1st Day at Cabral

Tuesday, May 3^rd: First day at clinical sites

Half of us rode the guagua to our site, Cabral. This site included pediatric, neurologic, and orthopaedic therapy. The six of us split into smaller groups: Jasey and Danielle worked in the pediatric unit; Erin and Ellen worked in the neurologic unit; Naomi worked with los hombres and Karen worked with las mujeres in the orthopaedic unit. We arrived not knowing what to expect and slightly out of our element. However, the Dominican therapists welcomed us with open arms. It was difficult at times to talk with therapists and patients en espanol, but we soon found that a smile is universal. We were able to laugh at our silly mistakes, like confusing the word hombre, man, with the word hombro, shoulder. Coming from cold Minnesota, they could tell that we were unaccustomed to the heat, asking, “Estas calor?” After several hours, we were called into the office for some tasty jugo, demonstrating the fact that in the Dominican culture, people come before tasks. Before we knew it, the morning was over and we were heading back to the ILAC center in another full guagua!