When we went to the school all the children were very eager to learn. We taught them how to brush and floss their teeth, and good hand washing techniques. We played with some beach balls which taught them how to share with others. We ended the day with doing the monkey song and trying to get the children involved. They didnt seem to understand what we were saying but they really enjoyed having us there and laughing along with us.

Back in Panama City

Today has been a fun filled day full of shopping. We were able to visit a local market where they sell "artesanias" which included a lot of hand made crafts. The market was a large area with many places to shop, it resembled a flea market. I purchased all sorts of goodies for my family members back home. We then traveled to the causeway were we visited duty free shops. This part of Panama was beautiful, the picture shown is one of the many gorgeous views. Our time here in Panama is winding down and I'm excited about our last few days. I'm sure the rest of our trip will be great and I am truly grateful to have been part of such a great experience both clinically and non-clinically.

Christine

COMARCA!

We are now in the Comarcas. From what I gather, the Comarcas are the Indigenous peoples designated land, much like our Native American Reservations in the US. Here we stay on a Jesuit compound, in one large room! Well, the girls sleep in one large room, and the boys stay in another. While the teachers stay in the priests house- with AIR CONDITIONING! They have earned it though, with all the work they have put into this trip.
My trip into the communities started with a town called Soloy. Soloy was probably the most poverty stricken community I have ever seen in my life. The houses were made from tin, sticks, old wood and dirt. The people used the larger sticks placed in the dirt for walls. If they had tin they covered the sticks with it, but if tin wasn‘t available they used blue tarp. The only thing differentiating the inside floor from the ground outside the house was that they patted the clay down inside the house to make it more like a floor. Some slept on mattresses that they placed on sticks to serve as a make-shift bed. The less fortunate used large slabs of plywood to sleep on, also raised with sticks. There are no doors and no privacy. The “house” was just one large room separated by sheets hanging from the wall. If they had sheets to spare that is.
It is very hard for me to see people live like this, and I really just want to do more for them. They are so grateful for everything we have done, so I can at least feel like I have made some sort of difference.

Children of the Comarca

Today we went into the Kindergarden classroom and we taught the children the importance of hand washing and oral hygiene. We had several activities for them to demonstrate the importance of not spreading germs and to take care of their teeth! They were very excited to see us. We brought them each a bar of soap, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. The children are very well-behaved. They even sang us a song that they had been practicing that was half in Spanish and half in English. It was such a great experience and very fulfilling to know that we were helping the children of Alto Caballero. We were able to talk with one of the teachers there about the children. He said many of them do not really focus on school work because their parents are not very supportive. They rarely do homework because they are made to work on the farm with their father instead. This makes it difficult to teach them the importance that education has on their lives. Many children are also mal-nourished and are small for their age. Clean water seems to be a constant problem. They often collect their water in buckets from the rain. Some of them will boil it if they are able to clean it. Today was a wonderful experience. The children are very sweet, caring, and well behaved. I just wish there was more that we could have done for them!

Soloy

Hola!
Today is our 6th day in Panama and i have had a wonderful experience so far! I have seen and experienced many things that I have not been accustomed to in the United States. Today we went into the village of Soloy for the second time. We have been speaking with Women throughout the village regarding domestic violence. There were about ten students and five translators that would go from house to house conducting a survey of about 150 questions. The people there were very friendly and welcomed us. There houses mostly consisted of sticks that were put together to make the walls and a roof that was made out of tin. They had no running water and no electricity. The women seemed to have many children and mostly with different men. I was pleasently suprised by the honesty and difficult responses to the questions that we had to asked. It was really disturbing to hear the things that most of these women have had to go through and the things that they are still dealing with. It is amazing how different cultures seem to think completely differently! Its almost as if these women have had no choice and this just the way that they live. Some of the things that are acceptable in their culture is completely opposite in the United States. These past few days have really opened my eyes to a whole new world with many issues and hardships that are dealt with on a day to day basis in order to survive. I am having a wonderful experience in Panama and I have really learned a lot from the people here.

Hot Springs

We're back to Panama City. Something that I really enjoyed about our trip was Boquete. It was a great small town with lots of outdoor activites, shops and restaurants. We went ziplining, horseback riding, rock climbing and to the hot springs. One part that I particularly enjoyed was the hot springs. The hot springs were really relaxing in a very natural setting. While we were there our guides set it up for us so that we could meet a monkey. Meet Cheetah!

Health Fair

We are back at the villas at the City of Knowledge in Panama City after spending the last week and a half in San Felix. Words cannot describe the amazing opportunities we all had during our stay in the mountains, visting 3 different communities: Alto Cabellero, Soloy, and Hato Juli. It really was a shock to see the kind of poverty that the indigenous Ngobe-Bugle people live in. It was also quite an experience staying in the compound in San Felix where we had no A/C or hot water, and it rained most of the evenings that we were there. Bottles and bottles of bug spray were shared by everyone, and hand sanitizer since soap was hardly available. I really enjoyed being in the communities instead of at the compound, providing help to the natives. I had 2 days of clinicals in Soloy, where I gave immunizations to adults, children, and babies. Then we had a health fair in Alto Caballero where about 400 natives showed up to receive care and checkups. I gave more flu shots and other vaccines in those 7 hours we were there than I have given during the entire 3 semesters I have spent in the hospital for nursing school. Blood pressure and developmental screenings, emergency care, women's health care, and dental care were also available at the health fair. In the OBGYN room I did a Pap smear, which usually only nurse practicioners can perform, so it was a great opportunity for everyone. The language barrier was a bit of an issue that day since I am not familiar with Spanish medical terms. I also struggled with "Cemento" in the emergency room, which is a form of penicillin that basically turns rock hard once it gets into the muscle. My issue was that it became solid in the needle before I could inject it, really tricky stuff.
Until my next blog, which I will probably write when I get home, or during our 6 hour layover in Miami.