Review: Dawn Ranch, Guerneville, CA

I just got back from a whirlwhind trip to Guerneville CA to see my favorite cousin get married. Dragging along my mom and grandmother, we flew from Grand Rapids, MI to Sacramento and stayed for three days at the Dawn Ranch. The wedding itself was amazing, gorgeous, and full of love (as it should be), so I'm just going to review the venue.

The Good:

• The food: I've become a bit of a foodie, and Dawn Ranch had some of the most amazing and innovative menu items. The most memorable for me was the pork and apple ravioli, and I managed to get my mother and grandmother to branch (a few baby steps) out of the box with an artichoke and red pepper pasta. The wedding menu was catered to my cousin's and fiancee's exacting tastes, and included truffle macaroni and a fantastic selection of barbecued meats. 
• The location: The ranch itself is a pleasant two and a half hours drive from the Sacramento Airport, traffic and construction included. While we did not have much time for sight-seeing, we passed several mountain look-out points and quaint towns. We were also a mere 20 minute drive from the Pacific ocean, and about a 30 minute drive from the Charles M Schultz Museum which, because my mother loves all things Snoopy, we of course had to visit. 
• The scenery: Holy redwoods, Batman! While I am a Michigan girl at heart, I have to admit that the views were fantastic. I'm a sucker for winding roads and trees so thick you can barely see the sky, and this part of the country definitely delivered. 
• The cabins: If you were to ask other members of my family you might get a different response (there were heating issues in a few), but the cabin my mother, grandmother, and I shared was great. We opted for the 2-bedroom version, and it had all the charms of rustic "glamping"- glam camping. The showers were hot, the beds were soft and warm, and it was tucked away from the noise of the highway, nestled beneath the redwoods - what more could you want?

Vineyards and fancy houses on the drive through Napa. 

Empty plates and excellent drinks - fun night!

A little dreary with the rain, but it was a fun drive to the Pacific.

Cute little cabins! These were the single bedroom type.

The Not-So-Good:

• The staff: While there were a few great staff members (our waiter from the first night and the woman at the front desk come to mind), most of the staff seemed either uninformed or uncaring. Trying to get the heat fixed in one cabin, for example, took about four people too many. Lights to illuminate the paths at night were not turned on as promised, golf carts for the grandmothers were late, and organizing the flow of the weekend fell to family members instead of the staff members. 
• Off season: This may have been why the staff weren't up to par (fewer people, etc), but the overall feel of the actual town of  Guerneville was....emptiness. Many of the stores were closed for the season (there were several wineries I would have loved to have tried), the town population was significantly reduced, and the town just seemed rather unkempt. Given that it was November, I'll give the town a pass this time, and hopefully return in more seasonal times.

Overall, it was still a fantastic (if rainy) weekend, and I would love to go back during the "on" season.

Guerneville on Dwellable

Last morning

I went to the beach this morning at 5:30 am to watch the sunrise.

The actual sunrise may have been blocked by the city, but it was still a good life decision. I climbed the hill to the Christ statue and just sat, looking at over the ocean. The city was the quietest I've ever seen it. I walked along the tide pool beach, collecting shells and splashing around in the water. While Lake Michigan will always be my beach home, I've really come to love the sand and water here.

I'm all packed up. My forethought to pack an extra duffel bag is turning out to be great-I just threw all of my clothes into the soft bag, and put all of my more delicate stuff and gifts into my regular luggage. Because I have so much extra space, my carry on bags seem really light.

I'm still processing a lot of stuff, but I think this trip is going to be one of those defining life moments, for a number of reasons.

Well, I think I'm going to convince one of the boys to go with me to Market Modelo one last time. In exactly 4 hours I'll be getting into my taxi, and in exactly 7 hours I'll be on my flight back to Michigan.

See you all on the other side of the equator :)

Last night :(

Tonight was my last night in Brazil. What a crazy adventure this trip has been!

