Follow Your Feet

Homeward

2009-05-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

We find ourselves packing today, the 13th of May. Hard to believe how fast the time has gone. It has been one fun adventure after another, but now it is time to move forward, and come home.

We started this blog, more than anything, in order that people at home might be able to follow along, get to know Clara as she grew, and in some ways help us stay connected. Now we find ourselves telling people here in San Lucas that we have a blog for all of the same reasons. The friends and family we have developed here will be dearly missed, but we hope in many ways will be able to connect in the same way that our friends and family from the USA have stayed connected while we´ve been in Guatemala. Clara will keep growing, of course, and we will keep having adventures, God willing, so I imagine that, at least for now, we´ll keep this business going. Thanks again everyone for following along; your love and support have often been what kept us going when the going got tough. We can´t wait to see you.

Hasta pronto!

Dan, Lois, and la Clarita

Clara and Her Friends

2009-05-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Showing her affection for her friend Elianah

Listening to music with the hospital staff

Dancing with Roberta by the lake

Earthquake!

2009-05-03T16:03:00.001-07:00

We were sitting in the living room today when the house started to shake for about 5-10 seconds. Turns out there was a somewhat major earthquake in Guatemala today. No worries, we´re fine.

In other news, Clara is pulling from sitting to standing and is quite certain that she is the center of the Universe.

Making Lists

2009-05-03T14:56:00.001-07:00

As our time in San Lucas comes to a close, we find ourselves identifying parts of our ordinary daily life here that we will miss when we return to Minnesota. And a few parts we won't miss, too.

We will miss....

Eternal Spring

Godparents

The Church

Fresh Local Produce

Walking Everywhere

The pila
(don't mind the little girl in front)

We will not miss....

The pila
(No, it is not by accident that this photo showed up twice.)

Tuc Tucs
(Most drivers are too young to be driving motorized vehicles.)

Frequent power outages

Sleep Scenes

2009-04-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Remember the Drawer Bed?

2009-04-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

We wanted to document how much Clara has grown since she first came home with us...

THEN: Sleeping peacefully, all cuddled up in blankets.

NOW: "What am I doing in here? This is TOO small!"

Toys

2009-04-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

Playtime

2009-04-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

Good Friday

2009-04-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a really good, but really busy week. We were both kind of expecting a week off, but didn´t realize how much actually happens here during Holy Week. Good Friday was busy and powerful. We started the day by going down to the Parish for breakfast and watching the cross procession leave the church, which represents Jesus carrying the cross to the Crucifixion. They go all around town with about 24 people carrying a giant float with Christ and a cross on top. Then at 10 was the Good Friday service which was very solemn. After the service we had about 30 minutes to just hang out in the church yard with everyone. Then the cross procession came back just before noon.

Procession of the Cross returning to the church

The whole churchyard and church were packed with people, and then Christ was crucified just in front of where the altar normally is. He was hung up on a 20 foot high cross and all the kids use noisemakers to make it really loud and uncomfortable and awful. Right beforehand Fr. Greg read that part of the Passion.

After that everyone goes home for a special Good Friday lunch. We went to the Hernandez family lunch. We´ve come to know their family really well and it was a really nice time. After lunch everyone hurried down to the churchyard to start working on the alfombras, which means "rug" literally, but they are these huge works of art that are put on the ground made of flowers, or fruit, or dyed sawdust.

Lois and Clara Working on Alfombras

Dan and Michelle Working on Alfombras

Finishing a Design

Alfombra in front of the Parish

We helped at first with the two right outside of the church in the churchyard. At 3pm Fr. Greg read another reading of Christ giving up His spirit.

Taking Jesus from the Cross

Then they take Christ down from the cross and put him in a glass coffin on top of a new and bigger float, and then about 50 people picked up the float and carried it outside. They march over and through the alfombras very very slowly.

The Procession leaving the Church

They left the church at about 4pm. As they walk over the alfombra it is destroyed. It seemed like the whole town was following along in front, behind, around. Kids dressed in purple and black robes continue using the noisemakers. And people walk ahead to see the beautiful alfombras that are taking shape along the route.

Lois and Clara ahead of the procession

You can´t start an alfombra too soon because the wind or the dogs might destroy it, so there is an element of working against time as the procession slowly works its way towards you. By 6pm they had gone about two blocks so we ducked out and went home to eat a little dinner. At 7:30 we came back and they had only gone another block. We walked the whole route of alfombras which is probably about a half a mile or 20 blocks or so. There were maybe 20 to 25 alfombras in total. We made it to the Hernandez family spot at about 8pm or so and they were just starting. They had asked us if we would be willing to help, so we gave Clara to Flori and worked with them until about 10:30. Theirs was maybe 120 feet long and 6 feet wide. Pure sawdust and sand. It had a representations of all 12 apostles, various faces of Jesus, and lots of flower and fish scenes. Afterwards we went over to their house to celebrate finishing it and picked up Clara. We were pretty tired, so we decided not to wait for the procession to come. We went ahead and found the Tun family working on a different one that they had just started. We turned in at about 11pm or so. We heard that they procession came and destroyed our alfombra at about 1am.

