Orientation and our "Conference Call"

Yesterday was a long day of orientation to the clinic, the day-to-day workings of our small clinic complex (like where to put our garbage and hang the laundry), and a lecture by our fearless leader, Dr. Dick, about tropical diseases and rashes. We've had a little more time to get settled in our dorms, and now I've got a few pictures to post. It is lovely, but incredibly hot and humid in our rooms at night.

We were also given a lift into town to go to the grocery store. 

The grocery store stocks primarily expensive imported American food. The Belizeans purchase American food, especially the bad-for-you stuff, as a sort of status symbol. In addition, there is a fresh market on Wednesday mornings with gorgeous produce. Interestingly, as we are finding out starting to go through the data of our nutrition project, the Belizean families do not eat any of the fruit they grow. They grow fruit exclusively as a cash crop to make money the wealthy and the white tourists will pay at the market.

At the end of the day, I was excited to find our last two group members had safely made it to Punta Gorda. 

This morning was spent primarily on our nutrition project. The group of students volunteering last month had collected surveys and nutritional data at each of the rural villages served by the Hillside Healthcare Clinic. It will be our job to turn their data into a complete report as well as begin to develop nutrional interventions based on the needs identified by their data. In order to transition the project smoothly, we set up a conference call with the previous students. We really wanted this to work out, and it turns out that the best internet connection in Punta Gorda happens to be at a small resort run by an American couple originally from Ohio. So, we were able to mix a little business with pleasure and complete our conference call in between dips in the ocean-side pool. (I know, life is rough.)

In actuality, one of the things I was most excited about today was the oscillating fan Katie, my roommate, and I purchased to help cool our room at night. We carried this four foot tall fan around all day, but it is definitely going to be worth it.

The pictures from top to bottom: 1. Our clinic manager, James, a nurse practitioner, holding a rhinoceros beetle. 2. The rhinoceros beetle. 3. Claire, a med student from England, standing in our kitchen. 4. Amie, another med student, in our living area. 5. Katie's and my bedroom before Katie got here. 6. Supaul's Supermarket. 7. Katie petting the iguana a few of the local boys caught and brought to our front door. They named it Bamboo Chicken. We later watched them climb the tree to put her back. (They assured us it was female, although who knows how they could tell.) 8. Jimmy hanging out by the nearest power outlet for our computer conference call. It just happened to be at the bar as well. 9. Katie and Ryan hanging by the pool. Working hard.

Arrival

For all of those who may be concerned (Mom and Dad), I was lucky enough to make it to Punta Gorda without a hitch. I even made it on time, which I hear is rare around here. I feel especially lucky, 

knowing that two others in our group were caught in the midwest snow, and will have to wait to arrive tomorrow.

My trip was fairly uneventful until my local flight from Belize City to Punta Gorda. I boarded a truly tiny 15 passenger (including the pilot) puddle jumper with a group of spring breakers and a family with three kids. We flew about 25 minutes over gorgeous scenery to Placencia, a popular beach destination where we dropped off every body else. I was the only passenger going all the way to Punta Gorda. The pilot offered to let me sit up front in the co-pilot seat, and my view was spectacular. I could see the treetops of the dense rainforest, the coastline, and the very few small towns along the way.

One of the clinic employees met me at the airport and drove me to the clinic site and the dorms where all the volunteers are staying (pictures to come later). The other students had arrived this afternoon and were ready to go eat in Punta Gorda. We ate at a fun outdoor restaurant called Waluco's Hot Spot (maybe? I have to double check the name). All the tables were out on a large deck with a palm frond roof. There were probably about 20 other people there, and, to give you an idea of the size of Punta Gorda, that may have been the majority of the adult population. We had Belizean beer, curry chicken, and a great time singing Karaoke with the locals. (They tended towards old school country. We, rather embarrassingly, sang Beach Boys and The Thong Song.)

The pictures are (from top to bottom): a couple of lovely views from the plane, the runway in Placencia- taking off after dropping off the rest of the passengers, my first view of Punta Gorda, and finally, the Punta Gorda airport. (Yes, that is really it.)

T-minus 14 hours to departure!

Welcome to post #1 of my attempt at a Belize travel blog!

I am leaving bright, early, and weather-permitting tomorrow morning for Punta Gorda, Belize. (Click on the map at left to enlarge. Punta Gorda is in the Toledo district in southern Belize.)

Once there, three other University of Wisconsin medical students and I will be spending four week volunteering at Hillside Healthcare Clinic, a non-profit medical mission serving southern Belize. For more information about Hillside Healthcare International, and to see pictures of the clinic, check out http://www.hillsidebelize.org/main.html.

During the week, I will be working at the Hillside Clinic location caring for patients, traveling on mobile clinic visits to rural areas, as well as contributing to a project surveying nutritional needs in the area. The weekends are free for fun, sun, and travel! When possible, I will post news and pictures of both activities.

My goal is to update every few days. Please feel free to message or comment if you'd like to hear more!

Finally, I have to give credit to Sean for my blog title. Thanks friend.