I was assigned to give the devotional yesterday, and I chose to tell a story I heard a while ago, and then relate some of my feelings about it pertaining to the gospel.
So here is what I prepared; Hopefully you enjoy the story as much as I did.
"In 1989 there was a terrible earthquake in Armenia that killed over 30,000 people in four minutes. A distraught father went in frantic search of his son. He reached his son's school only to find that it had been reduced to a pile of rubble. But he was driven by his promise to his son, 'No matter what, I'll always be there for you!' He visualized the corner where his son's classroom would be, rushed there, and started to dig through the debris, brick by brick.
Others came on the scene--the fire chief, then the police--warning him of fires and explosions, and urging him to leave the search to the emergency crews. But he tenaciously carried on digging. Night came and went, and then, in the 38th hour of digging, he thought he heard his son's voice. 'Armand!' he called out. Then he heard, 'Dad!?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. . .
'There are 14 of us left out of 33. . . . When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us.'
'Come on out, boy!'
'No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, 'cause I know you'll get me! No matter what, I know you'll be there for me!'
(Mark V. Hansen, "Are You Going to Help Me?" in Chicken Soup for the Soul, ed. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen [1993], 273-74)."
I read this story several months ago, but it has stuck with me, and I feel the Spirit every time I read it, testifying to me that we all have not only an earthly father who loves us, but a Father in Heaven who also loves us, more than we can ever imagine, and who will never leave us. No matter what, he will be there for us whenever we need him, and we will never be abandoned. Like the son in the story, we have to wait patiently, and we may have to exercise faith before we receive help, or the thing that we want or need. But in always having faith that our Father will take care of us, we are allowing the Lord to direct our lives, and we can then feel peace and confidence about the future. I know this is true, and looking back on my life, the times that I have felt the most peace and comfort are when I have trusted the Lord to take care of things. Interestingly enough, those are the times when I have been doing my best to pray, read the scriptures, and have faith that things will work out, and remembering the answers I have received to prayers. You probably have some experiences similar to mine. Hopefully this story/thought brings a good feeling to your heart, or reminds you of your own experiences. I am glad I ran across it again.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Happy Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day to all those who have served, and to the families of those who have not returned. We love and appreciate you, and are grateful for all that you do and have done.
Rochelle and BJ
(Photo is from the internet)
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A perplexing question
Hello all,
How are you all doing? I hope well. I'm afraid not much is happening here. I spend my time at work or at home, and I don't get out too much. This coming week though, I'm going to try to get out more and take my camera with me so I can say I actually did something interesting while I was in India. Today Dave wanted to watch the final episodes of American Idol and so we watch those. I think Jordan was the better of the two, and am glad she won. I did enjoy Blake's performance with the other beat-boxer guy, and thought that was cool, but that's not the type of music I would listen to on a regular basis. But enough about that. Monsoon season seems to be rolling in. Last week it rained a couple of times, which was nice. It seems to have broken the heat a bit. Things that way have been more bearable. But the real monsoon season won't start for another week or two. I'm told that monsoon seasons aren't that bad here. It is rarely dangerous here... it just drizzles all the time. You Oregonians should know what that is like. Only here it is in the summer so it warmer rain. The first day it rained we were at a restaurant and we looked out and it was just pouring. It did get windy at times, but nothing like I remember Korea being like. In Korea the wind would blow signs down, and windows out of buildings. I hope to get some good pictures of some storms here. I tried the other day... but I was in the second floor of the building we work in, and you can barely tell it is raining from my pictures. I haven't tried to take pictures of rain before. It seems to be a bit of a challenge. ;-) I also felt a little sheepish pulling out my camera to take pictures while everybody watched me. I kinda stand out of the crowd here anyways, but whenever my camera comes out, I feel like such a tourist. Cest la vie! I have to say though, I will be glad to come home again and have some home cooked food. We went to the nicest restaurant in the entire city the other day (or so Dave says), and I truly enjoyed my first meal since I came here. It was an Italian restaurant and I had a chicken and mushroom dish. The meal came to $50 for the 3 of us. One interesting thing about this place is that every sit down restaurant here gives service like a 5 star restaurant in the US. They put your napkin on your lap, push in your chair, do the 5 course meal thing (which I still don't quite understand). And a 5% tip is good here. The restaurants that we frequent here seem to always have the same people working. Lunch, dinner, Monday through Friday, they are always there. If these people were in the US, we would call them workaholics. But here, it is normal. The brethren teach us to embrace the parts of our culture that are good, but that we are to shun the bad parts. I don't know what to think about their work habits here. Are they a good part or a bad part? Their work habits are what is bringing their country up, but at what price? Is this something that is good for them? I know the US went through a phase like this too... and it made our country what it is today (for good and bad). But you can't work in excess of 12 hours a day, and be close to your family in my opinion. At least I know Rochelle wouldn't like it if I did that, and worked ever other Saturday too. But many workers here do that. And they are rewarded for it. By doing it they get their promotions. I have been doing it right along side of them since I have been here. And honestly, I'm not bothered by it. But I would be if I were in the US. Part of the reason I'm ok with it here, is that by being at work, Rochelle can have more opportunities to talk to me. So working the long hours here actually gets me closer to my wife. But in the US working even 10 hours a day on a regular basis would be hard for me. Not being home in time for dinner would be hard for me. And so here is my philosophical question for the day. Lets say you and your family lived in the 1920, where times were hard. Few were very rich, but most were part of the working class. And for the working class to get by they had to work hard. (I'm picturing the conditions shown in “Cinderella Man”.) You have a job at a local factory, where hard work is rewarded. One person recently was promoted for working extra hard. He worked 70 hour weeks. Should you do the same? Now, the obvious answer would be 'No'. Who would openly state that they would rather have the money than time with their family. But again, think about what life must have been like in the 1920s. Feeding your family is a struggle, adequate housing means any place that can keep the rain out, and the only schooling your kids will have a chance at is that which is free, and life all around is hard. So what do you do? From my comfortable position, I have a hard time understanding how they do it, or why they do it. I don't think that I ever want to work the hours that these people work to “get ahead” but then again, I have more now than most of these people will ever have. A legacy give to me by my parents, country, ethnicity, culture and class. Oh certainly I worked to get to where I am, but it was easy compared to what type of work these people do to obtain much less. And so I am torn. Some of these people really want to work hard to get ahead, and I can understand that, but at the same time wish that they would spend a little more time at home. Some of these programmers that I work with I think will be very good husbands and fathers (one of which just got engaged), but they may not be home very much because of their eagerness to provide. I just hope that they do the right thing... whatever that is.
