temporarily w/ AC! Must blog!

Wow, I have been a terrible blog author. I have been here for 2 days and no posts as of yet. This could be due to a few issues: 1) jet lag, 2) my sweat dripping all over the keyboards when I try to type at the Internet cafe or 3) the fact that I've been "catching babies" already. So, let me update all of you. We arrived Friday morning (where did Thursday go?) and were taken back to the clinic in a "jeepney" which is some version of a VW van with the back cut out and two bench chairs in its place. My first reaction was that Cebu was remarkably similar to El Salvador. The smell of fuel plus barbecue plus dirt and sweat all mixed in one. The sounds of roosters, loud music, roaring cars and constant honks. The graffiti on the concrete wall that guard off streets and the small shanty towns lining every block- sometimes tucked away down alleys and other times under bridges etc. 

The clinic is actually quite large although it appears to be a small apartment like building in the middle of a poor neighborhood with approximately 20 children running in the street at any given time. Lindsay and I are staying in an apartment adjacent to the clinic with a Canadian woman, Gina, who works as a secretary. She has been very helpful in answering questions for us and showing us around the hood. We each have our own rooms (which are stifling hot all hours of the day) and a shared bathroom which three kittens (that look like mice) also scamper in and out of occasionally. 

The clinic is run by Hilary, an amazing 27 year old Texan with blonde hair, blue eyes, a beaming smile and incredible amount of knowledge on third world obstetrics. Immediately upon arrival Hilary explained our duties (we will have real responsibilities such as cleaning babies, "catching" babies, taking vitals and even staying in the clinic overnight) and then ushered us up to the delivery/operating room to watch a woman give birth to baby number 5. The process was much different than what I had seen in the US or El Salvador. The woman was encouraged and assisted in doing exercises standing up and squatting until nearly 9 cm dilation. At this point she continued to squat or sit and had her lumbar spine rubbed to relieve pressure from the baby. It wasn't until 10 cm that she finally laid down and with 2-3 pushes out popped Margo- her first baby girl with 4 older brothers. It was pretty incredible- no pain killers, no husband in the room- no sutures. 

We are currently at the house of Hilary and her husband David. They live atop a foot hill looking over Cebu City as well as the shoreline. It is gorgeous up here and has safe roads (and hills) to run on. As an added bonus, they have AC! Lindsay and I took a walk through the hills with their labor-doodle and indulged in Filipino pizza followed by brownie and bananas. We are now using their fancy computers and heading home for bed, at 8 pm, and up early tomorrow to learn about gram stains and tetanus vaccinations. 

This is much cooler than I thought it would be! Wow. Ok tomorrow, I promise to have a more organized and concise entry. Goodnight Cebu, good morning Seattle/California/USA.