Guatemalan Sunday

I know God says you should keep Holy the Sabbath. We did WORK. We saw close to 400 patients in a little town about 30 minutes from Amberes. When we got there, some of the pastors and their wives were organized people, gave them numbers and exam forms, and helped us get set up. I started the day in the "dark" room doing retinoscopy and ophthalmoscopy: seeing what type of prescription they would need by seeing how the light moves through their pupil and taking a peak in the back of the eye to make sure it is healthy. 

The crowd we had to weave through to get from room to room

Guardian Angel prayer hanging in one of the classrooms of the school we were at.
Pretty sweet, huh?

I was working in there with Jessie, Van and Brandon. It was a little warm for a while, mostly because the sun was beating in.

Van trying to cool off with her Spanish Cheat Sheet

Brandon catching up on Ret

But we ended up backed up in optical so I switched it up and moved over there. Jessie went with me. We gave out a TON of glasses and even more drops. My Spanish improved, but by the end of the day, instead of saying "Puede poner una gota en cada ojo cuando tiene dolor or le arden." (You can put a drop in each eye when they hurt or burn) I caught myself saying, "Puedo poner un gato en cada ano..." (You can put a cat in each year?) It was intellectually exhausting. We were also on our feet on cement block all day which was physically draining as well.

Jessie checking the near acuity with the patient's new reading glasses

This little lady was so sweet. We had a hard time talking with her about her need for a near prescription. I made the mistake of  saying, "Lentes cuando esta leyendo." Glasses for when you are reading. She got a disappointed, saddened look on her face and ashamed said that she couldn't read. MELT. After troubleshooting a little bit, we (myself with the help of a translator) found out that she like to sew previously, but doesn't anymore because she can't thread the needle.
Positive Spin--- These glasses will help you to sew again!! She was thrilled! I asked her to take a picture and found the cutest pair I could and told her she looked beautiful! Doesn't she?

Josh (valued translator) and Jonathan (valued expertise having just finished 3rd year)

Once darkness settled in and we could no longer dispense glasses, the pastors gathered us together behind the school for a little prayer service and ceremony. We started in prayer and then some of the young girls sang for us some of their Spanish Praise and Worship songs.

"Esteban" Steve, our fearless leader and evangelist.

The first group of girls

Abre' nos ojos el Dios

The pastors had some of our team pray over them as they prayed over us

La Bonita Chica! I was smiling at her and tickling her as I walked by all day long so before we left, I got a picture with her.

The pastors' wives had regalitos for us- little gifts! I received a little key chain with a soccer ball on it and a blue and orange threaded bracelet with GUATEMALA on it. They were so hospitable and lovely, but we were EXHAUSTED. 

Saturday in Guatemala

I awoke Saturday morning at 3:00am to shower and finish packing and apt flood prep on the island. We left for the airport at 4 and got there, checked in and went through security. Everything went without a hitch boarding and our flight to Atlanta. We landed in Atlanta in the International terminal because we got in earlier than anticipated, which was good for us as we were departing from the international terminal as well. There was a CARIBOU COFFEE between our two gates-- delicious coffee and blueberry almond 7-grain oatmeal. We had a three hour flight to Guatemala City. Customs went smoothly and we were greeted by Cesar (our Guatemalan coordinator) and Steve (our US/Guatemalan connection), father-in-law of Kristin, our mission coordinator.

The back of the van

Roomies, ready for adventure!

The front of the van

We loaded up our luggage and jumped into the vans and headed to lunch. El Pollo Campero! Fried Chicken, french fries, donuts, and sodas. Welcome to Guatemala! 

We drove about an hour and a half to Amberes, where Cesar lives. We unloaded and relaxed a little. Some of the gals jumped into the van with Cesar to go to the market to pick up a little more fruit and some of the volunteer interpreters from Santa Rosa de Lima. 

the market

The Catholic Church in Sta Rosa de Lima

In the Marketplace

Roxi our Peace Corp Translator

We returned to the Casita for dinner and a game plan pow-wow to discuss strategy. Dinner consisted of frijoles, huevos y tortillas-- beans, hard boiled eggs and tortillas in addition to bananas! Delicious.

Cesar and Elba's yard

We turned in pretty early as breakfast the next morning was at 7:15 and we were pretty shot from the finals week and a day of travel. The casita is a cement hut- a very modest abode. The windows were shuttered and without glass. The showers were a pipe sticking out of the wall with cold water coming out of it. brrrrr The girls had rooms in the casita and the boys slept in tents outside in the yard. The roosters woke us up at 4:00 am so we were still a little wiped out when we got up for our first day seeing patients.

triduum.