Its kind of hard to describe the atmosphere last night. It was a mix of mourning, celebration, county fair after dark, and hard hard work on your hands and knees attending to the details of your alfombra while the rest of town walks around either approving or disapproving your work. This is a place that truly acknowledges the death and suffering of Jesus in a way that we do not do in the USA. We wonder if it is because they can relate to it a little bit better. The alfombras are both a symbol of profound respect for the body of Jesus as it is being carried to its tomb as well as a symbol of our time and lives on earth, worth our very best, but ultimately to be lost and blown away in the wind. We will wait and see what Saturday and Easter day are like, but it looks to us like the Friday is the biggest day of the week.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter from the Fultons! We are resting up a bit today after a whirlwind of a Holy Week. Expect photos and stories soon...

Bathtime

2009-04-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

Clara loves bathtime. And she loves it more to have a toy to bonk around while she does it. She just recently learned to sit up well enough that she can hang out in the plastic tub. We hope that she is having as much fun as we have with bathtime.

The arrival of April

2009-04-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

"I love this book!"

How can you not smile back at this face?

Clara welcomes the month of April with new crib bumpers and taller railings. She has begun rotating in her crib and kept getting her feet and legs stuck out between the railings. When we put her into the crib to check out her new environs, she immediately pulled up into kneeling and almost toppled over the side! Needless to say, the railings are secured at their highest position now.

This one is actually from March but too cute to let pass by.

2009-03-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

2009-03-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

¡Tios!

2009-03-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Meeting Aunts Anne, Mary, and Jane, and Uncle Robert

Four of Lois’siblings came last week to meet Clara, and she LOVED meeting them. They just left on Sunday and Clara is pretty disappointed today to discover that she is alone again with just Mom and Dad to play with her. We had a great week together, showing them the mission and San Lucas, putting Jane to work with Lois’ patients, and enjoying some family time for Clara with her aunts and uncle.

Uncle Robert is great at helping me eat!

Out walking with Aunt Jane...sideways, sorry.

Boat ride!

Yum!

2009-03-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! It feels like it has been a long time since I last updated the blog. We have less access to internet these days so it takes a bit longer to put up posts. We are all doing well, though, and Clara has been busy growing and changing. It is hard to believe the laughing little girl sitting at the kitchen table with us at meals is the same person as the tiny baby we stared at sleeping in our arms almost 6 months ago. For one thing, she rarely falls asleep in our arms anymore! And she’s huge! Recent height and weight estimates are 24.5 inches and 15.5 lbs.

Clara started eating solid foods a couple weeks ago, and now has avocado, carrot, rice cereal, and sweet potato in her repertoire. We thought avocado was a great first food, but when women in town found out, they were concerned that avocado was too cold. One friend even brought over a squash that she recommended as a more appropriate first food, with instructions on how to cook and prepare it. Clara is a pretty messy eater, and I am beginning to wonder if the resistance to feeding a baby avocado has more to do with the stains on her clothing than the temperature of the food. 

February 14th

2009-02-14T13:03:00.001-08:00

Today is a special day in several ways. Clara is now 5 months old. It is hard to believe how fast the time has gone, how much both she and we have changed, and how much we are still baffled by this new little person that is living with us full time. 5 months to us means: better naps, longer naps, falling asleep without help, better eye contact, fun sounds, louder sounds, sitting by herself kind of, and the terror of imagining trying to feed her real food. Today is also Valentine´s Day. Cassie, our old Newton House floor mate and now volunteer coordinator at the Parish is babysitting for us. We had a wonderful lunch just the two of us and decided that we really wanted to try and catch up on some email stuff since the computer has fried. A lot of our work here is with coordinating visitors, donations, and ideas from the States via internet, so its been kind of challenging with no computer in the house and also having Clara around to actually get to a computer together and work. Its nice to have a little while today. And finally today marks the beginning of the 3 month count-down. We are planning on returning to the USA on May 14th. We´re trying to not think too much about that right now, but we can´t help but be both excited, terrified, and nostalgic when we think about the major life change that is just around the corner. Life here has been so fulfilling, but there are so many people in the States we miss and can´t wait to see.

Catching up

2009-02-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hi again. It has been a while....combination of the death (rest in peace) of our computer and a great visit with friends from Minnesota.

