2 days til departure!

Hola amigos,
So I am new to this blogging thing, but I figured it would be a good supplement to the book I am making and a good way for people to see what HUGS does day-to-day on their missions.

Just to give a little bit more background about HUGS and my position on the trip...

HUGS: Help Us Give Smiles
...was founded in 2003 by Vito C. Quatela, MD with the idea that every child has the fundamental right to a full and enriching childhood. Every girl and boy should experience play, follow his or her curiosity, feel secure, and know joy.

HUGS delivers free medical care to children and adolescents suffering from a wide array of physical deformities and conditions remedied through surgery. We help children develop into confident and secure individuals free from their previous conditions.

Microtia is the most prevalent condition found on a HUGS mission. It refers to a significantly malformed, poorly developed external ear. This condition is more common in Central and South America than in North America.

Since its inception in 2003, HUGS has completed six medical mission trips to Quito, Ecuador. The team has operated on a total of 270 children and performed 311 surgical procedures. This is HUGS maiden trip to Antigua, Guatemala.

My position on the trip
I have been asked to be an interpreter on this mission so I can make a book sharing the intimate human experiences of the patients that are sometimes never discovered because of the language barrier. So, it is my job to interact with these patients and their families in their native language so we all can further understand what these individuals go through daily. The format is not yet set in stone, but I plan on having a picture of the patient with a corresponding story or anecdote.

I have been asked to take up this role because I feel I am relatively proficient in Spanish. In the Summer of 2009, I lived in Cusco, Peru for a month to take classes, live with a home stay family, and do some volunteer work. It was an incredible experience; although I have been learning the Spanish language for 6 years, my trip to Peru is where I gained most of my Spanish skills. There is always more to learn, but I believe the best way to increase language skills is to interact with individuals who speak it as their first language. This is why I believe I learned so much more in my mere month in Peru than I did in my 4 years of high school Spanish.

I am really fortunate to have this opportunity. I have been on mission trips before to the Philippines which were wonderful experiences; however, I did not speak the language there, making me feel as if there was some sort of wall between the patients and I that I could not get through. Although it is amazing and quite simple to be able to communicate with someone with eye contact, smiles, and other gestures, it means a lot more to be able to actually exchange words with someone. I am hoping that the patients will feel more comfortable and willing to communicate with me and the team knowing someone speaks their language. After the trip, I am making a book of all of these experiences so people can get an inside peek at the lives of these patients and their families.

So, I'm going to post daily happenings here whether it be videos, pictures, or little stories. Hope you all enjoy! : )