Halfway point.

Wednesday, the hardest day. We’ve been away from our families now for 6 days, and I think the distance is taking the toll on us! Spending 8 hours working, on our feet, in very hot and primitive conditions, has certainly been a test. When we arrive at our clinic, we have to start the generators, which are hooked up with suction equipment before we can begin our day. By the time our first patient is seated, we already have sweat dripping! The first day I went into the restroom, a huge bat flew down from the ceiling and swooped through the door! Needless to say, when I couldn’t avoid using it again, I was extremely cautious when walking through the door!

Every patient Brett and I had on Wednesday, was a surgical extraction. When the Jamaican’s have a loose tooth, they say there “tooth be shaky”. We had no shaky teeth that day! Our dental chair was sitting on a piece of plywood, the light would fall down 2 minutes after we would push it up (causing us to constantly hit our head), and I had to stand on a stool that we fashioned from a piece of foam topped with a piece of plastic that rocked like a surfboard. So, add in the heat, and you get a very stressful situation when a tooth breaks into a hundred pieces and has to be fished out. Also, the Jamaican people have bone that I believe may have been borne from stone. The bone density is incredible among these people! Brett had to use quite a bit of force to remove the “non-shaky” teeth. By 4 pm we had extracted 38 teeth.

The friendships we have formed are so special to us, already. It’s remarkable how well we have worked with our team. Ten complete strangers in these conditions, and we got along phenomenally! The children in our area have touched our hearts so deeply, I’m not sure how we will leave them. There are two such children here that I have come to love. I truly want to take them home with me. We were advised not to ever say something like “I’ll just take you home with me” because in past years, a volunteer said that, and the next day the mother was at the hotel with her child and all of the child’s belongings ready to send it with them! The poverty level is that extreme, mothers are willing to give their child to an American to allow them a chance, where in Jamaica, there is none. There are only 3 colleges on the island, and most kids leave school by age 14. We met a great guy while on our tour of Mayfield Falls, Michael. He was telling us that the average Jamaican brings home $40 a week for income, and that is not cash. Most employers in Jamaica pay by a credit system. Therefore, the prevalent way to make money is…..Marijuana. The people who have decent homes, and cash in hand are selling drugs, either to tourists, or shipping it overseas. Michael said that if you are caught you will go to prison, as drugs are illegal in Jamaica, but it is a chance that many have to take. Marijuana was found everywhere we went. While working in our clinic, many men would light up a joint while waiting in line. We eventually had to ask them to take the smoke outside because we were all getting a contact high. One evening we went to a dance club, called the Jungle. Wow…what an education that was!!! Pot everywhere, and prostitutes working the floor!!! When walking up to the security gate to get in, many Jamaican Rastafarians stood lined up along the walkway selling sex, Ganja, Cocaine, and Jerk Chicken!! A big old Rasta mon sat down next to Brett and casually passed him the joint and asked him if we would like to share! They aren’t pushy, once you say no, they leave you alone, but it is such a different culture than we are used to. A person who smokes in Jamaica isn’t labeled as a “pot head” as those in America are, it is simply a way of life! I guess if I had to chose between selling drugs and my children not eating, I would probably take the chance of going to prison also!