Clara continues to baffle and delight us. She is fascinated with her feet lately and working on some interesting new sounds. She has also started "standing" with a little help. Super cute. Here are some photos.
'

2009-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

More Fun

2009-01-27T04:56:00.000-08:00

Sadness and Disbelief

2009-01-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

It is with great sadness and disbelief that we read about the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine. Thousands of injured, hundreds of dead. I read with new eyes about the deaths of children as I hear Clara playfully sucking on her hands next to me. I try, but fail, to imagine what it must be like to be trapped in one of the most densely populated areas on earth, Gaza, while death and destruction rain from the sky. Surrounded by the wall and unable to run to anywhere safe, starving, without power or water, what would we do? I simply cannot imagine. I would hope that Clara would be too small to know what she is seeing and hearing - but how can we know what war does to the soul of a child? The thought brings tears to my eyes.

We are saddened to know that the USA is in part funding this war. We thank God that our government does not sell Hamas the hundreds of rockets that fly into Southern Israel, but our government does sell or just donate a huge majority of the bombs, weapons, and concrete that are used to kill and imprison Palestinians. One third of all US foreign aid goes to Israel, and the majority of that is in weaponry or wall construction. How can this be? How can we support this?

We cannot believe that despite the innocent dead and injured, the blockade of humanitarian aid, medicine, food, electricity, gas, and even journalists, our elected officials refuse to demand anything of Israel. We have called our senators and congressfolk and president, begging for a response, for humanitarian aid, for anything resembling human decency - but it seems our words fall on blocked ears. Are our voices too small, or perhaps our petitions for food and medicine are too great for a government only able to sell and give the bombs that fall?

Clara now has somehow got her stuffed bear balancing on the top of her head. I thank God that we awoke in a land whose US funded 36 year civil war ended 12 years ago. But thanking God for our own good luck is not enough. Not when we are citizens of a nation whose tax dollars pay for bombs and barriers, not when our privately spent dollars support companies complicit in the oppression of people in Guatemala or Palestine or anywhere. We struggle to know what to do from here, or maybe more importantly, what not to - in the meantime maybe we'll call our senator just one more time.

To Mexico: There and Back Again

2009-01-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

We headed out for the Mexican border on Thursday morning at 7am. We were driven by Gino, who has worked for the parish for over 20 years. We took his small 1970's car. Supposedly if a Guatemalan owns their own car, they can get 72 hour passes into Mexico. We planned to head to San Cristobal in Chiapas, Mexico - about 2 hours inside the border.

Road trip!

Clara tests out her carseat.

We made it to the border after about 7 hours of winding roads through the highlands of Western Guatemala. At the highest point of the journey Gino told us that they call that part of the country "Alaska" because its so cold.

At the border we found ourselves in a bustling town called La Mesilla. We came up to the customs building and I headed in with Gino while Lois and Clara waited in the car. It turned out that Gino could cross the border with his car, but only if he stayed in the town on the other side of the border, he wasn't going to be able to travel. I guess we were supposed to pay a bribe at this point too, but we had already decided that we weren't going to do that. So now what? I asked the customs officer how long we had to stay in Mexico before coming back for a renewed visa. He asked why we needed to come back so soon - when I explained that we had a 4 month old in the car, that our driver couldn't continue, and that we were volunteers and preferred not to travel anyway, he said, "Just head over to Mexico, get your stamp, pay your exit tax, and come on back. Thanks for being a volunteer."

So we did just that. Between the two customs areas there was about 2 miles of road, so Gino was able to drive us into Mexico, where we filled out our customs forms, got our stamps, went back to the end of the line, waited, and then paid our "exit" tax, got an exit stamp, and back we went to Guatemala. Our 20 minutes in Mexico.

(A quick aside - the only other time I've been to Mexico was about 5 years ago when I accidently ended up in Mexico City while trying to get to Bolivia - long story. Regardless I flew in from Miami, had some problems in customs and with my seat on my connecting flight, and ended up flying back to Miami after about 8 hours. If the Mexico government ever were to look into my travel history, they might wonder at my reasons for visiting them.)

We made it!

By the time we got everything arranged and stamped and paid, it was about 3:30pm - so we drove back as far as Huehuetenango, spent the night in a hotel, and eventually made it to San Lucas at about noon yesterday with another 90 days of legal immigration.

The Good and Bad of Guatemala City

2009-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

On Monday I headed into Guatemala City with two goals. The first and most important was to pick up Clara's passport. Back in mid-December we brought Clara to the US embassy to register her for citizenship and get her documents. That was actually our second attempt to register her. The first time we made it about an hour down the road, only to be stopped by roadblocks and protests at our intersection with the interstate - absolutely no way through. So we had to reschedule. Regardless we finally made it to the embassy, only to be locked out for another hour due to more protests at the embassy. People were protesting what they see as the US taking advantage of their economy via "free trade". So we finally made it in, and after being made to feel like criminals in our own embassy, Clara's registration was accepted - then we had to wait at least 2 weeks to pick up her passport and birth certificate.

