Clinic in Las Yayitas de El Rosario

Before going to the clinic today we went to the local market. It’s where a lot of Dominicans do their local shopping. It was interesting. They had meat, vegetables, clothes, tools, and everything else all laid out on mats on the ground.

Our clinic was closer to San Juan so the drive wasn’t so long. We set up in a small shop. I sat with Dr. Borit. Damon sat with me too. As each patient met with the doctor, we wrote down what medications the Doctors prescribed. The intake forms were later taken to the pharmacy where the patients received their medications.

Dr. Borit wasn’t the most enthusiastic doctor. He had allergies so maybe he just wasn’t feeling well, but he didn’t explain very much to me or Damon. I of course understood everything and translated for Damon. I learned the specific uses of certain drugs that we commonly prescribed. For example Naproxen and Meloxicam are pain meds, Laratadina was prescribed for coughs, Enalapril is for high blood pressure, and omeprazole is for stomach aches.

I ran 7 miles this morning so I was really tired in the afternoon. On the way back Hector took us by a small park and taught us some of the history of the Dominican Republic. Christopher Columbus landed in the Dominican on one of his later visits to the Americas. All of the indigenous people were killed by the early settlers and later slaves from Africa were brought to the Dominican and so the culture today is a mix of Spanish and African blood.

I took a little nap in the afternoon, facetimed my whole family, and ate dinner. I’m used to the food by now and don’t have anymore diarrhea. After dinner we just hung out as a group and played scum for a while and then just talked in the cabana. It was so much fun! I got everyone’s number and I’m going to befriend everyone on Facebook when I get back.