After my dad left on Sunday, I thought I would just be killing time for a few days before I left on Thursday. With exams in all the upper division classes, I didn’t have any opportunities to work with students. All I really had left to do was give some gifts out that my Dad brought down from the States. A couple weeks ago, I took pictures of all the kids in Miss Laura’s class and had prints made at Costco. I gave a picture to each kid in the class and then I gave a set to Miss Laura. My parents also sent down some Avon goodies for the 6 kitchen ladies. There were some extra lip glosses that will be Christmas gifts for some of the upper division girls.On Monday morning, I went to school like normal and started to wrap things up. A group of dentists also arrived and before I knew it I was recruited to be a dental assistant. They sat me down in the chair and handed me the water rinser and suction tube. By the end of the day I knew all the different instruments used for a typical check-up, cleaning and amalgam filling. They’ve got some weird names for their tools.
Holy Cross started the free dental clinic because there is such a strong correlation between a healthy mouth and a person’s overall health. Students at Holy Cross receive free dental care 1-2 times a year. The volunteer dentists can do everything from cleanings and x-rays to fillings and teeth extractions. In the spirit of Belizean living, the instruments run off of the compressed air in scuba tanks. Dr. Mark Johnson, who lives part time in Belize and runs the dental clinic at the school, is originally from the Twin Cities area. He recruited two other dentists who went to the University of Minnesota dental school with him, Dr. Mike and Dr. Chuck, to come down to Belize for the week. Dr. Mike brought his son down with him to be his assistant so I worked with Dr. Chuck.
The range of oral health that these students have is unbelievable! We had lots of kids come in who had no cavities and no serious plaque build-up on their teeth. On the other end, there would be 5 year old kids whose mouths looked like a war zone. These kids would have 6-7 cavities, but not little cavities that were caught early. Their teeth had huge holes in them. One of the many “dentist lingo” things I learned was the term “bombed out.” When a tooth (usually a molar) is bombed out, it looks like a crater because the decay has eaten the tooth away down to the pulp. The circumference of the tooth is rather intact but the whole interior is black, depressed and looks like someone set off a bomb in it. There were some kids that had 2-3 teeth like this with lots of other smaller holes all around their mouth. I can only imagine how painful it is to eat! During my time there, I learned all about amalgam fillings and taught lots of kids how to brush their teeth properly. I also got to help with teeth and root extractions on some kids. Personally, I’ve had lots of fillings, 2 root canals and orthodontia (thanks Mom and Dad) but these 5-7 year old kids have experienced things I can only imagine. They are very lucky that the volunteer dentists are there for them. In the December 3rd edition of Ambergris Today, there is an article about the dental clinic and I’m in both pictures. Exciting!
Later Monday afternoon, I had to take a break from the dental clinic to go get my visa renewed. It was a little silly because I was renewing it for my last 3 days in the country, but I didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught. I was so nervous to go to immigration. I have heard (and experienced) so many horror stories about the government and how difficult it is to get anything done. Unlike most 1st world countries, you can’t look up all the rules, regulations and procedures anywhere; you just have to figure it out the hard way. I did learn the hard way. When it was my turn to renew the visa the immigration officer asked why I was behind a month of my visa. “Where’s your visa stamp?” “Stamp?” Last month I went to immigration, signed into the book and got the $25 bill to pay. So I went next door to the treasury department and paid the bill. Then I asked the treasury guy if there was anything else I had to do. “Nope you’re all set.” So I went home. Well…. apparently I was supposed to go back to immigration office with my paid bill to get a stamp. But of course, in Belize, no one tells you this. Luckily, the officer was really nice and let me bring in my old receipt from the previous month to straighten everything out. I’m actually really surprised that he didn’t give me a harder time or make me pay some sort of fine.
I had a wonderful send-off on Wednesday afternoon. Miss Laura’s Standard V class made me a big card and each student made me a personal thank you note. A bunch of the students got up individually and thanked me for something in front of the whole class. It was so sweet and I had to try really hard not to cry. They also got me this really cute beach bag with bamboo handles that has Belize embroidered on it. After that, the staff had a little going away party in the cafeteria with my favorite cake, Tres Leche Cake from Casa Pan Dulce, the most amazing bakery ever (my father can attest to this). That night I went out to dinner with the Wilsons at Waruguma Restaurant (another favorite) where I had pupusas for my last night in San Pedro.
Thursday went by in a flash. Before I knew it, I had my whole apartment packed up and loaded into Mr. Victor’s taxi. I had a couple of errands to run before I went back to the school for some last goodbyes. The wonderful ladies at Vern’s Kitchen (where I ate at least once a week) gave me a plate of fried chicken, rice and beans, coleslaw and fried plantains to take to the airport in Belize City. It sure beat the granola bars I had packed for lunch. So here I sit in Belize International Airport, anxiously awaiting my flight back to snowy Colorado to see my wonderful boyfriend!
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