So, on Monday we went to pick it up. And, Success! It was much less of a hassle this time with no protests and no needing to prove that Clara is actually our daughter and a US citizen. Her passport picture is very cute and kind of funny to see with all the offical US embosments, etc. It is good for 5 years. We are imagining traveling when she is 4 years old and showing them a passport with a 3 month old picture on it!

Yay! I got my passport!

The bad news is that we went to Guatemalan migration to see if we could get an extension on our visa. The Guatemalan travelors visa is only good 3 months, so we either had to renew or leave the country. We renewed back in September after our first three months, and we had heard you could only renew one time. But because Clara is still pretty small and because we are volunteers and because the bishop of our diocese down here wrote a very kindly worded letter, we thought we might be able to renew again. But, Denied! They wouldn't do it. Some people told us that we should have handed them an unmarked envelope with money in it for a bribe and it would have gone fine. But other people have told us that the Colom government hired all new officials in migration to cut back on corruption. Rather than risk time in prison or encourage a system of bribary we accepted our fate and began planning a quick trip to Mexico.

Yay! My first trip!

Clara's Keys

2009-01-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

Our Laughing Lady

2009-01-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-30T07:07:00.001-08:00

We were blessed this Thanksgiving with the presence of Dan's parents, Mark and Jenny, and his sister, Allie. They were able to get the whole Thanksgiving week off and come for 9 days. It was a really fun week and we stayed pretty busy - we even put Mark to work doing some physical therapy in some of the rural communities!

We also found time to do some coffee picking, visit Leticia, a woman in town who weaves, visit Cristantos, a friend of ours who does carving, go hiking, have some really fun meals with friends, and of course play with Clara a whole bunch. The kitchen ladies made us a really wonderful Thanksgiving lunch with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatos, which we ate after celebrating a really nice Mass with Fr. John Francis.

Jenny learning to weave with Leticia.

Picking coffee! The 6 of us picked about 40 pounds in 2 hours. A pound of coffee berries yields about 2 cups of actual coffee. The coffee harvest was just beginning, so there were still a lot of green berries to pick around. Our guide Martin has been working on the Parish farm projects for 35 years. He was a great source of history and perspective for our many questions.

Hiking up one of the mountains on the East side of San Lucas. The volcano in the background is Mt. Atitlan.

We went to the hospital party in the back of the ambulance! We were celebrating the successful completion of the surgical jornada from the month before. It was a night of music, games, and really, really good food.

Playing with Clara Maria

If Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, I don't think we could think of anything we were more thankful for than to spend time with family, sharing our lives and hearing their stories. Some of our favorite memories of San Lucas will be of the things we did this week. It was really hard to say goodbye on Saturday morning, especially since it was at 5am! But we were glad to have had the time together, to have Clara see the faces that go with the voices she is so used to hearing over the phone.

Backlog

2008-12-30T07:02:00.001-08:00

Hello!

Sorry we've been so out of touch lately - we're going to try and post all of our backlogged stories that we haven't had the time to put up. Thanks everyone for your patience!

Clara drifted off to sleep after spending nearly all of Christmas morning playing with her new favorite toy - wrapping paper!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

Toys!

2008-12-23T04:49:00.000-08:00

Clara is starting to interact with toys - grabbing for them, holding them, putting them in her mouth, etc. She also has figured out how to hold her hands together in front of her - makes her look very prim and proper! She still thinks her dad is the most entertaining, though.

Dan and Clara

2008-12-17T07:35:00.000-08:00

Clara thinks her dad is pretty funny!

Bouncer Talks

2008-12-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

2008-12-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Frog Kicks

Clara whaps her feet down so loudly you can hear it across the house!

Hiccups and Cooing

2008-11-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Heads Up!

2008-11-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Magic Bar of Soap

2008-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

The above pictured soap bar is unique in that instead of getting smaller with use, it appears to be growing. Yes, it is indeed larger now than when we first bought it nearly TWO months ago! Regardless of how many hand-washings it goes through each day...this soap bar is unending. We have various theories to explain this phenomenon, including it soaking up the water in the soap dish or the oatmeal in it expanding from the moisture...but in the end, it is a mystery.

Making Our Own Facebook

2008-11-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

Clara Maria has requested that everyone please send a close up of their face, somewhat like this one:

She has started focusing really well on faces and would like to get to know you all. Please send your photo to either: fult0059@umn.edu, or loiseoldham@yahoo.com.

Clara (and we) thank you.

A Week of Surgery

2008-11-08T08:40:00.001-08:00

We were blessed last week to have a group of surgeons and nurses visit from Michigan. This was their second time in San Lucas and since last year folks have been pretty excited for their return trip. I was told that last year the group was able to do about 42 surgeries in total. This year the staff at the hospital knew better what bumps in the road to expect, knew how to effectively schedule patients so they would be ready to go on their scheduled day, and to get things rolling earlier so the surgeons had enough time to get everything done.

