A Hospital Visit

Today was pretty much only work, but there were plenty of interesting points.

On the way into town we were stopped. Two police boarded our bus, one with an AK-47. I was worried we were being ticketed or that they were going to check all our passports, which we had been told we didn’t need to carry. They talked a bit to the driver and then the bus started up again. A little farther down the road we stopped and they got off. It turns out they just wanted a ride.

It’s pretty interesting how prevalent TV is here. Even some pretty shoddy looking houses still have satellite dishes.

Our first job was visiting a hospital for children. We passed out bags of toys to the kids and bags of toiletries.

This was a public hospital, and the walls were plastered with these rather propagandist political posters.

Whenever someone is feeling ill we joke that they probably have dengue fever.

This girl isn’t smiling because she feels guilty for cheating at concentration after I pretty clearly explained the rules.

The hospital didn’t end up being as bad as I had feared. There was a syringe on the ground while we were walking outside, and a tiny bit of blood on the floor in one of the rooms, but otherwise not too scary. The rooms were packed. In one room there were probably ten beds with no curtains. Maybe 8 of them were lying with their newborns, one was having contractions, and another had a temporary curtain up. We guessed she was probably in labor. 

Papaya Criolla 

This was pretty gross. They had the ground beef just packed into the meat case. How they get it all out before it spoils is beyond me.

Our second half of the day was among the dumbest chores I’ve ever been given in my entire life. We were hand polishing a floor with brooms and mops. It looked no different after we were finished. Dumbest thing ever. And this picture of Lydia is the awesomest thing ever.

I pulled a couple of mangos off the tree at school. I hope they ripen before I have to go home. I saw some school girls eating green ones and holding out their hands while they walked. It turns out they had salt in their hands and were eating the two together. Maybe I should try that. 

It was pretty important that they get the last drops of fuel back out of this tamping machine.

Back at the house.