HOLY THURSDAY
One of my favorite liturgies, hanging right up there with Midnight Mass and Holy Saturday. The music, the Latin, power of it all- bringing the Eucharist to a different altar with a solemn procession, washing of feet, etc. At St. Peter, Frs Tom, John and Eduardo along with a lady representing the parish office and pastoral council washed the feet of the congregation-- anyone who wanted. I love singing the Gloria for the first time since Ash Wednesday and hearing the bells ring, knowing they won't be rung until Easter Vigil. Chills. I miss participating in Newman choir, especially singing this Gloria with the likes of the Phi Kaps and the lovely ladies of Newman while Terri gets goose bumps and gives us thumbs up while directing. Simply awesome. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Jane does a great job with the choir at St. Peter, it's just quite the same.

GOOD FRIDAY
As a little girl, I remember going to church every Friday after eating our fish sticks or tuna  helper to go to Stations of the Cross. Through the years, I started serving- holding the cross as Father went from station to station. Then I played the organ for Benediction. Then we started to get so busy that we weren't able to go more than a few times and then going to college, I had work pretty regularly. I wanted to go to Good Friday service, but the one at St. Pete's was at noon... and I have class at 1, a class that I actually like and didn't really want to miss. I looked up the Diocese of Memphis website and found that the cathedral is about a mile from school and the were having stations at noon and then their service at 7. SWEET. Their cathedral is modest in size, probably about half  of St. Cecilia's with a similar looking sanctuary and almost as beautiful. Around the archway framing the sanctuary it reads: "Come to me all you who are labored and burdened and I will refresh you." Perfect. It is very ornate and lovely. Stations were really good to- singing during the transition from one station to the next. I saw a first year and the director of the Clinic there too.

I went again at 7 to the Cathedral. Their choir... ROCKED. A capella. 4 parts. The priests were really good too. Veneration of the cross was really neat, there was a lot of reverence. When I was driving in, I saw a little bus that had Missionaries of Charity written on the side of it. When I went inside, I met the first year that was there earlier and sat down with her, behind the Missionaries of Charity religious sisters-- in full habit like Blessed Mother Teresa. They were sitting sprinkled through women who looked like they were under-privileged.  When I got home, I googled. It turns out that the MOC have been here for 16+ years and mission to women and children needing help. They actually do not live too far from downtown/the island. It was inspiring and powerful to see them.

And now it's HOLY SATURDAY. I love the liturgy, but, now I'm not sure which church I want to go to!

weird weather.

I'm currently sitting at my dining room table sipping freshly brewed hazelnut coffee in my bathrobe. The power is out in midtown (where school is) so I'm getting to chill at home for a while- until we get the "all clear and cool" email from Dr. Phillips. We had some strong storms blow through last night, knocking power out on the island for about a half hour or so, but midtown is still out, so school is going to be rull stuffy when it does come back on.


At 10:45 last night, Kaila and I realized that, though we know what to do in the event of tornado sirens/severe thunderstorms, we do not have what we need... aka- battery powered flashlights and radios. Turns out, the power goes out in TN waaaay more than it ever did in Nebraska. We do have battery powered computers with internet access, but when the power is out, our internet network goes out too. She called her little brother back in IA to check it out for us and was also texting a girl in our class who lives farther east to see what was going on. She was hiding in a closet with her phone, computer, and a glass of wine waiting for her husband to come home. Needless to say, we will be finding our flashlights and batteries for our alarm/clock/radios for the next storm.

Before the power went out, I checked the Wayne Herald online and saw it snowed at home yesterday... and was 34, feels like 30 at 10pm, while it was 81 here. It got up to 88. No wonder we had storms, right? So, I hope y'all are staying warm. I'd probably better get back to my VT Lab manual. We have our final practical tomorrow- Diagnosing a Pt with a Binocular Vision Disorder and explaining it to their "parent" (the grading doctor) and then give them the best therapy to treat that condition and demonstrate how to do 2 or 3 therapy techniques...

I'm so burned out and ready for the semester to be over.

