Now we are home again...

Hola everyone!
Dennis' annual primary goal was achieved late last night as we returned home to RDU with the same number of people (and the same people!) with which we left on March 25.
Some quick reminders for the team members...
...Bob will send out remail eminders for the remaining doses of chloroquine;
...You may keep your blue and black carry-on bags, but PLEASE bring the extra check-in bag from the trip home to Casa de Clements on April 19;
...Assignments: All journals/papers are also due April 19 for students except for ABSN students (Penny has already given you your instructions); bring these papers to Casa de Clements on April 19;
...Photo sharing: I think you will hear from Shannon when the Picasa site is up and running;
...Adding to the team blog: Everyone was invited to join the blog...please feel free to add your entries and photos to the blog;
...Course/outreach evaluation: We will post a course/outreach evaluation survey on the Bb course site in a couple of days. Please please please complete this evaluation. The course leadership will meet before the end of the month to debrief and review these evaluations as planning for EM 2010 will begin almost immediately.
See you all soon! --- L.

Friday - Hotel shift

Things are never dull in Honduras. We were not able to go to the Copan Ruins today because the indigenous people are holding it hostage to obtain some concessions from the government. Ricardo Agurcia however gave us a personal lecture on the ruins. Ricardo is a Duke grad and the foremost archeologist in Honduras and a great friend to our efforts. As a precaution I have elected to move the group to a hotel on the other side of the Ruins tonight so we don't have to go by the Ruins in the morning on the way to San Pedro Airport. We will be home soon. Dennis Clements

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We have a special birthday announcement.. 2 of our group members are celebrating a birthday today. They were both born April 3, 1983!
Happy Birthday David and Bill.. by the way, we found Bill in Tegucigalpa and he has been on our trip for 10 days. We appreciate his help and wish him luck in his travels!

Farewell Las Mercedes.. Hello Copan!

Tuesday night we met with the people of Las Mercedes for a farewell gathering. Several people from the town spoke and sang for us. We also sang for the group and thanked the village for their hospitality. Following the ceremony, we danced outside with the children until dark. Wednesday morning came early and we rode on the bus to Copan through the mountains. Several stops were made along the way in order for Dr. Clements to finalize plans and obtain signatures for the new clinic in Las Mercedes. As we traveled closer and closer to Copan, the temperature increased dramatically. We were all excited to arrive in the beautiful city of Copan and were treated to real showers shortly after arriving!
Thursday morning we visited a Chorti village outside of Copan to hold a brief clinic and perform health education skits for the children. It was interesting to visit the Chorti village this week because the indigenous people of Honduras are currently protesting at the Mayan ruins in a fight for political and economic recognition and rights. We arrived in the village just as some of the men were preparing to leave to join the protest. We were fortunate enough to hear the history and background of the struggle first hand. Unfortunately, we will not be able to visit the ruins, although Ricardo Agurcia, a prominent archaeologist in Copan and a Duke graduate will present a private slide show explaining the ruins to us later today. We are also looking forward to zip lining through the canopy this afternoon

Shout outs
*Congratulations Maggie! It's a girl! Furry bundle anticipated in 60 days. Her name is Intabuca Mercedes Sanchez Dogminguez!
* I found a scorpion in my suitcase mom! Love, Ashley
* To Matt, who specifically requested a shout out.. Here it is! Love, Elizabeth
* To the Kaszas family.. Miss you guys! Joey, I miss you too! Love, Ingrid

Days 5 and 6

Day 5 & 6
Sunday morning started a bit late due to church service in the village. Several members of the team attended service while others prepared for a clinic day. On both Sunday and Monday, we continued to work in groups and treated patients from Rio de Colorado and other nearby villages. Despite initial apprehensions, the beginning Spanish speakers in the group are improving their Spanish skills each day and certainly getting braver! Que bien! In addition, our rapport with the villagers is stronger each day and we all enjoy playing with the children or talking to community members during our time outside of the clinic. On Monday, several of the ladies in our group helped the local women bake bread (no measuring cups or utensils needed!). When the fresh bread came out of the outdoor oven, we were all in heaven! The whole village was filled with the scent of fresh baked goods.
The scenery in the mountains is amazing and many of us run or walk on the local trails (in groups mom-don’t worry) in our time after clinical in the afternoon. Our evenings begin at 7:00pm when the sun sets and we resort to candles and headlamps to find our way. Our nights are spent talking, playing cards, journaling, reading, singing, and star gazing. Several of us were lucky enough to be visited by a young couple from the village Sunday night (age 29 and 31). Despite their initial shyness, they shared details about their lives and invited us to sing with them. Overall, we are learning an incredible amount in clinic, being spoiled by fresh, local food, and getting more sleep them we ever get at home (just to put all of our parents/loved ones at ease ).


