Site Visit

Well my week in Parika was a little overwhelming. I think it was the first time since I've been here that I felt that way. My new host family is awesome, but I think the fact that there's 6 other people living in the same compound (as opposed to 2 others) is a bit hectic by default. Trying to juggle two meals at almost every breakfast, lunch, and dinner was a little hard on my stomach and body. I'm staying in a bottom flat. It's awesome in that I have a refrigerator, microwave, and tv. Also my host family above me has a washer, and the family behind me has internet access, which I can use. I definitely have the hook up.

I'll be working at the health center as a health educator. Each day is for a different set of people, and I'll tailor my talks to that particular day. For example, Wednesday was chronic diseases, so there were a lot of older folks with diabetes. My nurse introduced me to the group in the waiting room where I spent time visiting with them. But instead of casual conversation, they started asking questions about what they should and should not eat. I had no idea and felt a little flusterd. I said I would get back to them. We learned a little bit about diabetes in training, but looking through my notes it just says "diet and exercise". But what kind of diet is the question.

That same day I was fortunate enough to see a baby being born. It was a very strange experience watching the baby come out of the vagina. It sort of seemed animalistic. Afterwards I felt queasy because of the blood and because the nurse had to sew her up. Reflecting on the birth, I think, wow, how simple yet majestic it is to create life.

Two days before I saw a diabetic whose foot was infected and being eaten away. I was so gross. They didn't have a surgical knife to cut away the dead skin, so they just cleaned it up put paw paw (papaya) shavings on it and wrapped it up. Supposedly the paw paw helps bring the skin together making the wound heal faster.

Parika is a small city in comparison to the village I live in now. It has all the necessities like a bank, post office, police station, etc all in close proxcimity on the main road. The best part is the market, which is ginormous and a lot of variety. I tasted a sue-ma-too (I'm spelling it phonetically). It's similar to passion fruit in that it has the same looking seeds and slime; it just tastes different. The community is very mixed and has a lot of mixed people--like me. For example my host mom is Afro and Indo while my host dad is Afro and Amerindian.

Although I was overwhelmed, Parika seems like a great place.