Myself and nine other volunteers left Matagalpa Matagalpa in a bus and headed to a smaller "campo" city four hours away called Rancho Grande. Unfortunately I was one of the last ones on the bus meaning I had to stand in the isle. I tried to fight for seats that opened up along the way but I was out of luck. I ended up standing the whole way snacking on some off-brand froot loops cereal I bought a few days before. After a few minutes I was sharing them with everyone on the bus haha! Be careful what you open on the bus! Okay okay actually it is because I am a nice guy! I'm pretty sure I made the little kid's day that was standing beside me!
Four hours later we arrived at a hostel where one of my fellow volunteer lives...yup she lives in a room at a hostel that her host family runs. This is an older hostel, two floors, made of wood. My room had a bunk bed in it with a small square window with a slide away cover. The mattress was paper thin and the room remained relatively warm during the night even with the window open. Somehow I didn't care...I knew I was here for a reason other than comfort.
The first day we met with the medical team we were told exactly what we would be doing. With an interest in dentistry I was eager to help out the three dentists that came! I was ready to see some teeth pulling and a lot of blood!
The dentists were nerdy as expected but super fun to work with. I enjoyed working with them! Some patients would come in and only have a few teeth left in their mouth. They wanted us to pull them! Of course they were infected so the dentists did just that! There is a lot of problems with bad oral hygiene in Nicaragua. I was glad I could be a part of the experience!
I think on average each dentist was pulling 65 teeth daily! I saw some interesting molars that were extracted and smelled some horrible breath that was stemming from decaying teeth! Bleh!
This trip and experience was one of my highlights working as a Peace Corps Volunteer! It was good to get away from the normal working in schools and dealing with "necio estudiantes" and help this medical brigade. I'll definitely look forward to working with them next year!
As of now...I'm back working in the schools trying to teach my students what it means to be an entrepreneur and how to be creative enough to think of a product that does not exist in their community. Unfortunately not every student understands no matter how much I explain. Maybe because they do not listen...
Vamos a ver!
I'm staying positive and keeping my head up.
Dalepues.
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