Last day in Guatemala

I’m back in Guatemala City enjoying my last day here. I have kind of mixed feelings about leaving. It’s always sad saying goodbye to people you’ve worked with and leaving a program just as you start getting the hang of it. But I really miss the comforts of home. If all goes well, I’ll be stuffing my face with a piece of Pagliacci pizza in less than 30 hours. And it’ll be nice to get into bed tomorrow night without having to check for unwanted guests (not the human kind).
I’ve learned a lot during my visit here. Not just medical Spanish but lessons about life and medical care in poverty-stricken Latin America. I had some preconceptions about coming here, the greatest of which was the idea that Mayans would be completely unreceptive to western medical care. I found the opposite to be true. Maybe it was because we served a select population that came to the clinic or because Mayan Medical Aid had already done much of the groundwork. But even those I talked to in town who I didn’t see in the clinic seemed open to and appreciative of our presence. I’ve felt a lot more resistance and resentment in clinics back home than I experienced here.
The hardest part about working here was learning to slow down. Nothing happens “on time” and even patient interviews are a lengthier process. The men, especially, expect a good deal of chit-chat before getting to the problem that brought them into the clinic. The husband of my home-visit was a good example. On the rare occasion that he would ask me for something he would precede it with about a minute of compliments and expressions of gratitude. It was pretty uncomfortable but I learned to just sit and say “gracias” at the right moments.
When I had the time, my favorite question to ask was, “what do you think caused this?” Most of the time the responses fit into our western view of medical cause-and-effect but I had a fair share of patients that attributed their ills to earlier sustos or curses. Many of the patients I saw had already tried traditional healers and remedies. If I had more time here I’d love to catalog all the local plants with medicinal uses and start a garden in Santa Cruz to keep the traditions alive.
The truth is, I’m not sure how soon I’ll be returning to this corner of the planet. I’ve been to Latin America quite a few times during the last two decades and am ready to see other parts of the world. I think I’ve kept coming back because I feel comfortable in a country where I can speak the language. But it may just be time to reach out and expand my horizons a bit more. For now, goodbye Guatemala, hello…wherever.

For the last two weeks we’ve had a full complement of students at the clinic. It’s made things a bit more interesting than the first two weeks. We’re actually getting lectures two days a week although I didn’t make it on Wednesday due to some gut bug. Fortunately, I started feeling better that afternoon and was able to make it to the clinic on Thursday. On Tuesday the San Pablo clinic was as busy as ever but there was some sort of funeral in Totonicapan on Thursday, which made for a slow clinic day. The last patient of the day was a young boy who had a pebble stuck under the skin of his left elbow for two years. We don’t have too many opportunities to do procedures so extracting it was a welcome break from the routine.
On Thursday I made a break for Antigua instead of heading back to Santa Cruz. I spent the night at Hotel San Miguel worrying about bed bugs then caught a shuttle at 6 am for Volcan Pacaya. The short climb to the side of this very active volcano was one of the best hikes I’ve ever had. It’s hard to describe what it’s like standing between two slow-moving rivers of lava. Awe-inspiring is the only word I can think of.