1. My school, La Epifania
2. One of the houses we work in during the afternoons
3. Picture of Parque Central in Granada
4. Casa Martirio! This is the house I've been living in for the past two months.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Pictures
1. My school, La Epifania
2. One of the houses we work in during the afternoons
3. Picture of Parque Central in Granada
4. Casa Martirio! This is the house I've been living in for the past two months.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Fuimos a la dentista
This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth,
this is the way we brush our teeth every Monday morning!
Does that song ring a bell? The song itself pretty much speaks for the concerted effort being made in this country to improve dental issues. I would say almost every child in my school has at least one rotten tooth. However, more often than not, they have several decaying teeth.
In America our water is rich with minerals and fluoride however in Nicaragua this is not the case. So even if we Americans don’t go to the dentist as often as we should we are usually receiving dental care without thinking twice about it.
A few weeks ago a man came to the school to teach the children how to brush their teeth. The kids stood in lines and watched as he demonstrated on a model mouth. The children bored quickly of his demonstration and before long very few were paying attention. He also distributed a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste to each child. His method may not have been the most effective but it was great to see someone come out to the school and explain how important it is to clean your teeth.
Every Tuesday my school sends five to six children to the dentist. I had the lovely privilege or maybe not so lovely privilege, of escorting the kids a couple of weeks ago. The dentist we go to performs her services free of charge. All the equipment and medicine used is picked up by donations through La Esperanza Granada. The dentist is in her twenties and from what I understand up to par with dentists in the United States. We had a party at our house a couple of weeks ago and invited her to join. If she pulls teeth as well as she puts down the drinks then there is no doubt in my mind that she’s a good dentist!
As mentioned earlier, if you look close enough, you can physically see the decay around the children’s teeth. My trip to the dentist solely involved the yanking of teeth. Each child was shot up with some Novocain and a few minutes later, they had a few teeth yanked. I thought the kids behaved extremely well for getting a huge needle jabbed into their gums and teeth pulled.
Fast forward to today…class was interrupted by a woman who was distributing what I think was fluoride. She came around with a plastic water bottle, yes, very classy, and had each kid swish the liquid around in their mouth for several seconds before spitting it out. Oh the things classes are interrupted for here in Nicaragua.
There is definitely a need to focus on preventive care but with such poverty in this country families are more focused on providing food than toothbrushes and toothpaste. I think there is a movement toward spreading dental care and I hope that this movement only grows in the coming years!
this is the way we brush our teeth every Monday morning!
Does that song ring a bell? The song itself pretty much speaks for the concerted effort being made in this country to improve dental issues. I would say almost every child in my school has at least one rotten tooth. However, more often than not, they have several decaying teeth.
In America our water is rich with minerals and fluoride however in Nicaragua this is not the case. So even if we Americans don’t go to the dentist as often as we should we are usually receiving dental care without thinking twice about it.
A few weeks ago a man came to the school to teach the children how to brush their teeth. The kids stood in lines and watched as he demonstrated on a model mouth. The children bored quickly of his demonstration and before long very few were paying attention. He also distributed a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste to each child. His method may not have been the most effective but it was great to see someone come out to the school and explain how important it is to clean your teeth.
Every Tuesday my school sends five to six children to the dentist. I had the lovely privilege or maybe not so lovely privilege, of escorting the kids a couple of weeks ago. The dentist we go to performs her services free of charge. All the equipment and medicine used is picked up by donations through La Esperanza Granada. The dentist is in her twenties and from what I understand up to par with dentists in the United States. We had a party at our house a couple of weeks ago and invited her to join. If she pulls teeth as well as she puts down the drinks then there is no doubt in my mind that she’s a good dentist!
As mentioned earlier, if you look close enough, you can physically see the decay around the children’s teeth. My trip to the dentist solely involved the yanking of teeth. Each child was shot up with some Novocain and a few minutes later, they had a few teeth yanked. I thought the kids behaved extremely well for getting a huge needle jabbed into their gums and teeth pulled.
Fast forward to today…class was interrupted by a woman who was distributing what I think was fluoride. She came around with a plastic water bottle, yes, very classy, and had each kid swish the liquid around in their mouth for several seconds before spitting it out. Oh the things classes are interrupted for here in Nicaragua.
There is definitely a need to focus on preventive care but with such poverty in this country families are more focused on providing food than toothbrushes and toothpaste. I think there is a movement toward spreading dental care and I hope that this movement only grows in the coming years!
Transportation
Chicken buses:
Have you ever wondered what happened to the school bus you used to ride to school as a child? Good chance you are shaking your head no but now that I mentioned it you’re thinking, well, whatever did happen to the wheels on that bus that used to go round and round?
The “chicken buses” I ride to school or to various locations throughout the country are American school buses. After years of putting up with children screaming and crying, you’ll be happy to know that your bus retired and is now happily bumping around on dirt roads while jamming out to salsa and reggaeton. To the older crowd, this also includes your buses. I have been on a bus that was in its prime in the 70s. Needless to say the bus broke down within five minutes of our ride but was back up and running within a few minutes.
Instead of two children to a seat, in Nicaragua there are often three adults to a seat. There is no such thing as a “full bus” in Nicaragua. The other weekend I found myself standing in the aisle, packed like a sardine, on an hour and half ride home to Granada. All in all, the trip was fun and I learned a lot about the neighbors I was slammed up against.
Bicycles:
Bicycles are by far the most common means of transportation in Nicaragua. Bikes are to families in Nicaragua what cars are to families in the United States. It’s normal to see two people on a bike and at times, three. You may be asking yourself, “how is that possible?” Usually you’ll see a small child sitting on the bar between the seat and the handlebars, someone on the seat peddling and a third standing behind them. It’s an interesting sight to say the least, especially when they are on a slight incline.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the school bus you used to ride to school as a child? Good chance you are shaking your head no but now that I mentioned it you’re thinking, well, whatever did happen to the wheels on that bus that used to go round and round?
The “chicken buses” I ride to school or to various locations throughout the country are American school buses. After years of putting up with children screaming and crying, you’ll be happy to know that your bus retired and is now happily bumping around on dirt roads while jamming out to salsa and reggaeton. To the older crowd, this also includes your buses. I have been on a bus that was in its prime in the 70s. Needless to say the bus broke down within five minutes of our ride but was back up and running within a few minutes.
Instead of two children to a seat, in Nicaragua there are often three adults to a seat. There is no such thing as a “full bus” in Nicaragua. The other weekend I found myself standing in the aisle, packed like a sardine, on an hour and half ride home to Granada. All in all, the trip was fun and I learned a lot about the neighbors I was slammed up against.
Bicycles:
Bicycles are by far the most common means of transportation in Nicaragua. Bikes are to families in Nicaragua what cars are to families in the United States. It’s normal to see two people on a bike and at times, three. You may be asking yourself, “how is that possible?” Usually you’ll see a small child sitting on the bar between the seat and the handlebars, someone on the seat peddling and a third standing behind them. It’s an interesting sight to say the least, especially when they are on a slight incline.
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