In the months leading up to the surgical "jornada" we had been slowly seeing patients and referring them for surgery, as well as all of their laboratory work-up, heart studies if needed, and of course paperwork and consent forms. The surgical team told us to aim for 60-100 patients, we did our best and in all we scheduled 95. They were really surprised to hear that number, saying that they really had meant 60, and they weren't sure they would be able to do all 95 in 5 days. This is where the staff at the hospital really made things happen through all the organizational work they had done ahead of time - so we hit the ground running and went to work.

The above picture shows our operating room. We actually set up two tables in the same room so two surgeries could go at once. It was really exciting to see the room in use because most of the year it sits empty, or is used as a storage area. The post-op area was full of patients getting ready to go in, or still sleepy from their anesthesia.

In the end, the final count of surgeries performed was 85. And we finished by Friday lunch. The plastic surgeon wasn't able to make it, so we had to cancel about 10 specialized surgeries, but otherwise everyone showed up, and everyone made it through. The surgeons tell us that they've never seen a group so organized as the Parish Hospital, both in preparation or the business of the week. But it wasn't about the numbers, it was about the stories of people who helped and were helped. The farmer with a huge hernia for 7 years who can go back to work and support his family, the mother with gall stones who can now live without pain, the 5 year old with a cleft lip who can start eating normally, and not be made fun of. The medical student who had an IV put in so he could keep working despite being sick. Dr. Tun spending all day, every day in the OR, giving the patients confidence with his presence and translating when needed. The team of carriers who lifted over 60 patients on a thin stretcher down the hall, down the winding stairs, down another hall, and to their bed, without a single fall. The translators who worked long hours to make sure we all knew what was going on. The nurses who took extra shifts voluntarily and saw a record number of patients fill their beds without a single major complication. The picture above is at the closing ceremony while Dr. Tun is thanking everyone, Guatemalan and American for their help and care. In the end there were lots of tears as the surgical team had to leave - people together who only shared the common language of care.

Here's our team. Guatemalan, American, Human. The operating room now again stands empty, a reminder that we still depend on volunteers to make surgery happen here in San Lucas. The post-op area is eerily quiet with 10 empty beds. We sat there afterwards reflecting with Dr. Tun, catching our breath, and looking forward to next year.

Clara and her dad

2008-11-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Clara is approaching the two month mark and doing great. She is a happy baby that sleeps well, eats well, and is more fun every day as she gets stronger and moves more.

I took a few pictures of Dan and Clara together lately that turned out pretty well - and just looking at them makes me get a little emotional! Dan is an amazing dad and Clara is beginning to smile back at his grins and giggle at the tickle of his beard.

Clara's New Tricks

2008-11-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Halloween tradition of "trick or treating," Clara has been treating us to some new tricks in the last few days. She gets more fun all the time.

Showing off her smile.

And her laugh.

Holding her head up!

Watching Cy.

Hail Mary

2008-10-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

"Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee

Blessed are you among women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for us sinners

Now and at the hour of our death

Amen."

Only moments before we had thought that we would be a little spontaneous and jump on the biggest ferris wheel in San Lucas. But once it started moving we both spontaneousely broke into the "Hail Mary" out of abject terror as we whipped around and around. Apparently in San Lucas, where there are no roller coasters, they use the ferris wheel to attain that feeling of stomaching dropping fun. We were expecting a calm, relaxing ride with a good view of the lake and of town but we were in for a surprise.

It was the feria last week. The closest equivalent we can think of is like a county fair. Lots of cheap games, food, local music and dancing, and of course lots of cheap rides. The celebration of the feria is on the feast day of St. Luke, the patron saint of town. All the towns around the lake are named after saints and they hold their ferias on their saints' feast day.

What we thought would be a ten minute ferris wheel ride actually turned into an hour long adventure. Immediately after we got on, the ferris wheel turned 180 degrees so that we were all the way at the very top. We were stuck there for about 15 minutes while the operators waited for the next people to get on. We must have just been (un)lucky in our timing. We eventually got over our terror and enjoyed an amazing view and had fun looking down at people when knew. We both wonder now if perhaps we were trying to recapture some of the spontaneity of our pre-Clara days. Our Newton House community member Cassie was visiting us during the feria and she was babysitting for "just 15 minutes" while we ran an errand. When we found ourselves sitting 60 feet up in the air we called her to let her know it might be awhile. When our feet finally touched the ground again we agreed that we were ready to leave ferris wheel adventures behind for a different kind of adventure, who is currently napping under our billowing flower print curtains. Maybe someday we can even take her on a ferris wheel - but I think we've both decided it will definitely not be here in San Lucas. More likely, we'll have to grit our teeth as we watch her jump aboard with her friends and remember the days when we did the same.