Shout outs:
Happy 20th Birthday Jonathan! Love, Elizabeth
Linda says “Hi Mike!”
Shanna sends her love to her mom, dadeo, and brudder!
“Hola Papi and hi girls!” –Mami
2 skinny G’s forever!
Author: Mel V
Editor in chief: Shanna K
Contributors: EVERYONE!

Tuesday Update

To be able to call out of Las Mercedes, Dennis has to walk to the top of a mountain in the village. He sounds out of breath when he calls.... must be one heck of a mountain! At least he's had beautiful weather for that hike up the mountain side!

He's gotten some feed-back from the locals, so he's modifying the clinic's floorplans to better suit their needs.

Only 2 more signatures needed to finalize the MOU! He hopes to get them tomorrow. Also tomorrow, they will be traveling to Copan, and should have internet access once again.

Correct posting time: 11:00 a.m.

Today is Saturday and we are spending the morning in La Esperanza at the mercado. We will be back at Las Mercedes in the afternoon to see patients. It has been sunny and warm. We are sorry for the news about Duke basketball and the death of John Hope Franklin - a truly inspiring man. Congrats to UNC and we wish them well against Oklahoma. We may not have internet service again until Wednesday but we will capture the information each day and post it when we can. Dennis

BLOG DAY 1 and 2
Day one started with an excellent display of team effort. Our bus driver was missing some “paperwork” and decided that we could not be taken to the RDU airport. We quickly formed groups and delegated drivers to transport the team to the airport in time for our six o’clock am flight. Surprisingly, we flew through security with no problems, although I am sure we disappointed a few passengers along the way. We had a successful landing in Tegucigalpa and were welcomed by sunshine and warm weather. Our baby blue school bus driven by Niehmia (who thankfully picked us up on time) and was driven into the mountains. We arrived at the Heifer compound and were greeted by Gloria our host and we enjoyed the afternoon playing frisbee, walking, reading, and packing medications. Tim Wheeler from the Heifer organization presented an approach to community development.
Day two began with a lovely school bus ride through the mountains of Honduras. We all enjoyed the countryside and each other’s company. We toured the hospital in La Esperanza and spoke in depth with the chief nursing officer about the patients, staff duties, and services offered by the hospital. Following the tour, we piled back in our school bus and took a very windy dirt road farther into the mountains. We arrived in Las Mercedes and were greeted by several young children. Once again, the team pulled together to set up camp and the clinic. Within a couple of hours, we had an operating clinic and pharmacy and treated approximately sixty patients. Common ailments included dehydration, headache, cough, musculoskeletal complaints, goiters, lice, scabies, and a variety of skin problems. The day ended with a meal prepared by Gloria and the women of the community. We are currently writing the blog under the beautiful starry sky and look forward to another full day of clinic tomorrow!

Shout outs: Hi Touche and Maggie!
Thanks Kyle’s mom for the cookies!!!
Happy Birthday Yesie Rivera (we sang for you)
Happy Birthday Bob Love, Mel Hi Max, Nance, Max, and Ben!
Jacob, do you want to spend a month with the Wheelers this summer in Tegucigalpa?
Hi Hillary’s mom and dad… she made it out of the country for the first time!!!!!!
Hi Mom, Dad, and Jake Love you, Ashley
Hi Dani, Ale, and Edgar Love, Mom
Hi Mom, Dad, Joey, Julie and Christian! Miss you! Love, Ingrid
Shout out to Jacob, Madeline, and Peter!
Hi to all the Doucettes/Knierims Love, Shanna and Kyle
Hi Mom and Mel! Love you and miss you (there is no phone out here), David

Afternoon Update

Everything is going smoothly today. Dennis has been working hard on the MOU and has gotten most of the needed signatures. They still haven't been able to get on the internet, but when they do, they'll be more updates!

Correct posting time: 3:25pm

1st Day of Clinic

Dennis called Thursday afternoon to say they had made it to Las Mercedes. Friday they will set up for their 1st day of clinic there. All is well and the weather has been really nice ever since they arrived. They are hopeful that they will have internet this weekend and can post to the blog.

Happy Friday everyone!!

Correct posting time for this update is 8:00 a.m.

Tegucigalpa!

Dennis called to say they have safely landed in Tegucigalpa!

Note: The correct posting time for this update is 3:00 pm.

~D

Group has arrived in Houston!

Well, the day started on a frantic note when no bus arrived to take the group to RDU! Luckily they were able to get to the airport to make their flight!! Thanks to everyone that made this possible.
Dennis has called to let me know they have arrived in Houston. Hopefully, the trip will go as planned from this point on.
~Debbie

More packing day photos...

Honduras Packing Day

Three Months of Preparations...Classes, Retreat, and Packing Day

Packing Day

We had a fabulous packing day. All done in record time. We still need 600 toothbrushes - hopefully we can get those in the next few days. We meet at the parking garage Wednesday am for a 4am departure to airport and a 6am departure to Tegucigalpa. Everyone will remember their passports - OJALA.