Well, we're home now. Sort of anticlimactic, eh? Sorry about that. We were a bit too busy to blog during those last couple days and have been trying to recover our sleep schedule ever since. Well, at least I have/still am.
Anyway, after our day at Ha Long Bay, we went back to Hanoi for a couple days. Pretty cool stuff. We checked out a couple pagodas, the Temple of Literature (sounded like a great idea to this former English major), the Old Quarter, Hoa Lo prison (the "Hanoi Hilton"), Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and house, lots more fun and exciting food, etc. Good times.
At the end of the day on the 17th, the sad moment had arrived, when our intrepid group had to split up once again. Tiffany and Kelsi went back to Ho Chi Minh City to meet up with their families, while the boys and I started the long journey homeward. The flight home wasn't nearly as bad as it should have been, since by some magical happenstance the plane was underbooked, so we each had plenty of room to spread out. And gotta say, as much as we all loved Asia, it was very nice to get back home. If only because of the States' complete lack of noodles for breakfast, haha. Not gonna lie though, the transition back to American food has been an interesting one for most of our GI systems. Good times.
I really can't emphasize enough to all of you out there what a wonderful trip ours was. First of all, getting to encounter so many new countries and cultures was so much fun, and very educational. And I know that for me, one of the best parts about travel and new experiences is the light it sheds on your own lifestyle. Finding out how people do things differently lets you actually look at what you do and wonder why you do it that way. Teaches you a lot about yourself and your own culture, both the good and the bad.
The sheer fun of traveling was not our original motivation in taking this trip, however. To quote this blog's first post, "Our goal for sending students to disadvantaged communities is twofold. Firstly, the need in these areas is very real, and we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of the people there, brief though our time there is. Secondly, we feel it is very important for medical students to develop an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us." Were these goals accomplished on this trip? I would answer that with a resounding yes.
As to the first goal, making a difference to the people we were serving, it's of course hard to come out with a unilateral yes to that. There was such need in those communities, and we were only 7 people with limited time, limited supplies, and (for the students) limited knowledge. However, our goal wasn't to fix every problem. Our goal was to make a difference in the lives of the individuals we were serving. And I think we accomplished that. In the Philippines, a man had relief from pain as a result of clearing his blocked catheter. A boy had a giant abscess on his forehead drained cleanly. A man had a pyogenic granuloma removed. A woman with pneumonia received medication. Dozens of children had their scabies treated. We made a difference to each of these people. In Cambodia, a whole hospital benefited from the presence of Dr. Gossman, and an orphanage benefited from receiving physical exams for the first time in quite a while. In Vietnam, one family has a house now that didn't before, and scores of people in the middle of nowhere got to go to a mobile clinic that we helped with. True, we were just taking blood pressure, but we helped the clinic run smoothly, and enabled the doctors to do their jobs.
As to the second goal, that of "developing an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us," I don't think any of us can deny that this was well accomplished. Observing and participating in health care in setting so different from the ones we are used to was a very eye-opening experience, and taught us a lot about many different things. Also, before we left, Gossman had told us that practicing international medicine like this is kind of like crack, and once you're bitten by the bug, there's no going back. Is this true? Probably definitely yes. This was such a great experience, I know I personally want to do this again, and am so excited for the day we can actually do more, when we're all real doctors and don't have to defer to Dr. Gossman every 5 seconds about everything.
So, conclusion? CURA 2009 SE Asia: best. thing. ever. Fantastic group, fantastic people to work with in Asia, fantastic food, decent weather, gorgeous scenery, ridiculously awesome everything. High five, everyone.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
One last whirlwind week
Well, we haven't written in a while (sorry), but mostly because we've been all over the place in the last few days. I think last time I wrote was the 9th, so I'll do a quick play-by-play for you of what we've been up to since then.
10 June: Like I said, they had pretty much run out of things for us to do at the house-building place, and had a whole soccer team coming in to volunteer anyway. So Tiffany's family took us to this place called Monkey Island, which was, as you might guess, an island with monkeys. Lots of monkeys. One tried to jump in the car as I was getting out. The day involved lots of monkeys, cool mangrove forests, creepy music from a monkey carnival, and a thunderstorm that chased us all under a gazebo-type thing for shelter. Little did we know, a monkey was also seeking shelter there, so we had lots of adventures with it before it finally ran away from our driver. There was also a mysterious trashcan-looking thing a little ways away that kept rocking back and forth, which was creepy till we discovered there was a big tortoise in there, waving its arms and legs around and making the whole thing rock. So, in all, we didn't get to see much of the island since the rain stopped the tour boats from running, but the experience of being sequestered in a gazebo with a possibly hostile monkey with a phantom trashcan rocking around the mangrove forest outside was definitely worth it.
11 June: Off to Soc Trang province. Very,very long car ride involving multiple ferries. By the time we checked into our hotel is was pretty late, but we still met up with the pastor of the area's Christian church, who is connected with SOMEDCO. Apparently, it is particularly hard for people around there to get good healthcare, since they're in the middle of nowhere and are both ethnic (Khmer) and religious (Christian) minorities. So SOMEDCO has helped set up a community-based system out there, by stocking "medicine boxes" in certain churches and training a few people in the community to recognize common symptoms and know how to deal out the medication. They also do a lot of education about hygeine, preventative healthcare, etc. From the sounds of things, the program has had a great impact in the area already.
12 June: Driving around random areas to check out more SOMEDCO work. We got to see one of the famed medicine boxes and were kind of surprised by it. After hearing so much about what a great impact these meds were making, we did not expect to see the high level of (what Americans consider) placebos that they had there. Yes, they had some antibiotics, paracetamol (Asian tylenol), cholesterol lowerers, etc, but they also had tons of random vitamins, "dragon elixir," etc. Very interesting.
We were also taken to see some other projects. SOMEDCO apparently has their hands in everything. We're very impressed with the organization. They dig wells for clean water, roof houses, build churches, etc. Very cool to meet with the people the organization has actually aided.
13 June: After staying the night in Can Tho city, we drove for a ways more, till the roads could no longer allow full-size cars, then walked across a swaying plank of wood onto a big boat with the rest of the SOMEDCO volunteers who had come to meet us, and traveled for about another hour to the place we were having our mobile clinic. Middle of nowhere. Seriously. So cool. And actually, we were having a lot of fun with this at the hotel the night before, and at the mobile clinic: as it turns out, we were actually the first Americans/first Caucasians that some of the people there had ever seen. Is that a mind trip or what? To one man in our hotel, America now equals Brandon Hankey. That really makes you think. I hope we've all been giving good impressions on this trip!
Anyway, the mobile clinic was sweet. Since we're just students, they couldn't really have us do much beyond blood pressure screenings, but it was still cool, and we're all rockstars of blood pressure now. We saw some pretty crazy stuff too. Lots of goiters, some missing eyes, one eye that we were thinking might have fairly advanced retinoblastoma, chicken pox, some super-high blood pressure, etc. Also, they had a dentist volunteering at the same time, and watching her work was amazing. The people there are either incredibly tough, incredibly desperate to get rid of their problem teeth, or both. The dentist lady would numb them up a bit (not as elaborate as Western dentistry), grab some big pliers, and just yank out the offending tooth. And the patients never flinched! Just bit down on some gauze, thanked the dentist, and walked away! Ridiculous.
We had to leave the clinic a bit early (sad), since we had to get back to HCMC that night. Couldn't take the boat back to the van though obviously, so we ended up hiring motos! Gotta say, motorcycle rides through rural southern Vietnam are one of the coolest things I've experienced here. Such gorgeous surroundings, so much fun. And don't worry, parents, we were all wearing helmets, firmly seated behind very experienced drivers, and not going all that fast, due to the small roads. So much fun. Loved it. Great last working day, though I'm sad our work here is done.
14 June: travel to Hanoi with Tiffany's cousins Annie and Cherry. Once we got to Hanoi, we hooked up with our tour guide and drove to Ha Long City. This area of northern Vietnam is absolutely gorgeous. Not sure if I should say it's mountainous or not, since it's certainly no Rockies, but I don't think "foothill-ous" or "very large and fantastic hills-ous" are words. Very beautiful though. We also stopped at a pagoda along the way, which was pretty sweet.
15 June: Ha Long Bay! I'm running out of time on the computer and words in my head right now, so I can't do it justice, but it was stunningly gorgeous. Do a google image search of "ha long bay" or "halong bay" and check out the pictures. If I remember right, there are about 200,000 sheer limestone islands in as many square kilometers. Amazing. They just pop up all around you. As you navigate through on a boat, there are just layers upon layers that keep opening up in front of you. Very fun boat ride, very mysterious. We had the whole boat to ourselves for some reason, which was great. We even got them to stop for a bit in a lagoon so that we could jump out of the boat and swim for a while. What a great day. How are we here? This is ridiculous. How did a bunch of 20-something year old students with no jobs, no income, no place in the world, no anything, end up spending such a great month in Asia? Removing pyogenic granulomas in the Philippines? Seeing broken-off acupuncture needles in an x-ray in an ER in Phnom Penh? Walking in some of humanity's greatest artistic achievements in the Angkor temples? Riding boats and motorcycles to check blood pressures in the Mekong? Hanging out on a private boat watching some of the world's greatest landscapes opening up before them in Ha Long Bay? Ridiculous. Nonsensical wonderful ridiculousness.
