A side of the house where we had the clinic, showed "The Hope" and slept.
Water buffalo!
Monday, March 16, 2009
In the first village we had a mobile clinic at... Dr. Mary is seeing the first patient, the first man on the left. There's not really any sense of privacy
When it started getting dark like it was going to rain
Some of the women waiting to be seen. Right after I took the picture, the one on the left put her head in between her legs and plugged her ears, because she thought the flash was lightening. (It had been thundering for quite a while already, and she was preparing for a biiig thunderclap).
Sorry this pic is so bad! This is where we slept- the front is open, like a porch. You can see the mosquito nets hanging on the far wall. Ours happened to have a big hole in one side (the one on the far right), but we tied it up with an extra hair rubber band that I had.
I actually had to re-read my last post to see what the last thing I wrote about was. Needless to say, a lot has happened since then.
-Andrew and Hubert weren't able to make it all the way to the village that they initially wanted to go to, because the roads were too bad. They were, however, able to set a date for a mobile clinic in one of the villages along the way. The date was set for March 13th, and on the morning of, Hubert, Mary, Andrew, Lalin and I set off in the car. The trip... well, imagine that you're on a bucking bronco for 3-4 hours- that's how it felt in the car. The road was terrible, but at least it was dry. If it had been slippery and muddy as well, there's no way we would've made it to our destination.
When we got to Araing, the last large village before the one we wanted to go to, we stopped to speak to the village chief who then asked us to come and do a mobile clinic there. We agreed to come the next morning, and then left for the next village after buying some cookies and soft drinks at the store. We got to the village and decided to eat lunch before setting up shop.
About an hour or two after we started the clinic, dark clouds began to roll in. There was absolutely no doubt that it was going to rain soon, and even though none of us said anything about it, we were all worried that we wouldn't be able to make it home on the roads the next day.
Sure enough, a little while before we finished seeing the last patient, it started to rain... When we were done, Mary and I neede to use the bathroom... but there was one problem- every time we asked anybody where a bathroom was, they gave us a blank stare.
Bathroom? What was a bathroom?
Ok, so we tried asking if there was an outhouse...
Outhouse? There's grass over there.... Woods over there..
Allrighty... So there we were, wandering around in the rain, trying to find a place in the woods to "use the bathroom". It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. We had grabbed some ponchos from the car before we went hunting for a good spot, so we didn't get soaked.
More to come...
-Andrew and Hubert weren't able to make it all the way to the village that they initially wanted to go to, because the roads were too bad. They were, however, able to set a date for a mobile clinic in one of the villages along the way. The date was set for March 13th, and on the morning of, Hubert, Mary, Andrew, Lalin and I set off in the car. The trip... well, imagine that you're on a bucking bronco for 3-4 hours- that's how it felt in the car. The road was terrible, but at least it was dry. If it had been slippery and muddy as well, there's no way we would've made it to our destination.
When we got to Araing, the last large village before the one we wanted to go to, we stopped to speak to the village chief who then asked us to come and do a mobile clinic there. We agreed to come the next morning, and then left for the next village after buying some cookies and soft drinks at the store. We got to the village and decided to eat lunch before setting up shop.
About an hour or two after we started the clinic, dark clouds began to roll in. There was absolutely no doubt that it was going to rain soon, and even though none of us said anything about it, we were all worried that we wouldn't be able to make it home on the roads the next day.
Sure enough, a little while before we finished seeing the last patient, it started to rain... When we were done, Mary and I neede to use the bathroom... but there was one problem- every time we asked anybody where a bathroom was, they gave us a blank stare.
Bathroom? What was a bathroom?
Ok, so we tried asking if there was an outhouse...
Outhouse? There's grass over there.... Woods over there..
Allrighty... So there we were, wandering around in the rain, trying to find a place in the woods to "use the bathroom". It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. We had grabbed some ponchos from the car before we went hunting for a good spot, so we didn't get soaked.
More to come...
Friday, March 6, 2009
SO!
We're here in Koh Kong...
My laptop isn't working anymore, so we're using the Broeckert's computer whenever we can to email, update this, etc. In other words, if you don't hear from us for a while, it's not because we're trying to ignore you; it's just because we have limited time online.