How are you all doing? I hope well. I'm afraid not much is happening here. I spend my time at work or at home, and I don't get out too much. This coming week though, I'm going to try to get out more and take my camera with me so I can say I actually did something interesting while I was in India. Today Dave wanted to watch the final episodes of American Idol and so we watch those. I think Jordan was the better of the two, and am glad she won. I did enjoy Blake's performance with the other beat-boxer guy, and thought that was cool, but that's not the type of music I would listen to on a regular basis. But enough about that. Monsoon season seems to be rolling in. Last week it rained a couple of times, which was nice. It seems to have broken the heat a bit. Things that way have been more bearable. But the real monsoon season won't start for another week or two. I'm told that monsoon seasons aren't that bad here. It is rarely dangerous here... it just drizzles all the time. You Oregonians should know what that is like. Only here it is in the summer so it warmer rain. The first day it rained we were at a restaurant and we looked out and it was just pouring. It did get windy at times, but nothing like I remember Korea being like. In Korea the wind would blow signs down, and windows out of buildings. I hope to get some good pictures of some storms here. I tried the other day... but I was in the second floor of the building we work in, and you can barely tell it is raining from my pictures. I haven't tried to take pictures of rain before. It seems to be a bit of a challenge. ;-) I also felt a little sheepish pulling out my camera to take pictures while everybody watched me. I kinda stand out of the crowd here anyways, but whenever my camera comes out, I feel like such a tourist. Cest la vie! I have to say though, I will be glad to come home again and have some home cooked food. We went to the nicest restaurant in the entire city the other day (or so Dave says), and I truly enjoyed my first meal since I came here. It was an Italian restaurant and I had a chicken and mushroom dish. The meal came to $50 for the 3 of us. One interesting thing about this place is that every sit down restaurant here gives service like a 5 star restaurant in the US. They put your napkin on your lap, push in your chair, do the 5 course meal thing (which I still don't quite understand). And a 5% tip is good here. The restaurants that we frequent here seem to always have the same people working. Lunch, dinner, Monday through Friday, they are always there. If these people were in the US, we would call them workaholics. But here, it is normal. The brethren teach us to embrace the parts of our culture that are good, but that we are to shun the bad parts. I don't know what to think about their work habits here. Are they a good part or a bad part? Their work habits are what is bringing their country up, but at what price? Is this something that is good for them? I know the US went through a phase like this too... and it made our country what it is today (for good and bad). But you can't work in excess of 12 hours a day, and be close to your family in my opinion. At least I know Rochelle wouldn't like it if I did that, and worked ever other Saturday too. But many workers here do that. And they are rewarded for it. By doing it they get their promotions. I have been doing it right along side of them since I have been here. And honestly, I'm not bothered by it. But I would be if I were in the US. Part of the reason I'm ok with it here, is that by being at work, Rochelle can have more opportunities to talk to me. So working the long hours here actually gets me closer to my wife. But in the US working even 10 hours a day on a regular basis would be hard for me. Not being home in time for dinner would be hard for me. And so here is my philosophical question for the day. Lets say you and your family lived in the 1920, where times were hard. Few were very rich, but most were part of the working class. And for the working class to get by they had to work hard. (I'm picturing the conditions shown in “Cinderella Man”.) You have a job at a local factory, where hard work is rewarded. One person recently was promoted for working extra hard. He worked 70 hour weeks. Should you do the same? Now, the obvious answer would be 'No'. Who would openly state that they would rather have the money than time with their family. But again, think about what life must have been like in the 1920s. Feeding your family is a struggle, adequate housing means any place that can keep the rain out, and the only schooling your kids will have a chance at is that which is free, and life all around is hard. So what do you do? From my comfortable position, I have a hard time understanding how they do it, or why they do it. I don't think that I ever want to work the hours that these people work to “get ahead” but then again, I have more now than most of these people will ever have. A legacy give to me by my parents, country, ethnicity, culture and class. Oh certainly I worked to get to where I am, but it was easy compared to what type of work these people do to obtain much less. And so I am torn. Some of these people really want to work hard to get ahead, and I can understand that, but at the same time wish that they would spend a little more time at home. Some of these programmers that I work with I think will be very good husbands and fathers (one of which just got engaged), but they may not be home very much because of their eagerness to provide. I just hope that they do the right thing... whatever that is.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Tafi del Valle, NICU and Community clinical
Last weekend we took a bus up to Taffi del Valle and went on a 6 hour horseback trip! It was fun. We didn't all know what we were getting ourselves into... instead of being a leisurely ride on some flat trail, we climbed up and down a mountain on the horses. The ride up was frightening for me... my horse wouldn't obey my reigning very well (it was just normal- neck reigning) and it had sort of a mean temperament (kept trying to kick or bite other horses).
However, I made it! We got to the top of the mountain and we had an authentic Argentine asado (barbeque) grilled over an open fire. It was great food. The steak here is legendary, probably the best steak I have had, and I have had some pretty good steak! On the way back down the mountain, we took a path that was a little less treacherous, and I actually traded someone horses. My new horse actually followed my commands and did what I wanted it to do! Yay! It was a lot more fun on the way down. I like riding horses. We were all sore for several days! 
As for my clinical experiences, I had a similar experience in the Newborn ICU this week as my experience in postpartum last week. The first day wasn't great in terms of being involved, learning new things, or observation opportunities. However, on the second day, we went in and things went much more smoothly, probably because we were more comfortable, we had seen how things went in that unit the day before, and we were more proactive about asking doctors and nurses what was going on. We were able to see many very interesting things and learn some new things. It was sad to see babies in the NICU who were not visited by their parents and had little affection given to them. There was a marked difference between two babies we saw with the same condition, but with very different developmental stages. My partner held one of the babies whose family never came, and she sang songs to him for a long time. It was amazing to be able to see that baby relax and look more peaceful. The baby had been there for a few months. I didn't dare get very close to the babies who were not inside incubators since I am trying to recover from a cold, and was worried that I might pass it on if I got too close. The time went by very quickly. Labor and Delivery this week was good too.
I went with another clinical group to community this week. We went to the poorest comedor. It was basically just four posts with a roof overhead. The meals at this comedor were cooked over an open fire pit- very primitive circumstances. They couldn't store much there because it would all get stolen. 
We taught our dental hygiene class and the family planning class (which all the moms were really excited about!) and then we measured and weighed the children, did a hemoglobin test, and did a 24 hour dietary recall with as many as we could. We gave them toothbrushes, toothpaste, and shampoo to take home with them. I couldn't believe how willing all these young children were to get in line, get measured, get their finger pricked, and be interviewed about what they ate that day- just so they could get their toothbrush, shampoo, and sticker. Amazing. Hardly any children cried. Even the little ones stood in line and held out their finger to be pricked, and get a band-aid. They were so cute. 
Last night we went to see "Piratas del Caribe" downtown in a nicer theater (comparatively). Don't worry, it was in English, with Spanish subtitles. We had the intermission experience also, only this time, we were left hanging by a thread! I saw tons of children begging for money, and today we saw some children trying to sell lottery tickets. It is so sad to me, and I wish I could give them all money. There are plenty of people who have enough money, but there is poverty here unlike the poverty we have in the U.S. I am so grateful for the things I have, and for the things that are so easy to take for granted. I think that if there is only one thing I take home with me, it will be an increased gratitude for the opportunities I have had as a result of being born in the U.S., and as a member of the church.
However, I made it! We got to the top of the mountain and we had an authentic Argentine asado (barbeque) grilled over an open fire. It was great food. The steak here is legendary, probably the best steak I have had, and I have had some pretty good steak! On the way back down the mountain, we took a path that was a little less treacherous, and I actually traded someone horses. My new horse actually followed my commands and did what I wanted it to do! Yay! It was a lot more fun on the way down. I like riding horses. We were all sore for several days! 
As for my clinical experiences, I had a similar experience in the Newborn ICU this week as my experience in postpartum last week. The first day wasn't great in terms of being involved, learning new things, or observation opportunities. However, on the second day, we went in and things went much more smoothly, probably because we were more comfortable, we had seen how things went in that unit the day before, and we were more proactive about asking doctors and nurses what was going on. We were able to see many very interesting things and learn some new things. It was sad to see babies in the NICU who were not visited by their parents and had little affection given to them. There was a marked difference between two babies we saw with the same condition, but with very different developmental stages. My partner held one of the babies whose family never came, and she sang songs to him for a long time. It was amazing to be able to see that baby relax and look more peaceful. The baby had been there for a few months. I didn't dare get very close to the babies who were not inside incubators since I am trying to recover from a cold, and was worried that I might pass it on if I got too close. The time went by very quickly. Labor and Delivery this week was good too.
I went with another clinical group to community this week. We went to the poorest comedor. It was basically just four posts with a roof overhead. The meals at this comedor were cooked over an open fire pit- very primitive circumstances. They couldn't store much there because it would all get stolen. 
We taught our dental hygiene class and the family planning class (which all the moms were really excited about!) and then we measured and weighed the children, did a hemoglobin test, and did a 24 hour dietary recall with as many as we could. We gave them toothbrushes, toothpaste, and shampoo to take home with them. I couldn't believe how willing all these young children were to get in line, get measured, get their finger pricked, and be interviewed about what they ate that day- just so they could get their toothbrush, shampoo, and sticker. Amazing. Hardly any children cried. Even the little ones stood in line and held out their finger to be pricked, and get a band-aid. They were so cute. 
