Medical Mission Teams

On occasion, Back2Back is blessed with medical mission teams to serve alongside us.  This past week, we've had 2 doctors and a medical student and they've seen a LOT of patients.  I have been translating for the team this week.  Every single kid has a ton of cavities - and I didn't realize that they were so visible - big black dots on the tooth.  crazy.  We need some dentists and we already have 2 fully equipped dental chairs and a surgical room in our clinic so if you know a dentist.... send them our way please.  Many kids had huge wax build ups in their ears and I got to help doctor dan translate the removal procedures for 2 girls and holy junk... a TON of stuff came out of their ears - and no i do not have pictures.  yuck.
To the right is Doctor Dan, a medical student in his last year of medical school at Ohio State with Angel.  Today was pretty awkward on occasion.  I had a lot of fun because a ton of my favorite little guys from Casa Hogar Douglas came to see the doctors and I translated for the doctors a lot.  But when the doctor would say, "okay now i need to do the testicular development exam" or whatever he was saying and that they needed someone else to be in the room while they did it and to explain to the little boy why they were doing it and that only doctors were allowed to look down there.  Each and every time that happened, i insisted on leaving the room and getting a different translator b/c those are my favorite little guys and I didnt want them to feel awkward around me when i saw them the next day.   I'm not a doctor for crying out loud - so i gotta out of there quick.
Jahir getting his height and weight documented.  Back2Back is in the process of creating electronic medical records for every child at each home we serve.   Our Juniper Clinic is seriously just insane to me.  Through donations, Back2Back was able to build a fully equipped state of the art clinic to serve the people here.  
The picture to the right shows a rare time in this waiting room- when the kids are calm and actually sitting in the chairs.  For the most part, this waiting room was complete chaos - crayons everywhere, around 25 kids all over the floor, coloring books ripped apart.... and who gave them all that to go crazy with?  Yes folks... I'm the one to blame.  haha... let's just say that we had some fun. 

Cultural Differences

No surprise... things are here are a little different than in the states.  I will highlight a few:

• The Easter Bunny is not a national symbol for the Holy Week here in Mexico as it sadly is in the states.  Here, you see pictures of the crucified Christ and images of the Virgincita - the patroness saint of mexico - the Virgin Guadalupe (pictured above).  All I wanted was some marshmallow Peeps for crying out loud.  
• Spring Break:  In the states, only students and teachers get spring break off - this week is varied, not always the same date year after year and different schools and colleges have their spring break at different times throughout feb. and march.  In Mexico, the ENTIRE country is off for "Semana Santa" (the Holy Week).  Businesses close, people travel to visit family, go to the beach, all schools are out, traffic is insane.  Apparently, the majority of students here get 2 weeks off for spring break.
• Mexicans really value spending time with their family.  I was shocked to see throngs of families flocking to nearby parks to have a picnic with their family- spend the day playing with the kids, going for walks, playing soccer, just simply being together.  When was the last time you went to a park to have a picnic with your entire family?
• GPS in Mexico:  Driving home from Texas last night, I saw a bunch of small bon fires on the side of the highway.  Beth told me that those are signs for truck drivers to advertise that a man is available to drive with him if he'd like a travel guide.  They live off the tips the drivers give them and travel the highways with truck drivers to make a living.  They claim to know the best roads and ways to avoid weigh ins and what not. 
• Fruit is almost always served here with some sort of powdered lime flavored chili.  
• Being a runner from Florida- the following just blows my mind:  as the summer heat sets in I have found that it is usually 10 to 15 degrees cooler at noon than it is at 7 pm!  INSANE.... but i'm not a morning runner, never have been, probably never will be.  I'm sure it has something to do with being in the valley of large mountains on all sides?

And right about now, I'd love some Sonny's, publix brand anything, 4th street south, my scooter, and the sunset off my parent's dock, and a gator game with the jones'.  

B2B Mexico - Under Construction

Above is a photo of our property here in Monterrey-  looks peaceful eh?  Sometimes it can be but over 100 people live here full time and we have almost 2000 american visitors a year on this property and it is usually anything but quiet.  And it's always under construction - now is no exception - buildings seem to go up here overnight.  Behold the 2nd floor addition to SMCA (Sierra Madre Christian Academy) where the staff kids go to school.
Left, SMCA first floor- has 3 rooms, 2 of which are classrooms and one is a media room.  This building has two functions: school during the school year and what I like to call the "VIP dorms" during the summer.  
Right, is how back2back usually conducts a concrete pour -- especially if it's on the roof or 2nd floor -- we use groups.  They do the labor.  They lift the concrete bucket by bucket using their backs.  Sounds crazy huh?  It is but it's a lot of fun and saves b2b a TON of money on construction costs.  (the group pictured here was pouring the stairs about a month ago)
Left, this shows how we had to pour the roof to the new 2nd floor addition when there arent any american groups.  We havent had a group for about a month now so we had to hire these guys to bring a crane and 2 concrete trucks.  The 2nd floor of this building will be used to house more groups and will function as dorm space i think.  So come visit us - we have the space for you!!  Concrete is fun!