It's been a little while since I've gotten back and posted the photos on my website, but better late than never - the photos from this year's Guatemala trip are now up on my website. Anyway, here's the typical highlight/lowlight list. It's about the same as last year's, but the team really did seem to come together a whole lot better this year to make the trip more fun.
Highlights:
-Helping as many people as we did. 39 surgeries, plus a family practice doctor helping people in the hospital clinic.
-Getting back to near fluency in Spanish, again.
-The same skilled bus driver from last year who was able to maneuver through the tight streets of towns, several times with only an inch or two of clearance.
-The beauty of the country side - Guatemala is a really beautiful country.
-Dinner. We had the same local lady cater it every night, and it was awesome.
-Pacaya Volcano. Getting to climb on day old eruptions that still had molten lava.
-Getting to scrub in on surgeries, again, but getting to do a little more than just hold retractors this year.
-Much better weather this year - only rained off and on, not constantly.
-Better team this year, without all the lazy people.
Lowlights:
-Poverty - just plain sucks.
-Being sick for 2 1/2 days after getting back to the U.S.
-Not having time to visit the market in Chichicastenango.