Last night we went to see "Piratas del Caribe" downtown in a nicer theater (comparatively). Don't worry, it was in English, with Spanish subtitles. We had the intermission experience also, only this time, we were left hanging by a thread! I saw tons of children begging for money, and today we saw some children trying to sell lottery tickets. It is so sad to me, and I wish I could give them all money. There are plenty of people who have enough money, but there is poverty here unlike the poverty we have in the U.S. I am so grateful for the things I have, and for the things that are so easy to take for granted. I think that if there is only one thing I take home with me, it will be an increased gratitude for the opportunities I have had as a result of being born in the U.S., and as a member of the church.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Not much new
So, I've now been here for just under two weeks. And while it has been an eye opener, I have also simply been at work a lot. I wish I were free to go to the interesting places in India, and to see the sites, but that just doesn't happen. I am grateful for the experiences I have had thus far, but I don't expect that there will be many like that. Since my last post, I haven't hardly stepped outside to do anything besides go to work. I did go to see Spiderman 3 on Saturday, but that isn't an extremely cultural experience, although I was happy to get out of the house. Dhannajay, an accountant who works here was kind enough to take me. My coworkers here refuse to let me pay for anything. It feels strange. I don't know how girls do it in the states. Maybe one of you can enlighten me as to how you are able to allow somebody to pay for you time after time. Doesn't it feel awkward? I think it would. Anyways, the movie was interesting. I've never been to a movie that had an intermission before. They just stopped the movie in the middle, and played music for 10 minutes. Then it resumed. I'm glad it wasn't in the middle of some action seen where spiderman was hanging by a thread (pardon the pun). Well... aside from that Dave has come home from his vacation. I am currently staying with them in a guest room just off from the kitchen. The room has its own bathroom, and I stay pretty much out of their way, while still trying to be a polite guest. This weekend I did much reading. I read in The Book of Mormon (we didn't get to church, 4 hour drive to get there), and "A Wrinkle in Time" and I finished the second book of "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I also read several chapters in a programming book, and watched "Independence Day". And that was my weekend. Cultural eh?
Oh well. Such is life, and work, and such was my weekend. I hope you are all alive and well, and I'll look forward to talking to you soon. Please don't be afraid of chatting with me anytime you see me online (and I am quite a fair bit). Even if I am unable to talk for long when you catch me, the 'hi' will be appreciated.
Love you all,
BJ
Friday, May 18, 2007
Postpartum and other experiences
My group and I have been working on a lesson plan on dental hygiene. There are 4 people in every group, with two strong Spanish speakers and two that may or may not speak Spanish. Each group will use our lesson plan in all of the different comedores. We will be distributing toothbrushes and some toothpaste, but we will be teaching them that the actual brushing, even if they have no toothpaste, is the most important thing.
I wrote a little song in Spanish that we will be teaching the children to help them remember where to brush and also to help them know how long they need to brush. They sing or hum it 4 times while they are brushing their teeth. It is sung to the tune of Row, row, row your boat. It goes:
Lava, lava los dientes,
lavalos otra vez,
en frente, atras, encima y mas,
y estan limpios despues!
Basically, it says wash (brush- they use the two interchangeably here) wash your teeth, wash them again in front, in back, on top, and more, and then they will be clean!
So, hopefully that goes well. We will also be teaching lesson plans that other groups are developing. The only other lesson we'll all be teaching this week besides dental hygiene is natural family planning. The mothers of the children will be coming to this class held in the comedor. Here there is a real problem with adolescent pregnancy. The attitude here is that is is normal to start having babies at a young age, and probably the majority of the women are not married, especially if they live in poverty and have little education, but even among the more wealthy, it is common. I am not exaggerating. Also, most are Catholic, which means that they do not use any form of contraception. I have also seen a number of women with STDs. It is a very difficult situation. We will be teaching a class on natural family planning with the calendar method, which can be used either to try to have children, or not. But the main thing is that it goes right along with what their religion says and hopefully that will help with compliance. We use a bracelet with different colored beads. Each color means something different. I realize many people might be reading this blog, so I won't explain much more than that. If you want to know what we are going to be teaching the women, let me know, and I will show you a picture of the bracelet, and the teaching materials we will be using. I think it is fascinating, personally, but I'm interested in everything about health, so that's not too surprising!
This week on Wednesday and Thursday, I worked in postpartum. This unit is spread over three floors of the hospital. I learned that this hospital really serves the poor. The wealthier women have their babies in the doctor's office, apparently, or in a private hospital. The women are required to stay at the hospital for at least 18 hours after birth, and they can't leave until they are tested for HIV, anemia, and I can't remember the other thing right now. They don't let adolescent mothers (under 19) leave without someone accompanying them to make sure that there will be someone to help care for the baby. One whole floor is dedicated to adolescent mothers with their babies, but the reality I discovered was that there were adolescents on every floor. Many of them had their mothers with them, but many seemed to have little support. There is one nurse on each floor. One. There are quite a few doctors and even more medical students. The doctors here do many of the things that nurses do in the United States. The nurse here just sits at a desk, really far away from the patients' rooms (there are at least 4 beds in every postpartum room, some with 10 beds) and she does mostly documentation, and one set of vital signs at 5am. Most of the women have to bring their own sheets. It is either really hot or really drafty in the rooms. Forget HIPAA laws. There is very little privacy.
My first day of postpartum was not great. In the US, during clinical, we are assigned to a nurse and we follow them, and do patient care. This is not at all the same. There are hardly any nurses, and they don't do much patient care. We are basically just let loose on the floor and are told to make rounds and assess each patient (hundreds of patients). We all felt unempowered if that is even a word. We tried to talk to the nurse, and ask her about her job etc. and she basically just told us that she sits there and writes, and helps with other things sometimes. She wouldn't tell us anything else. We would go into the rooms to do assessments and take vital signs only to find that they had just been done by medical students. Nonetheless, we went into every room on those three floors, and talked to every woman, and did what we could in the way of assessments and vital signs, and also just talking to the women, which went better at some times than others! One great thing about the day is that we ran into the patients we had been with in labor and delivery 2 days before! We were able to have a wonderful conversation with my patient and her sweet mother. It felt great to make a really strong connection with a patient, especially when it felt like I was struggling to speak their language! When we left, those kisses were 100% genuine! (For those who may be confused about kissing, see previous blogs for an explanation of the cheek kissing customs here.)
The second day of postpartum was a very different experience. We did our assessments and vital signs, but wanting to do a little more, we approached a doctor named Marta who we had been intimidated by the previous day, and explained who we were, why we were there, and we asked her if we could follow her and learn from her as she made rounds. We also explained that in the US, the nurses did a lot of the things she was doing, and that we would love it if there was anything she could teach us. Boy, that was the best idea in the world! We spent the rest of our shift with her, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge. She had 30 years of experience, and she taught us some really great assessment skills that didn't depend on technology. Also, when she had finished making her rounds, she invited us to her office where she did a sort of prenatal exam program for adolescents, which was free to them. She taught us how to use the doppler machine to find the fetal heartbeat etc. and to measure the fundus (basically how far out the stomach is) to find out the gestational age. Plus, we learned a lot about the culture and health care system here. The time went by so quickly! We learned so much, and were glad that we had decided to take our experience into our own hands.
I wrote a little song in Spanish that we will be teaching the children to help them remember where to brush and also to help them know how long they need to brush. They sing or hum it 4 times while they are brushing their teeth. It is sung to the tune of Row, row, row your boat. It goes:Lava, lava los dientes,
lavalos otra vez,
en frente, atras, encima y mas,
y estan limpios despues!
Basically, it says wash (brush- they use the two interchangeably here) wash your teeth, wash them again in front, in back, on top, and more, and then they will be clean!
