September 30, 2010
Day 26
Today I went to a meeting at the Dominican Fiesta with Teresa, a woman from the Order of Malta and a guy named Doug from Project HOPE. I was only at the meeting for a short time because I had to go to the clinic for my observations. While I was at the meeting I learned a lot about shipping and logistics. I never realized the effort it took to get supplies from the United States to other countries. The container shipping industry is quite complicated but very interesting. I guess this is why some universities devote an entire major, supply chain management, to this industry. After the meeting I went to the clinic for some more observations in pediatrics. I was really impressed by the lessons and tips the doctor gave to a young (15 years old) mother. The mother was obviously inexperienced and the doctor spent a lot of time with her and explained to her all of the things she should be doing to keep her baby healthy. The doctor seemed to have a real interest in the health of the baby and that is so important.
I spent my afternoon in the nursing/pre-consult area again and I definitely enjoy being there. The nurses are great and there are so many wonderful little babies who come to be measured and weighed. After that, I spent the rest of the day/evening at the Project HOPE office and we discussed logistics for a service trip to Haiti that will take place during an upcoming conference. The common question was “is that in pesos or US dollars?” I really had trouble getting those numbers straight. For the record, it is in US dollars. We didn’t get back to the house until some time after 9:00pm. Needless to say I was quite exhausted by that time.
October 1, 2010
Day 27
This morning I went to another meeting at the Dominican Fiesta but this time there was breakfast involved. Have I mentioned before that I like food (healthy of course)? In addition to the nice breakfast we had we had a successful meeting and we were able to cover some important things that are going to be happening in the next couple of weeks. Ruben came to the meeting too and he is just an overall great guy. He is a community leader and pioneer in an impoverished town near Santiago, Dominican Republic. He is the type of person who just wants to make the world a better place and I think we need more of those people.
After the meeting we went back to the office and I finished typing my 1st Month Summary. It was nice to reflect on everything that I have already learned in the last month. I had so much to say but I had to condense it in order to keep the summary from being five pages long. I did some more research and also worked on plans for the Haiti trip. I stayed home after lunch so I had a nice relaxing afternoon. Note: we didn’t get home for “lunch” until some time after 4:00pm.
Fun Facts:
1. At the breakfast buffet at the hotel I tried a typical Dominican dish “mangú” which is mashed plantains with sautéed onions. I only tried a little bit because I wanted to have other things (healthier things like fruit and yogurt) but it was pretty tasty.
2. I love fruit and there is so much here. More about that some other day.
3. I now have to wear insect repellant all of the time. (See mosquito bite count)
4. Cars frequently drive backwards down the streets here. OK, not frequently but I have seen it happen at least 6 or 7 times already.
5. Two people in the kitchen at the clinic the other day were curious about my baby carrots I was eating and I offered them some to try. They were really unhappy when they tasted them. They both thought it was some sort of cheese and when they realized they were carrots and raw they were quite disappointed. I guess baby carrots aren’t very popular here. They both agreed that I was a conejo (rabbit) because I liked eating them. Thank you to the best supermarket, BRAVO for having my favorite little lunchtime side dish!
Mosquito Bite Count: On Wednesday or Thursday a very rude mosquito bit me five different times on my thigh/leg.
Peace,
Jaclyn
No comments:
Post a Comment