Our trip to Guatemala can be broken up into three parts: 1) Guatemala City and our two day stay at the Barcelo, 2) the HELPS medical mission trip to Uspantan and 3) the restful and more touristy two days, three nights in Antigua, Guatemala post mission.
Guatemala City:Brent outside the National Palace in Guatemala City
I have to admit – we were nervous about going to Guatemala City. We heard there is a lot of violence, pick pocketing, stealing people out of cars, etc. We didn’t feel or experience any of that. I expressed my concerns to a native Guatemalan man I was sitting next to on the plane, Miguel, that gave me some great advice and he eased my fears. Just be careful, he said. Just like in any other big city, don’t have your purse hanging out, have things hanging out your pockets, etc.
We got to Guatemala mid-afternoon, took a nap, and off to the pool, hot tub, and dinner. Our hotel, the Barcelo, was actually the same hotel chain that we stayed at in Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon. There were many 16-year-old looking guards outside the building which was out of the norm for us, but as we traveling through Guatemala, it became second nature to us… young guys with big guns (the type the shoot) are everywhere. It definitely would not be the age group I would entrust with the use of semi-automatic weapons, but there has been peace in Guatemala since 1996 so I guess they know what they’re doing. Even bus drivers guarded their buses while we were in stores and such by standing outside the bus with their semi-automatic.
We spent the next day and a half watching World Cup games in Strikers Bar at the Barcelo and touring Guatemala City. We went into the National Palace, the only gringos on the tour and the reason our tour guide had to translate to English. The rest of the people on our tour were so incredibly nice and helpful, often adding to the tour guides comments (in English) and welcoming us to their country. We visited the markets lining the streets – a lot of random stuff: small plastic toys, toothpaste, clothes, ripped CDs etc. The one strange thing that did completely turn our head was a man selling lube and potentially various “enhancing” medications right outside of a children’s performance downtown. It wasn’t just that this guy was selling these things, but he was also displaying the human sexual anatomy – both male and female – with what appeared to be actual human (or maybe pig) cadaveric organs spread out on his blanket. Hmmmmm. Not something you’d see on the streets in the USA, maybe on TV though.
Off to Uspantan and the HELPS mission.
The rest of the crew arrived Saturday night around 11pm and we took off the next day, bright and early, at 6am, with the hopeful arrival of 4pm into Uspantan, Guatemala. Three bus stops for bathroom breaks - including one where locals were watching the World Cup game and we left five minutes before Spain scored to win the world cup (yes five minutes, I am still intensely bitter) – we arrived and got right to work.
I really had no idea what to expect. I knew we’d be “roughing it” and working hard, but that is an understatement. I realized that this would be an eye-opening experience, but just how much of an incredible, life-changing event, I did not realize.
The beginning of the long line outside the clinic in Uspantan.
Brent worked in the clinic, seeing close to the 200 patients throughout his five days. Many of the patients Brent saw spoke primarily Mayan, the Quitche dialect: one of 23. Most of the patients spoke Spanish as a second language and Brent only required one translator, but occasionally he needed two - one to convert Mayan to Spanish and a second to convert Spanish to English. A most common ailment was pain everywhere, or dolor in Spanish, (since they carry loads with their heads and their jobs entail repetitive motion). Some patients specifically had lung pain – a complaint he often doesn’t hear from American VA patients. Stomach pain, head pain, leg pain… well, mostly a lot of pain and lumps, bumps, rashes and ingrown toenails… were the ailments his patients had. He worked with two wonderful doctors, Dr. Stan Bradley and Dr. Pat Wathen, from Arkansas and Texas, respectively.
Brent and interpreters Fernando, Luis and Raul
Brent assisting Dr. Jeff McNeil with hairline lipoma removal. I worked in the kitchen. A lot. Cooking for 120 people was way more labor intensive than I realized. I got up at 5am to prepare for a 6:30am breakfast and didn’t get to bed until 11or 12 at night. I worked with four other wonderful individuals: Ruth (Dr. Stanley’s daughter and my fellow kitchenette), Bruce, Rudy and Roger. In addition to cooking, we had to clean before and after, and dip every fruit, vegetable and can in a “My-chlor” bleach solution to eliminate bacteria. I think we worked close to 14 or 16 hours a day. Brent is happy though because I was working where I belonged: the kitchen. It was so much fun though. The doctors, nurses and other medical staff busted theirs butts and their only respite for the day was a hot meal. We were the ones serving it and took pride in trying to serve good food. I was also lucky because I got to meet everywhere. I wish I could tell you I remember all 120 names, maybe not quite, but I could get pretty close.
