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Managua, Nicaragua
I'm participating in a month-long medical trip to Nicaragua, so I'd like to use this blog to document all of my experiences abroad and keep everyone at home in touch!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Day 8

I was up by seven thirty to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and rice with beans before venturing to La Concha for our last time. I was under the impression that we would spend the day playing with some of the local children and speaking with a few of the families we treated earlier in the week. Within minutes, the entire clinic was filled with the chatter and laughter of 45 2nd-4th graders from the community.

We spent the morning playing a variety of games with the kids, including their version of pin the tail on the donkey (pin the nose on the clown). We proceed to teach them the rules of tag and musical chairs and set up several games in front of the clinic. I loved each and every minute of the day! Their excitement and energy were contagious. Understanding their Spanish at times was difficult because of their rapid speech. Towards the end of the morning, we brought out a pinata for all the kids to enjoy and sent them home with a soda and a small toy (ranging from stickers to coloring books). They were all so grateful and gave us many hugs before leaving. They left me with a smiling heart.
Before heading back to Masaya, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in the community!
In the late afternoon, we attended a suturing and injections class taught by Dr. Cerrato. He used oranges to mimic human flesh for the injections practical and sponges for the suturing. We were taught how to do a few basic stitches as well as how to give injections in the arm and buttocks. Leslie and I talked to a few of the students on one of the other ISL trips that have been here longer than us. During their rounds in the hospital, two of the four of them have had the opportunity to suture and all of them gave injections at one point or another. Before leaving for Nica, a number of people joked with me about how much more liberty I will have in the hospitals here versus ones in the US. It sounds like that statement will hold true. Knowing that the next time we suture it could possibly be on a live human, we decided it would be to our advantage to pay extra attention to the demonstrations!

We headed into Managua for dinner and a movie. We saw "Que paso Ayer? Dos" (The Hangover Part Two) for only $2.75. It was a different experience seeing the wealthier parts of this area. Standing in line at the movie theater, you would never know that communities like La Concha were just 30 minutes away. Tomorrow we are going to the next community we will be serving, San Juan de Oriente. I've enjoyed a few days "break" but am very much looking forward to being back in a clinical setting!

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