MEDCAP 2: Day 2

This morning was HOT! I immediately started sweating when I got up and moved around. It's really not even that hot just extremely humid. We ate breakfast, met as a group to discuss points from yesterday & the POD (plan of the day), and got the pharmacy prepared for the day. When our interpreters arrived, Ray gave me a 'cheat sheet' of common phrases we probably had him say a million times yesterday. So hopefully by the time we leave, I will have al the basics of Indonesian pharmacy terms down!
It was a long, hot day in the pharmacy. I didn't stop sweating until the sun went down. I did learn some main counseling points for certain antibiotics which was a good review, and got to see more patients. We definitely had way more chronic disease and acute illness patients today than yesterday so I feel much better about being able to help people. As we wound down for the evening, we were told that we could leave for liberty for a few hours! So we got the opportunity to walk down to the markets nearby. It was quite the experience. As we were walking, people drove by on mopeds waving or came out of their homes to say hello. Once we got down town, people immediately came up to us to shake our hands and take pictures. It's a weird feeling knowing we are a spectacle to them. We brought a few of our interpreters to help guide us and talk to the shop owners and what not. The place was busy and bustling with town folk who run the market as well as people who had followed us down as we walked past their homes. We browsed some shops for awhile before deciding to walk back to the school compound. On the way back, the children walked with us singing songs, holding our hands, and telling us Indonesian words. The people here are so welcoming and appreciative of our presence. When we got back to the school, the security guards were singing karaoke! Some of the Navy guys were playing 5v5 basketball with the kids. It was really cool to witness everyone hanging out together, playing, and having a good time. We went to bed shortly after evening muster since we were all tired from the poor night's sleep the night before. I still didn't sleep well since I was so hot. However, what sleep I did get was rudely interrupted by a morning thunderstorm. As I lay in bed listening to the rain on the tin roof and enjoying the cool breeze, I suddenly realized this would be a perfect time to get a shower and soap up. So I got out of bed and thoroughly enjoyed a cool morning shower at 0530 to start my day. (Little did I know, this would be the only shower I got on this excursion...)