I've just returned from Guatemala where I did a 10 day tour of duty with Mary Clark, an amazing Family Nurse Practinioner/Nurse Midwife. She has been working in Guatemala and Central American on and off for the last 15 years. Last year she started a project working with farm workers who migrate within Guatemala and Honduras to pick coffee during the winter months. I visited several locations, and helped her run clinics in three villages in Chanmagua: Rincon de Cafetales, Zarsal and Las Sopas. Each village had between 25 and 50 families. Among other things, I learned that I can sleep on the floor with an 1" cushion, survive cold showers, and make Guatemalans laugh at me and themselves. I listened to enough lungs and looked in enough ears and throats that I started to be able to tell what sick people sound and look like. I was shocked at how many people don't know how to read and how many little kids drink coffee. I was inspired by Mary Clark's dedication, kindness, and sense of humor. I have a bit of a stomache ache left over from food poinsoning my last night in Guatemala City. I'm hoping it will fade without further medical attention. Here are some pictures from the trip:

One of the families that hosted the clinics invited us for a day trip to Copan Ruins just accross the border in Hondura where there was a 700 year dynasty.

Above is a Mayan priestest that was performing a ceremony in the chapel in Esquipulas. The site has a long history of ceremonial use by the Maya. The Spaniards built a church on the site, which is a popular pilgrimage site for Central Americans. .

Mary and I made a house visit to this little baby, only two months old. He was in good shape and soaking up all the love his adoring big sister could dish out. It continues to amaze me how much these kids love thier baby brothers and sisters.

Here I am standing in the school house in Rincon de Cafetales. They closed school on the day we came because it was the only public space to hold the clinic. Here I am looking for some medicine int he "pharmacy" we brought with us. Then there is the Starbucks bag that served as our examining table.

This is one of the old adobe houses in Chanmagua. These are typical, althoughmost are faced and painted. It is increasingly common to see newer concrete block structures, many two stories high, all built with money from relatives working in the Untied States. One woman we spoke with said that half the men of Chanmague are working in the U.S. This is common for many Towns and Villages in Guatemala. In fact, the largest source on income for the country is remittances from the U.S., followed by tourism and coffee/drugs. The family that we stayed with in Chanmagua consisted of a grandmother with two young children. Both parents were working in the U.S.
Here they are getting reading to go to school. Next is a picture of an Adobe oven in one family's back yard.

This young man gave me a tour of the coffee cooperative and showed me what high quality coffee looks and smells like. Here he is showing off the Starbucks label on their bags.

Here I am in my mosquito net after being awoken by a symphony of roosters.

These kids took me to the local store, a locked cupbord in their mother's kitchen, where she kept strawberry soda, coke, and cookies. I was thirsty and starving so I bought two sodas and two packages of crackers to get me through the morning.

Here is Maria taking care of a woman's hand in Cafetales. She was trampled by a horse a week ago and was very lucky no to have broken her hip. Her hand was badly bruised and cut, but was healing nicely .

This is one of the kids that came in with a cold. He was incredibly good natured about me looking in his ears.

The yard outside the kitchen, with coffee drying.

These women cooked us lunch when we were in the Rincon de Cafetales. The woman on the far right had returned from the U.S. where she and her husband worked for several years. Her husband was shot in an mysterious (to us) accident shortly after they returned to Guatemala.