Day 2

Our day began bright and early with an authentic Guatemalan breakfast of eggs, plantains, beans, tortillas, toast, fresh juice, and Guatemalan coffee. Following breakfast, we attended an interesting presentation by our Guatemalan host regarding the current difficulties faced by the Guatemalan people. We then made our journey to the local hospital via a micro-bus, which moved through the chaotic streets of the city without incident. Once at the hospital, we were able to immediately notice the differences from a standard US hospital. There were no designated waiting areas, so many people were waiting in hallways. Some areas of the hospital were poorly lit, making typical tasks fairly difficult. Also, there were few computer systems to manage patients resulting in most of the nurses and doctors carrying large stacks of paper for documentation. Despite these differences, the staff were vigilant in their tasks and of good spirits.

Our job at the hospital was to travel around to the different departments and inventory the life sustaining machines as well as major diagnostic technologies such as x-ray, ultrasound, autoclaves, and blood analyzers. We were able to communicate well with the personnel thanks to our translator, Jairo, and our previous training in class. We were able to access areas of the hospital not normally available to visitors and non-staff in order to inspect the various machines and assess the major problems associated with them. We then had a “fast food” lunch in a nearby mall and returned to the hospital to continue with our inventory.

After completing our work in the hospital, we found a beautiful view of the nearby volcano.

The next few hours were spent at the local Mercado located in the city center. The stores were filled with everything from fresh food to woven belts, clothes, and other various articles. We all found things we liked and after struggling with converting Quetzals to US dollars, we made our purchases and continued on our way to dinner at a wonderful Guatemalan restaurant for yet another exciting authentic experience. They kept the tortillas coming and the aqua pura (bottled water) flowing. After a long day, we marched back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

-Emily and Elise