So, hopefully that goes well. We will also be teaching lesson plans that other groups are developing. The only other lesson we'll all be teaching this week besides dental hygiene is natural family planning. The mothers of the children will be coming to this class held in the comedor. Here there is a real problem with adolescent pregnancy. The attitude here is that is is normal to start having babies at a young age, and probably the majority of the women are not married, especially if they live in poverty and have little education, but even among the more wealthy, it is common. I am not exaggerating. Also, most are Catholic, which means that they do not use any form of contraception. I have also seen a number of women with STDs. It is a very difficult situation. We will be teaching a class on natural family planning with the calendar method, which can be used either to try to have children, or not. But the main thing is that it goes right along with what their religion says and hopefully that will help with compliance. We use a bracelet with different colored beads. Each color means something different. I realize many people might be reading this blog, so I won't explain much more than that. If you want to know what we are going to be teaching the women, let me know, and I will show you a picture of the bracelet, and the teaching materials we will be using. I think it is fascinating, personally, but I'm interested in everything about health, so that's not too surprising!
This week on Wednesday and Thursday, I worked in postpartum. This unit is spread over three floors of the hospital. I learned that this hospital really serves the poor. The wealthier women have their babies in the doctor's office, apparently, or in a private hospital. The women are required to stay at the hospital for at least 18 hours after birth, and they can't leave until they are tested for HIV, anemia, and I can't remember the other thing right now. They don't let adolescent mothers (under 19) leave without someone accompanying them to make sure that there will be someone to help care for the baby. One whole floor is dedicated to adolescent mothers with their babies, but the reality I discovered was that there were adolescents on every floor. Many of them had their mothers with them, but many seemed to have little support. There is one nurse on each floor. One. There are quite a few doctors and even more medical students. The doctors here do many of the things that nurses do in the United States. The nurse here just sits at a desk, really far away from the patients' rooms (there are at least 4 beds in every postpartum room, some with 10 beds) and she does mostly documentation, and one set of vital signs at 5am. Most of the women have to bring their own sheets. It is either really hot or really drafty in the rooms. Forget HIPAA laws. There is very little privacy.
My first day of postpartum was not great. In the US, during clinical, we are assigned to a nurse and we follow them, and do patient care. This is not at all the same. There are hardly any nurses, and they don't do much patient care. We are basically just let loose on the floor and are told to make rounds and assess each patient (hundreds of patients). We all felt unempowered if that is even a word. We tried to talk to the nurse, and ask her about her job etc. and she basically just told us that she sits there and writes, and helps with other things sometimes. She wouldn't tell us anything else. We would go into the rooms to do assessments and take vital signs only to find that they had just been done by medical students. Nonetheless, we went into every room on those three floors, and talked to every woman, and did what we could in the way of assessments and vital signs, and also just talking to the women, which went better at some times than others! One great thing about the day is that we ran into the patients we had been with in labor and delivery 2 days before! We were able to have a wonderful conversation with my patient and her sweet mother. It felt great to make a really strong connection with a patient, especially when it felt like I was struggling to speak their language! When we left, those kisses were 100% genuine! (For those who may be confused about kissing, see previous blogs for an explanation of the cheek kissing customs here.)
The second day of postpartum was a very different experience. We did our assessments and vital signs, but wanting to do a little more, we approached a doctor named Marta who we had been intimidated by the previous day, and explained who we were, why we were there, and we asked her if we could follow her and learn from her as she made rounds. We also explained that in the US, the nurses did a lot of the things she was doing, and that we would love it if there was anything she could teach us. Boy, that was the best idea in the world! We spent the rest of our shift with her, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge. She had 30 years of experience, and she taught us some really great assessment skills that didn't depend on technology. Also, when she had finished making her rounds, she invited us to her office where she did a sort of prenatal exam program for adolescents, which was free to them. She taught us how to use the doppler machine to find the fetal heartbeat etc. and to measure the fundus (basically how far out the stomach is) to find out the gestational age. Plus, we learned a lot about the culture and health care system here. The time went by so quickly! We learned so much, and were glad that we had decided to take our experience into our own hands.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Community health
On Tuesday I worked in the community (in the comedor- the place they serve meals to children in rural areas who are living in poverty). We visited the comedor, met the kids, and did their heights and weights. The comedor keeps track of this data, and we also use it for research.
With the first group (3 & 4 year olds) we read them a children's book in Spanish, and I did some string magic tricks that were quite the hit. These children were so adorable- some of the most beautiful children I have ever seen. Many of theme were obviously malnourished.
Most of them were very small, and their hair had this orange tint to it that is a result of malnutrition. Once they got over their shyness and the ice was broken, they were ok with talking to us, and one little girl pulled me down and planted a big kiss on my cheek and hugged me for a long time- how could I not love them? So sweet, so innocent, and so hungry! I looked at their menu for each week- often it wasn't much more than a rice dish. The Sanitoria (woman who runs the comedor) said that this is the only real meal that most of the children get that day. Some will be given a piece of bread and tea, or coffee at home, but that's it. No vegetables or fruit. Only a little protein. Not many sources of calcium. It is so heartbreaking!
The second group of children were between about 6-12 years old. We didn't get much of a chance to talk to them, although we did take their heights and weights. They were also cute. And also hungry. One girl told us that she had 9 siblings- most of them with her at the comedor.
This last picture is all of the students in my group with the medical residents that accompanied us to the comedor. It was a rural area, and as you can see, not the most beautiful area of town. The building in the background is the comedor. This is the nicest, most organized comedor in the city. All of the others are much inferior. By the way, the humanitarian missionaries from our church want to help this program by providing better food and funding, but they want to see that the CAPS program (which runs the comedores) is trying to change, to add programs and classes that will help the people. They want them to be self reliant, and to put forth some effort before they commit to funding or providing goods. We are trying to put together some classes which will hopefully be implemented and contribute to the success of the program and the health of the community and the children. We have some teaching projects that each group is in charge of putting together. I will explain that later when I know more.
With the first group (3 & 4 year olds) we read them a children's book in Spanish, and I did some string magic tricks that were quite the hit. These children were so adorable- some of the most beautiful children I have ever seen. Many of theme were obviously malnourished.
Most of them were very small, and their hair had this orange tint to it that is a result of malnutrition. Once they got over their shyness and the ice was broken, they were ok with talking to us, and one little girl pulled me down and planted a big kiss on my cheek and hugged me for a long time- how could I not love them? So sweet, so innocent, and so hungry! I looked at their menu for each week- often it wasn't much more than a rice dish. The Sanitoria (woman who runs the comedor) said that this is the only real meal that most of the children get that day. Some will be given a piece of bread and tea, or coffee at home, but that's it. No vegetables or fruit. Only a little protein. Not many sources of calcium. It is so heartbreaking!
The second group of children were between about 6-12 years old. We didn't get much of a chance to talk to them, although we did take their heights and weights. They were also cute. And also hungry. One girl told us that she had 9 siblings- most of them with her at the comedor.
This last picture is all of the students in my group with the medical residents that accompanied us to the comedor. It was a rural area, and as you can see, not the most beautiful area of town. The building in the background is the comedor. This is the nicest, most organized comedor in the city. All of the others are much inferior. By the way, the humanitarian missionaries from our church want to help this program by providing better food and funding, but they want to see that the CAPS program (which runs the comedores) is trying to change, to add programs and classes that will help the people. They want them to be self reliant, and to put forth some effort before they commit to funding or providing goods. We are trying to put together some classes which will hopefully be implemented and contribute to the success of the program and the health of the community and the children. We have some teaching projects that each group is in charge of putting together. I will explain that later when I know more.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A colorful day
So, I sent to a wedding yesterday. It was pretty cool. Definitely different from anything I had ever experience before. It was a Muslim wedding, and I understand that each religion has different traditions in weddings. The groom is a programmer who works here. He hasn't been here recently due to the wedding, so the wedding was the first time that I was able to meet him. He seemed to be a good guy. 