-Alyssa
10 June: Like I said, they had pretty much run out of things for us to do at the house-building place, and had a whole soccer team coming in to volunteer anyway. So Tiffany's family took us to this place called Monkey Island, which was, as you might guess, an island with monkeys. Lots of monkeys. One tried to jump in the car as I was getting out. The day involved lots of monkeys, cool mangrove forests, creepy music from a monkey carnival, and a thunderstorm that chased us all under a gazebo-type thing for shelter. Little did we know, a monkey was also seeking shelter there, so we had lots of adventures with it before it finally ran away from our driver. There was also a mysterious trashcan-looking thing a little ways away that kept rocking back and forth, which was creepy till we discovered there was a big tortoise in there, waving its arms and legs around and making the whole thing rock. So, in all, we didn't get to see much of the island since the rain stopped the tour boats from running, but the experience of being sequestered in a gazebo with a possibly hostile monkey with a phantom trashcan rocking around the mangrove forest outside was definitely worth it.
11 June: Off to Soc Trang province. Very,very long car ride involving multiple ferries. By the time we checked into our hotel is was pretty late, but we still met up with the pastor of the area's Christian church, who is connected with SOMEDCO. Apparently, it is particularly hard for people around there to get good healthcare, since they're in the middle of nowhere and are both ethnic (Khmer) and religious (Christian) minorities. So SOMEDCO has helped set up a community-based system out there, by stocking "medicine boxes" in certain churches and training a few people in the community to recognize common symptoms and know how to deal out the medication. They also do a lot of education about hygeine, preventative healthcare, etc. From the sounds of things, the program has had a great impact in the area already.
12 June: Driving around random areas to check out more SOMEDCO work. We got to see one of the famed medicine boxes and were kind of surprised by it. After hearing so much about what a great impact these meds were making, we did not expect to see the high level of (what Americans consider) placebos that they had there. Yes, they had some antibiotics, paracetamol (Asian tylenol), cholesterol lowerers, etc, but they also had tons of random vitamins, "dragon elixir," etc. Very interesting.
We were also taken to see some other projects. SOMEDCO apparently has their hands in everything. We're very impressed with the organization. They dig wells for clean water, roof houses, build churches, etc. Very cool to meet with the people the organization has actually aided.
13 June: After staying the night in Can Tho city, we drove for a ways more, till the roads could no longer allow full-size cars, then walked across a swaying plank of wood onto a big boat with the rest of the SOMEDCO volunteers who had come to meet us, and traveled for about another hour to the place we were having our mobile clinic. Middle of nowhere. Seriously. So cool. And actually, we were having a lot of fun with this at the hotel the night before, and at the mobile clinic: as it turns out, we were actually the first Americans/first Caucasians that some of the people there had ever seen. Is that a mind trip or what? To one man in our hotel, America now equals Brandon Hankey. That really makes you think. I hope we've all been giving good impressions on this trip!
Anyway, the mobile clinic was sweet. Since we're just students, they couldn't really have us do much beyond blood pressure screenings, but it was still cool, and we're all rockstars of blood pressure now. We saw some pretty crazy stuff too. Lots of goiters, some missing eyes, one eye that we were thinking might have fairly advanced retinoblastoma, chicken pox, some super-high blood pressure, etc. Also, they had a dentist volunteering at the same time, and watching her work was amazing. The people there are either incredibly tough, incredibly desperate to get rid of their problem teeth, or both. The dentist lady would numb them up a bit (not as elaborate as Western dentistry), grab some big pliers, and just yank out the offending tooth. And the patients never flinched! Just bit down on some gauze, thanked the dentist, and walked away! Ridiculous.
We had to leave the clinic a bit early (sad), since we had to get back to HCMC that night. Couldn't take the boat back to the van though obviously, so we ended up hiring motos! Gotta say, motorcycle rides through rural southern Vietnam are one of the coolest things I've experienced here. Such gorgeous surroundings, so much fun. And don't worry, parents, we were all wearing helmets, firmly seated behind very experienced drivers, and not going all that fast, due to the small roads. So much fun. Loved it. Great last working day, though I'm sad our work here is done.
14 June: travel to Hanoi with Tiffany's cousins Annie and Cherry. Once we got to Hanoi, we hooked up with our tour guide and drove to Ha Long City. This area of northern Vietnam is absolutely gorgeous. Not sure if I should say it's mountainous or not, since it's certainly no Rockies, but I don't think "foothill-ous" or "very large and fantastic hills-ous" are words. Very beautiful though. We also stopped at a pagoda along the way, which was pretty sweet.
15 June: Ha Long Bay! I'm running out of time on the computer and words in my head right now, so I can't do it justice, but it was stunningly gorgeous. Do a google image search of "ha long bay" or "halong bay" and check out the pictures. If I remember right, there are about 200,000 sheer limestone islands in as many square kilometers. Amazing. They just pop up all around you. As you navigate through on a boat, there are just layers upon layers that keep opening up in front of you. Very fun boat ride, very mysterious. We had the whole boat to ourselves for some reason, which was great. We even got them to stop for a bit in a lagoon so that we could jump out of the boat and swim for a while. What a great day. How are we here? This is ridiculous. How did a bunch of 20-something year old students with no jobs, no income, no place in the world, no anything, end up spending such a great month in Asia? Removing pyogenic granulomas in the Philippines? Seeing broken-off acupuncture needles in an x-ray in an ER in Phnom Penh? Walking in some of humanity's greatest artistic achievements in the Angkor temples? Riding boats and motorcycles to check blood pressures in the Mekong? Hanging out on a private boat watching some of the world's greatest landscapes opening up before them in Ha Long Bay? Ridiculous. Nonsensical wonderful ridiculousness.
-Alyssa
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Our house...in the middle of Vietnam, our house...
So the past 2 days have been spent with SOMEDCO, building a house for a local family. Thanh arranged for a bunch of students from his church to come work with us, so the work actually went really well and really quickly. The first day was spent filling in the foundation level with dirt to form the base of the floor. Loooots of shoveling and wheelbarrowing and shoveling dirt onto empty mortar mix bags and carrying those around ensued. Very hot, but good times. As the day went on, everything seemed to get more and more hilarious, till we were all cracking up about anything that was said while we were shoveling and sweating more than anyone ever should outside of a sauna. Good times, but I think the SOMEDCO group was a little confused by us. Probably a good thing.
The second day was dedicated mostly to laying stone over the dirt floor. This again involved lots of carrying and such, but was again good times. People here also seem to delight in getting us to try foods we've never met before and watching us fail at eating them. Yesterday they brought us durian, this weird type of fruit that about half the people in the world find very smelly and disgusting. Really though, it's not all that bad if you ignore the slight nastiness and look for the sweet flavor that's there too. The consistency is the really wierd thing. Sort of like a stringy pudding. If someone had just handed me some durian and not told me it was a fruit, I never would have guessed.
Anyway though, because we had so much help with the house and everything, we were really running out of things to do. So Thanh and the SOMEDCO bunch ended up telling us we could take a day off if we wanted today, so we are. Sounds like we'd be more of a hassle than a help at the construction site today, since they wouldn't have anything for us to do (the only thing really left is finishing bricklaying, but that's being done by paid workers, so we don't want to steal their job) but we would still need to be fed, etc. So instead, Tiffany's aunt is taking us to some place called Monkey Island. Excited to see what that exactly entails. Monkeys, hooray!
Overall, things continue very well. The group is fantastic, Tiffany's family's hospitality is seriously over the top and incredible, the food is good (some kind of delicious fish and noodles last night, mmm), and we're excited to move on to the next part of our time with SOMEDCO tomorrow! Unfortunately, it is the last part of our trip. The time has really flown, and while we're all looking forward to some things in America, like tap water and breakfast cereal, we'll also be sad to leave Asia. It's been a great experience so far. We've learned so much, seen so much, done so much, experienced so much, and met so many great people. Looking forward to making these last few days count!
-Alyssa
The second day was dedicated mostly to laying stone over the dirt floor. This again involved lots of carrying and such, but was again good times. People here also seem to delight in getting us to try foods we've never met before and watching us fail at eating them. Yesterday they brought us durian, this weird type of fruit that about half the people in the world find very smelly and disgusting. Really though, it's not all that bad if you ignore the slight nastiness and look for the sweet flavor that's there too. The consistency is the really wierd thing. Sort of like a stringy pudding. If someone had just handed me some durian and not told me it was a fruit, I never would have guessed.
Anyway though, because we had so much help with the house and everything, we were really running out of things to do. So Thanh and the SOMEDCO bunch ended up telling us we could take a day off if we wanted today, so we are. Sounds like we'd be more of a hassle than a help at the construction site today, since they wouldn't have anything for us to do (the only thing really left is finishing bricklaying, but that's being done by paid workers, so we don't want to steal their job) but we would still need to be fed, etc. So instead, Tiffany's aunt is taking us to some place called Monkey Island. Excited to see what that exactly entails. Monkeys, hooray!
Overall, things continue very well. The group is fantastic, Tiffany's family's hospitality is seriously over the top and incredible, the food is good (some kind of delicious fish and noodles last night, mmm), and we're excited to move on to the next part of our time with SOMEDCO tomorrow! Unfortunately, it is the last part of our trip. The time has really flown, and while we're all looking forward to some things in America, like tap water and breakfast cereal, we'll also be sad to leave Asia. It's been a great experience so far. We've learned so much, seen so much, done so much, experienced so much, and met so many great people. Looking forward to making these last few days count!
