Guatemala 2012

Since we landed yesterday, I've had a distinct sense that nothing happens quickly in Guatemala. My New York impatience has yet to wane and I am relentlessly challenged by the leisurely pace of this beautiful country.

Sitting at a small restaurant with a tranquil lake stretched out as far as one can see, I wish I could appreciate the majestic volcanoes that tower above the lake, but I am instead obsessed with worry that our food won't arrive in time. We crossed Lake Atitlan several hours ago and toured an artist colony. Our ferry was curiously named Tel Aviv, a fact that shouldn't surprise me; I've seen many places that made reference to Israel. As the food arrives I realize that it was desperate hunger and not my impatience that had distracted me. The scenery is far more beautiful than I had previously noticed.

Our home base is across the lake in Panachel Three dormant volcanoes, dominate the skyline and though they haven't erupted in hundreds of years, I now notice several villages that sit below them conspicuously tempting fate.

My three caballeros, Mikey, Ben and Zach have joined Jamie and I on this trip. They are happy to have escaped Antigua, a very touristy town half-way between Guatemala City and Panachel. We spent a layover day there yesterday. Our highlight in Antigua was a rendevous with Shirley who was the boys Nanny when they were young. She brought her mother, whom we affectionately call Mamito, and Joshlyn, her 5 year old daughter. Joshlyn is stunning with her dark eyes and dark skin and has mastered the art of slapstick humor. She is busy making us laugh by putting a braid of her hair into her nose. I always wondered if I could relate to a daughter. Joshlyn is proof that I could. Shirley travelled here from Belize, a ten hour trip on a bus with a broken bathroom. We spend the afternoon eating crepes and drinking Gallo, the local beer and laughing at the crazy things the three boys did while growing up under her supervision. Our goodbye is short but sad.

But tonight we are in Panachel. For dinner we'll eat Uruguayan food. On the walk to the restaurant I am amazed at how many places serve pizza and how many stray dogs join my family group as we search for our chosen restaurant. As the group gets larger I feel like a Pied Piper of sorts, or atleast the Dog Whisperer.

Dinner is great but mostly we are anxious to get some sleep before our dental mission begins tomorrow.

Last Entry

Today has been our last day in Cambodia. We are looking forward to speaking to our boys and returning to our real lives.

Jamie and I have spent the past 10 days observing a people who have so little, yet have so much to offer. Their poverty is striking, yet they are a kind and satisfied people. At one of the schools where we treated the children, a boy pointed with great pride at a shack down the street, letting us know that this was his home. And, as I mentioned previously, the roads are more than congested and without traffic rules; yet anger does not prevail. Instead there is a practical flow to the traffic even when motorbikes drive on the wrong side of the road, against the traffic.

I have enjoyed bargaining in the markets, and taking my chances buying fresh fruit from the street vendors. And it goes without saying that the delicious, multi course $8 meals will be missed. We have all agreed that Cambodia is a magical place.

So, it's with mixed emotions that we pack our bags and begin the 20 hour journey home. With luck we will return to the magical place again.

Siem Reap

This morning we rose early and said goodbye to Phenom Penh. The short flight to Siem Reap was easy and by 9am we had begun touring the temples.

The temples were mostly discovered in the 1800s. Depending on the King's preference they were either Buddhist or Hindu. The picture below is of a carved Buddha was was defaced during a Hindu period by the addition of a beard. Many of the temples took 40 years to construct using elephants to haul the sandstone to rafts which transported the stone the 30 miles to the temples current sites. Hundreds of thousands of laborers built the temples interlocking the the stones.

As you can see below,the temples are not all intact. Giant fig trees begin their growth on the tops of the buildings. Their powerful roots grew into the structures dislodging rocks and causing collapses while termite mounds disrupted the structures from below.

You may recognize some of the pictures because Tomb Raider was filmed at this location.

After overheating in the 90 plus temperatures on the tour we took a break with our adopted daughters (dental students) Jennifer and Olga and enjoyed a Cambodian lunch with fresh coconut milk. As I write this I am sitting by the pool. We are definitely ready to begin our 19 hour journey home, though we will miss the Cambodian people.

