New country...new school...

Hello! Sorry for the delay in writing - things have been busy (but not crazy) with my schedule. Today I finished up two days of training at a small school in Marianske Lazne', Czech Republic.

It is beautiful here. The weather is typical spring, chilly, sunny, rainy, sunny, etc. The climate reminds me of Michigan - the landscape, which I saw more of today on an afternoon outing, definitely reminds me of Michigan - the daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths have bloomed…tulips are thinking about blooming and the leaves on the trees are about to pop!

The school is great - there are about 7 classrooms and they are divided both by age and ability. They have 3 "levels" for how they classify the child's needs and determine which classroom and program is best for him/her. I am not sure if it is private or public. I do know that there was some sort of inspection going on when I arrived (and until yesterday) - in which I of course became part of the observation/inspection - I think good timing in some ways to have "a specialist" there to provide a training opportunity for their staff. Tomorrow I will spend 1/2 day with the classroom assistants providing them with more activity ideas and "hands on" things they can do to incorporate more activities outside of the classroom in the "relaxation room" - which from the therapist perspective looks as if it would be a great therapy room! But really, looking at activities that will expand the "skill building" from the tabletop activities to more whole body/motor planning type activities. Should be good....good fun that is....

The other thing about the school, which was also the case when I was in St. Petersburg, is that a lot of what OT does in the US, the teachers here do as their normal everyday classroom activities - for example, working with clay, ceramics, etc...making arts and crafts (new OT activities for me!!!) using multi-media, etc. It makes it somewhat difficult to add to that....but I have tried to stress the importance of intrinsic motivation vs. rote skill building - doing a task to do it, over and over again (e.g., stacking blocks).

The family I am staying with has been just great and my free has been filled with relaxing activities, good food, good sight seeing, and good company. I can't upload any photos now, as the internet connection is quite slow (almost as slow as Ethiopia!) - but I will try to do it when I get to Philadelphia. Will try to post again as the week comes closer to an end! Hope everyone is doing well!

What? A real vacation? What is that?

Getting ready for our canopy tour (on suspended bridges) in the rain forrest!

Well, after many years, I actually took a real vacation, albeit only three days...but let me tell you, we had some fun in three days! Costa Rica was our destination. Kim, Veronica, and I flew from Honduras and Carlos flew in from Nicaragua - we had a great time....we headed to the volcano area, a 3.5 hour drive up this winding, ever turning road (thanks for driving, Carlos)....how Kim and Veronica fell asleep I will never know - maybe it was to prevent becoming car sick! The road was crazy! I understand two things: 1) what they mean by the cloud area - we were literally driving in the clouds....and 2) why it is recommended not to drive after dark!

Our hotel was fantastic - the Hotel Royal Corin in La Fortuna....

We stayed here, at the Royal Corin, the pools were all fed from water (hot) from the volcano. Some were so hot we couldn't even get in! The pool was complete with swim up bar, which of course we had to try out prior to trekking through the rain forrest....though I may rethink the order of events on my next trip!

Peering into the hole of a tarantula! Yikes! It was fun until he moved!

So, we signed up for a canopy tour - the rain forrest was beautiful! We saw tarantulas, a sloth, and a viper! We had a great guide Alan who was very patient with our picture taking and ooh-ing and aaahhhh-ing.

It was so green and all of the sudden there would be this contrast of colors....

After our tour, we packed up and headed back to San Jose. Stayed at another great place (though it took us an hour driving around the city to find it- even with asking multiple "locals", who all sent us in a different direction!) - and relaxed....Kim and Veronica left at the crack of dawn the next morning and Carlos and I stayed one more day - relaxing, catching up on work and school, and just hanging out.

Then....back to work....but not for long....next stop, Czech Republic to do some training on sensory integration at a school and some case consults....stand by for that trip, as I am on my way now, headed to Munich then a car ride to the Czech......until next time......

Honduras here and gone.....

Joan and Kim with Nelly (in the middle) - the founder (along with her husband Nelson) of CasAyuda.....they keep this school going, along with the amazing staff!

Well, I have managed to re-gain my memory, which enabled me to regain access to Joni on the GO! - I tried to add some updates while on my last trip but could not get to the right place to sign in, nor did I have my correct access/password etc! So, what have you missed? Well, trips of late consisted mostly of round trips to Pennsylvania for school! However, the much anticipated return to CasAyuda, the school in Comayagua, Honduras rapidly approached, and sadly has now come and gone. The good news is it was a FANTASTIC trip on multiple levels.....

This trip included five OT students from Misericordia University (MU), 4 master's students and one doctoral student. We had a good, cohesive group. The class was taught by myself and my partner in crime, or should I say disaster, Kim. I (we) are happy to report, no political unrest (including coups, election recounts, riots, fires, etc.) on this trip. Additionally, Veronica Olicon, our clinic assistant at PTN donated her time to be one of our translators. This was great - not just to have an additional translator, but having her along on the trip was an added bonus! Of course the trip wouldn't be complete without our "in country coordinator" and dear friend, Mishelle - native of Honduras who ensures that all is smooth sailing (with or without a coup!).

Our students along with Mishelle and Veronica....Kim and I are conveniently missing!

We arrived in Honduras on a Saturday and made our way to Comayagua, about 1.5 hours from the capital city of Tegucigalpa. The weather was perfect, warm, sunny, and blue, blue skies! We got settled in, dinner, etc. Sunday was a day of fun and sight seeing. We made our way out and to the waterfall, to El Rosario (a very small town/village); stopped in on a Bible study for some cute kiddos and provided them with a drink and snack and went on our way. The landscape is different in March then my usual August visit - different flowers and trees blooming, drier, and dustier.

Monday we arrived at CasAyuda to find the staff and kids happy and healthy and we were welcomed with open arms. The fun began - observations, teacher interviews, all so we could plan our interventions based on their needs, add additional information to our presentations (chosen by the staff) that was specific to the site, a student, and culturally appropriate. The MU students jumped right in and away we went....So, the week went on with observing and helping in the classrooms and in the afternoons we saw kids from the community. This year was a little different, and to make a long story short, someone else did the scheduling (not Mishelle) - which included advertising on the radio that "therapists were here" - needless to say, our team of OT's ready to treat pediatric clients had 78 year old men with sciatica showing up....not such a good match....it all worked out. One afternoon though, we saw 13 kids in 4.5 hours! It was crazy. We had two groups running clients through. We all slept well that night. On the Friday, we gave an all day inservice with topics chosen by the staff. We had some community people come as well, so all in all, a great day. The staff is so willing to participate in the learning activities, treatment activities and if I had 1/2 of that participation when I was presenting in the States I would be happy. I love their enthusiasm and willingness to "do."

OT time....

I am always so happy to see the continual growth at the school with the staff and the children. I am continually impressed at their dedication, their willingness to provide with limited resources and the amount of progress that I see! This was my 7th year at CasAyuda and I am so blessed to be a part of that school. It is definitely a give and take; they learn from us, we learn from them. I wouldn't have it any other way. I wait for the day when I can spend more than 1-2 weeks at a time....

So, our time was short. We had hoped for two weeks, but the university gave us one. I think next year I will stay the second week after the students leave. There is just not enough time in the week to implement what you have identified and started to formulate a plan - so, that is my plan for next time.

All that started well ended well...friendships revisited, new strategies learned, and many more memories made...the usual tears were shed, though this time I was not alone in this department!