Clara Maria Fulton Fulton

2008-10-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

We registered Clara with the Guatemalan government this week, officially making her a Guatemalan citizen....with the official name of Clara Maria Fulton Fulton. (All for the low price of 4 Quetzales - about 60 cents. To get her a US passport we'll have to pay $65.)

Why Fulton twice, you ask? Because traditionally, people here have two last names - one from each parent. So say we were Lois Smith Jones and Dan Johnson Fulton. When we married, Lois would drop the Jones and take the first last name of Dan, becoming Lois Smith Johnson. Clara would take the first last name of each parent, becoming Clara Smith Johnson, also. The computer program for registration of new babies automatically fills in the blanks, and the workers didn't know how to override it; thus, Clara received a last name from each of us.

There has been some confusion of late, because the national government is trying to begin a centralized registration process. Previously, newborns were registered by the town in which they were born. San Lucas was one of 77 towns that initially refused (related to taxes - the municipality used to collect the money for registration, but now that money goes directly to the central government). By the time we registered Clara, though, the national program had been in use in San Lucas for a couple weeks.

One Month Old!

2008-10-15T13:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Clara being a month old. She has already grown and changed so much! At birth, she weighed 7.5lbs; now she weighs a full 2lbs more. Her head control and vision improve daily. She follows us with her eyes and seems to be aware of the locations in the house of her favorite things to stare at: a small stuffed Cy (ISU mascot), a red paper crane, Dan’s Twins hat, the curtains.

We also marked the occasion by taking the first steps towards obtaining Guatemalan citizenship for Clara. One requirement for registering her is proof of certain vaccinations, and Clara received her first one yesterday. She handled it like a champ but we really struggled with both the decision to do it and the physical holding her down for the injection. The vaccine we gave her is for tuberculosis; it is no longer done in the US and leaves a circular scar on the shoulder where the injection is given. We initially had hoped to avoid it, both because of the scarring and also because she will always test positive on Mantoux tests for TB (plus she’s just not at much of a risk). So we tried to get an exception so that she could still have citizenship without the vaccine, and were passed around until finally the physician at the state facility where vaccines are administered gave us a mini-lecture on skirting the law.

I was surprised at how guilty I felt, holding her arm in place for what felt like an eternity while the nurse gave her the shot. Clara hardly cried, but Dan noted an expression on her face of surprise and fear that she’d never made before. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it today.

Squirming

2008-10-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

Our Growing Girl

2008-10-09T13:09:00.001-07:00

Clara has been growing by leaps and bounds. She's stretching out - so much so that she already outgrew her drawer-bed and we've had to transition to a real crib. She sleeps so much better now that she's not too cramped.

Our little athlete

Documenting her cute footprints

Fast asleep

The many faces of Clara

2008-09-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

Our little one is already beginning to express her personality...through a wide variety of facial expressions!

Hmmm...

Mischevious

Asleep and Angelic

ANGRY!

Just plain beautiful.

Love from San Lucas, Dan, Lois and Clarita

More Pictures of Clara

2008-09-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Family Photo
Clara gets plenty of "tummy time" when she is awake and is able to turn her head from one side to the other.

Ummm...not sure why this photo is upside-down...but I'm not awake enough to figure out how to rotate it. Clara loves sleeping in her touchdown pose in her little drawer-bed. (She, like her parents, supports the Cyclones even when they lose a lot.) You can see her mosquito net pushed off to the side.

Hospital Band - "Soy Idiota"

2008-09-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hospital Staff Picnic

2008-09-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had a blast a few weeks ago at the hospital picnic. It was the first ever staff picnic in celebration of September 4th, the "Day of the Healthcare Provider" here in Guatemala. We drove half an hour to a park/chalet to celebrate. There was a big outdoor pavilion with a built in rock oven to grill all the meat. We spent the first part of the afternoon playing relay games, like passing an orange to the next person in line with only your chin, or carrying spoons in our mouth to fill a glass of water, or the classic spin your head on a soccer ball and then try to run back after you are dizzy. We finished with a great game of soccer.

After the games the hospital band grabbed their instruments and serenaded us with a variety of popular songs, including an adapted one called "El hospital" set to the music of a different song but with lyrics written by the band to make fun of all the staff at the hospital. Later we ate an amazing dinner or chicken, beef, intestines, liver, and kidney. I wasn't brave enough to try the kidney, but everything was amazing. We also had Guacamole, refried beans, sodas, and wine. The night ended with speeches of thanks and excitement for the coming year at the hospital. We are so grateful for our co-workers, their fun attitudes, and their patience with us as we learn and fuddle about. It was an amazing night.

Pictures!

2008-09-22T08:10:00.001-07:00

Clara Maria

2008-09-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

It is will great pleasure that we announce the birth of Clara Maria Fulton. She was born September 14th at 9:45 on a rainy Sunday evening. She weighed 7lbs 8ozs and was 19.5inches long. She is beautiful and most people have said she looks like her mother.