On an exciting note---I am working with one of the greatest Pediatric Optometrists in the country in starting a student club for InfantSEE at SCO. He is one of the pioneers of this great program which gives and infant 6-12mo old a free eye exam to check for various, serious ocular conditions. The student body seems pretty excited about it as well. My classmate, Molly, had been working with him previously and asked me if I would be willing to help as well. Since her surgery and subsequent stay in the hospital, we wanted to keep this going to honor her. Dr. Steele even suggested calling it Molly Goodman's InfantSEE Club. I think we can do some awesome things with this.

unexpectedly awesome weekend.

things have been crazy around here. the life of a student is very chaotic and busy- with tests, meetings, studying, practicing techniques, trying to keep in touch with people, errands, etc.

after the o-pharm test on friday, Kaila, Leigha, Allison and I went to east memphis to volunteer for the Youth Villages 5K. they are an organization that helps foster children in the community. we went out there representing COVD @ SCO. the people were so wonderful. it actually felt like i was a part of the memphis community and were doing something not school related for a change- yes, it was organized through a school organization, but it wasn't and SCO project or assignment or anything like that.

since we were all the way out there, we decided to hit up DSW-- cute peep toe, animal print pumps on clearance! and then went to the brand new chipotle on the way back. Leigha kept saying "it's worth it. it's sooo worth it" the entire time we were in line waiting, which, mind you, was an hour. AND let me say, it was quite worth it.

once we got back home, i had to do some baking. saturday, after bible study at the Newmans', FCO hosted an Easter Egg hunt fundraiser for our trip- complete with a(nother) bakesale. we had some bean bag tosses and face painting as well as balloon animals. I painted a few balls, mustaches, bunnies and butterflies on tiny little cheeks. it was really refreshing to experience the joy and happiness of children. dang, they were all so cute too!

later on, my friend jessica and i babysat for one of our professors. her two little boys are hilarious. i introduced them to my friend "the tickle monster." the 3 year old exclaimed sternly, "the tickle monster is NOT my friend but YOU are my friend!" we had another little girl, who is 6 like the other little boy. we had a ton of fun.

mass today was great. Fr. John said mass, which he hasn't done in awhile as he travels a lot, much like Fr. Matya did, as he too, is the director of vocations- but for the Dominican Order instead of Lincoln diocese. he challenged us to not be "spiritual bystanders" this week and really experience Holy Week, especially if we haven't had an awesome Lent, which is so true for me. yes, i did give up sweets and limited myself to a once daily check of fb, but i do not feel like i'm a better person... not at all. so, here's to making a holier week.

going to the chapel...

one of my dearest friends/cousins/awesome ladies is getting married in May. Our parents have played cards together since before they were all married and my dad and her mom are first cousins. When I was home for Christmas, Meg and I got supper at Noodles and sat there for several hours catching up. She had asked me if I would play the organ for her wedding. My heart broke and I had to tell her I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it-- I am in Memphis this summer, seeing patients, so I could be in clinic until 7:00pm Friday night. Flights are expensive, I don't have time or a piano to practice and I am not that good to begin with. She told me not to worry about it-- "You can say no, I have back-ups. But I am going to sweeten the pot a little bit to make you want to come even more." Y'all, it's going to be one BIG CELEBRATION.

After getting the invite in the mail, I knew I should investigate this flight situation a little more. After scouring the internet, I found a nonstop flight in/out of Omaha which, crossing your fingers and saying a prayer, should get me to the church on time to attend. AND the nonstop flight, on the airline's website was CHEAPER than all of the "discount sites" which would get me to OMA after leaving MEM at 6am with a layover in Chicago, Atlanta, or Houston.... Thankfully, later departure time with a similar arrival-- simply awesome. My parents are so sweet and paid for the flight because they know how important she is and how much I wanted to be there... That and I think Mom wants me home at some point this summer.

Not only will I get to witness the wedding, I will get to see the rest of my parents' crazy card club friends, our (somewhat tamer) extended family, and MY OWN FAMILY! I'm missing Luke's graduation in order to go to Guatemala, so I will get to see my BA degree-d brother as well as my little sister. Only 6ish weeks! Now, I should probs go study for our test this afternoon.

checked out.

BAM. Look out Memphians. Two thumbs. Red hair. Gonna examine your eyeballs.

 my patient was Tony, a fellow Husker/Shopko Optician from Omaha. we chanted Husker Power before we started. j/k but seriously. kinda. Dr. Newman, was my not-scary-at-all staff doc. She's the Contact Lens Resident. I asked her when it was over if there was anything I could do better or if she had any suggestions. She paused thought a little bit and said she couldn't think of anything and said I did great. Hopefully my grade reflects it as well. :)

Praise God. and Bless Tony and Dr. Newman.