Sadly our year has ended and we are all making our way back to the states :(

Thanks for all the help and encouragement, we are all going to miss little Juventino Rosas. Attached is the picture we printed, framed and gave our many hosts in Juventino before we left.

Zacatecas

This past weekend we traveled to the old mining town of Zacatecas where the majority of Mexico´s silver comes from. We climed La Bufa (a mountain overlooking the city) and then took the teleferico down to an old mine where we witnessed the depths and caverns where men would work 15-18 hr days at around 115 degree temperatures. The city is also known for its colonial architecture and beautiful cathedral pictured on the right.

Time of the Rain

The summer is the time of rain in Guanajuato and as a result the roads have become even worse which is a feat we thought impossible. The fields are flooded and everyone retreats inside from around 4pm until the rain stops.

One of the communities we visited last week is called Rosillo and is pictured above with our fantastic pickup truckthe padre loaned us.

Fiesta 4 de Julio

We had a large celebration to honor our nation´s independence day and share some very american traditions with our mexican friends. We required eveyone to come in red, white and blue, we facepainted, ate watermelon, grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, loaded the place with little american flags and banned tequila. It was a large success and if only we had been able to find some fireworks I think we would have felt like we were home.

San Jose de las Pilas

Today we finished our time in the booming San Jose de las Pilas. We had to take a 1hr siesta for a special kindergarten graduation mass that the community had. the best part was that after the mass the kids were dressed up and preformed some dances in front of their school. It was fun to watch the little guys run around without much rhythm or care for what they were supposed to be doing.

We are also sad to say goodbye to melissa and joseph who head back to the US on Saturday :(

PPS at World Congress of Cardiology

PPS recently presented on our findings at the World Congress of Cardiology. Lorene, Kristoff, & Charles went with Dr. Cohen to Argentina to make the poster presentations and oral presentation. Lorene´s slides can be found here. Congrats to all who contributed to this work!

Ojo de Agua de Otates

Many thanks to our fearless advisor Dr. Mauricio Cohen, who performed EKG testing on high-risk patients even at the tiniest chapels with no electricity. And who can forget his thoroughly moving fire-and-brimstone diabetes and heart disease pláticas?

La Huerta

Helen found time to exercise her motherly instincts in La Huerta in addition to her rip-roaring interviewing and testing skills. Perhaps a career in Pediatrics is in order?

Thanks to Dr. Baker for the picture.

PPS @ Mandujano and La Huerta

PPS found itself waay up in the mountains of northern Juventino Rosas this week at the city of Mandujano. Right off the highway and snuggled in between some new houses (perhaps of people who made it big in the US?) is a very small and welcoming community. They were very enthusiastic to receive screenings and health information. And the kids asked for and got a basic first aid class down by the river. Ian served as a very animated ¨victim.¨

We were also welcomed in La Huerta, another small town with a few more people and a teeny tiny chapel that is about to get a lot bigger.

We´re Back!

The 7 students arrived in Juventino Rosas this week and are planning for a successful series of screeenings. We have a very ambitious schedule to visit around 13 communities, plus some of the neediest colonias nearer to the city center. More posting to come!