-Alyssa
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Culinary Delights in Ho Chi Minh City
This morning started off with the groups separating. Alyssa, Paul, and Kelsi went to meet our SoMedco contact, while Hank, Tiffany and I stayed with Tiffany's family. Alyssa, Paul, and Kelsi had the privilege of attending a 2-3 hour church service. The rest of us were able to experience what Tiffany calls "the leisurely Vietnamese morning." This does not, however, include sleeping in. Instead, we headed to a back alley restaurant where we were served the traditional Pho (pronounced "fur"), a vegetable and meat soup. Afterwards, we headed to a different locale and had some Vietnamese coffee. This cafe overlooked one of the cleanest bodies of water we have seen yet (it was a pond). What makes Vietnames coffee unique? Well, it is similar to espresso, but it is brewed at your table in individual servings. Hot water is poured into this small metal contraption that holds the grounds and sits on top of your cup. The coffee slowly percolates over 5-10 minutes and is then ready to be enjoyed either black or with "milk." I deem it "milk" because it is actually sweetened condensed milk. I took it with milk, which is apparently just for women, but I don't really care because it was absolutely amazing.
We finally all linked back up for lunch...another amazing example of the excellent cuisine here in Vietnam. We made our own spring rolls with pork, beef, and an array of vegetables, most of which were unrecognizable to us. There were multiple sauces to dip them in and one in particular I just have to mention. As I took my first bite with this one sauce, Tiffany gave me the strangest look and then asked me if I liked it. I thought it was alright, but then she would not tell me what it was made out of. With that reaction from Tiffany, I could no longer sample that sauce. It wasn't until after the meal that she revealed the ingredient: fish puree...and by that she meant the entire fish, not just the meat we are all used to. Now that I think of the flavor, that is exactly what it tasted like.
We did do something besides eat today: we went to the Cuchi Tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War (or the American War, as it is referred to here in Vietnam). It was a very impressive, three tiered system of tunnels...a total of 250 kilometers. We were able to crawl through 60 meters of tunnel...and that was more than enough. We also learned how the tunnels were organized, ventilated, and even how they hid the smoke from the kitchen areas by diffusing it over 10 meters or so, making it appear like fog. Near the end of the tour we had the option to go to the shooting range and shoot real M16s and AK-47s. None of us took advantage of this opportunity, but we watched a few of our newfound Australian friends partake.
After the Cuchi Tunnels we headed back to experience the highlight of the day: eating balut. For those who don't know, balut is a hard boiled duck egg...with a twist. There is a duck embryo inside. We had heard about balut since the Philippines, but didn't get the opportunity to feast until today. I say feast because Tiffany's family apparently didn't understand that we only wanted to sample balut. They brought us 30 eggs!!
Just to completely horrify everyone, I will try and explain how balut is eaten.
Each egg comes with a small blue mark, which is where you strike the egg with a small spoon to pop the top off. Once the top is off, you sip the fluid (amniotic fluid?) out of the shell like a shot. You then attack it piece by piece. First eat the yolk, which is very similar to a regular chicken egg yolk. After one bite of yolk, Kelsi dropped out. After the yolk, you move on to the duck itself. It is absolutely crucial at this juncture not to look at what you are eating: the duck embryo looks exactly like what you think...eyes, beak, feathers. It is best to add a little salt and pepper and quickly chew the whole thing. There's another piece of yolk to be devoured and then the final piece is a cartilagenous little fin-like structure. Once you've spent 3 minutes pulverizing that with your teeth you can swallow and you are done.
At least I was done. I knew going in that I was only going to have one balut and then never do it again (ever). However, Paul had silently downed three in the corner while we were struggling with our first (he had eaten balut before) and Alyssa, Hank, and Tiffany each went on to down 1 or 2 more. Needless to say, many pictures and videos were taken of this epic event. I apologize to anyone who was disgusted by my detailed description of the process.
To cap off our day of culinary delights we headed to the edge of town to Tiffany's favorite seafood restaurant. We feasted on small clams, a few different types of snails, quail eggs, and an exquisite fish soup. Most of us had not eaten shellfish of this type before, but we were lucky to have the waitresses watching to rescue us while we were failing to eat correctly. I had one perched right by my side for almost the entire meal. I guess they just assume that the sweaty, pastey white American is going to fail. I felt like a toddler struggling to eat this wonderful food and felt especially foolish when the waitress quickly popped the shell to a clam that I had been fiddling with for a couple minutes.
We ended our night at a frozen yogurt bar. Even Hank (the vegan) had some fro-yo for the first time in approximately a decade...he's just so polite. All in all, it was a great day and I believe all of our GI systems (especially Hank's) were introduced to some new substances.
We finally all linked back up for lunch...another amazing example of the excellent cuisine here in Vietnam. We made our own spring rolls with pork, beef, and an array of vegetables, most of which were unrecognizable to us. There were multiple sauces to dip them in and one in particular I just have to mention. As I took my first bite with this one sauce, Tiffany gave me the strangest look and then asked me if I liked it. I thought it was alright, but then she would not tell me what it was made out of. With that reaction from Tiffany, I could no longer sample that sauce. It wasn't until after the meal that she revealed the ingredient: fish puree...and by that she meant the entire fish, not just the meat we are all used to. Now that I think of the flavor, that is exactly what it tasted like.
We did do something besides eat today: we went to the Cuchi Tunnels. These are the tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War (or the American War, as it is referred to here in Vietnam). It was a very impressive, three tiered system of tunnels...a total of 250 kilometers. We were able to crawl through 60 meters of tunnel...and that was more than enough. We also learned how the tunnels were organized, ventilated, and even how they hid the smoke from the kitchen areas by diffusing it over 10 meters or so, making it appear like fog. Near the end of the tour we had the option to go to the shooting range and shoot real M16s and AK-47s. None of us took advantage of this opportunity, but we watched a few of our newfound Australian friends partake.
After the Cuchi Tunnels we headed back to experience the highlight of the day: eating balut. For those who don't know, balut is a hard boiled duck egg...with a twist. There is a duck embryo inside. We had heard about balut since the Philippines, but didn't get the opportunity to feast until today. I say feast because Tiffany's family apparently didn't understand that we only wanted to sample balut. They brought us 30 eggs!!
Just to completely horrify everyone, I will try and explain how balut is eaten.
Each egg comes with a small blue mark, which is where you strike the egg with a small spoon to pop the top off. Once the top is off, you sip the fluid (amniotic fluid?) out of the shell like a shot. You then attack it piece by piece. First eat the yolk, which is very similar to a regular chicken egg yolk. After one bite of yolk, Kelsi dropped out. After the yolk, you move on to the duck itself. It is absolutely crucial at this juncture not to look at what you are eating: the duck embryo looks exactly like what you think...eyes, beak, feathers. It is best to add a little salt and pepper and quickly chew the whole thing. There's another piece of yolk to be devoured and then the final piece is a cartilagenous little fin-like structure. Once you've spent 3 minutes pulverizing that with your teeth you can swallow and you are done.
At least I was done. I knew going in that I was only going to have one balut and then never do it again (ever). However, Paul had silently downed three in the corner while we were struggling with our first (he had eaten balut before) and Alyssa, Hank, and Tiffany each went on to down 1 or 2 more. Needless to say, many pictures and videos were taken of this epic event. I apologize to anyone who was disgusted by my detailed description of the process.
To cap off our day of culinary delights we headed to the edge of town to Tiffany's favorite seafood restaurant. We feasted on small clams, a few different types of snails, quail eggs, and an exquisite fish soup. Most of us had not eaten shellfish of this type before, but we were lucky to have the waitresses watching to rescue us while we were failing to eat correctly. I had one perched right by my side for almost the entire meal. I guess they just assume that the sweaty, pastey white American is going to fail. I felt like a toddler struggling to eat this wonderful food and felt especially foolish when the waitress quickly popped the shell to a clam that I had been fiddling with for a couple minutes.
We ended our night at a frozen yogurt bar. Even Hank (the vegan) had some fro-yo for the first time in approximately a decade...he's just so polite. All in all, it was a great day and I believe all of our GI systems (especially Hank's) were introduced to some new substances.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Angkor whaaaat?
We've been in Siem Reap for the past 2 days as our Cambodian mini-holiday, and let me tell you, it has been holy-cow-what-ridiculousness-is-this amaaaaazing.
Yesterday was our day at the Angkor complex of temples, which were built from about the 6th-13th centuries (I think) by the emperors of the Khmer empire. Our day started with a 5am tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples. Absolutely mind-blowing. I've been reading up on these temples and looking at pictures of them since we decided to go here, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the reality. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded pictures yet, so my description here is going to be very incomplete. Maybe we'll post some later, or you can ask your nearest SE Asia CURA member to see their pictures once we get back to the States.