Kristi, Brent, Marianne and Jane in the cafeteria where Marianne spent many many hours...
Other things about Uspantan:
• The people are absolutely gorgeous. Although short in stature – I towered over the women who probably averaged 4’9” – they had beautiful skin and big brown eyes. They were reserved and modest and I never saw them flinch in pain.
• I wish you all could’ve seen the lines outside of the building in person. Many of the residents of Uspantan never get to see a doctor outside of the yearly visit by HELPS. I’ve never seen anything like it, people waiting literally all day to see an American doctor (although maybe this isn’t so different from America).
• I had the opportunity to watch three surgeries, something I’d never be able to do in the States. I watched Brent assist Dr. McNeil removing a lipoma from the hairline of a 40-something year-old woman.
• We had the chance to do a little hike and climb into a narrow cave. We could have gone further in the cave, but I would’ve had to lose 50 pounds and carve off my shoulders.
• Euchre is a kick-a$$ game. Brent taught me and we schooled our card-blaming, quick-playing opponents. We looked forward to playing Euchre how it’s traditionally played – with lots of Beer – in Antigua, but it never happened. I think our opponents wussed out on us.
Off to Antigua and some much needed R&R:
Leaving Uspantan was bitter sweet. Even though I was so tired, sick of taking cold showers in pretty gross showers, constantly being fearful of getting sick, I loved it. I’m not sure my body could’ve handled another week, but I would’ve tried to push it anyhow because the experience was beyond anything I’ve ever had.
We took off for Antigua from Uspantan at 6am. Since I had been getting up at 5 every morning, it really was no big deal. We made two stops along the way. One in the same location we didn’t get to finish watching the World Cup and the second in Chichicastenango, a more touristy town where we ate a delicious buffet lunch and did a little shopping. By the way, in these markets you barter for items. I’m not so great and often had Kristi help me out. I’m too much of a push-over.
We arrived in Antigua (not to be confused with Antigua, the island – this is a city in Guatemala) around 6pm and promptly ordered ourselves a much-needed drink. Antigua was gorgeous and by far the most wealthy city we came across in Guatemala. Antigua (meaning old in Spanish) was the original capital and where a lot of the tax money went when the Spaniards were ruling. Cobblestone streets, brightly colored building, and many foreigners walking around made us realize we weren’t in Uspantan anymore.
A pool, alcohol, clean shower and toilet – this place was heaven. We went to Lake Atitlan on our first full day. The lake was magnificent, lined by four (or maybe it was three) volcanoes and a dozen little towns. We briefly strolled around Panajachel, San Antonio and a third town I forget the name of, largely unscathed by the many people selling clothes, shawls, blankets, bracelets and the like. We had quite a few middle-aged women who these sellers would flock too. It didn’t help many of them were wearing their purchased goods, essentially screaming, “I buy stuff.”
Our second full day was a lot of relaxing. We got burnt just spending 45 minutes by the pool… higher elevation, maybe? We had a wonderful banquet where Brent and I got to say goodbye to the translators from Guatemala City we got to know so well. We went out to a salsa club and I made Brent dance… after a few rum and cokes. We stayed up until almost 3am hanging out by the pool getting to know some of our group even more.
Leaving Wednesday was sad. I didn’t want to say good bye. The people we went on the trip with are such amazing fun people… and most of them are from Texas. Go figure. Nah, I’m just kidding, y’all. We will definitely be visiting San Antonio in the future and I hope some of HELPS friends will visit us in Oregon.
At the airport in Guatemala City on our way home. From left: Dr. Rafael Diaz, Dr. Jacky, Dr. Keisha Loften, Dr. Beth Thai, Mechele, Marianne and Brent
Top: Brent and Zoltan with the Tower of San Miguel at trivia night
Top: Our winnings at the horse races. We bet $20HK on a trio and won.