So as I was saying
Tomorrow Andrew and Hubert Broeckert will be taking a 6-hour trip on a motorcycle out to a village that's in the middle of nowhere at the end of a dirt road that's in terrible condition. If they find that the road is in good enough condition to take a car on, Mary, Hubert, Andrew and I will head out there next weekend to do a mobile clinic. The main goal is just to make contact with the people out there, and hopefully to set up weekly meetings.
While they're out being rugged and all, I will be going over to Neeta's house. She's a girl that's in one of Hubert's English classes the I go to sometimes to help teach. It'll be interesting, because her English isn't that good and my Khmer is.... eh.... well, I wouldn't want to be stranded alone anywhere. There's another girl in that class that wants to take me to her house. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun, but I have to admit that I feel slightly apprehensive due to the language barrier.
I'll also be taking the stitches out of the elbow of a girl that was in a moto accident last week. We've been doing home visits with her for a full week now, and she's improving really well-- no broken bones or serious injuries, just some superficial wounds that we've been dressing and a few stitches here and there.
The hospital's been interesting- everything from MVAs to children with nephrotic syndrome to TB, AIDS, etc..... There's one doctor in particular that seems to enjoy teaching me about whatever I want to know. I told him earlier this week that I would like to learn more about TB, and yesterday he pulled Andrew and me into his office, got a whiteboard, and did a full hour and a half lecture on TB, showing us old X-rays, stats, etc. It really amazes me just how willing almost all of the staff are to teach me whatever they know.
Some of you have asked about the mosquitoes. I finally decided that the best idea would be to wear full-length pants at all times. It's helped a lot, even though I still get bitten every now and then.
Well, that's all for now! I'll try to get more pictures soon- it just takes a really,really long time to upload them!
We're here in Koh Kong...
My laptop isn't working anymore, so we're using the Broeckert's computer whenever we can to email, update this, etc. In other words, if you don't hear from us for a while, it's not because we're trying to ignore you; it's just because we have limited time online.
So as I was saying
Tomorrow Andrew and Hubert Broeckert will be taking a 6-hour trip on a motorcycle out to a village that's in the middle of nowhere at the end of a dirt road that's in terrible condition. If they find that the road is in good enough condition to take a car on, Mary, Hubert, Andrew and I will head out there next weekend to do a mobile clinic. The main goal is just to make contact with the people out there, and hopefully to set up weekly meetings.
While they're out being rugged and all, I will be going over to Neeta's house. She's a girl that's in one of Hubert's English classes the I go to sometimes to help teach. It'll be interesting, because her English isn't that good and my Khmer is.... eh.... well, I wouldn't want to be stranded alone anywhere. There's another girl in that class that wants to take me to her house. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun, but I have to admit that I feel slightly apprehensive due to the language barrier.
I'll also be taking the stitches out of the elbow of a girl that was in a moto accident last week. We've been doing home visits with her for a full week now, and she's improving really well-- no broken bones or serious injuries, just some superficial wounds that we've been dressing and a few stitches here and there.
The hospital's been interesting- everything from MVAs to children with nephrotic syndrome to TB, AIDS, etc..... There's one doctor in particular that seems to enjoy teaching me about whatever I want to know. I told him earlier this week that I would like to learn more about TB, and yesterday he pulled Andrew and me into his office, got a whiteboard, and did a full hour and a half lecture on TB, showing us old X-rays, stats, etc. It really amazes me just how willing almost all of the staff are to teach me whatever they know.
Some of you have asked about the mosquitoes. I finally decided that the best idea would be to wear full-length pants at all times. It's helped a lot, even though I still get bitten every now and then.
Well, that's all for now! I'll try to get more pictures soon- it just takes a really,really long time to upload them!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Pictures from Phnom Penh
Selling coconuts
Cells in Tuol Sleng
Cells in Tuol Sleng
Group excercize at the Olympic Stadium! It's kind of funny because the exercize leaders are skinny young guys in jeans and a wifebeater(tank top), and they have massive "classes" of women.
