conversation with one of the volunteers about humanitarian work. He asked me what I wanted to do with it. I didn't know how to answer, if he would have asked me a few months ago I would have told him I wanted to teach abroad about health. Exactly what I'm doing right now! This has always been my dream! I told him that career wise - I was starting to think about doing my internship more locally so that I could find a job more easily. Even as the words came out of my mouth I didn't like what I was hearing! I've never worried about convenience. It got me thinking about my future. I don't want to dread my future; I want to look forward to it and be excited. I think that somehow the pressure of providing and security has started to subconsciously effect me. It left me thinking about what I really want in the future and what type of life would make me happy. I want to teach health. I want to teach people who haven't had the opportunity to get an education. These last few days have made me so incredibly happy.