He looked pretty happy too. The bride I know nothing about, except that it was an arranged marriage, which most likely means that she was from the same religion, and caste. As you can see, she didn't look as happy. But, I'm not sure whether or not she was. I asked somebody about that, and he said that it is tradition for the wife to act that way. She is not to make eye contact with anyone, and to remain solemn. After greeting the groom, we went and sat down to a table, and waiters brought food to our tables. 
That was interesting for sure. One very large plate in the middle was filled with rice and curry (a special curry for the occasion, I understand) and then we dug in. With our hands. I'm not joking. People here eat with their hands. And the funny thing is, I never thought eating with your hands was difficult. But you trying eating rice and curry with your hands. It's not easy! Especially when you can move the plate that it is served on. Thankfully, I only had to eat with my hands for a little while, before the waiter brought me a spoon (which had been requested by my friends without my knowing). I felt sheepish, but I was glad for it. 
Oh, and here's the other thing... no napkins. Eating here is not the most clean or sanitary affair. And it's not like people wash their hands before eating either. Very different. Well... I'm afraid that's all I have to say for the day... but enjoy the pictures. I love you all.
The Rest of the Pictures
He looked pretty happy too. The bride I know nothing about, except that it was an arranged marriage, which most likely means that she was from the same religion, and caste. As you can see, she didn't look as happy. But, I'm not sure whether or not she was. I asked somebody about that, and he said that it is tradition for the wife to act that way. She is not to make eye contact with anyone, and to remain solemn. After greeting the groom, we went and sat down to a table, and waiters brought food to our tables. That was interesting for sure. One very large plate in the middle was filled with rice and curry (a special curry for the occasion, I understand) and then we dug in. With our hands. I'm not joking. People here eat with their hands. And the funny thing is, I never thought eating with your hands was difficult. But you trying eating rice and curry with your hands. It's not easy! Especially when you can move the plate that it is served on. Thankfully, I only had to eat with my hands for a little while, before the waiter brought me a spoon (which had been requested by my friends without my knowing). I felt sheepish, but I was glad for it. Oh, and here's the other thing... no napkins. Eating here is not the most clean or sanitary affair. And it's not like people wash their hands before eating either. Very different. Well... I'm afraid that's all I have to say for the day... but enjoy the pictures. I love you all.The Rest of the Pictures
Monday, May 14, 2007
The weekend
I've been able to do some fun things these past few days; probably the most exciting being my hike up to San Javier on Saturday. Not just any hike, but an 11 mile trek up a mountain, on a paved road through the jungle, to see one of the largest statues of Christ in the world, made out of cement. The scenery was phenomenal. I will post a link to my photos from this hike, but they just don't do it justice. It was absolutely gorgeous, and well worth every step. We got to the top, took some pictures, and we started cooling off, and noticing that it was getting pretty chilly and sprinkling a bit. It was at that point that we found out that we couldn't catch a bus for 3 1/2 more hours. We were hungry, wet, cold, and exhausted, so we walked over to Sol de San Javier (a hotel nicer than most I have seen- even many in the United States). We ordered the cheapest food possible there, mine cost about $2USD (the most expensive thing on the menu was 48 pesos= $16 US dollars, and it was a meal for 2). Some people were able to get a taxi, but the rest of us waited for the bus to get back to town. The trip pretty much took the whole day.
Church was an interesting adventure; we had relief society, Sunday school, then sacrament meeting. More kisses. We were such a large group that a few of us (the casados- married ones) went with the older people and everyone else stayed with the solteros- singles. I got the general gist of each meeting, and even walked away feeling like I had learned something. I felt the spirit even though I couldn't always understand what they were saying. It seems to be a very strong ward, although small. There weren't a ton of youth or children, but there were some.
Today was my first day in the hospital. I was assigned to the labor and delivery (parto) unit. I was paired with a non- Spanish speaker who I was to translate for, and sort of be the voice for both of us. No pressure... We watched one birth- the first unmedicated birth I have ever been a part of. It was her first birth, and she hadn't taken any classes, and didn't know what to do- she felt like she couldn't do it, but she was incredibly strong. I was amazed and honestly somewhat horrified at some of the things the doctors do here- they put everyone on pitocin whether they need it or not, and they get up on the bed and push with all their weight on the woman's abdomen to help get the baby out faster. These things are to get the baby out as fast as possible. Some of them are quite dangerous. I felt bad when the woman delivered (with at least 12 people coming in and out of the room) and then was left alone for 2 hours with no one checking her bleeding, the firmness of her uterus (a very important assessment to do if you want to catch a hemorrhage before the woman bleeds to death) or doing any kind of assessment. So I did it. I tried to help her with breastfeeding too, because it wasn't working too well for her, but she was exhausted and kept giving up after trying for a minute. I really felt limited by my vocabulary, and by time- we had to leave soon after. We are in clinical for about 4 hours, 4 times a week, and we have class for 1-2 hours each day as well.
Tonight I am supposed to help be in charge of FHE. We will probably go to the governor's mansion for a tour. I have been inside once, but didn't stay too long. I will post pictures of that, and add to it probably, after tonight.
http://picasaweb.google.com/RochelleCTaylor/SanJavierAndTheGovernorSMansion?authkey=kUvNngSzbGo
I will post more soon. Love you all.
Church was an interesting adventure; we had relief society, Sunday school, then sacrament meeting. More kisses. We were such a large group that a few of us (the casados- married ones) went with the older people and everyone else stayed with the solteros- singles. I got the general gist of each meeting, and even walked away feeling like I had learned something. I felt the spirit even though I couldn't always understand what they were saying. It seems to be a very strong ward, although small. There weren't a ton of youth or children, but there were some.
Today was my first day in the hospital. I was assigned to the labor and delivery (parto) unit. I was paired with a non- Spanish speaker who I was to translate for, and sort of be the voice for both of us. No pressure... We watched one birth- the first unmedicated birth I have ever been a part of. It was her first birth, and she hadn't taken any classes, and didn't know what to do- she felt like she couldn't do it, but she was incredibly strong. I was amazed and honestly somewhat horrified at some of the things the doctors do here- they put everyone on pitocin whether they need it or not, and they get up on the bed and push with all their weight on the woman's abdomen to help get the baby out faster. These things are to get the baby out as fast as possible. Some of them are quite dangerous. I felt bad when the woman delivered (with at least 12 people coming in and out of the room) and then was left alone for 2 hours with no one checking her bleeding, the firmness of her uterus (a very important assessment to do if you want to catch a hemorrhage before the woman bleeds to death) or doing any kind of assessment. So I did it. I tried to help her with breastfeeding too, because it wasn't working too well for her, but she was exhausted and kept giving up after trying for a minute. I really felt limited by my vocabulary, and by time- we had to leave soon after. We are in clinical for about 4 hours, 4 times a week, and we have class for 1-2 hours each day as well.
Tonight I am supposed to help be in charge of FHE. We will probably go to the governor's mansion for a tour. I have been inside once, but didn't stay too long. I will post pictures of that, and add to it probably, after tonight.
http://picasaweb.google.com/RochelleCTaylor/SanJavierAndTheGovernorSMansion?authkey=kUvNngSzbGo
I will post more soon. Love you all.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The many uses of a garden hose
Warning... this blog may be long and painful to the reader. Do not embark on reading unless you have spare time, and are willing to be a little philosophical with me. Otherwise, please just view the pictures.
:-D
So it is Sunday, although you will not be reading this until Monday because I am unable to post it until I get back into the office. Dave has allowed me to use one of the spare laptops here, and I brought it home with me so I see if by any chance there would be wireless Internet here. But there is none.
So, my day today has been interesting. I slept in, not having much else to do, and trying to catch up on sleep. But it wasn't too long before the garbage man woke me up, when he rang our door bell asking if we had any garbage to take out. At least that's who I think he was. I didn't understand a word he was saying, and I'm sure he didn't understand me either. But he and another guy were going down the street with large bins on wheels that I could only assume carried garbage. But it was probably good that he rang, because it reminded me to bring in the milk. Not that it would be bad to let it spoil... I have received milk every day, and haven't had any until today... and that was just a little for cereal. The refrigerator is getting full with these small plastic bags full of milk (that's how the milk comes). The milk actually didn't taste all that bad either.
