Working with a traditional healer

June 25, 2012

I started my internship with Dr. Arzu today. It was even better than expected, which is saying a lot because I had high hopes!! First, her traditional healing is all about connecting with the earth. It was amazing to listen to and talk about all day. There is definitely a shift in my mind occurring here. Mom always says things happen for a reason. It is amazing to see those reasons start to unfold before my eyes. I was definitely meant for this internship and this experience was meant to be a part of my life because it’s creating a view for me. Clearly, the first half of my internship with NHI was guided by my public health goals and partly guided by my mom. As I completed it, the values of communication she is always trying to teach me were forefront in my mind. This half of my internship though with Dr. Arzu is guided a lot by my dad. I felt very connected to what she was saying today because planting is partly in my blood. My dad is amazing at it (for anyone who doesn’t already know!!) If my family was forced to live off the earth, it would take some getting used to but I have no doubt we could do it thanks to dad. So as I was sitting with her today, constantly asking questions about which plants she has and what they do, I often thought of my dad and how he has already established a connection with the earth (even if he doesn’t see it that way.)

Dr. Arzu and I spent the day coming up with a curriculum for a traditional healing certificate here in Belize. Today we worked on the syllabus for an introduction to herbalism course. If I could, I would without a doubt take this course!! But, my calling is public health not traditional medicine so I will leave the healing to her. She and I are very excited about this and plan on creating the whole degree outline by the end of the week! It is great to understand the work I am doing with her will allow indigenous populations to continue their traditional ways, and help their people where modern medicine has failed them.

Which brings me to my next important topic: diversity in Belize. There are many things the U.S. could learn from a small country like Belize. It definitely has it’s struggles since it is a young country, but the people here are like no where else. There are many, many different cultural influences here in Belize. You have the Garifuna people, the Mayans (both Ketchi and Mopan), Creole, East Indians, and many other mixes. The amazing part about this diversity is that it doesn’t separate them. They may have a village full of one heritage but they all respect each other’s culture. They are about helping each other and doing what is best for people, not their country or profit. It is difficult to see them as poor because they are so rich with life. There are no homeless people here in PG or the villages. Some may be living in shacks, but it’s still a home. It is easy to see what the U.S. values when you come to a place like Belize.