Caravan to Tatoxcac

About a week ago I went along on a caravan to a clinic in Tatoxcac. The clinic is owned by the Methodist church and 3 or 4 times a year they set up these caravans. Medical teams from the US come with doctors, nurses and medicine. Mexican doctors, dentists and many other volunteers all help to put together 3-4 days of free medical care and medicine. It’s pretty cool. (You can read more about it here.)
I was invited along to help with translating. Unfortunately, the American doctors who had planned to go ended up cancelling. Since there wasn’t as big a need for translating, I spent most of the time in the “pharmacy” filling orders for American medicine and counting out vitamins. I guess it was probably good to have someone in there who spoke Spanish though. In general, it felt good to be a part of something that was such a direct help to people. And it was clear that these were people who were definitely in need.

Tatoxcac is in the mountains as well, but on the opposite side of Puebla. Driving up the winding road, the hillsides became greener and greener and soon we were in the clouds. Although Tlaxiaco does have trees, it is a lot drier than Tatoxcac. In fact, the first morning we woke up to rain and it kept raining until the last morning we were there. One afternoon a few of us went to the nearby town of Zacapoaxtla to get supplies and see the town. Except it was so foggy, we could only see what was directly in front of us! Hence no pictures of Zacapoaxtla. It was pretty much quintessential western Washington weather, not something I would complain about! However, considering that none of the buildings had heat, it wasn’t as comfortable as being at home. (Most buildings in Mexico do not have heat, they are designed to stay cool in the summer, not to stay warm in the winter. In the places where it does get cold, people just stick it out for a couple cold months.)

I also really enjoyed spending time with the mission group from California. They were all very nice, friendly and when it comes down to it, kindred spirits- fellow Methodists from the west coast, on a mission trip. Plus they speak English. With the exception of my English classes and an occasional phone call from my mom, I am always speaking in Spanish. So, this was nice to be able to talk more freely, and be more of a participant in the conversations. Not only that, but I had the best of both worlds being able to be a part of both Spanish and English conversations. I actually felt like I had an advantage in my language skills instead of always comparing my Spanish to native Spanish-speakers. Definitely a nice change!

The whole team

Patients lined up in the morning waiting for the doors to open.

A full waiting room

Keeping busy during the wait

Sceening in patients

Future volunteer

The dentist, checking over the tools and supplies.

A boy at the clinic receiving a respitory treatment

Our cooks

The Methodist church of Tatoxcac

I am the way, the truth, and the life...

Just when all churches were beginning to look the same to me...

I found this Catholic church.

And a flower picture, just because.