Anyway, Angkor Wat at sunrise was pretty sweet. There are two ponds (they call them basins) in the grounds between the moat and the temple that catch a reflection of the temple. Very cool. On the first level inside, there is gallery after galley of bas-reliefs. These. Are. Amazing. They're about 15 feet high and so long and sooo detailed. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to carve even one panel of one of those scenes. They're absolutely full of detail and action in a way that you'd think would make it look to busy, but instead it just looks awesome. The reliefs are mostly scenes from historical battles, or Hindu myths (Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu). It was perfect being there in the early morning too, as the light was falling at a great angle for shadows, making the reliefs easier to see. You could also walk/climb around on the 2nd and3rd levels as well, which was a lot of fun, but there were no reliefs up there. So many pictures were taken. Even more than all the pictures we took with the HOPE volunteers in the Philippines, haha.
Next was Angkor Thom, a giant city-type thing. The coolest part about it was probably the entrances and the Bayon, one of the temples inside. It was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, that is absolutely full of towers with giant faces facing the cardinal directions. There's debate about whose faces these are. Some say it's the emperor at the time (Jayavarman VII) or his favorite bodhisattva (Avilokiteshvara), or a combination of the two. Anyway, all those serene Buddha-like faces staring out at you can be a little creepy, but is also awesome. Bayon was a lot of fun, not least because we kept taking pictures pretending to pick the giant faces' noses. Oh, we are so American. And so awesome.
Ta Phrom was another group favorite. This is the temple featuring in the first Tomb Raider movie. It's incredibly overgrown with trees. At most of the other temples in the complex, the conservationists have removed all the vegetation that threatens the stonework, but at this one, the trees have worked their way into the building so much that they're actually supporting it now and can't be removed. Which is too bad for the building, but great for us, since it looks amazing.
After lunch, we went and checked out the Roluos group, which are a bit older than the ones we were looking at in the morning. These were not nearly as elaborate as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but they were very cool still in their own way. Instead of the stonework of the others, these were built of brick and sandstone, and the red/gray combination was very cool looking.
Anyway, this post is ridiculously long, and I need to go pack for Ho Chi Minh City anyway. Very excited to get back to work, though I'm kind of sad that we're already on the last leg of our trip. It's going very quickly. Ah well. It's going to be great getting back to being useful for a week working with SOMEDCO, and then taking our lst little vacation in Hanoi. Hope you're all having as much fun as we are, wherever you are right now! If you're in Omaha and see Dr. Gossman in the near future, give him a high-five from us! Today is the last day of his trip, as he isn't going on to Vietnam with us, and we're all definitely going to miss having him around. He's been absolutely vital to our trip's success, with his seemingly bottomless well of medical knowledge. Also, who will make fun of Hank and Paul now? We're all going to have to step up our game...
Yesterday was our day at the Angkor complex of temples, which were built from about the 6th-13th centuries (I think) by the emperors of the Khmer empire. Our day started with a 5am tuk-tuk ride from our hotel to Angkor Wat, the most famous of the temples. Absolutely mind-blowing. I've been reading up on these temples and looking at pictures of them since we decided to go here, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the reality. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I haven't uploaded pictures yet, so my description here is going to be very incomplete. Maybe we'll post some later, or you can ask your nearest SE Asia CURA member to see their pictures once we get back to the States.
Anyway, Angkor Wat at sunrise was pretty sweet. There are two ponds (they call them basins) in the grounds between the moat and the temple that catch a reflection of the temple. Very cool. On the first level inside, there is gallery after galley of bas-reliefs. These. Are. Amazing. They're about 15 feet high and so long and sooo detailed. I can't even imagine how long it must have taken to carve even one panel of one of those scenes. They're absolutely full of detail and action in a way that you'd think would make it look to busy, but instead it just looks awesome. The reliefs are mostly scenes from historical battles, or Hindu myths (Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu). It was perfect being there in the early morning too, as the light was falling at a great angle for shadows, making the reliefs easier to see. You could also walk/climb around on the 2nd and3rd levels as well, which was a lot of fun, but there were no reliefs up there. So many pictures were taken. Even more than all the pictures we took with the HOPE volunteers in the Philippines, haha.
Next was Angkor Thom, a giant city-type thing. The coolest part about it was probably the entrances and the Bayon, one of the temples inside. It was a Mahayana Buddhist temple, that is absolutely full of towers with giant faces facing the cardinal directions. There's debate about whose faces these are. Some say it's the emperor at the time (Jayavarman VII) or his favorite bodhisattva (Avilokiteshvara), or a combination of the two. Anyway, all those serene Buddha-like faces staring out at you can be a little creepy, but is also awesome. Bayon was a lot of fun, not least because we kept taking pictures pretending to pick the giant faces' noses. Oh, we are so American. And so awesome.
Ta Phrom was another group favorite. This is the temple featuring in the first Tomb Raider movie. It's incredibly overgrown with trees. At most of the other temples in the complex, the conservationists have removed all the vegetation that threatens the stonework, but at this one, the trees have worked their way into the building so much that they're actually supporting it now and can't be removed. Which is too bad for the building, but great for us, since it looks amazing.
After lunch, we went and checked out the Roluos group, which are a bit older than the ones we were looking at in the morning. These were not nearly as elaborate as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, but they were very cool still in their own way. Instead of the stonework of the others, these were built of brick and sandstone, and the red/gray combination was very cool looking.
Anyway, this post is ridiculously long, and I need to go pack for Ho Chi Minh City anyway. Very excited to get back to work, though I'm kind of sad that we're already on the last leg of our trip. It's going very quickly. Ah well. It's going to be great getting back to being useful for a week working with SOMEDCO, and then taking our lst little vacation in Hanoi. Hope you're all having as much fun as we are, wherever you are right now! If you're in Omaha and see Dr. Gossman in the near future, give him a high-five from us! Today is the last day of his trip, as he isn't going on to Vietnam with us, and we're all definitely going to miss having him around. He's been absolutely vital to our trip's success, with his seemingly bottomless well of medical knowledge. Also, who will make fun of Hank and Paul now? We're all going to have to step up our game...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Even more Cambodian adventure time!
Well, now it's Wednesday and we didn't tell you what we did on Tuesday. Tuesday, the Paul/Kelsi/Hank group accompanied Gossman to the hospital, and the Tiffany/Ben/Alyssa group went to a mobile clinic a little ways outside Phnom Penh. Mobile clinic was a good time, though we were mostly there just as observers. Obviously, none of us speak Khmer (though I can now count to 10 in it, yesss), so we all got great practice in trying to diagnose patients without knowing the presenting complaint. We got to jump in on a couple of the physical exams as well, getting to hear one pretty crazy systolic murmur, and give a woman a neurological exam. She had left side hemiparesis of the face and forehead, and couldn't abduct her right eye. Quick, med students, what does that mean? Lower motor neuron injury to left CN7 and lesion of right CN6! Yay!
Another thing we're really enjoying getting to see here is how medicine in other parts of the world is both similar to and different from ours. Physical exam is pretty similar everywhere, some of the medications are different (or at least have different names), and the placebo-like drugs are all pretty different. I never thought about it before, but it does make sense that placebo would be the most culturally-based aspect of medicine. Hm.
Mobile clinic lasted till 12, then we went back to the hospital just in time to get to join the other group in watching a below-the-knee leg amputation. So cool! The human body is amazing, and so is medicine. Watching them take of that woman's leg and then have it somehow look nice and neat at the end (all in an operating theater quite different than those in America) was crazy. Mind you, I still don't want to be a surgeon. But it is cool.
Later that night, we met up with a few other ex-pats from the hospital and went out for some Indian food, and then to a bar they liked for some live music. Hilarity, dancing, and Celine Dion songs ensued.
Today, Kelsi and Ben went to the hospital with Dr. G, and the rest of us went off to another Phnom Penh orphanage, this time to give physicals to the kids there. Paul is right, kids here are really amazing. So happy to see you and so not-bratty when you're trying to look in their ears. Plus the fact that I'm starting to think that all Asian kids are just automatically adorable. The physicals were easy today, as this bunch of kids were pretty well taken care of. All pretty healthy, as kids that age should be. They were all either complete orphans or else had just one parent, who couldn't take care of them due to disability or something. The orphanage was originally started to take care of kids who lived in a dump, basically Phnom Penh's version of Payatas in the Philippines. Great to see them all so healthy and happy.
Tonight's our last night in Phnom Penh, as we're off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Then, we'll all transform into Lara Croft for a little exploration of the Angkor temples. Seriously? SO EXCITED. Phnom Penh has definitely been a great place for us too though! Cambodia is such a complex country. Glad we got to come here.
-Alyssa
Another thing we're really enjoying getting to see here is how medicine in other parts of the world is both similar to and different from ours. Physical exam is pretty similar everywhere, some of the medications are different (or at least have different names), and the placebo-like drugs are all pretty different. I never thought about it before, but it does make sense that placebo would be the most culturally-based aspect of medicine. Hm.
Mobile clinic lasted till 12, then we went back to the hospital just in time to get to join the other group in watching a below-the-knee leg amputation. So cool! The human body is amazing, and so is medicine. Watching them take of that woman's leg and then have it somehow look nice and neat at the end (all in an operating theater quite different than those in America) was crazy. Mind you, I still don't want to be a surgeon. But it is cool.
Later that night, we met up with a few other ex-pats from the hospital and went out for some Indian food, and then to a bar they liked for some live music. Hilarity, dancing, and Celine Dion songs ensued.
