Ray Schmidt
I kept putting off this trip to La Esperanza and Gracias, the site of our two previous projects in Honduras. I needed to visit each hospital to make sure the additional equipment we had ordered had arrived, been installed and was functioning well for the hospital. In addition, I needed to check in to make sure the previous GE equipment that we had installed was working well for the hospitals. I was leaving for home tomorrow so the job had to be done today. I left at 6 AM this morning.
My fellow travelers included Freddy (the Driver), Oscar (the translator/guard) and Yolanda, an official from the Ministry of Health that had to inventory the newly received items. The first leg from Tegucigalpa to La Esperanza was a pleasant 3-hour drive made more pleasant by the fact that I slept almost the entire way. We arrived at 9 AM, visited with Dr. Amador, the director of the hospital, and then made our way around the hospital looking at all the equipment. Everyone is still very grateful for the equipment. I visited the laboratory first and they were thrilled with the new lab equipment—microscope, gas analyzer, centrifuge and a few other pieces. The chemistry analyzer will be delivered and installed next week.
Our departure was delayed by an hour but we left at 11:30 for Gracias—a 2-1/2 hour drive over some seriously rough road. Fred felt he had to drive especially fast to make up for lost time. After bouncing, jolting and shaking for two hours, we made it to Gracias and were met by Dr. Gavarette, the hospital’s director. We did a quick walk through and made sure all was functioning well. This hospital was also very grateful for the donations that had been made.
“We have been able to help three times as many people now with the new ultrasound given by GE,” said Dr. Gavarette. “Everyone is watching us now. People from far away are coming to this hospital because they have heard of the changes at this hospital and how we have new equipment.”
While in Gracias, the local TV crew came out to interview me. Since my Spanish consists of eleven words, I said that we would need to use Oscar as the translator. The reporter asks us a question and Oscar takes the microphone, but instead of translating the question, he talks for about two minutes answering the question himself. The reporter asks another question and Oscar does the same thing. By this time, Dr. Gaverette is poking Oscar in the side and pointing to me. I’m laughing off-camera because Oscar was really getting into it. He is a very passionate guy and he just kept talking. I still don’t know what he said but he sure enjoyed being on TV.
As we drove back to Tegus, we watched the lunar eclipse. It was quite a spectacular sight. About two hours from Tegus, Oscar found a radio station that played American hits from the 70’s and 80’s. All four of us were in the early 40’s and so these were songs that we grew up with. I was surprised how many songs they knew—well, they at least knew the tunes and some of the words. On every song they would ask me what some of the words were because they hadn’t figured them out. It was a great time singing these songs and trying to remember the artists who performed them. It really is a small world.
My fellow travelers included Freddy (the Driver), Oscar (the translator/guard) and Yolanda, an official from the Ministry of Health that had to inventory the newly received items. The first leg from Tegucigalpa to La Esperanza was a pleasant 3-hour drive made more pleasant by the fact that I slept almost the entire way. We arrived at 9 AM, visited with Dr. Amador, the director of the hospital, and then made our way around the hospital looking at all the equipment. Everyone is still very grateful for the equipment. I visited the laboratory first and they were thrilled with the new lab equipment—microscope, gas analyzer, centrifuge and a few other pieces. The chemistry analyzer will be delivered and installed next week.
Our departure was delayed by an hour but we left at 11:30 for Gracias—a 2-1/2 hour drive over some seriously rough road. Fred felt he had to drive especially fast to make up for lost time. After bouncing, jolting and shaking for two hours, we made it to Gracias and were met by Dr. Gavarette, the hospital’s director. We did a quick walk through and made sure all was functioning well. This hospital was also very grateful for the donations that had been made.
“We have been able to help three times as many people now with the new ultrasound given by GE,” said Dr. Gavarette. “Everyone is watching us now. People from far away are coming to this hospital because they have heard of the changes at this hospital and how we have new equipment.”
While in Gracias, the local TV crew came out to interview me. Since my Spanish consists of eleven words, I said that we would need to use Oscar as the translator. The reporter asks us a question and Oscar takes the microphone, but instead of translating the question, he talks for about two minutes answering the question himself. The reporter asks another question and Oscar does the same thing. By this time, Dr. Gaverette is poking Oscar in the side and pointing to me. I’m laughing off-camera because Oscar was really getting into it. He is a very passionate guy and he just kept talking. I still don’t know what he said but he sure enjoyed being on TV.
As we drove back to Tegus, we watched the lunar eclipse. It was quite a spectacular sight. About two hours from Tegus, Oscar found a radio station that played American hits from the 70’s and 80’s. All four of us were in the early 40’s and so these were songs that we grew up with. I was surprised how many songs they knew—well, they at least knew the tunes and some of the words. On every song they would ask me what some of the words were because they hadn’t figured them out. It was a great time singing these songs and trying to remember the artists who performed them. It really is a small world.
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