Lois actually had told me 20 hours earlier that she had just had a contraction that was somewhat uncomfortable. She had been having painless contractions for weeks, but at 2AM on Sunday she had her first "real" one. By 6AM they were coming every 3 minutes or so, but what we didn't realize was that we had a long way to go and they were to get much much stronger. We called Dr. Tun at home and he met us at the hospital at 7AM. He told us to come back at noon. We spent the morning breathing through the contractions, applying counter pressure, and walking. We even played some cribbage! At noon he told us to come back at 4PM. We were a little disappointed that more progress hadn't been made. Lois also seemed to be experiencing a strange phenomenon that when she laid down her contractions stop, so we spent the rest of the day sitting or standing. By 4 the contractions were incredibly strong and long. When we went back to the hospital again, this time Dr. Tun told us to stay. By 7pm Lois started to feel like pushing, and a very intense 3 hours later little Clara made her grand entrance to the world. We were so excited she was out that we forgot to check if she was a little boy or girl for several minutes!

My major feeling on the day, other than unspeakable exhiliration and joy was the strength and courage Lois had throughout her labor. I don't think I will ever really understand what it feels like or means to go through labor, but I do know that Lois is amazing and now that its over, we have both agreed we wouldn't trade it for anything.

There are too many details from the day to recount, but just a few more: After Clara was born I got up from behind Lois to go meet her. She immediately pooped all over my shirt. "Nice to meet you too!" The hospital administrator Pablo Benedicto had come that night when he heard Clara was on her way. He had a clean Guatemalan National Team soccer jersey which he gave me to wear instead of messy shirt. When I tried to return the jersey a few days later he said, "Please keep it as a gift to remember the birth of your daughter in Guatemala." Another story, after we had gotten cleaned up a bit after the birth, Emi Tun, Dr. Tun's wife, had also come. She brought with her some piping hot chocolate, a Guatemalan tradition, for us all to toast the birth of Clara.

My final feeling on the day is the overwhelming sense that God was present and supporting us through it all. Whether it was through the energy he gave Lois to sustain through so many contractions, or through the calm presence of Lois' Mom, or through the perfectly timed and rejuvinating arrival of Flori our favorite nurse who for some unknown reason had decided to call the clinic that night to see if we were there. When she found out that we were she came immediately and arrived just as Lois felt she had no energy left to begin the final 3 hours of pushing. Or in the patient presence of Steve, another volunteer, who did all our driving for the day, and refused to leave even when there was nothing left to do but wait for hours and hours. Or the prayers and encouraging phone calls with family so far away. Or perhaps in the many calming and reassuring Church songs we would sing to regain our composure between contractions. And while I think whatever might have happened would have been exactly as God would have wanted, we can only give our deepest thanks that here in this place, without technology or advanced medical care, where we needed everything to go normally without complications, it did. Now I look across the room at Lois rocking Clara to sleep and realize this is only the beginning. We know God's love and support will continue through the hands, prayers, and love of family and friends. Thank you to everyone for your help along the way. We couldn't have done it without you.

Much love,

Dan, Lois, and Clara

No baby yet!

2008-09-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone has been waiting and watching for an update as anxiously as we have been waiting for our little one to arrive, there's no baby here yet. However, Lois' mom is here, which is exciting. She arrived on Saturday and has been a great sport about orienting to San Lucas and helping us get ready for having a newborn in the house. Hopefully we will have an announcement soon!!!

A Work Day

2008-09-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Life here overall is really good. Fr. Greg has developed an organization that is run by Guatemalans and then American volunteers can come down and fit in where they can, but the main focus is on learning as opposed to "helping". There really isn't much Americans can do that the Guatemalans can't do better, faster, and with fewer resources. Their hospitality to us has been amazing and we are grateful to be here. A typical day for us is to wake up around 6 and get ready for the day. At 7 we head down to the Parish for coffee and breakfast. By 8:30 we are up at the clinic getting ready to start the day. I see inpatients with Dr. Tun while Lois starts seeing physical therapy patients. After inpatients, we visit the new babies and new moms, then to the ER to see if there's anything big going on there, and then to the consult clinic where Dr. Tun sees 10-15 patients and I see 5-10 patients in the morning. We give numbers to the first 15 folks who show up - then after we finish with them, its kind of first come first serve. The reason for that is that if you get a number, the price is discounted. It provides an avenue for poorer folks to come early, get more complete care, plus the discount. People with a number pay roughly 50 cents for the visit, and then buy their medicines at cost. People without a number pay around 7 US dollars, and buy their medicines at a little bit higher price. People can also choose not to wait at all and go straight to the ER (much like the US) but the price there ranged from 10-15 US dollars. People who show up early get a number and as a result get their chart from chart room with all their other records. They also get their vitals taken before they see us. People that just wait without a number show up without any charts and no vitals so its a little more challenging to understand the full story. People can also choose to go to one of the private clinics in town, but ours is the only facility that is open 24 hours a day and weekends. Our most busy days are Mondays and Fridays because of the weekend, and then Tuesdays, because it is a market day. Wednesdays and Thursdays are a little quieter, so we spend more time working on development projects. Some of these projects are: preparation materials for medical groups, medical presentations for promoters or hospital staff, and medicine storage organization.