Today, Kelsi and Ben went to the hospital with Dr. G, and the rest of us went off to another Phnom Penh orphanage, this time to give physicals to the kids there. Paul is right, kids here are really amazing. So happy to see you and so not-bratty when you're trying to look in their ears. Plus the fact that I'm starting to think that all Asian kids are just automatically adorable. The physicals were easy today, as this bunch of kids were pretty well taken care of. All pretty healthy, as kids that age should be. They were all either complete orphans or else had just one parent, who couldn't take care of them due to disability or something. The orphanage was originally started to take care of kids who lived in a dump, basically Phnom Penh's version of Payatas in the Philippines. Great to see them all so healthy and happy.
Tonight's our last night in Phnom Penh, as we're off to Siem Reap tomorrow. Then, we'll all transform into Lara Croft for a little exploration of the Angkor temples. Seriously? SO EXCITED. Phnom Penh has definitely been a great place for us too though! Cambodia is such a complex country. Glad we got to come here.
-Alyssa
Monday, June 1, 2009
Another Day in The Cambodian Breeze
PPP back at ya again. Today we split up into two groups: Hank, Kelsi, and I teamed up with students from Belmont University and went to two orphanages, while Alyssa, Ben, and Tiffany went with Dr. G to the Saniuk Hospital. That being the case, I'll write about our adventures at the orphanages.
We met up with 17 nursing and pharmacy students from Belmont University, a Christian school in Tenessee. To meet up with them, we crossed the street, haha. Yeah, they were staying in the hotel directly across from us. They were all lovely, nice people and we got along very well with them. During the day, we rode with them on their huge, comfy bus.
The first orphanage we went to was about 2 hrs away from Phnom Penh. On the way there, we saw the King of Cambodia waving from outside his moonroof; it was the funniest thing as we were in the middle of open farm land, and there he was waving as he zoomed past us. Anyway, the frist orphange we went to was from older kids (they seemed to range from 5 to maybe 13 or 15). On arriving there, they presented to us four different types of dances, each with a purpose or story. After that, we handed out gift packs and served them food. They were very grateful and very cheerful and happy. I was somewhat disappointed that we were not able to interact much with the kids as we left after taking a tour of the very nice facility.
We then went to the orphanage for infants (ranging from maybe 5 months or younger to almost two years old, many with HIV). They were truly adorable! I really wanted to take some back with me! But yeah, we just had a great time playing for hours with some of the most beautiful children on Earth. You can't beat that.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the group and had delicious Thai/Khmer food at the open upper level of the great restaurant. Later on in the evening, we then walked around the 'park' (really a paved area with grassy patches, monuments, and statues) in the cool Cambodian evening breeze. Most magnifique as the French would say.
Overall another great day!
**
On a more personal note, working with/treating kids in the Philippines and seeing these kids in the orphange (esp. the babies with HIV) has made me really think about the meaning and structure of life and its ultimate purpose. I was holding perhaps the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I just couldn't believe this child was probably gonna die before the age of maybe 3 or 5 tops because of HIV (which he contracted through no fault of his own) and because of the lack of treatment or care available.
This was perhaps the example that just made me really reflect on the unjust suffering in world. I've seen so many innocent kids, through no fault of their own, in truly unsanitary conditions with diseases or ailments that were either a) preventable if they lived in better environments b) treatable if they had access to the approproriate treatment or c) never gonna be fully cured b/c of the lack of medicine, equipment, skill etc. we brought. And the thing is, even if we treated a 1000+, there are millions out there living like this. to say it's not fair, is truly an understatement.
And yet, throughout it all, there is a glimmer of hope: they are happy. Some of them looked like the happiest kids on Earth with a such an innocent, pure joy can warm any heart and that should make anybody jealous (especially since I probably have never seen anyone as happy, even in the States). Seeing or remembering the large smiles on these kids faces or their cheerful laughs just really warms my heart and just really gives me hope.
But yeah, this has made me think about fairness, order, balance, meaning, and purpose in the grand scheme of things as well as what true happiness really is. Our adventure so far has truly made me reflect about these very important issues to newer and deeper levels and for that I will be forever grateful.
Peace out!
We met up with 17 nursing and pharmacy students from Belmont University, a Christian school in Tenessee. To meet up with them, we crossed the street, haha. Yeah, they were staying in the hotel directly across from us. They were all lovely, nice people and we got along very well with them. During the day, we rode with them on their huge, comfy bus.
The first orphanage we went to was about 2 hrs away from Phnom Penh. On the way there, we saw the King of Cambodia waving from outside his moonroof; it was the funniest thing as we were in the middle of open farm land, and there he was waving as he zoomed past us. Anyway, the frist orphange we went to was from older kids (they seemed to range from 5 to maybe 13 or 15). On arriving there, they presented to us four different types of dances, each with a purpose or story. After that, we handed out gift packs and served them food. They were very grateful and very cheerful and happy. I was somewhat disappointed that we were not able to interact much with the kids as we left after taking a tour of the very nice facility.
We then went to the orphanage for infants (ranging from maybe 5 months or younger to almost two years old, many with HIV). They were truly adorable! I really wanted to take some back with me! But yeah, we just had a great time playing for hours with some of the most beautiful children on Earth. You can't beat that.
Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the group and had delicious Thai/Khmer food at the open upper level of the great restaurant. Later on in the evening, we then walked around the 'park' (really a paved area with grassy patches, monuments, and statues) in the cool Cambodian evening breeze. Most magnifique as the French would say.
Overall another great day!
**
On a more personal note, working with/treating kids in the Philippines and seeing these kids in the orphange (esp. the babies with HIV) has made me really think about the meaning and structure of life and its ultimate purpose. I was holding perhaps the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and I just couldn't believe this child was probably gonna die before the age of maybe 3 or 5 tops because of HIV (which he contracted through no fault of his own) and because of the lack of treatment or care available.
This was perhaps the example that just made me really reflect on the unjust suffering in world. I've seen so many innocent kids, through no fault of their own, in truly unsanitary conditions with diseases or ailments that were either a) preventable if they lived in better environments b) treatable if they had access to the approproriate treatment or c) never gonna be fully cured b/c of the lack of medicine, equipment, skill etc. we brought. And the thing is, even if we treated a 1000+, there are millions out there living like this. to say it's not fair, is truly an understatement.
And yet, throughout it all, there is a glimmer of hope: they are happy. Some of them looked like the happiest kids on Earth with a such an innocent, pure joy can warm any heart and that should make anybody jealous (especially since I probably have never seen anyone as happy, even in the States). Seeing or remembering the large smiles on these kids faces or their cheerful laughs just really warms my heart and just really gives me hope.
But yeah, this has made me think about fairness, order, balance, meaning, and purpose in the grand scheme of things as well as what true happiness really is. Our adventure so far has truly made me reflect about these very important issues to newer and deeper levels and for that I will be forever grateful.
Peace out!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Volcanos, sunburns and Buddha
Touring around on our last day in Philippines on the 29th took us to Taal volcano, which is one of the smallest but still active volcanos on the islands. Vendors on the street persistently shouted to offer us a 'boat ride' to reach the volcano, even chasing our van on their motorbike just to see if we had changed our mind. We did end up riding a banca boat to the base of Taal and tightened up our flimsy tennis shoes to hike the volcano. Like true Americans, we denied any offer of help riding horseback on the way to the top and huffed along in 95% humidity. Of course, the 3 in our group who are taking doxycycline for malaria (with increased sun sensitivity as a side effect) got scorched by the sun. Sunscreen just mocked us as we tried to avoid the inevitable. Besides Tiffany and Ben also getting hit by some heat exhaustion, we were still stoked to reach the rim of the volcano!
We flew to Cambodia on the 30th and were immediately impressed by our first impression of Phnom Penh. Maybe it was the free wine and corvoissier on our flight or the delicious Thai food we had, but this city is better than we were expecting. Spent our first day getting a somber tour of the Tuol Sleng prison and the Choeung Ek killing fields, where they tortured and executed nearly 1/3 of the country's population during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-79. It was hard for us to see evidence of the brutal tactics that Pol Pot and his combatants took, killing any educated citizen including most teachers and doctors in order to maintain control. Cambodia is still trying to recover but making great strides. Later in the day, we got a review of Buddhism and Hinduism and saw many many temples, buddha statues and pagodas.
Tomorrow we split our group with half of us going to Sihanouk hospital with Dr. Gossman, and the others to an orphanage. Probably more graphic stories to come from our hospital experiences there!
Stay tuned....
Kelsi
Filipino Fruitstravaganza!
As you might imagine, the mean streets of Manila are lined with carts selling the whole spectrum of strange and exotic things, the most numerous of which is some of the most delicious-looking fruit you've ever seen. Despite the healthy allure, we were told by several local people that severl Oregon Trail-esque diseases would result if we gave in to temptation and stopped for some (American GI tracts and Filipino water supposedly don't mix).
Thus, we kept our animal urges for tropical fruits under wraps until Thursday night, when we walked to a local supermarket and went on a tropical fruit bonanza. Two types of lychees, a bunch of mini bananas, a papaya, a Korean pear, a guyabano, many mangoes, durien candy, starfruit, pineapple, and dragonfruit; enough for a dinner for six.
Overall, the "fruit dinner" was fantastic; the odd grocery store experience (massive selection and Asian fruit packaging), the exchange rate (the whole meal was $15 or so), and the freshness of the fruit all conspired to make it a righteous feast. We hadn't had many of these fruits before and came up with a group consensus of how to describe them:
Guyabano: Tastes like a banana and honeydew melon smoothie with a strange twist; the crew was split on whether or not to recommend this one.
