first day on the coast

Today was my first full day in Portoviejo, Ecuador. Thirty kilometers from the Pacific Ocean, I stepped off the plane and was greated by a wave of warm, humid air. Throughout my past week in Quito, plenty of quiteños had told me what they thought of the coast: Watch out for the way the costeños speak, so fast! They lovingly call the people of the Manabí province monos (monkeys), due to the prevalence of bananas in their diet. One taxi driver in Quito went on for ten minutes describing all the bugs of the coast—complete with detailed descriptions of size, color, and any known poison. I got the idea that the spider-crickets inhabiting Hoyas basements pale in comparison to los bichos here.

Mayra (my intercambio mami and pediatric surgeon) greeted me at the airport with a huge hug and kiss. A seasoned mother of her own three children and exchange students, she explained what I can expect both in the home and as a clinic volunteer. Today she drove me to CAS, a clinic for adults that I will be volunteering at for two-ish days a week. Like most all buildings, it was a single level made of concrete bricks. Inside a central large waiting area, I could see doors clearly marked for different specialties—Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics…. In the center, two receptionists filed away patient information in bookshelves. CAS is currently expanding and the architect/engineer of the new building handed us hard-hats and showed us through the new building still in construction phase.

Also currently in construction, is the new home of the Peds Clinic—which is expected to open sometime in March as the only pediatric clinic in the province of Manabí. Walking through the construction site, it was obvious that the doctors had planned the building according to the flow of patients and to ease movement from clinical consultations, to surgery, to post-op areas.

Tomorrow will be my first day at the clinic with Mayra. I am excited to begin learning at the clinic so that I can be a valuable volunteer after a few weeks!