We are enjoying the people and the work as well as learning more every day about the culture, language, and just medicine in general. We hope in the coming days we'll get to keep learning and fitting in where we can.

***The picture is of Dr. Tun. He has been the hospital physician for about 10 years and it is clear he is well respected in the community. He has been a really supportive mentor for us both.***

Preparing for a baby, San Luqueño style

2008-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

When people in town hear that we are not returning to the States for the birth of our baby, they almost invariably comment that it will be “Luqueño” in addition to American. It’s interesting that they attach belonging to being of San Lucas, but no one has ever said anything about the baby being “Guatemalteco” or Guatemalan.

Regardless, we have been fortunate to receive lots of assistance and advice in preparing for the baby’s arrival from the parish and from local moms. We have a huge stack of baby clothes, a crib from the parish cook, and have heard lots of labor and delivery recommendations. Almost everyone has an opinion on the baby’s gender…more guess boy than girl, but I think that may be more related to the greater desirability of a firstborn being a boy in this culture than to any characteristics on which they may be basing their opinion.

This week I had a lesson from a local mom on diapering, bathing, and general care of newborns. Diapers are complicated! First, there is the “umbliguero,” a small triangle of fabric folded and tied around the waist to cover the umbilical cord until it falls off, so that the diaper doesn’t irritate it. Next comes the diaper cloth itself, folded and tied on with a “fahuello,” a piece of fabric with ties on either side. Cover it all with plastic pants, and you’re good to go….until the baby goes, then it’s on to the laundry lesson. J

I was grateful to have a chance to ask questions about some of the local customs, as well as the logistics of baby care here. Bit by bit, we are feeling more settled and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new little one. Stay tuned! We’ll be sure to put up an announcement when the time comes.

Vulnerable

2008-08-07T14:47:00.000-07:00

We got soaked on our ride home from San Gregorio today. Like most of the Guatemalans, we travel in the back of pickups. Sometimes we are blessed with a canvas tarp to keep us dry, but today the rain pelted us as we climbed back up the mountain from the small community we had visited. Our raincoats worked for awhile, but eventually they soaked through and the water found its way into our pockets and shoes. I got to thinking how we were pretty vulnerable out there today, which got me thinking about many of the patients we’ve met. Vulnerable to illness because of malnutrition and poverty. The difference between my vulnerability and theirs is that I chose to be here, to ride in the back of a pickup and do this work. Most of the people that are forced to visit traveling medical doctors who don’t speak their language don’t have a choice. Would you go to a physician who had only marginal understanding of your second language if you could choose to go to someone, anyone, else? I try to remember that while I explain the cause of an illness, or how to use a medication – I have chosen to be here, she has not. The power differential is palpable and the medicine and advice I gave aren’t that unlike a raincoat in the back of a pickup – it works for awhile, but eventually you may still get soaked.

I think we will spend our entire year here learning about vulnerability. I think we will learn that there are lots of causes of, lots of explanations for, and lots of plans to fix poverty. In the meantime we keep trying to reexamine the way we live, and try to see the connections between the choices we have the privilege to make and the vulnerability of our patients here.

Follow Your Feet

2008-06-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't call myself a Lord of the Rings fanatic, but I do find wisdom in Tolkien's words, especially in the reflections of the Hobbits. They are simple folk, in love with the land and earth, and not much for technology or industry - certainly not computers. But Bilbo Baggins, the fictional author of "The Hobbit", did find it important to have an account of his adventures, a record of where he went, what he saw, and how he was changed. He wrote his story "There and Back Again" as a diary and also as a window into his adventures, because he knew not everyone could be so privileged to just pack up and go.

I think this is what I hope for in this blog. An accounting of sorts, a space for reflection, and also an acknowledgement that we could not and can not do this alone, but only with the thoughts, prayers, and support of all of you, our family and friends.

As we begin to enter a time of preparation for departure we thought it fitting to begin this story. I don't think either of us know exactly where or how it will end, but that is what makes an adventure, an adventure. We go to serve, to listen, to learn, to grow, and to be changed. But in the meantime, we're packing our literal and metaphorical bags and reflecting on the advice of Bilbo Baggins:

"Stepping out on the road is a dangerous business. You have to keep you feet under you, or before you know it you'll be swept off to who knows where!"

So let's step onto the road - whether it be to distant lands or to local neighborhoods - and follow our feet.