Tortugitas!

            Meg told us about a nearby school that was going to let their best students release baby turtles into the ocean as a reward for their hard work and that we could join them. We left at 4:30 to get there before the early sunset and so that the kids wouldn’t start without us. When we arrived however, we found out that there was no school group and that it would just be us. Kay, an OB/GYN from the states has a beautiful house on the ocean and pays the turtle egg poachers for the eggs they take from the beaches. She then reburies them in her protected backyard to later release back into the ocean. Unfortunately she’s back in the U.S. so we haven’t had the opportunity to meet her yet.

            In the small enclosure there were about forty baby turtles in a big bucket. Cat, Gaby, and I started freaking out over how cute and small they were, which made the locals, who are used to seeing turtles, laugh. The woman who takes care of Kay’s house, took the bucket over onto the sand and spilled them out on the beach.

            I couldn’t believe how tiny they were, yet so determined to make this journey that they had never done before. That inherent sense of purpose amazes me. Slowly, they raced closer and closer to the water, taking short breaks to catch their breath and then start up again. The waves would crash into the sand, until the turtles got close enough, and were swept away. In the background, there was a breathtaking sunset. What an incredible opportunity to watch this amazing process that so few people get to experience.

First Impressions

The trip from Managua, the capital to our small town is supposed to take three hours, but for us it ended up taking six. Although, this was a lot of time spent in the car, it gave me the opportunity to observe and take in the country. 

As we got closer to the villages that our clinic serves, I was struck by the poverty that surrounds me. I have definitely seen impoverished people in every country I have visited, including the United States, here it seemed to be every family. Throughout the six hour long drive, I didn’t see a single house that I would consider to be the home of a middle or upper class family. While Meg assured us that they do exist, I am still surprised that the vast majority of people in Nicaragua are so poor. You can tell whether the home is better off than others if they have a well or even are lucky enough to have running water. The families that are doing better may also have a television, although they look nothing like the flat screens we’re used to at home. 

The typical house here seems to have a small building for sleeping that will either have hammocks or a small bed for the whole family to share and then a separate area, with a palm-leaf roof, that’s used for cooking over an open fire pit. I also couldn’t believe how many people sit outside in their plastic chairs, watching the cars go by.

 The animals here are skin and bones, you can literally see the ribcages on horses, cows, and dogs. They look as if they would fall over dead at any second. I can understand however, that it would be hard to feed your animals if you are barely able to feed your family. 

While it was surprising to see how different people live here, I'm excited to get to know the people of this country. I think the work we're going to be doing in the clinic, especially in health education, will really be rewarding and help the community.