Monkey Brain Musings

Saturday night...(*The internet was not dependable last night, So I’m posting this Sunday morning, before I head to the airport in Tegus*) I'm tucked in to the Hotel Maya, in Tegucigalpa (commonly referred to as Tegus), after a fun travel day. We were up early, checked out of the Hotel in Catacamas, and on the road by 8am. Usually, Medical Brigade teams are taken to Valle de Angeles, on their way to Tegus. Last year, Jen and I had to carpool with a gentleman who needed to get to the airport right away, so we missed the side trip. After a beautiful ride through Sugar Cane fields and farmland, we stopped about 30 minutes outside of Tegucigalpa. Valley of the Angles is a town filled with shops, food stalls, local artisans, live music, and carnival rides. It's a hot spot for visiting tourists, but also for locals, which comprised most of the people we saw today. The weather was gorgeous, and tonight is the first night of the Fair in that area of Olancho, so the streets were fill...

Friday evening...The last day of my work here is finished. I am sitting on my bed, in my hotel room, with my sliding door open to the street. The street is a cacophony of sound, the bus stop across the street is busy with people leaving the city for the weekend, the street venders are selling food and goods to travelers, motorcycles and taxis are dropping off and picking up, children are crying, dogs are barking, people are laughing and talking. I love these sounds. It is why I asked to be on the second floor, facing the street. I love to hear the town wake up and I love to hear it tuck in for the evening. Yesterday was the last day of lectures, and the last opportunity for all of us to practice scanning as a team. Everyone received Diplomas of Training, hugs and thanks were shared, photos were taken. Last night, JM and I had dinner with Martha, the VP of Predisan in Honduras, her family, and two of the Director Physicians. Dr. Javier has been part of the t...

Thursday night...Lots of rain today, so the WiFi is a hot mess, which is common here. I'll make this short and sweet, hopefully be able to post this tonight, and share more tomorrow. Another great day of training. Tomorrow we will spend the morning at the clinic in Culmi, then wrap up at Predisan. Update: The power has gone out...again...so I'm going to try to post this! All is well here, more tomorrow! :)

Wednesday night...I'm happy to say, it's been another great day in Catacamas. Today was a big lecture day for me, giving all but 1 of the remaining lectures, from 8:15 until 12:30p. It's a challenge to balance the important lecture material with the equally important hands-on practice, especially with only a week of training. Tomorrow will be a busy day at the clinic, with a lot of patients, so we all decided to complete most of the lectures today. In the afternoon, we practiced scanning on each other, and practiced on a couple of the Predisan employees who generously volunteered. It's such a great feeling to work with people who are so eager to learn, and are able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Tomorrow will be our last day at the main clinic, and Friday we will go to Culmi with Dr. Eric, to work in the remote clinic. As in the past, I feel like the week is flying by. MTI has a 3 year training contract with Predisan, so I'm hopeful that they ...