Like this:

Last week we packed our things and headed north to Matagalpa, a department north of Managua. Wow, was that interesting! With the exception of schlepping through heaps of goat poop (or as my supervisor informed me are also referred to as mines), the drive through the foggy, coffee bean coated mountains and a night in a refreshingly cold cabin for a few nights definitely a bonus to the fact that we were finally going out to interview the women for the cervical cancer screening project. And it was fantastic!

The view from the cabin.

Lunch: tortilla, cuajada, y crema. I'll find a sharper image.

Lunch kitchen. Don't 'dis' it. Turned up some pretty good food.

Two starches (rice and potato), beans, chicken, salad.

Nuestro equipo!

Maybe it seems a bit nerdy, but when you actually go to where these women live and enter their homes and ask them the interview questions in the context of their lives and their surroundings, it really gives more worth to, and puts more meaning into, their responses. What I thought was great about our survey was that we also were noting the little details such as the materials that the house itself was made of. One woman’s home stirred up some serious emotions for me. I peered over to find an old tattered throw carefully placed as dressing for the bed, a modest kitchen and 3 plastic chairs as furniture. I wanted to walk over to the central bank and slap the shit out of the man in charge.

The public restroom. Did I use it? Well, nature was calling.

We hiked (literally) up a few steep hills to look for women and find that they weren’t there. A couple of the records we had were for women that passed away. That, I think, deserves its own entry.

Get your pap info here!

Info board. I liked the decorations

Anyway. I spoke with T when we returned to Managua, and one of his comments stuck with me…”Wow…sounds like some work. I mean, wouldn’t want to do it…” For some reason this really made me proud of the research team here. They really know how to get the work done. From the driver and knowing the roads and exactly which 4×4 truck can and can’t make it, to the community guide (someone born and raised in the neighborhoods we were going to that could make sense of the addresses given to track these women down), to the investigators (physicians with clinical training, also trained in public health and qualitative research methods), the time and the energy. It takes a lot of effort that often goes overlooked. It’s impressive to say the least. The whole process really made me appreciate every minute of doing the work. It also made me appreciate the return to the city.

We got back Friday night and though I was tempted to go to a performance for some transgender women in Masaya. I chose instead to sleep in. Apparently that was a good call, because it rained…Hard! I opted for the wedding this past Saturday. It was interesting walking into the church that morning. I got some funny looks for not reciting the ‘chants’ with everyone else. My defense: 1) I’m not Catholic and don’t have those memorized 2) Even if I were Catholic and had those memorized in English, I don’t speak Spanish (Yes. I’m milking the second excuse for all it’s worth). Immediately after the ceremony we made a grocery run for drinks and extra supplies. The reception was about to go off at the finca! And boy did it go off! That is until the power went off as well. But that didn’t stop the Pinedas. I noticed people packing up quickly to head to the closest house a few kilometers away to finish what was started. The huge pots of food, and all the jumbo sized bottles of Flor de Cana went into the cars and trucks. We made a caravan to the next spot and upon arrival quickly set up shop. There was a mariachi band, karaoke, and lots of dancing. It was great. Too bad a few of us got sick. We suspect it was the salad dressing. So glad I didn’t plan anything for the next few days.

Yesterday and today brought with them antibiotics. Bleh! I think the only thing grosser than being sick is taking those pills. The up side I’m averaging upwards of 4 liters of water daily.

Stay tuned for more photos and a video from the wedding reception. I’ll be sure to add more info from last week’s field visits to this week’s field visits.