Thursday we went to the federal research lab, Fiacruz, and the Hospital Suburbia, which is a public/private hybrid hospital, and the first of its kind. The president of Fiacruz gave us a personal tour of the entire lab. The coolest thing was not the shiny equipment (of which there was a great deal), but his story and his mission. He was born in a very poor rural area and moved to the slums of Salvador at a very young age. He worked all day and went to school at night, and got good enough grades to go to the public university. From there, he worked his way up to the very top. As a result of his background, he firmly believes in opening his facility to the general public. ANYONE can come in and use the equipment, provided they have the proper training. The parking lot converts into a community soccer field at night. Churches and groups can use the auditorium space. Kids can come in and use the university library and computers. He told us jokingly that at first they had all the computers in the back, and kids would look up porn. They've since moved the computers to the front, but he said he really didn't mind when they were looking up smut: "Better them in here, safe, then out on the streets getting stabbed".

The hospital was pretty cool too. Unlike the other ones we seen so far, this one was very new, and very much like what we picture a hospital as in the United States. The federal government provides the building, and the private company provides the equipment and the doctors. People of both private and public insurance can use the hospital, although more public users tend to frequent it (it's very close to the slum areas). I opted not to go into the pediatric ICU, but I toured through everything else in the hospital, including the emergency rooms. We got back kind of late, so we opted for a fairly quiet night at the hostel.

Today was rather bittersweet. We got to sleep in because of our presentation, which was a welcome change. A few of us walked down to the salon to get waxed. I planned to go to the beach, but it was kind of rainy, and I had my presentation to finish. At 12:30, we made our last drive to UFBa and met with several of the presenters we had had over the past month. All of the presentations went well-I did mine on medical technology in Brazil. Since a lot of it focused on health communication, I'm hoping I might be abe to present it as part of my research to Spectrum. At any rate, at the end, we had cake and other goodies with our professors, and we presented them with MSU Public Health t-shirts, while we got little candomble statues with the university and program name engraved into them.

After that, it was back to the hostel for our last dinner. I'm really going to miss this place, and not just for the food. Even though Domiyana (our cook) speaks no English, and I speak very little Portuguese, she's quick with a smile and a mimed joke, usually about how the boys are eating all the food, or how much we all like potatoes (I may have done a little song and dance earlier in the month about batatas frites, and now whenever she serves them she sings the song back to me).

We decided to go out for one last bar crawl. We've done so much with Danny, Henrique, and Jau that it only seemed right. The bars themselves were nothing special this time around (except for the Mexican place, which has the most amazing nachos ever), but just driving around with a bunch of people I now really care about, singing songs at the top of our lungs really made my night.

I've decided I'm not going to bed tonight. Jodi and Sarah have to leave at 4:30 am to catch a taxi to get to the airport on time, so I'm helping Jodi pack (aka, separating all of our stuff that's been thrown in the corner), and then I'm going to watch the sunrise from the beach. I can sleep on the beach, and I can sleep on the plane.

I want to go home, but I don't want to leave.

Ready

Bua noite!

Well, I've had my last lecture in Brazil. Monday and Tuesday were pretty much like every other Monday and Tuesday here, except for a couple of things. Firstly, I got one of our lecturers choked up. She had told us she started out in medical school and then switched to researching healthcare models. At the very end of the lecture, I asked her why she switched (I'm always kind of curious why people leave medical school), and she said it was because her dad died of an easily preventable disease when the health care model Brazil had at the time wouldn't let him get treatment. I felt sort of bad for asking at that point, but she gave me a big hug when we left and told Mariana how much it meant to her that I asked-apparently she doesn't get to talk about it very much.

And on Tuesday, during what would normally be our discussion/computer time, we had a mock debate about the healthcare system. It ended up being a flop, becuase the two groups got confused on what exactly we were arguing, and ended up saying all the same things, but it was nice to realize how much I've learned on this trip.

Also, on Tuesday, I got my nails done again, and some of the boys came with us. The nail salon ladies kept asking if they were our boyfriends and could they go out with them, etc. Neither group really fully understood what the other group was saying, but there was much laughing and smiling. I went to the street party in Pelourinho again, but didn't stay for too long. The police weren't there that night, so everyone was smoking marijuana, which gives me a really bad headache. I stayed long enough for the one band to finish, and then Erica and I grabbed a taxi home. We did not get pulled over this time :)

Today we toured a hospital and the state laboratory. The lab was a little dry, because we had seen pretty much all the same things at the municipal laboratory, but it was still kind of cool to meet some of the lab techs. They are in charge of testing food and water throughout the state, as well as diagnosing and tracking various diseases. The food lab was kind of gross-they had maggots in chocolate!