So I took up by battle with the ants again... and sprayed the three holes I know about that lead to their den. The house isn't covered with ants by any means, but I happened to pick the one room to sleep in that seems to have a problem with them... and even then, it could easily be worse than ants. Afterwards, I took my shower, and got dressed... spent some time shaving (badly needed) when I realized that I could hear some kids out the back window.
So, I cautiously peaked out, thinking that there might be some kids playing in the back yard, and not wanting to scare them needlessly. What I saw first was a boy in shorts sitting on the back porch with water being poured on him. So I looked a little to the right, and saw his mother. Amused, I watch this for a while. I wondered who they were, and why they were in our back yard. The mother seemed nice enough, and she and her boy were looked like they were enjoying themselves. She seemed to be helping her son bathe. Before long, the boy took off his shorts, rang them out, and put them back on with the rest of his cloths. He then took off, and ran down the street, either to go home or to go find his friends, or maybe to help with chores. The mom on the other hand stayed and continued to water the grass and the plants. I started to realize that she was the gardener. When she was done with our yard, she went over to the neighbors yard, and watered it too.
At this point, I went and looked around (camera in hand),
and saw lots of things that made me start to think. All of this gives me a new perspective on what we call “outsourcing”. Although, I must say, I never have been concerned about outsourcing, I am now here looking at it first hand and seeing much of the good that it can do. Although opponents to outsourcing say (and say correctly) that outsourcing hurts Americans, it doesn't hurt us in a permanent way. But here I am, living in one of the nicest condos in the city (which is still a small step down from what I am used to) and am benefiting many just from being here. The money we bring here directly or indirectly benefits many people. 
As I write this there is a group of four girls and occasionally a couple of boys that are filling up buckets of water to take back to their shacks just outside the walls of this gated community. They are beautiful children. They seem to be fed well enough, although I am sure they wouldn't mind a little more. Their parents likely work for this community in which I am living, doing things like garbage duty, gardening, cleaning, and being a watch guard. By just being here, and living by the standards I am used to, I have helped to give many people much less fortunate than I, a chance to work for food, and a place to fill their water containers. (I am curious what they need the water for... they have been filling containers for quite a while now, taking them back, and bringing them again empty.) 
And this of course doesn't include the people that the company is actually employing here. And we pay them well enough, that I'm sure they are in turn helping others less fortunate than themselves. India is slowly rising out of its poverty due to people like me and companies like the one I work for. Are there those in America who are hurting because of this? Yes, but there are more who are benefiting because of it.
Many people hate and disdain Walmart (myself first and foremost among them, but for reasons not discussed here) because they buy very few American made goods, and import much from other countries. It is one of their secrets to keeping their prices low. Walmart has driven some companies in America into the ground due to their ability to undercut their prices. But at the same time, Walmart has helped to create large and thriving companies in other places such as India and China. The effects this has on those now jobless Americans is bad. But most of those who have lost their jobs have options. If they live in a large city, other jobs can be found near by. Some will have to move to find jobs. Many will take salary cuts for new jobs. All of them will still be better off than these in the garden filling their water bottles.
But on the other hand, many of the poor in America now have access to food and clothing at cheaper costs than they ever had. They have received an effective “pay raise” because Walmart allows them to buy more for their money. And if you have ever been to Walmart, you know that there are many who have benefited from this because of how crowded they always seem to be. Global trade helps everybody, even though it also hurts some.
The girls outside seem to have left now. When they first got here, I gave a couple of them some choco-pies (an Asian treat not unlike cup cakes) I bought at the store yesterday. I then went back inside and proceeded to take their pictures when they weren't looking.
Eventually, they started to notice me peaking out from my window. So I simply smiled, waved at them, and sat down to type this. They shyly waved back. They were excited about their treats. There are now a couple of boys who have taken up filling buckets with water. The oldest can't be older than seven or eight, and the youngest looks to be around 5. They seem to be happy kids. Beautiful kids. My heart goes out to them. Maybe someday they will get jobs working for an American company, and their kids won't have to carry water back and forth all day. It certainly makes you grateful for what you have. Again, I apologize about the length of this blog... but I have got nothing but time on my hands today. I hope you are all doing well. Please know that I am doing just fine out here... if not just a little bit lonely. I miss and love you all.
These, and a few more photos I took today
:-D
So it is Sunday, although you will not be reading this until Monday because I am unable to post it until I get back into the office. Dave has allowed me to use one of the spare laptops here, and I brought it home with me so I see if by any chance there would be wireless Internet here. But there is none.
So, my day today has been interesting. I slept in, not having much else to do, and trying to catch up on sleep. But it wasn't too long before the garbage man woke me up, when he rang our door bell asking if we had any garbage to take out. At least that's who I think he was. I didn't understand a word he was saying, and I'm sure he didn't understand me either. But he and another guy were going down the street with large bins on wheels that I could only assume carried garbage. But it was probably good that he rang, because it reminded me to bring in the milk. Not that it would be bad to let it spoil... I have received milk every day, and haven't had any until today... and that was just a little for cereal. The refrigerator is getting full with these small plastic bags full of milk (that's how the milk comes). The milk actually didn't taste all that bad either.
So I took up by battle with the ants again... and sprayed the three holes I know about that lead to their den. The house isn't covered with ants by any means, but I happened to pick the one room to sleep in that seems to have a problem with them... and even then, it could easily be worse than ants. Afterwards, I took my shower, and got dressed... spent some time shaving (badly needed) when I realized that I could hear some kids out the back window.
So, I cautiously peaked out, thinking that there might be some kids playing in the back yard, and not wanting to scare them needlessly. What I saw first was a boy in shorts sitting on the back porch with water being poured on him. So I looked a little to the right, and saw his mother. Amused, I watch this for a while. I wondered who they were, and why they were in our back yard. The mother seemed nice enough, and she and her boy were looked like they were enjoying themselves. She seemed to be helping her son bathe. Before long, the boy took off his shorts, rang them out, and put them back on with the rest of his cloths. He then took off, and ran down the street, either to go home or to go find his friends, or maybe to help with chores. The mom on the other hand stayed and continued to water the grass and the plants. I started to realize that she was the gardener. When she was done with our yard, she went over to the neighbors yard, and watered it too.At this point, I went and looked around (camera in hand),
and saw lots of things that made me start to think. All of this gives me a new perspective on what we call “outsourcing”. Although, I must say, I never have been concerned about outsourcing, I am now here looking at it first hand and seeing much of the good that it can do. Although opponents to outsourcing say (and say correctly) that outsourcing hurts Americans, it doesn't hurt us in a permanent way. But here I am, living in one of the nicest condos in the city (which is still a small step down from what I am used to) and am benefiting many just from being here. The money we bring here directly or indirectly benefits many people. As I write this there is a group of four girls and occasionally a couple of boys that are filling up buckets of water to take back to their shacks just outside the walls of this gated community. They are beautiful children. They seem to be fed well enough, although I am sure they wouldn't mind a little more. Their parents likely work for this community in which I am living, doing things like garbage duty, gardening, cleaning, and being a watch guard. By just being here, and living by the standards I am used to, I have helped to give many people much less fortunate than I, a chance to work for food, and a place to fill their water containers. (I am curious what they need the water for... they have been filling containers for quite a while now, taking them back, and bringing them again empty.) And this of course doesn't include the people that the company is actually employing here. And we pay them well enough, that I'm sure they are in turn helping others less fortunate than themselves. India is slowly rising out of its poverty due to people like me and companies like the one I work for. Are there those in America who are hurting because of this? Yes, but there are more who are benefiting because of it.Many people hate and disdain Walmart (myself first and foremost among them, but for reasons not discussed here) because they buy very few American made goods, and import much from other countries. It is one of their secrets to keeping their prices low. Walmart has driven some companies in America into the ground due to their ability to undercut their prices. But at the same time, Walmart has helped to create large and thriving companies in other places such as India and China. The effects this has on those now jobless Americans is bad. But most of those who have lost their jobs have options. If they live in a large city, other jobs can be found near by. Some will have to move to find jobs. Many will take salary cuts for new jobs. All of them will still be better off than these in the garden filling their water bottles.