Lychee: Peeling one bears eerie similarity to eating a hard boiled egg...the outer shell looks like an artist rendering of HIV and the inside actually looks like an egg, though the fruit tastes more like a juicy kiwi + coconut
Papaya: The papayas here are sweet with a subtle coffee flavor; really delicious!
Picture = starfruit eyes and papaya mouth?
Korean Pear: Probably the most refreshing fruit we've ever tasted; it's a mildly sweet pear but very crisp and juicy
Starfruit: Rather like a watery apple. A bit sweet and bitter, but not heavy on taste.
Dragonfruit: GORGEOUS appearance but weak on taste. Tiffany says that they taste much better homegrown and very ripe.
Mango: Seemingly the favorite fruit of the Philippines for a reason: they are awesome here. Picture = mango, being used to demonstrate the tiny-ness of the bananas here. But so delicious.
The pictures say more about the meal than words can. We set up shop with a 40 cent kitchen knife and several bags of fruit in our hotel's cafe and didn't rest until only four pounds of compost remained; hope you enjoy the photos!
Thus, we kept our animal urges for tropical fruits under wraps until Thursday night, when we walked to a local supermarket and went on a tropical fruit bonanza. Two types of lychees, a bunch of mini bananas, a papaya, a Korean pear, a guyabano, many mangoes, durien candy, starfruit, pineapple, and dragonfruit; enough for a dinner for six.
Overall, the "fruit dinner" was fantastic; the odd grocery store experience (massive selection and Asian fruit packaging), the exchange rate (the whole meal was $15 or so), and the freshness of the fruit all conspired to make it a righteous feast. We hadn't had many of these fruits before and came up with a group consensus of how to describe them:
Guyabano: Tastes like a banana and honeydew melon smoothie with a strange twist; the crew was split on whether or not to recommend this one.
Lychee: Peeling one bears eerie similarity to eating a hard boiled egg...the outer shell looks like an artist rendering of HIV and the inside actually looks like an egg, though the fruit tastes more like a juicy kiwi + coconut
Papaya: The papayas here are sweet with a subtle coffee flavor; really delicious!
Picture = starfruit eyes and papaya mouth?
Korean Pear: Probably the most refreshing fruit we've ever tasted; it's a mildly sweet pear but very crisp and juicy
Starfruit: Rather like a watery apple. A bit sweet and bitter, but not heavy on taste.
Dragonfruit: GORGEOUS appearance but weak on taste. Tiffany says that they taste much better homegrown and very ripe.
Mango: Seemingly the favorite fruit of the Philippines for a reason: they are awesome here. Picture = mango, being used to demonstrate the tiny-ness of the bananas here. But so delicious.
The pictures say more about the meal than words can. We set up shop with a 40 cent kitchen knife and several bags of fruit in our hotel's cafe and didn't rest until only four pounds of compost remained; hope you enjoy the photos!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Why are we leaving this marvelous place?
Yo, PPP here again writing to you from the Philippines, on our last day here (tourist day- I'm visiting my grandma and the rest of the crew are going to Taal and climbing a volcano in a lake).
Though we want to continue our adventure, the general consensus of the group is that WE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THIS PLACE; the people are soooo friendly and nice and have to be the HAPPIEST people on Earth, the food is delicious, and the KIDS ARE AMAZING! Some of us are seriously considering moving here when we are done with med school (yours truly included). That said, we have also been able to help sooo many people (1000+ in approx 24hrs of clinic time).
On a more personal note, I've never felt so fulfilled in my life; other than getting satisfaction in helping these people and easing their suffering, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities and I can definetly see why being a doctor has the be the greatest job on Earth.
Peace out!
Though we want to continue our adventure, the general consensus of the group is that WE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THIS PLACE; the people are soooo friendly and nice and have to be the HAPPIEST people on Earth, the food is delicious, and the KIDS ARE AMAZING! Some of us are seriously considering moving here when we are done with med school (yours truly included). That said, we have also been able to help sooo many people (1000+ in approx 24hrs of clinic time).
On a more personal note, I've never felt so fulfilled in my life; other than getting satisfaction in helping these people and easing their suffering, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities and I can definetly see why being a doctor has the be the greatest job on Earth.
Peace out!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Day 5 with HWW Philippines - Baseco
Our first day working at the Baseco community center started out with a crazy ride on a banca, basically a Filipino canoe with outriggers and a crazily rigged-up tiny engine. Apparently, just a few years ago, banca was the only way to get to part of the Baseco barangay (community), which is on the coast, and mostly reclaimed land. After we got to the end of the community, we ran into a pick-up basketball game in progress, and Gossman decided (as usual) that he needed to dive into the middle of it, which somehow turned into a 2-on-2 game between Ben and Alyssa (representing Notre Dame, hollaaaa!) and Paul and Gossman. We were not impressive, and yet they were vaguely impressed. Paradox.
If I remember correctly, Baseco is about 20 or 30 hectares in area, and has a population of about 200,000. Obviously very, very dense. And since it's so low and near the sea, whenever there is a typhoon or anything, the water rises and drives tons of people out of their houses, which they just build again when the water goes down. Filipinos are definitely resilient. And so happy. All the people we've met have been so friendly. Absolutely amazing.
In the clinic today, we were partnered with the fabulous Filipina nursing students again, and we worked steadily from 10am-2pm, and 3-5pm. Jose estimates that we saw about 380 people. That is a lot of people. Speaking of which, our total of patients for the week so far has passed the 1000 mark. *cough* Wow. Wackiest clinical adventures today: Kelsi expressed a pretty crazy abscess, Hank chopped off a pyogenic granuloma, and Alyssa and Ben both scared small children by being huge and pale.
After we got back from clinic and taking a thousand pictures with the nurses, we went back to the hotel, where we ran into two of the ladies we had worked with during our first day here, in Laguna. They had come by to say hello and bring us some thank-you gifts for working here (see what I mean? SO friendly). We all ended up going out to eat together, and the restaurant we went to had a show involving lots of different kinds of traditional Filipino dance. Which was AWESOME. People doing crazy tinikling (jumping around between poles that are being bounced on the ground), flipping fans around, literally running up each other. Craziness. BUT THEN. The show became interactive. Most of us got up there for some tinikling, but the highlight of the night was when one of the girl dancers came and kidnapped Hank and took him backstage for a while. We were all wondering where on earth he had gone when suddenly he was back, dressed in a grass skirt, halter top, and headdress, shaking his hips with the dancing girls like there was no tomorrow. I have not laughed that hard in a while. So ridiculous. Pictures will be uploaded at some point. I am 100% positive I have never moved my hips like that in my life, and I actually have the X chromosome to do it. Props to Hank. And to Dr. Gossman for his equally impressive dance, involving him in his scrubs with no shoes on (classy man, that) onstage twirling pom-pom things around and head-banging.
Today was a good day.
-gigglingly submitted by Alyssa
If I remember correctly, Baseco is about 20 or 30 hectares in area, and has a population of about 200,000. Obviously very, very dense. And since it's so low and near the sea, whenever there is a typhoon or anything, the water rises and drives tons of people out of their houses, which they just build again when the water goes down. Filipinos are definitely resilient. And so happy. All the people we've met have been so friendly. Absolutely amazing.
In the clinic today, we were partnered with the fabulous Filipina nursing students again, and we worked steadily from 10am-2pm, and 3-5pm. Jose estimates that we saw about 380 people. That is a lot of people. Speaking of which, our total of patients for the week so far has passed the 1000 mark. *cough* Wow. Wackiest clinical adventures today: Kelsi expressed a pretty crazy abscess, Hank chopped off a pyogenic granuloma, and Alyssa and Ben both scared small children by being huge and pale.
After we got back from clinic and taking a thousand pictures with the nurses, we went back to the hotel, where we ran into two of the ladies we had worked with during our first day here, in Laguna. They had come by to say hello and bring us some thank-you gifts for working here (see what I mean? SO friendly). We all ended up going out to eat together, and the restaurant we went to had a show involving lots of different kinds of traditional Filipino dance. Which was AWESOME. People doing crazy tinikling (jumping around between poles that are being bounced on the ground), flipping fans around, literally running up each other. Craziness. BUT THEN. The show became interactive. Most of us got up there for some tinikling, but the highlight of the night was when one of the girl dancers came and kidnapped Hank and took him backstage for a while. We were all wondering where on earth he had gone when suddenly he was back, dressed in a grass skirt, halter top, and headdress, shaking his hips with the dancing girls like there was no tomorrow. I have not laughed that hard in a while. So ridiculous. Pictures will be uploaded at some point. I am 100% positive I have never moved my hips like that in my life, and I actually have the X chromosome to do it. Props to Hank. And to Dr. Gossman for his equally impressive dance, involving him in his scrubs with no shoes on (classy man, that) onstage twirling pom-pom things around and head-banging.
Today was a good day.
-gigglingly submitted by Alyssa
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
5/26/09 - Day 4
What up? This time it's Paul Pena bringing you the latest from the Philippines.
Today, we went to Payatas again, but this time we were joined by 10 nursing students and another doctor. Having them certainly allowed more patients to be seen; we had 6 stations (approx 2 nursing students and 1 med student at each) with Dr. G roaming and the other doctor checking up patients. The nursing students were especially helpful in translation as now we each had a translatr and didn't have to rely on my disgraceful mockery of Tagalog.
