On Wednesday morning, we awoke at 5 am to meet at the Centro de Salud in the nearby town of Subtiava by 6 am. Supposedly there was to be a group of nurses and doctors, with whom we were to catch a ride to a rural clinic. We arrived at 5:55 am sharp and waited, and waited, and waited... Around 6:45 am, the director of this Centro de Salud shows up and wonders why we are still there. He sort of berates saying that the group normally takes off at 5:45 am and not 6:00 am. We were a bit annoyed because he had told us 6:00 am before. Around 7:30 am we decide to ask what the plan for us was and he says we can accompany another group to the clinic in Poneloya (apparently the 5:45 am was going to another rural location.) So we wait some more. (Rick, you were right -- the national past time of Nicaragua is waiting...) Finally, we hop into a truck and head out to the beach town of Poneloya. It's remarkable how quickly the scenery changes once we leave the city. It becomes immensely more tropical-feeling and within 25 minutes the Pacific Ocean can be seen in the horizon. Ahhhh...
We arrive at the clinic, only to wait some more... By around 9:15 am, the first few patients show up. Unfortunately, there is only one doc there because the other doc is in some meeting until 10 am. Oops. So Amy basically shadows the doc while I sit with the nurse to discuss family planning options with young women. It was somewhat of a disappointing few hours as we felt more like medical students than residents. We did manage to see case of herpes zoster (recurring chickenpox) in a set of siblings. The price of acyclovir is too expensive so they prescribed dicloxacillin instead for a super-infection. The little girl looked like she had some bad impetigo. Around noon, we decided we had seen enough and headed out... to the beach!
Ah, la playa!!! Amy was SOOOOO happy because she didn't get a chance to come out with me last week to Las Penitas. While I took a nap in a hammock listening to the sounds of crashing waves, Amy went for a run along the beach. Afterward we ate at Suyapa Beach Hotel and had ourselves a gigantic fried fish each. Mmmmmm.... At night we ordered some delicious pizza in honor of our incredibly sweet and good-natured security guard, Jorge, of whom we'd grown quite fond. A funny story about Jorge is that for about a week and a half he couldn't remember my name so he kept referring to me as "Sammy" (with the "a" as in "cat"). We thought it was cute because the name was likely a combination of Amy and Cindy. Amy and I liked the name quite a bit so in the apartment I'm called "Sammy" as a joke. Sammy Su -- what do you think? I kinda like the sound of it.
Today, we rested -- finally. Amy went back to the beach for a run, while I ran some errands in town, including dropping off laundry, writing postcards (they're coming, I swear!), napping (of course), and developing pictures for the friends we'd met here. Tonight we went out with a bunch of the OB residents to Disco Bohemio for one last hurrah. The music was a mixture of hip-hop, regaton (I'm not sure of the spelling but it's a mix of salsa/merengue and hip-hop), and straight-out pop dance mixes (when played, Amy and I were the only ones on the dance floor because the locals didn't like the music!) We also witnessed our first lesbian Nicaraguan couple getting their groove on the dance floor -- good for them!
Tomorrow, we start our one week of being a true, full-blown, pool-lounging tourist. We head down to the ultra-touristy towns of Granada for zip-lining and kayaking, and then to San Juan del Sur for some serious swimming, surfing, and relaxing. I'm sure there will be many a internet cafes but likely we won't be so good about keeping this blog updated as frequently. We head back to the States on February 9th so, for those devout readers, keep checking until then. Thanks for sharing in our adventures in Leon and for sending us e-mail and commentaries. We appreciated them!
Cindy and Amy
***
1. The Centro de Salud in Poneloya
2. Siblings, 4-year old Betzaida and 6-year old Joseph, with herpes zoster
3. Amy and "Sammy" with our "bodyguard", Jorge, to whom we introduced the movie "White Chicks"
4. Amy shows off her $6 lunch -- yum!
We arrive at the clinic, only to wait some more... By around 9:15 am, the first few patients show up. Unfortunately, there is only one doc there because the other doc is in some meeting until 10 am. Oops. So Amy basically shadows the doc while I sit with the nurse to discuss family planning options with young women. It was somewhat of a disappointing few hours as we felt more like medical students than residents. We did manage to see case of herpes zoster (recurring chickenpox) in a set of siblings. The price of acyclovir is too expensive so they prescribed dicloxacillin instead for a super-infection. The little girl looked like she had some bad impetigo. Around noon, we decided we had seen enough and headed out... to the beach!
Ah, la playa!!! Amy was SOOOOO happy because she didn't get a chance to come out with me last week to Las Penitas. While I took a nap in a hammock listening to the sounds of crashing waves, Amy went for a run along the beach. Afterward we ate at Suyapa Beach Hotel and had ourselves a gigantic fried fish each. Mmmmmm.... At night we ordered some delicious pizza in honor of our incredibly sweet and good-natured security guard, Jorge, of whom we'd grown quite fond. A funny story about Jorge is that for about a week and a half he couldn't remember my name so he kept referring to me as "Sammy" (with the "a" as in "cat"). We thought it was cute because the name was likely a combination of Amy and Cindy. Amy and I liked the name quite a bit so in the apartment I'm called "Sammy" as a joke. Sammy Su -- what do you think? I kinda like the sound of it.
Today, we rested -- finally. Amy went back to the beach for a run, while I ran some errands in town, including dropping off laundry, writing postcards (they're coming, I swear!), napping (of course), and developing pictures for the friends we'd met here. Tonight we went out with a bunch of the OB residents to Disco Bohemio for one last hurrah. The music was a mixture of hip-hop, regaton (I'm not sure of the spelling but it's a mix of salsa/merengue and hip-hop), and straight-out pop dance mixes (when played, Amy and I were the only ones on the dance floor because the locals didn't like the music!) We also witnessed our first lesbian Nicaraguan couple getting their groove on the dance floor -- good for them!
Tomorrow, we start our one week of being a true, full-blown, pool-lounging tourist. We head down to the ultra-touristy towns of Granada for zip-lining and kayaking, and then to San Juan del Sur for some serious swimming, surfing, and relaxing. I'm sure there will be many a internet cafes but likely we won't be so good about keeping this blog updated as frequently. We head back to the States on February 9th so, for those devout readers, keep checking until then. Thanks for sharing in our adventures in Leon and for sending us e-mail and commentaries. We appreciated them!
Cindy and Amy
***
1. The Centro de Salud in Poneloya
2. Siblings, 4-year old Betzaida and 6-year old Joseph, with herpes zoster
3. Amy and "Sammy" with our "bodyguard", Jorge, to whom we introduced the movie "White Chicks"
4. Amy shows off her $6 lunch -- yum!
5. Una chinita roja (red -- thanks to a Corona) and una gringita en Disco Bohemio
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