But on the other hand, many of the poor in America now have access to food and clothing at cheaper costs than they ever had. They have received an effective “pay raise” because Walmart allows them to buy more for their money. And if you have ever been to Walmart, you know that there are many who have benefited from this because of how crowded they always seem to be. Global trade helps everybody, even though it also hurts some.The girls outside seem to have left now. When they first got here, I gave a couple of them some choco-pies (an Asian treat not unlike cup cakes) I bought at the store yesterday. I then went back inside and proceeded to take their pictures when they weren't looking.
Eventually, they started to notice me peaking out from my window. So I simply smiled, waved at them, and sat down to type this. They shyly waved back. They were excited about their treats. There are now a couple of boys who have taken up filling buckets with water. The oldest can't be older than seven or eight, and the youngest looks to be around 5. They seem to be happy kids. Beautiful kids. My heart goes out to them. Maybe someday they will get jobs working for an American company, and their kids won't have to carry water back and forth all day. It certainly makes you grateful for what you have. Again, I apologize about the length of this blog... but I have got nothing but time on my hands today. I hope you are all doing well. Please know that I am doing just fine out here... if not just a little bit lonely. I miss and love you all.These, and a few more photos I took today
Saturday, May 12, 2007
My first indian dinner (kind of)
So... after I wrote yesterday, two of the accountants here Michelle and Dhannajay took me to dinner. They took me to a Thai food place on Sri's orders. Sri is the general manager/ owner here. I guess the place is a place Dave likes. We ordered curry, and had an awkward, but interesting conversation. They are both fluent in English, but they still have strong accents. In fact Michelle and her family speak English at home. It is her first language. I didn't know there were people here who spoke English as their first language. It surprised me. But her accent is still strong, and so she too can be hard to understand. The conversation was a bit awkward. They are nice people, but sitting down to dinner with people you have never met can be difficult. Especially when you don't have a ton in common. Dhannajay likes to play chess, and said he wanted to play with me at some point. He is Hindu, and is a vegetarian, like many people here. They asked me if I ate non-veg. I guess here that is a common question, but it struck me as odd. In America, we usually ask people if they are vegetarians or something like that, but here, so many people are vegetarian that being a "non-veg eater" is less common. Michelle on the other hand is Catholic. Her family is Catholic, and I guess whomever brought Catholicism to India, taught people to speak English, and somehow got them to use it for everything. And so through the ages, her family has spoken English, and been Catholic. Marriages here are usually arranged within the same religion, so there is little mixing between groups that way. Michelle is a non-veg eater (common with Catholics here) which, as I have come to discover, usually means that they are willing to eat chicken. Other meats are not well looked upon. Beef is very seldom had. Non-veg eaters usually will, but don't often like, to eat fish. Pork is seldom seen as well. We spoke some about religion. I try not to be nosey, but I do like to ask questions about their religion. Especially because Hinduism is so interesting to me. It seems like everyone kinda has their own spin on Hinduism. Since they don't have "church" on Sundays, there is really no regulation about what Hinduism is from one person to the next. I can ask the same questions to different people, and get very different answers. At this point, I have discussed religion with 4 people now. While I was waiting at the airport in New York, I spoke with somebody who was very nice while we waited. He explained to me about Hinduism (probably better than anyone else has since), and I explained to him about our religion. The guy who sat on the plane next to me was fun too. He wanted to talk about the "Da Vinci Code" and get my take on it. Evidently, he and his friends in India had read the book, and they were curious as too how the book was taken by Christians, and how much was truth, and how much was fiction (he didn't know if Mary Magdalen was even mentioned in the bible). I spoke to him for a while about the church and our beliefs... but in his case, I spoke mostly about Christianity. And then I spoke with Dhannajay and Michelle about religion too. Michelle was very curious about our religion. She had never heard of it before, and thought that it was interesting. We had a good talk. She is a very religious person. She reads the bible every day. I don't think I have ever met a Catholic who reads the bible every day. I was very impressed. The Catholics in Korea that I knew were told not to bother with such things... that reading the bible was just to difficult for every day people. I told here about The Book of Mormon, and said that I would bring it in on Monday for her. She was interested in seeing it. I'm not expecting that any of my teaching here in India will come to anything. Many of the same blockades that were in Korea are here: tradition in religion, strong family regulation, and little to no exposure to good practicing members. On the other hand, all of those things but the last are strengths if seen in a different light. Anyways, I really enjoy the people here. And the food wasn't bad. It wasn't my favorite, but I still liked it. I had a green curry that I was really worried about at first, because it had coconut milk in it, but I couldn't taste the coconut in it at all. It was a good dinner. After dinner we went back to the office, and I worked quite late with one of the programmers. We were here until about 2 am. At which time employees in Utah also had many things for me to do. Preetam, the programmer that I was working with took me home on his motorbike. I know by saying this, that mom is already clicking the comment link below to tell me to never get on that bike again... but I only live about a mile away, and there is virtually no traffic on this road. It really was quite safe. I had my camera with me, and I was more worried about it bouncing off my back than I was about falling off. Even if I had fallen off, we weren't going fast (it's mostly dirt road). Well... let's put it this way... I felt safer on that bike than I would walking home a mile in the dark when I was uncertain of the way. Anyways, that was my day yesterday... and it turned out pretty well I think. :-D Hope you all are doing well! I don't know if I will be able to call or talk much this weekend. I don't want to be here real late tonight, and I'm not sure what my Sunday holds. Sunday may end up being quite quiet this week. I may just stay home. We'll see.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Siesta time!
Well, today I finally got to talk to BJ for the first time since Monday! That's a big hurray! We actually talked like 3 or 4 times today, for 15 or 20 minutes each, in between going to the hospital for orientation, class, and lunch. I was really glad we caught each other.
The people who work here at the hostel are really nice. I like talking with them to improve my Spanish, and they usually slow down a bit. They are ok with explaining things to us that we don't understand too. We are all so tired, but that's ok because siesta is about to start. Here in Argentina, Siesta happens either from 1pm to 4pm or 2pm to 5pm, depending on the place, and everything (I mean pretty much all the shops and companies and stuff) shuts down, people go home for lunch, and nap. After siesta, people go back to work, children go back to school, and don't get home for a few more hours. Then they eat dinner at about 9:30 or 10pm, sometimes later, and then go to bed. It is so crazy! Sometimes it doesn't work out so great for me, because I like to go to bed earlier than that. But it is kind of fun too. Last night I didn't go with everyone out to dinner because they didn't leave until 10pm and I was starving! So I had corn flakes. The milk here doesn't taste too bad if it is with something else like cereal, but it does taste a little funny by itself.
I just got back from a spin class (hard core biking!) at the gym we signed up at. It was like $8 for the month, and 8 of us signed up tonight. We all thought the class was going to be 30 minutes, but it ended up being an hour long. I thought I was going to die, especially since the bikes seats were too tall!
Tonight at 9:30 we are all going out for dinner. I am not sure where. Food is generally pretty cheap here. Some of the moderately expensive places are $15 pesos a plate ($5 US dollars).
The people who work here at the hostel are really nice. I like talking with them to improve my Spanish, and they usually slow down a bit. They are ok with explaining things to us that we don't understand too. We are all so tired, but that's ok because siesta is about to start. Here in Argentina, Siesta happens either from 1pm to 4pm or 2pm to 5pm, depending on the place, and everything (I mean pretty much all the shops and companies and stuff) shuts down, people go home for lunch, and nap. After siesta, people go back to work, children go back to school, and don't get home for a few more hours. Then they eat dinner at about 9:30 or 10pm, sometimes later, and then go to bed. It is so crazy! Sometimes it doesn't work out so great for me, because I like to go to bed earlier than that. But it is kind of fun too. Last night I didn't go with everyone out to dinner because they didn't leave until 10pm and I was starving! So I had corn flakes. The milk here doesn't taste too bad if it is with something else like cereal, but it does taste a little funny by itself.