Birds-eye view of Phnom Penh
In Phnom Penh
Sorry I haven't written in a while! We came back to Koh Kong from Phnom Penh Last Monday. While in Phnom Penh we taught English at a local private school for two hours each evening, Monday-Saturday. It was quite the experience, because we never knew which classes we'd be sent to teach until we were led to the classroom full of waiting students. Sometimes there would be a teacher there already, sometimes not. The level of English that the students spoke/understood varied from class to class: in some classes you could engage in a conversation about the differences in Cambodian universities and American universities, while in other classes you'd be met with blank stares after asking them to tell you their names... you can imagine how difficult it was to try to prepare for the next day's classes. Either way, almost all of the teachers we worked with were very nice, and the students were excited to learn from us. I think that Andrew took to it more than I did, although he became notorious for being very hard on pronunciation!
In the mornings we would help homeschool the two eldest Freeze children (we stayed with the Freezes, the same family that we initially stayed with right after we arrived in Cambodia). Andrew taught 7-year-old Luke science and history, while I taught 10-yr-old Abby science and sometimes history & reading. I had a lot of fun with that, especially because Abby was just learning how to use a microscope... we would hunt for different things to look at and compare-stuff I could do all day long. We did have a slight disaster when trying to make petri dish base tho.... long story. :-)
Michael Freeze took the time out to teach us his way of remembering and telling Bible stories, which was really fun because it includes making up a lot of hand gestures... He also gave us a "workshop" on their philosophy of how to best work with the Khmer, based on their experiences. It was really interesting because their culture simply isn't what we're used to as Americans--if you want to know more, feel free to ask.
We made a few trips to the Russian Market--> huge tourist attraction. All the souveniers you could ever want are all around you...you just have to make sure to bargain for a good price. Andrew and I were looking at a small wooden boat once, and the seller first told us that it was $10. "Ten dollars, good price just for you!" We honestly weren't interested in buying it, but since we kept looking at it she kept lowering the price.... $8...... $6..... finally we walked away, and she yelled "ok, two dollars!"
The only problem with the market is that after about 10AM the heat becomes unbearable. The aisles are only about two feet wide to begin with, and it's all in one huge low-slung building. The later it gets, the hotter it is outside, and the more people come to shop.
One place we visited was Tuol Sleng, the Genocide museum. It's a school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. I cannot explain what it was like to pass by rows and rows of pictures of children, all which were killed. There were rooms with the torture instruments in them, cells that you could walk through... I felt sick to my stomach after about fifteen minutes, but I felt compelled to continue looking and walking around.
We had plans to visit Angkor Wat, but Andrew got sick and was running a fever the morning we were going to leave. We decided to try visiting a few days before we leave Cambodia instead.
In the mornings we would help homeschool the two eldest Freeze children (we stayed with the Freezes, the same family that we initially stayed with right after we arrived in Cambodia). Andrew taught 7-year-old Luke science and history, while I taught 10-yr-old Abby science and sometimes history & reading. I had a lot of fun with that, especially because Abby was just learning how to use a microscope... we would hunt for different things to look at and compare-stuff I could do all day long. We did have a slight disaster when trying to make petri dish base tho.... long story. :-)
Michael Freeze took the time out to teach us his way of remembering and telling Bible stories, which was really fun because it includes making up a lot of hand gestures... He also gave us a "workshop" on their philosophy of how to best work with the Khmer, based on their experiences. It was really interesting because their culture simply isn't what we're used to as Americans--if you want to know more, feel free to ask.
We made a few trips to the Russian Market--> huge tourist attraction. All the souveniers you could ever want are all around you...you just have to make sure to bargain for a good price. Andrew and I were looking at a small wooden boat once, and the seller first told us that it was $10. "Ten dollars, good price just for you!" We honestly weren't interested in buying it, but since we kept looking at it she kept lowering the price.... $8...... $6..... finally we walked away, and she yelled "ok, two dollars!"
The only problem with the market is that after about 10AM the heat becomes unbearable. The aisles are only about two feet wide to begin with, and it's all in one huge low-slung building. The later it gets, the hotter it is outside, and the more people come to shop.
One place we visited was Tuol Sleng, the Genocide museum. It's a school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. I cannot explain what it was like to pass by rows and rows of pictures of children, all which were killed. There were rooms with the torture instruments in them, cells that you could walk through... I felt sick to my stomach after about fifteen minutes, but I felt compelled to continue looking and walking around.
We had plans to visit Angkor Wat, but Andrew got sick and was running a fever the morning we were going to leave. We decided to try visiting a few days before we leave Cambodia instead.
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