We started bright and early at 9:30 and went until 3:30. According to the log, we were able to see 364 patients, about 70:30 of children to adults. Many patients complained of cold and fever or needed wounds treated. The more interesting cases included TB, scabies, asthma, sores around the mouth, perforated ears, failure to thrive, pus in the ear, removal of a massive pimple that was causing eye pain (this list is lacking as I didn't hear of all the other stuff the rest of the crew encountered).
We definetly got along with the nursing students (3rd and 4th years who were mostly 19 yrs old). We took a lot of pictures together, traded e-mail addresses, and just had a lot of fun. Some of the highlights included teaching Tiffany pickup lines in Tagalog and playing a game from the immensely popular Filipino game show, Wah-Wah-Wee (Kelsi won), in which Benji belted some mean Celine Dion. It was a very enjoyable time (the whole experience, not just Benji)
After that we went to my aunt's house in Quezon City. I introduced them to my grandmother (or lola).and we just relaxed and traded stories over a bottle of Johnny Walker. Then my aunt treated us to a Chinese restaurnt and we feasted like kings. It was glorious.
Overall, it was a very productive and fun day!
On a personal note, I just wanted to say I LOVE THOSE KIDS that we saw. I loved playing with them and interacting with them. In fact, they started to call me cuya which means big brother in Taglog.
Additionally, the whole experience has really increased my drive to become a doctor. I LOVE THIS STUFF. If I could, I would do this for the rest of my life. I LOVE IT.
Peace out, everyone!
Today, we went to Payatas again, but this time we were joined by 10 nursing students and another doctor. Having them certainly allowed more patients to be seen; we had 6 stations (approx 2 nursing students and 1 med student at each) with Dr. G roaming and the other doctor checking up patients. The nursing students were especially helpful in translation as now we each had a translatr and didn't have to rely on my disgraceful mockery of Tagalog.
We started bright and early at 9:30 and went until 3:30. According to the log, we were able to see 364 patients, about 70:30 of children to adults. Many patients complained of cold and fever or needed wounds treated. The more interesting cases included TB, scabies, asthma, sores around the mouth, perforated ears, failure to thrive, pus in the ear, removal of a massive pimple that was causing eye pain (this list is lacking as I didn't hear of all the other stuff the rest of the crew encountered).
We definetly got along with the nursing students (3rd and 4th years who were mostly 19 yrs old). We took a lot of pictures together, traded e-mail addresses, and just had a lot of fun. Some of the highlights included teaching Tiffany pickup lines in Tagalog and playing a game from the immensely popular Filipino game show, Wah-Wah-Wee (Kelsi won), in which Benji belted some mean Celine Dion. It was a very enjoyable time (the whole experience, not just Benji)
After that we went to my aunt's house in Quezon City. I introduced them to my grandmother (or lola).and we just relaxed and traded stories over a bottle of Johnny Walker. Then my aunt treated us to a Chinese restaurnt and we feasted like kings. It was glorious.
Overall, it was a very productive and fun day!
On a personal note, I just wanted to say I LOVE THOSE KIDS that we saw. I loved playing with them and interacting with them. In fact, they started to call me cuya which means big brother in Taglog.
Additionally, the whole experience has really increased my drive to become a doctor. I LOVE THIS STUFF. If I could, I would do this for the rest of my life. I LOVE IT.
Peace out, everyone!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Tourism day!
Hey, it's Alyssa again. Sorry I'm hogging the blog-writing so much. I think Hank's going to do tomorrow.
Anyway, today was our culture day in Manila. Obviously on this trip, our main focus is the service work, but we want to at least try to get a decent comprehension of the area's history and culture while we're here as well. So first thing today, we headed off to Intramuros. It's an old stone fort built by the Spanish after they took over Manila. It was originally a wooden fort (built by the Moors, I think), but the Spanish tore that one down and built the stone one in its place. Most of it is gone now, due to shelling in WWII, but it's still pretty awesome looking. We had a very enthusiastic tour guide who kept insisting his name was Georgie Porgie, who took us around in a horse-drawn carriage type thing and at one point stopped at a place with a piano to play us "Let it be" by the Beatles. Question mark? Anyway, it's a gorgeous area, and also very interesting for the Jose Rizal memorial they have there. Rizal is the Philippines' national hero, who was a doctor and writer who exposed the corruption of the Spanish in the Philippines and helped advance the cause for Filipino independence. His writing is absolutely beautiful. I recommend reading his final letter "Mi Ultimo Adios," if you can read Spanish, or find an English translation.
After that, we went to a couple museums for some history, art, etc. One thing that was interesting to earn about was the amazing diversity of the Philippines. 7100 islands, hundreds of different languages and cultures. We also went to a big outdoor food and handicrafts market" that was pretty cool, though we obviously couldn't get any food there.
Anyway, time to get off the internet. Tomorrow we head to the Hope Worldwide center in Payatas for more clinical work. And right now, we're off to some place called the Hobbit House that Ben found in his guide book. Apparently, it was opened years ago by a Lord of the Rings enthusiast who employed only dwarfs as waiters. Interesting...
Anyway, today was our culture day in Manila. Obviously on this trip, our main focus is the service work, but we want to at least try to get a decent comprehension of the area's history and culture while we're here as well. So first thing today, we headed off to Intramuros. It's an old stone fort built by the Spanish after they took over Manila. It was originally a wooden fort (built by the Moors, I think), but the Spanish tore that one down and built the stone one in its place. Most of it is gone now, due to shelling in WWII, but it's still pretty awesome looking. We had a very enthusiastic tour guide who kept insisting his name was Georgie Porgie, who took us around in a horse-drawn carriage type thing and at one point stopped at a place with a piano to play us "Let it be" by the Beatles. Question mark? Anyway, it's a gorgeous area, and also very interesting for the Jose Rizal memorial they have there. Rizal is the Philippines' national hero, who was a doctor and writer who exposed the corruption of the Spanish in the Philippines and helped advance the cause for Filipino independence. His writing is absolutely beautiful. I recommend reading his final letter "Mi Ultimo Adios," if you can read Spanish, or find an English translation.
After that, we went to a couple museums for some history, art, etc. One thing that was interesting to earn about was the amazing diversity of the Philippines. 7100 islands, hundreds of different languages and cultures. We also went to a big outdoor food and handicrafts market" that was pretty cool, though we obviously couldn't get any food there.
Anyway, time to get off the internet. Tomorrow we head to the Hope Worldwide center in Payatas for more clinical work. And right now, we're off to some place called the Hobbit House that Ben found in his guide book. Apparently, it was opened years ago by a Lord of the Rings enthusiast who employed only dwarfs as waiters. Interesting...
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 1 - Manila
Well, the computer here at our guest house moves at approximately the speed of sloth, so I'm not sure how much I'm going to get written before our internet card times out.
Anyway though, our first day working with Hope Worldwide was amazing. Jose picked us up at 7:30, before which Paul's grandma mysteriously brought us all burgers for breakfast without any of us but Paul knowing she had come by. After making our way through some awesome Manila traffic, we got to Hope's Laguna center, a beautiful center for physically and sexually abused children, that functions to advocate for children, increase awareness of abuse as a problem, work with abused children and their families, and in some cases, give abused children a refuge place to live and get a good education and healthcare if their home situation is beyond help. We were paired with a dentist today, and after our tour of the site, we have basic physicals to all the kids there, while she checked out their teeth. It was a great way to ease into the experience. We've all done history-taking and physicals in class, so we at least sort of knew what to do, so it kind of broke us in gently into caring for real patients, not just actors like we do in class.
After lunch, we went further into the Laguna area, into the shanty town area, where we set up in a little government clinic and treated about 100 children for various things, mostly skin wounds and scabies. This was an interesting learn-on-the-fly experience, since none of us have any diagnostic skills yet. Thank goodness Dr. Gossman is here, or we would all be lost! Kelsi and Ben were both a big hit with the kids, who were fascinated by Kelsi's blond hair and Ben's red beard. Not sure if that makes them circus attractions or celebrities. So many pictures were taken. So many.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and we have the day off. One of the Hope drivers is going to take us around the city to take in some of the sites, which should be a good time. Not sure where all we're going yet, but Intramuros is high on the list.
Gotta get off the internet, thanks for checking our blog! We'll try to write again soon! -Alyssa
Anyway though, our first day working with Hope Worldwide was amazing. Jose picked us up at 7:30, before which Paul's grandma mysteriously brought us all burgers for breakfast without any of us but Paul knowing she had come by. After making our way through some awesome Manila traffic, we got to Hope's Laguna center, a beautiful center for physically and sexually abused children, that functions to advocate for children, increase awareness of abuse as a problem, work with abused children and their families, and in some cases, give abused children a refuge place to live and get a good education and healthcare if their home situation is beyond help. We were paired with a dentist today, and after our tour of the site, we have basic physicals to all the kids there, while she checked out their teeth. It was a great way to ease into the experience. We've all done history-taking and physicals in class, so we at least sort of knew what to do, so it kind of broke us in gently into caring for real patients, not just actors like we do in class.
