So we got back on Tuesday night,
and I had outreach on Wednesday morning. We (the medical and care volunteers)
were going to a primary school to do presentations. I was in the group on
nutrition. It’s an interesting topic down here because they have a different
version of the food pyramid or food groups, and of course some of the fruits
and vegetables down here are different. Vitamins and minerals are luckily the
same, so I just did a quick review.
Being in a Jamaican classroom is
not at all the same as an American one. I had been warned by some of the
teaching volunteers about the differences, but it’s not the same as
experiencing it yourself. There is a bell/class schedule, but it’s not always
adhered to. The kids often talk through class. They hit each other. They get up
and leave and come back. They’re polite enough to say “Yes, miss” to everything
I say, but not enough to stop talking and listen to what I have to say.
I can’t even say which classroom
was worse, the older or the younger. It’s a good thing we only did the
presentation twice, because I likely would have lost my voice having to speak
so loudly over all the talking. The
younger ones were rowdy and difficult to even try to keep on task. The older
ones, the ten-twelve year olds, make obscenely sexual gestures towards my peers
and me. And I can’t imagine that any of
them paid enough attention to remember anything I said. 
In fact, I couldn’t help but
remark later that a sex ed class would have been much more beneficial. The
culture here is an interesting dichotomy of religion and sexuality. Jamaica has
the highest number of churches per square mile of anywhere in the world, and
they’re always full. In fact, it’s Easter weekend right now and both Friday and
Monday were/are public holidays. There’s that side, and then there’s the bars
on every corner with voluptuously painted women on them. I was invited to a
go-go club last weekend in Negril. I’ve heard that nine year olds are having
sex. I see teenagers more commonly on the maternity ward than women in their
20s and 30s. STIs are incredibly prevalent, as is HIV/AIDS. We had to do a
c-section on an 18 year old last week because her genital warts were so bad.
It reminds me somewhat of the
right-wing Christian conservatives attitude in America, where abstinence only
sex education is enough. It’s not. Especially in a country like Jamaica, where
people can’t afford to pay for the ultrasound when they’ve got oligohydramnios,
how can people afford their children? So why can’t sex education happen so
contraception is a possibility? Oral contraceptive pills are available here
without a prescription, yet I’ve met women with eight or nine children. Who are
my age—27.
It’s just another of the many
frustrating things I’ve seen here in Jamaica, and I truly wish there was more
we could do to help. Nutrition they may not remember, but if I start talking
about sex I’m sure they’d remember. It’s a sticky situation, but one the
volunteers were talking about after our presentations.
Thursday it was back in the
maternity ward, to lots of jokes about how I must have extended my vacation and
“hello, stranger!” I set the record straight and they’re all shocked and
sympathetic about our weekend in Negril, but we quickly get down to business.
It was a good day of phlebotomy and giving IV medications. I almost put in an
IV but we got distracted by hanging blood for the anemic patients.
Josephine left on Friday, so
Thursday evening we learned how to make fried dumplings. Very different from
the dumplings I’ve had in the US and I’m very excited to know how to make both
fried and boiled dumplings when I’m back home.
Things started to take a little
tumble downhill on Friday—I woke up not feeling well. It was mild, slightly
like I was hungover but I wasn’t. With my food allergies, this isn’t exactly an
unexpected reaction because that can be how I feel if I ate something I’m
mildly allergic to. In Jamaica, the foods and thus the proteins can be
different than what I’ve been exposed to in the US, so I just figured something
from dinner was bothering me and that was that. I sat out on the patio with
Josephine for a bit and then came inside. She left and I fell asleep.
That’s when I started to figure
things were more serious because I don’t sleep during the day, and I woke up
feeling quite nauseated. That continued through the night until I eventually
fell asleep and woke up this morning feverish and with a headache, but no
nausea. It’s a bit scary to
consider a differential diagnosis in the Caribbean that includes fever,
headache, and nausea. But common things are common, so I’ll forget about the
dengue and leptospirosis for now…
At least I got sick on a weekend
where I didn’t have firm plans and I have until Tuesday to get better. This time next week, I'll be in Dulles waiting to get to Richmond to be home sweet home!
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