Brazil trip - Day 3

Up early again...I have a feeling I'm going to crash at the end of this trip.  The Brazilians drink their coffee with a really sweet milk mixture...which I have needed to keep me moving!  We finished seeing the few patients left in Santo Antonia then had lunch, which was meatballs, cooked veggies and fruit.  They also have this grainy stuff they put on many of their dishes made out of manioc.  Doesn't add a whole lot of flavor, just crunch to the food.  After lunch, we had a 2 hour break before we jetted off for the next village.

 I read a little and took a quick nap in the hedgie...definitely one of my favorite spots.  It was super hot in the afternoon, so we are thankful for the a/c and being indoors instead of outside.  While we were waiting for patients to arrive, Chris and I went out and played futbol (aka soccer for you Americans) with the kids.  It was definitely muddy out and we had to dodge the puddles.  At one point, I went to plant my foot to kick the ball and stepped in a hole.  My whole foot fit in it and I sank up to my knee in mud.  The kids thought it was funny...and I got to go around with yucky pants the rest of the day.  Once we started the clinic, I was back to directing traffic and manicures.  I should be a pro by the time I head home.  In fact, I'm thinking maybe I could do manicures for our patients in the ED as they wait!! :)  We did have a little boy come in that had a lump on his head that we couldn't tell if it was an abscess for sure or not, so Guy attempted an I&D on it.  Unfortunately nothing came out, so Dr Robins thinks it is a fungal infection. The boy was probably 7 or 8 but was so brave.  During the clinic, some of the Brazilian crew were fishing and caught several piranha.  I have to say they weren't nearly as menacing looking as I thought...at least not when they are flopping around in a bucket!  We also saw a "Jesus lizard" today as well.  The lizard apparently gets its name because it appears to walk on water as it moves around.  Then while I was playing ball with a couple of the kids a very bright parrot sat perched on the electrical lines watching us.  I got the feeling the Brazilians don't like them since they were chasing it around whenever it flew too low. It started raining hard about 4:30p so that was the end of clinic as people headed to their houses.  I'm sure we will see a few more of the people in the morning.

Then of course it was snack time again.  I haven't figured out if they have so much food because of us Americans, or if its the Brazilian way.  Snack was popcorn and homemade smoothies today...strawberry/banana and avocado/peanut) which were delicious.  None of us will be wasting away on this trip.  After snack time, the team met for our nightly debrief time.  We started a little early so people could try to get to sleep a little earlier tonight if they wanted to.  You can tell some of us are dragging.  Then we trudged through the mud to head to service.  The kids were a little more stand-offish tonight but we had a great time singing the Portuguese version of "Father Abraham."  By the end, we were flapping our arms, stomping our feet, with out heads cocked to the side and our tongues hanging out while spinning around.  I'm sure it was quite a sight.  I actually thought one of the Brazilians was going to puke!  Every night at the service, the Brazilian crew does a skit which is always a big hit.  Even not knowing much of the language it gets us laughing.  After church, we had dinner...yes, more food!  It was mostly the same as what we have been having.  It still raining so everyone is settling in for the night.  Here's to hoping for a better nights sleep!