Hello to everyone reading! I apologize for not writing for awhile, internet access has been spotty and brief, and never consistent enough to devote time to an entry. So many big and little things have happened in the past few weeks that I have a difficult time figuring out where to begin!
First off, I have learned a little bit more about women's health in Puerto Rico, and access to reproductive health services. My friend, Jessica, is a graduate assistant at the University here and I was recently able to accompany her on a trip to the university clinic. While we were waiting for her appointment, she and I chatted about the health services available to students, primarily females. I was very surprised and pleased to learn that birth control is extremely affordable for students, around $5 per month, and STD testing is always free of charge to all students. STD tests, including an HIV test, are also required annually when renewing one's birth control prescription, and condoms are given away by the handful. There were also numerous posters and pamphlets related to specific issues in women's health and reproduction, and I got the impression there was very little stigma attached to accessing these services. The one downside was that actually getting to see the doctor generally takes upwards of three hours. Sadly, no matter how wonderful the services are, I'm sure the many students have to walk out on their appointments simply to get to class, work or other engagements. One thing that did sort of concern me was the fact that there seemed to be very little concern for privacy when discussing sensitive health information. There was a student in the corner who was visibly upset, shaking and crying while having a conversation with one of the physicians. She seemed like she was trying very hard to contain herself, and it was obvious she'd rather be having this conversation in a private room...as opposed to the general waiting room which at that time was crowded up with at least 20 other students. I guess I'm just used to an environment in which confidentiality and client comfort is a top priority. It was odd and uncomfortable to see such an intimate conversation taking place in such a public setting.
Other than that, we had a wonderful rest of the week in Rincon. I swam and played on no less than four different beaches and got to enjoy an old friend and a not so old friend becoming fast friends themselves. I love that! Makes me feel like I have lots of quality people in my life. However, after a week of laid back beach town, we had to continue on our way. This past week was spent in the rainforest near a small mountain town called Utuado. Some of you have probably already heard this story, but our original plan was to work for two weeks on a sustainable coffee plantation in Adjuntas. We were extremely excited and had set the plan into motion months ago. Suddenly, four days before we were to arrive in San Juan, our plantation hosts cancelled very unexpectedly with no real explanation, and it was very disappointing. I scrambled for a few days to find a similar appointment, because I really didn't want to spend 8 full weeks as a typical tourist. I would much rather feel like I'm actually contributing something to the place I'm visiting than just consuming it. So, long story short, we found Marlene. Marlene is a 60ish expat who rents out a small cottage on the edge of her property. In exchange for a reduced rate, we agreed to spend a few hours a day working and doing whatever chores she needed. Sounds pretty straight forward, it was anything but. We found ourselves stuck in the middle of almost nowhere with a certified lunatic. Seriously folks, our host was off her bloody rocker in a big way. Not only was she a chain smoking drunk, but she was a conspiracy theorist, extremely passive aggressive, had some of the most frequent and extreme mood swings I've ever encountered, contradicted herself every two minutes, made odd statements such as "I have supersonic hearing" and preferred to refer to herself as "She" or "Pinky". After six days of thinly veiled personal insults and patronizing comments, being forced to sit through her anti-everything rants, and doing shit jobs such as de-ticking her six infested dogs, we were more than ready to get the hell out of dodge. I could go into detail about how God awful those six days actually were, but I'm over it and moving beyond!
One thing I can say for Marlene is that she knows good people, and was nice enough to give us some invaluable connections as we left her home en route to Mayaguez. Through Crazy Marlene, we were able to meet Salvatore, taxi driver and cousin to Puerto Rican rock star Robby Drago Rosa, don{t worry, we had never heard of him either. Not that it mattered to Salvatore, he was still thrilled to death to drive us to Mr. Rosas country home and let us play around the lovely hacienda. It just so happened Mr. Rosas dad was in for the week and suddenly we found ourselves sipping delicious coffee, playing with Robby´s cats and watching his music videos on Youtube. Turns out this guy is huge! Not only was he a founding member of Menudo, but is still an enormous latin star and a songwriter for Ricky Martin. All of those number one hits generally first belonged to Robby, it was sort of surreal.
After that we were on our way again. Luckily, Salvatore is a wonderful man who loved indulging us and showing off his island, and didn´t mind arriving a few hours later than expected to Mayaguez. We stopped off in the town of Lares, the birthplace of Puerto Rican nationalism...and the home of the most interesting ice cream shop I have ever encountered. Over a span of 20 minutes, I tried avocado, pumpkin, rice, bean, corn, and breadfruit ice cream...as well as a strange flavor that seemed like a cross between egg nog and butterscotch! As it was also plastered with memoribilia from the town´s political past, I also felt like I was getting a free history lesson. Before leaving town Salvatore insisted we stop at a streetside lechonera, or pork stand, for a bite. I was able to try friend pig skin for the first time, and it was surprisingly delicious. Had it not been for the intense greasiness I probably would have order skin straight up.
Several hours and brief stops to oooh and ahh over waterfalls and local sites, we were at the home of couchsurfing hosts Aldy and Yano Hernandez. I feel entirely confident in saying these two are extraordinary people. They´re the kind of people that just make you feel like the world isn´t so big after all, and that maybe we don´t give each other enough hugs. Seriously, I have a couple crush. Aldy and Yano are veterans of the couchsurfing movement, and estimate they have hosted hundreds of different travellers. We were extremely disappointed to only be spending two days with them, but immediately felt comfortable and at ease in their home full of random dogs, cats, tennants and even a pet goat named Anais. During this time I had also been sick for about three days. Whatever it was was camping out in my chest, preventing sleep and causing a truly glorious lung rattling cough. Naturally they have a doctor friend down the street, and Mari, a tennant, just happened to be a pharmacist who was generous with over the counter prescriptions. By the time we left for the ferry to the Dominican Republic, Aldy, Yano, Beth, Mari, and I had become easy friends and had even made plans to go snorkeling together upon our return. How a situation can change in just a matter of hours! Thank God we didn´t escape the western side of the island thinking all inhabitants were all like Crazy Marlene!
After a 12 hour ferry in which we camped out on the floor we found ourselves in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. At this point I must peel myself off of this computer and be satisfied with waiting until another day to share more about my travels. It´s getting late, dark, and I have chocolate and blessed American cable stations waiting for me in my hotel room! There will be more coming soon! Thanks so much for keeping up with me!
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