Today was my first day to translate alone in the clinic... it was so exciting!! We arrived in Chichicastenango ("Chichi") Wednesday night. The hotel here is gorgeous and I have a huge room with a balcony overlooking the misty Guatemalan mountains. Pretty sweet. We are also here with 50+ other Americans, which has been such a nice change! Speaking English and hanging around this American medical group has made me a whole lot less homesick. I am working with some really neat people from all over the States.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we go out and do mobile clinics. Yesterday, I observed the American and Guatemalan doctors, and they were very helpful, teaching me things. But today, it was just the patient, the American doctor, a Quiche translator, and me. The Quiche translator would translate the patient's complaint from Quiche to Spanish. Then I would translate it from Spanish to English for the American doctor. Then he would tell me what to ask her and the process in reverse would occur. It took a while, but it was SOO neat to be the intermediate. The doctor waited on me to hear what was wrong.
There are a lot of parasites and gastritis here. I'm constantly learning new medical words and keeping my dictionary handy. Today, I got to tell a 42-year-old woman that her stomach pain was because she was pregnant! Crazy that I got to deliver the news! I learned how to put a stethoscope on someone's chest and scratch around on the person in order to locate the outline of the liver!
I am enjoying American company and hearing them voice things I have been thinking about being here. Very refreshing. Thank you for all your prayers. They are heavily appreciated and please keep them coming!
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