Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Day Nine: Poor but Rich


So the good news: I survived the nighttime insect swarm that apparently invaded our beds. And the extremely cold shower that followed my awakening only served to sharpen my awareness of how absolutely different my life is from the people who live here.

Breakfast today was again, simple but delicious. We had 2 pieces of toasted bread each, as well as a generous mug of hot chocolate milk. It felt good to drink something warm this morning, since the temperate had literally dropped 30 degrees overnight.

We eventually left the house to get to clinic around 8:30 a.m. And already there was a long line of people waiting to get in the clinic when we arrived. I was assigned to the role of taking vitals this morning, and it gave me a chance to do a lot of counseling about diet and exercise (a lot of female patients were frustrated with their weight on the scale). Ana saw them in clinic with the doctor, and apparently were more than a fair share of interesting patients. There was one child who was given treatment for worms since his mother saw some in his stool. And it was also "Papanicolau Day," so many women were there to review their results. Out of the approximately seven women who came for their results, two had cervicitis. Fortunately, the Dominican government has a similar sort of reporting system to the United States for sexually-transmitted diseases. Good to know that they are keeping an eye on things, I suppose...

After clinic, Ana and I paid another visit to Dina, the 18-year old mother of three that we met for the first time yesterday afternoon. She was in good spirits when we saw her, and she was very excited to see us. Her husband, Ramon, was there as well. Whereas yesterday, both of them had been reserved and polite when interacting with us, we found them to be extremely talkative and open with us today. Thanks to the good weather, we had a great chance to have a look at the household. As I said before, the whole family lives on a farm up on a very steep hill that looks something like this:

De Medical Adventures in GuaGua Land


The view from the top of the hill is absolutely amazing. The farm itself however, is extremely poor. Dina and Ramon have no share in the land--they were placed there by a landlord who gives them a living space in exchange for taking care of the farm. There is no running water, and the family uses a latrine. Animals seem to have utmost control of the place, running to and fro in the fields as well as in their house. It is a far cry from what they must have been used to in the city. I could only imagine what Dina must be going through, being only 18 years old and with three very young children.

Ramon, however, seems to be very supportive of his wife and family. Unlike other spouses, who seem not to care one bit about what goes on inside the house, he seems to love Dina very much and would do anything to make sure his wife and kids are happy. "I am a lucky man," he told me, when I asked him how he felt about his circumstances. "I am very poor, but I have a wonderful wife, three beautiful children, and good work. And look...the view up here is pretty, and it is quiet and peaceful. So in a way, I am rich."

I was so touched by his words that I couldn't help but smile the whole rest of the time I was there. Dina, who sat next to me, couldn't stop smiling either. I was struck by just how much they seem to love each other, despite the fact that they were so young and virtually stuck on an isolated farm in the middle of nowhere. To me, their situation was tragic. But given their attitude, I left the farm with a glimmer of hope that their story might actually have a happy ending.

In other news, Ana led her first basketball workshop for the girls in the village. She had originally thought of the idea when remembering the youth basketball clinics she taught at for her local youth group. Anyway, it was received with a good deal of excitement here in El Llano. It is amusing to me to think of the little improvisations we've had to make while being in this town, however. We ended up holding today's session in a small, enclosed concrete area with no basketball net. Ana is determined to find a real basketball net tomorrow. We shall see...

Dinner was a huge heap of fried cheese and batatas. It was really good, but had the side effect of making both Ana and I bloated and sleepy. Will write more tomorrow...

1 comment:

  1. Nighttime insect attacks? Cold showers? Breaksfast consisting of a slice of toast and tea?

    Reminds me of the time I spent sharing a low end apartment in Lima. It was bit of a culture shock. The roaches bothered me at first but the biggest thing I couldn't get over was the diet, I was losing weight fast and not feeling very good after only a week.

    I did drink the water despite all the warnings and I was fine. I don't suggest it unless it can't be avoided, drink tea. The locals were offended if I said I didn't want to drink their tap water.

    cuidate y disfruta la aventura
    Dave from meetup

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