The hospital was a little bit difficult for me to get through. On one hand, it was really nice to actually be able to see some patients. We got to talk to a couple of old ladies who were receiving treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. They have to take a 3 hour long bus ride every 2 months to get to the hospital, but they receive much needed and very expensive ($2000 per visit) treatment. There were also a decent amount of sick kids, old people with broken hips, and some stab victims (violence is a huge problem here), but everyone seemed to be on the mend and seemed very appreciative of the care. The doctors were a bit frazzled of course, but they were excited to have us there.

The pediatric emergency room even was actually okay, even though I had expected that to be the most difficult. It was quiet, and there were enough beds, and all the kids seemed to be doing pretty well. We had a small lecture on the resuscitation room, which I stepped out of, but that was more of a "I don't need to be in here" than a "I need to get out!"

The hard part was the adult emergency room. There weren't nearly enough beds, so people were just hooked up in the hallway. This wouldn't have been such an issue, except that our guide was lecturing right in the middle of them-no matter where we stood, we were in the way of some doctor trying to help a patient. When we got to the patients who actually had beds, I still felt like I was being really invasive. I want to see patients, and I want to see action, but I don't want to be a tourist in the middle of someone trying to survive a heart attack. The worst was when they took us to the "semi intensive" rooms. The second room had a bunch of sad looking people in it, and it sort of felt like we were at the zoo. The first room they wouldn't let us in, and I found out why.....as we were leaving, they opened the door and I caught a glimpse of a body bag. That was enough to throw me, but then we we finally got out (because at that point I was just ready to leave, we didn't need to be in the ER anymore), we stopped to talk in the hallway, and they rolled the body out right by us. To my credit, I didn't break down, didn't cry, just turned away, but it was still tough.

It has got me thinking though.....I know I'm still knee deep in my healing process, and I know that it's already been getting better, but what's going to happen the first time I have to treat a drowning victim? Will I be able to handle it? I'll probably be fine the second time, but what if I choke trying to help that first person?

I think I'm ready to come home. This past weekend I was ready to move here, but now I just miss things. Chile dog, my own bed with nice sheets, quiet nights, creme brulee from Soup Spoon, a greasy olive burger with fries and real ketchup and a mountain dew from Mr. Burger....I wish I could teleport....I'd go home for a few days, pop back here to the beach, etc :)

Anyway. We're going to a different hospital and a research lab tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to it. This hospital is newer and thus "nicer", so we get to see the difference. We're also going to the waxing institute tomorrow (hey, we are in Brazil), and getting ready for a final presentations. Friday we get to sleep in, give our presentations, and party with our professors. I'm also planning on a last minute trip to the beach and Pelourinho for more gifts...I keep forgetting people!

Tonight should be an easy night. I downloaded some trash books for my kindle, Domiyana made a great dinner which I'm about to devour, Trinidad made me a caparinha, and I think I'm going to sit out in the hammock.

See you all in a few days!

I just had my last lecture in Brazil...how sad!

Photos!

So, even though I had an incredibly lazy day today (we only had class in the morning, and headed back to the hostel at noon to work on our final projects and sleep), I still had no motivation to write out the full post, and I'm just going to move on. I have posted a ton of photos though, to make it up to you. Enjoy!

I've also realized I only have 5 more days in Brazil....nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although, I am craving food from home. I'm like my dad....I just want a mountain dew and some real ketchup!

Another short post

Hey all!

Here's another short post to tide you over until I have the time and motivation to write out the full blogs.

Friday

• Bought ALL THE THINGS in Pelourinho
• I am officially addicted to bargaining
• Went on another bar crawl with our now very good friends
• Had the best margaritas outside of Mexico (not that I would know because my family keeps going without me!!!)
• Danced with about 7 different people

Saturday

• Woke up waaaay to early
• Drove 2 hours to Praia de Forte
• OMG I want to live here. Goodbye Michigan!
• LONG walk on the beach to the turtle center
• BABY TURTLES!
• And because my camera hates aquariums, the battery is dying and I have to be super selective about my photos
• Did I mention the baby turtles?!
• And nurse sharks, and tides pools, and BIG turtles!
• Drove to the middle of no-where and dove into the ocean at sunset.
• The party van got stuck, but 14 people are pretty powerful.

Anyway, today I am sleeping at the beach, so I will hopefully have more for you tonight :)