After lunch, we went further into the Laguna area, into the shanty town area, where we set up in a little government clinic and treated about 100 children for various things, mostly skin wounds and scabies. This was an interesting learn-on-the-fly experience, since none of us have any diagnostic skills yet. Thank goodness Dr. Gossman is here, or we would all be lost! Kelsi and Ben were both a big hit with the kids, who were fascinated by Kelsi's blond hair and Ben's red beard. Not sure if that makes them circus attractions or celebrities. So many pictures were taken. So many.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and we have the day off. One of the Hope drivers is going to take us around the city to take in some of the sites, which should be a good time. Not sure where all we're going yet, but Intramuros is high on the list.
Gotta get off the internet, thanks for checking our blog! We'll try to write again soon! -Alyssa
Friday, May 22, 2009
Made it!
Well, we're all safely here at our hotel in Manila, pretty tired after a very long day of traveling. I'm not really sure how many hours there were in our day today, but it was more than 24, haha.
Meeting with Jose tomorrow at 7:30 to go to Laguna, our first work site!
Write more later, off to bed - Alyssa
Meeting with Jose tomorrow at 7:30 to go to Laguna, our first work site!
Write more later, off to bed - Alyssa
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Itinerary!
Well, it’s been quite a while since our last post, hasn’t it? Things are starting to wrap up around here, as May gets closer and our plans are getting more solid. For the curious of you out there, here’s an outline of our schedule as it stands now, though of course minor adjustments may happen between now and then:
Part 1 – Philippines
May 23 – Our first day working with Hope Worldwide in the Philippines will be spent at their Laguna site, a treatment center for abused children.
May 24 – Manila sightseeing day
May 25-26 – Working at Hope Worldwide’s community-based center in Payatas, an urban poor community
May 27-28 – Working at Baseco, another of HWW’s community-based centers around Manila
May 29 – Side trip to Tagaytay and Taal Volcano
May 30 – Wrap up with HWW in Manila and travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Part 2 - Cambodia
May 31 – Sightseeing day in Phnom Penh
June 1-4 – Group splits in two, with half the students accompanying Dr. Gossman to work in HWW’s Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope and the other half volunteering in various orphanages around the city
June 5 – Side trip to see Angkor, Cambodia’s most famous collection of temples
June 6 – Travel to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Part 3 - Vietnam
June 7 – Sightseeing day in HCMC
June 8-10 – Working with the SOMEDCO organization, build a house for a family in need in Long Khanh, Dong Nai
June 11 – Visit other SOMEDCO projects in the Mekong delta region
June 12-13 – Mobile Clinic with SOMEDCO
June 14-17 – Side trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
Needless to say, we’re getting so excited about this trip! As of now, we’ve gotten our plane tickets and booked our lodging, and all we have left to do is track down donations for the medical supplies we’ll be bringing with us and we’ll be all set to go! Trying to get that done while finalizing everything else and also not failing Neuro is going to be a challenge over the next few weeks, but will be worth it very very soon!
Part 1 – Philippines
May 23 – Our first day working with Hope Worldwide in the Philippines will be spent at their Laguna site, a treatment center for abused children.
May 24 – Manila sightseeing day
May 25-26 – Working at Hope Worldwide’s community-based center in Payatas, an urban poor community
May 27-28 – Working at Baseco, another of HWW’s community-based centers around Manila
May 29 – Side trip to Tagaytay and Taal Volcano
May 30 – Wrap up with HWW in Manila and travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Part 2 - Cambodia
May 31 – Sightseeing day in Phnom Penh
June 1-4 – Group splits in two, with half the students accompanying Dr. Gossman to work in HWW’s Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope and the other half volunteering in various orphanages around the city
June 5 – Side trip to see Angkor, Cambodia’s most famous collection of temples
June 6 – Travel to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Part 3 - Vietnam
June 7 – Sightseeing day in HCMC
June 8-10 – Working with the SOMEDCO organization, build a house for a family in need in Long Khanh, Dong Nai
June 11 – Visit other SOMEDCO projects in the Mekong delta region
June 12-13 – Mobile Clinic with SOMEDCO
June 14-17 – Side trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
Needless to say, we’re getting so excited about this trip! As of now, we’ve gotten our plane tickets and booked our lodging, and all we have left to do is track down donations for the medical supplies we’ll be bringing with us and we’ll be all set to go! Trying to get that done while finalizing everything else and also not failing Neuro is going to be a challenge over the next few weeks, but will be worth it very very soon!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Welcome to our blog!
Hello! Welcome to the blog of Project CURA’s 2009 Southeast Asia service trip! For those of you looking for a little more information about CURA and the SE Asia trip in particular, here’s a quick run-down of who we are and what we’re doing.
Project CURA (Creighton Medical United in Relief Assistance) is an organization founded and run by students at Creighton University School of Medicine. Creighton has a long-standing tradition of commitment to humanitarian medicine and service. The school’s Jesuit heritage emphasizes the ideals of Magis – dedication to the idea of always striving to do more for God and for others – and Cura Personalis – the care of the whole person. Project CURA strives to put these ideals into action by providing first-year medical students with opportunities to serve the underprivileged in the local Omaha area throughout the school year and to aid underserved communities throughout the world by spending a month of our summer participating in a medical service trip.
Our goal for sending students to disadvantaged communities is twofold. Firstly, the need in these areas is very real, and we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of the people there, brief though our time there is. Secondly, we feel it is very important for medical students to develop an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us. We look forward to the enrichment that our experiences will afford our personal perspectives. As physicians, people will be our life-long concern, and participating in CURA gives us a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of ourselves and of our fellow man.
This year, CURA will be sending groups to seven locations throughout the world: South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation, Romania, Ghana, Peru, two different areas of India, and Southeast Asia. We of the SE Asia group are so excited about our opportunity to serve this summer! Our group consists of 6 first-year medical students and one doctor from the Creighton University Medical Center. We will be volunteering in three different countries: the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. While there, we will volunteer with various organizations to provide healthcare, education, and community service to rural towns, AIDS villages, and orphanages for children who have been physically or sexually abused. Last year’s group got a lot of work done and had an amazing experience, and we are thrilled to have the chance to do the same!
As the summer and our departure date draw nearer, we will be updating this blog periodically with more details about our upcoming trip, and once we are there, we will continue to update in order to share some of our experiences with you. So feel free to bookmark our page and check in every once in a while! We are all very excited about and grateful for this opportunity we’ve been given and hope you enjoy reading about our experiences!
Also, I should mention that not only is Project CURA founded and run by students, but it’s funded by students as well, so we’re always appreciative of donations. We’re always very grateful for any size donation, since let’s face it, when you’re a student living on Ramen noodles and loan checks, any amount of money is fabulously exciting. If you would like to send a (tax deductible) donation to our group or to Project CURA in general, email us as CURA.SE.Asia@gmail.com and we’ll tell you how. And please remember that we value your thoughts and prayers just as much as financial support!
If you have any further questions about anything or want any additional information about Project CURA, please send us an email or check out CURA’s website at http://medicine.creighton.edu/Projectcure/index.html.
Project CURA (Creighton Medical United in Relief Assistance) is an organization founded and run by students at Creighton University School of Medicine. Creighton has a long-standing tradition of commitment to humanitarian medicine and service. The school’s Jesuit heritage emphasizes the ideals of Magis – dedication to the idea of always striving to do more for God and for others – and Cura Personalis – the care of the whole person. Project CURA strives to put these ideals into action by providing first-year medical students with opportunities to serve the underprivileged in the local Omaha area throughout the school year and to aid underserved communities throughout the world by spending a month of our summer participating in a medical service trip.
Our goal for sending students to disadvantaged communities is twofold. Firstly, the need in these areas is very real, and we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of the people there, brief though our time there is. Secondly, we feel it is very important for medical students to develop an understanding and appreciation for the different cultures and problems that exist in the world around us. We look forward to the enrichment that our experiences will afford our personal perspectives. As physicians, people will be our life-long concern, and participating in CURA gives us a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of ourselves and of our fellow man.
This year, CURA will be sending groups to seven locations throughout the world: South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation, Romania, Ghana, Peru, two different areas of India, and Southeast Asia. We of the SE Asia group are so excited about our opportunity to serve this summer! Our group consists of 6 first-year medical students and one doctor from the Creighton University Medical Center. We will be volunteering in three different countries: the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. While there, we will volunteer with various organizations to provide healthcare, education, and community service to rural towns, AIDS villages, and orphanages for children who have been physically or sexually abused. Last year’s group got a lot of work done and had an amazing experience, and we are thrilled to have the chance to do the same!
As the summer and our departure date draw nearer, we will be updating this blog periodically with more details about our upcoming trip, and once we are there, we will continue to update in order to share some of our experiences with you. So feel free to bookmark our page and check in every once in a while! We are all very excited about and grateful for this opportunity we’ve been given and hope you enjoy reading about our experiences!
Also, I should mention that not only is Project CURA founded and run by students, but it’s funded by students as well, so we’re always appreciative of donations. We’re always very grateful for any size donation, since let’s face it, when you’re a student living on Ramen noodles and loan checks, any amount of money is fabulously exciting. If you would like to send a (tax deductible) donation to our group or to Project CURA in general, email us as CURA.SE.Asia@gmail.com and we’ll tell you how. And please remember that we value your thoughts and prayers just as much as financial support!
If you have any further questions about anything or want any additional information about Project CURA, please send us an email or check out CURA’s website at http://medicine.creighton.edu/Projectcure/index.html.
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