If you looked at my legs today you would probably think I had the chicken pocks (or some other disease that make little red bumps). I woke up several times last night itching like crazy and almost cried once (yes I agree it was stupid to get that upset, but I was itchy and exhausted) when I had convinced myself that I had bed bugs. To be honest I think the worst thing about bed bugs is that I would have to wash everything (did I mentioned I have to wash my clothes/bedding by hand? Stay tuned for that probably hilarious blog next week). Luckily I live with a nurse who checked the bites out this morning and assured me that they were not from bed bugs. She thinks I got chiggers when I went to the Nature Reserve yesterday. Apparently chigger bites are suppose to get much worst before they get better, so at least the next couple of days will be delightful. Another nurse at the clinic gave me some anti itch cream that I have been using religiously. Tonight we had a pizza party (who knew you could order pizza and have it delivered here in Guatemala? The hilarious part is that none of the houses here have addresses, so you just kind of explain where you live and hope they can find it) and the whole time I was putting the cream on my legs. Great manners I know.
Anyways, onto something more fun. I finally have pictures of Salud y Paz (health and peace). This mural is painted on one of the walls that surrounds the clinic and school.
So here it is. The clinic is on the right and the school is the 2 story building on the left. They look like they are connected, but are not. You have to walk outside to get from the clinic to the school
This is Susanna Wesley Preschool. The school is made up of 3 classrooms (one on the second floor and 2 on the bottom), a spare classroom the clinic may start using when surgery teams come in, a kitchen, and a couple of bodegas (storage rooms).
This is the prekindergarten classroom. I'll post better pictures when the classrooms get all set up for the start of the school year. There was a mission team here this week, so the classrooms are messy right now with all the projects they worked on.
View of the playground from the 2nd floor. The building behind it has a laundry room, a couple of bodegas, and is where a Guatemalan family lives who takes care of the grounds.
This is the clinic...
On Mondays and Tuesdays (the 2 days a week this clinic is open) this front hallway is crowded with Guatemalans trying to get in to see the doctor.
When you walk down that hallway and get through the door you get to this reception area/waiting room.
This is the main room in the clinic. We use this room for office area (mine is the one with the desktop computer on it), lunch room, post op patient recovery area (there are hospital beds in the corner), and just overall storage. We sit at this table a lot and have meetings with the teachers getting everything ready for school to start.
This is the kitchen off of the main room I just showed you (it is to the left when you look at the picture). There is a cook that cooks for the staff on Mondays and Tuesdays. The other days I will have to bring my lunch.
One of the surgery rooms. There are 2.
Dentist office...
Here is a picture of Janet and I with the teachers in the school. When I first met them I was surprised by how young they are (I think they are all around 21). They are great and I am looking forward to being able to talk to them more than the simple conversations we are having now.
This morning we had a party for the school children for the beginning of the school year. The students came with their parents and sometimes their brothers and sisters. It was amazing to see all the kids. They are all ridiculously adorable and are so loving right off the bat. I was just standing there while they are doing some announcements and all of a sudden I had 2 little kids holding my hands. Everything that was said had to be translated into several different languages... English, Spanish, and 2 different Mayan languages (it was probably like playing telephone, so who knows if anything was correct by the time it got back to English). Several of the parents talked about how grateful they were for the school and how it was changing the lives of their children. We sang songs with the kids and played several games... amazing.
This little boy was precious. Here the Mayan women carry their babies wrapped in fabric on their backs or chests. This little dude just hung out (get it???) through out the party.
This is the road that you turn on to pull up to Salud y Paz. On one side there is a corn field and on the other an apple orchard.
And lastly, this is my favorite picture of the day. When the kids started arriving I walked up to one little girl and asked her what her name was and she said Kelly. :) She is in first grade and is precious. She was my buddy throughout the party and will probably be a favorite. I mean she does have a great name.
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