Cambodia Today

Our dental work was completed today with a total of 1048 patients treated this week. Last weeks total was approximately the same. As a thank you, the children performed traditional Cambodian dances for us, and in an unexpected turn, they broke into break dancing complete with spins and flips. The show complete, they pulled us onto their makeshift dance floor and we moved ourselves to their version of American hip-hop. It was a great end to our time with the children of the PIO, People's Improvement Organization.

Leaving the orphanage, I thought about the children's future. There are 14 million people in Cambodia, half of which are under the age of 17. The young people whom we met are honest, hard working and optimistic about their future. But they live in a country where the wealth and power is extremely unevenly distributed. And there is very little to no government support for the poor.

The social structure was apparent to us, as outsiders, as we travelled to and from the orphanage. The street is like a sea filled with schools of motorbikes. The vast number of motorbikes is only occasionally broken by the predator-like late model Lexus and Range Rover SUVs.

Cambodia is much like I imagine China was several years ago. Yet I don't know if they will experience the growth in middle class that occurred in China? Their leaders, who they ironically refer to as "father," are often former members of the Khmer Rouge. And it seems that they are satisfied maintaining their status and the status quo. Time will tell.

Tomorrow, Jamie will travel to Siem Reap and join the throngs of tourists who visit these temples. Happily we will be joined by several other dental volunteers, giving us the chance to share stories about a most memorable lifetime experience.

Cappuccino

Sometimes things become more clear. Today was one of those days. I realized its not about me or my cappuccino. There are things in life that transcend the ordinary and comfortable, familiar and predictable. Today we saw more children from the PIO orphanage at the former dump site location. My interpreter was a 33 year old Cambodian woman who has 2 young boys and teaches at the school. Her story is a familiar one here. Her husband died and today she works 3 jobs to support her family. The line of children was endless. Lots of extractions, abscesses, and fractured teeth to repair. One older boy fell from the roof of a moving taxi and broke his front teeth. It is cheaper to hitch a ride on the roof than to sit in the cabin. Tomorrow will be our last day treating patients. Though we are all exhausted, we feel like we have been part of something necessary and special. My body will appreciate the rest but I realize when I leave, i will leave something indescribable behind. I am already looking forward to next year.

The people of Cambodia that I have met are beautiful. By that I mean they are honest, kind and hard working. On several occasions we have bought fruit in the village markets only to be chased down the street and given money back or extra fruit because they felt we had overpaid. Things are very cheap here, a can of soda is only 50 cents. A kilo of mangos is only $2.
Today we treated orphans at the People's Improvement Organization. The leader, a Canadian of Cambodian origin, received a humanitarian award from CNN. When the old dump in Phenom Penh was closed the government moved the families who relied upon the dump for recyclables to sell, to new housing. The housing can be seen in the photos below. It consists of a small concrete rectangle about the size of a one car garage. Sadly, no support services were provided for these families, and their means of support disappeared. They have no refrigerators, or modern conveniences and daily survival is a struggle. PIO educates and provides support for these displaced families. Many of these children had cavities in every one of their teeth. Interestingly, the big cavities don't hurt, the newer small ones that have a live nerve close by are the most painful. The children often refused treatment on the most decayed teeth. We did what could to improve their oral health.
On a much lighter note, we have enjoyed our evenings, dining as a large group in Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurants. We have all become close friends very quickly. Tonight will be special as we celebrate one of the volunteers birthday Tomorrow we'll see more "children of the dump."

Cambodian Children's Orphanage for Living and Training

The children today were very special. All were residents of different orphanages. Our makeshift clinic was located at COLT, the orphanage for living and training. There are 30 residents, pretty evenly split between boys and girls. The orphanage was started 8 years ago by Tina, a Dutch woman. The kids range in age from 4 to 21. They are housed, educated and more importantly loved. These kids would be street kids were it not for these agencies. We also met Rick, from Arizona, who brought kids from his orphanage. In all, we treated over 250 kids today. Some of the kids required extra special care such as the three girls who whose father beat them. The girls were understandably very distrustful. Another was a young girl who nearly perished refusing to leave her mothers side for days after the mother had died. Each child had a very tough past and we therefore worked extra hard to be sure that their treatment was comfortable and not traumatic. I was able to do a little orthodontics today by extracting an extra tooth which caused considerable crowding. I look forward to returning next year to see the result of this treatment. Tomorrow we visit the children of the dump.