A special New Year's:      The "Millennium" and "Y2K" issues that gripped much of the so-called "developed" world in the period leading up to New Year's day 2000 seemed FAR removed for most of the 43 US participants on this, the seventeenth annual winter trip for Intercambio Cultural Maya. Instead of wondering whether the cable television or microwave oven would work as usual, these volunteers spent a little over a week living and working in the traditional Mayan village of Agua Azul. As typical of most of the recent winter trips, there were really three work projects going on concurrently in the village -- a free medical clinic; a health education project; and a construction project. We were also joined by Mexican national volunteers from each of those fields who contributed mightily to the work at hand.

Even though Agua Azul is located a short hour and a half driving distance from the resort capital of Cancun, this village of approximately 500 folks is, in most respects, a typical subsistence farming Mayan village. As in previous years, volunteers were privileged to be guests in the homes of various families throughout the village. This gave Intercambio participants the rare opportunity to learn first hand a little bit about what daily family life is like in contemporary rural Mayan culture. And although all volunteers had their own unique experiences (and in that sense, their own "trip"), the common consensus was that Agua Azul was a most inviting and gracious community. Because the Sunday we were in the village was not a "work" day for any of the three projects, the elders arranged a series of cultural activities for us to learn more about their community and its subsistence agricultural economy.

In the clinics:   In five working days the doctors, nurses, and translators working together in the medical clinic saw over 450 people, providing basic medical care not only to the residents of Agua Azul, but from surrounding villages as well. The dental clinic cared for 122 patients, providing fillings, extractions, cleanings, and sealants. After spending 3 1/2 hours last year on one cleaning session, the dentists and hygienists became convinced that we needed to raise the approximately $2,500 for an ultra-sonic plaque remover. Through the generosity of contributors in the intervening year, we were able to purchase such a machine and bring it with us to Agua Azul -- and that made it possible to clean the teeth of 53 patients this trip! We also dispensed 250 pairs of eyeglasses; in some cases, providing some individuals with clearer vision for the first time in their life. The health education/community health nurses provided education sessions on dental care, women's health issues, and preventing upper respiratory disease. They also made home follow-up visits. Several Spanish editions of Where There Is No Doctor (The Hesperian Foundation, Palo Alto, CA) were distributed to village health care providers.