I just got back from a spin class (hard core biking!) at the gym we signed up at. It was like $8 for the month, and 8 of us signed up tonight. We all thought the class was going to be 30 minutes, but it ended up being an hour long. I thought I was going to die, especially since the bikes seats were too tall!
Tonight at 9:30 we are all going out for dinner. I am not sure where. Food is generally pretty cheap here. Some of the moderately expensive places are $15 pesos a plate ($5 US dollars).
My first couple of days in India
So... I really don't have much of interest to report. I have been at work or home pretty much the whole time. The people at the office are very friendly. I don't know any of them very well yet, but they take good care of me. If I need a driver to go somewhere, I'll tell a girl here... she calls the company, and I have my own private driver ready to take me anywhere I need to go. Right now, I'm kinda alone here though. Dave has left to go on a vacation, and will be gone for a week. And so with my very helpful Indian friends here to aid me... I get to fend for my self. Not very many people here speak English. Where I work, most of them do, and some do quite well. But even those who are fluent are hard to understand at times. It is hard to know how much they understand you too. They always nod their head like they understand... but it often becomes obvious that they don't. For example, while I was in the car, I told my driver that after we reached our destination, that I would need to go back to work. He replied "20 minutes". I can only assume that he thought I was asking a question about how long it would take to get back to work when I was done. All the same, he took me back to work. It does remind me of being in Korea a bit though. However, I could understand the Koreans' English better than I can the Indians' English. It is really quite hot here. The office is constantly in the low 90s. Something that I struggle with a bit. But thankfully, there is a nice guy who comes around every so often with a ice cold bottle of water for me. I'm not sure what his job really is. It seems to be "errand boy", but I'm not sure. Anyways, I hope you are all doing well. I'm looking forward to more cultural experiences here to share with you, but I think out of concern for me, I'm kind of sheltered from the culture in many ways. For example, for lunch today, they are ordering in a pepperoni pizza for me. It should be here shortly. I should say though, that nothing American here is truly American. Just like Indian food in America isn't truly Indian.
Love you all!
Love you all!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Update
Somehow my computer knows that I am in Argentina! It is displaying some of my websites in Spanish to me... such as this one!
Well, things are going fairly well. I have been here for nearly 2 days, and I can tell that it is going to be an adjustment- in a good way. When I first got here I couldn't understand a word that was said. The people here talk very quickly, and have different accents and dialects in every province. I am starting to understand more and more, and I can always get the gist of the conversation, but certain people are just very difficult to understand. Everyone is very nice though.
There are many things that are different that I never would have guessed- I never knew that there could be a learning curve for grocery shopping, but there is, when many of the foods are different, and they are all written in another language! I couldn't find peanut butter, liquid soap, or paper towels at the store, and milk comes in tiny little boxes. I haven't tried it yet, but I hear it is very different than what we are used to. Also- when people here meet, even complete strangers, but especially among women, the older generations, and friends, it is expected that you "kiss" cheeks. I missed doing this the first time because I had no idea, and couldn't figure out why someone was leaning so close to my face. After I understood what the custom was, it was just fine, and I have been "kissed" on the cheek many times today.
I am living in a youth hostel. It is kind of a fun place with very brightly painted walls- of all colors. My room is purple and orange. We have no carpet or heating. Several rooms (but not mine) open directly onto an outdoor patio, so it gets pretty cold, especially at night. Temperatures aren't too bad though, for winter. It has been in the 50's and 60's I think. Yep- right now, the temperature in my room is 66 degrees. Not too bad.
Today we walked to the hospital and met the director and also took taxis to the community center and talked to the people there. It sounds like they have some other needs besides the comedores that they would like us to work on. So maybe some of us will still work with the children, and others will be working with the elderly in a healthy aging program. There are several students who are doing research projects, and so we will all be participating in those projects, helping gather data and implementing the interventions we might come up with for improving health, especially in the maternity hospital. Speaking of that hospital, I knew it would be a poor hospital, but I didn't realize how much they were lacking. We have brought many sheets, scrubs, blankets, and various other hospital supplies with us. I knew they had no sheets. I didn't know they had no towels. It is a much bigger hospital than I had imagined. They use the things we bring all year, we were told. They appreciate what we bring- it is pretty much all they get from the U.S., I think, because you cannot mail things to them (there is a tax on everything that comes into the country, which they cannot pay, and besides, there is no guarantee that what you send will ever arrive where it is meant to go).
Here is the link to some pictures I posted. Don't judge the photography too much- I took the pictures kind of fast, and they aren't really meant to be artistic, just document the place I live! http://picasaweb.google.com/RochelleCTaylor/YouthHostel?authkey=ELRWjOTTG0w
Well, I think that is enough for now. If you have things you want to know about where I am, email me, or comment, and I will do my best to answer your question. I will tell you more about what I am doing here next week- when I actually start doing stuff at the hospital etc.
Well, things are going fairly well. I have been here for nearly 2 days, and I can tell that it is going to be an adjustment- in a good way. When I first got here I couldn't understand a word that was said. The people here talk very quickly, and have different accents and dialects in every province. I am starting to understand more and more, and I can always get the gist of the conversation, but certain people are just very difficult to understand. Everyone is very nice though.
There are many things that are different that I never would have guessed- I never knew that there could be a learning curve for grocery shopping, but there is, when many of the foods are different, and they are all written in another language! I couldn't find peanut butter, liquid soap, or paper towels at the store, and milk comes in tiny little boxes. I haven't tried it yet, but I hear it is very different than what we are used to. Also- when people here meet, even complete strangers, but especially among women, the older generations, and friends, it is expected that you "kiss" cheeks. I missed doing this the first time because I had no idea, and couldn't figure out why someone was leaning so close to my face. After I understood what the custom was, it was just fine, and I have been "kissed" on the cheek many times today.
I am living in a youth hostel. It is kind of a fun place with very brightly painted walls- of all colors. My room is purple and orange. We have no carpet or heating. Several rooms (but not mine) open directly onto an outdoor patio, so it gets pretty cold, especially at night. Temperatures aren't too bad though, for winter. It has been in the 50's and 60's I think. Yep- right now, the temperature in my room is 66 degrees. Not too bad.
Today we walked to the hospital and met the director and also took taxis to the community center and talked to the people there. It sounds like they have some other needs besides the comedores that they would like us to work on. So maybe some of us will still work with the children, and others will be working with the elderly in a healthy aging program. There are several students who are doing research projects, and so we will all be participating in those projects, helping gather data and implementing the interventions we might come up with for improving health, especially in the maternity hospital. Speaking of that hospital, I knew it would be a poor hospital, but I didn't realize how much they were lacking. We have brought many sheets, scrubs, blankets, and various other hospital supplies with us. I knew they had no sheets. I didn't know they had no towels. It is a much bigger hospital than I had imagined. They use the things we bring all year, we were told. They appreciate what we bring- it is pretty much all they get from the U.S., I think, because you cannot mail things to them (there is a tax on everything that comes into the country, which they cannot pay, and besides, there is no guarantee that what you send will ever arrive where it is meant to go).
Here is the link to some pictures I posted. Don't judge the photography too much- I took the pictures kind of fast, and they aren't really meant to be artistic, just document the place I live! http://picasaweb.google.com/RochelleCTaylor/YouthHostel?authkey=ELRWjOTTG0w
Well, I think that is enough for now. If you have things you want to know about where I am, email me, or comment, and I will do my best to answer your question. I will tell you more about what I am doing here next week- when I actually start doing stuff at the hospital etc.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I made it!
Well I made it. It was an incredibly long trip... but I'm here. I'm using Dave's computer right now at the office. He went home to take a nap. He was up all night programming. I should be tired, I haven't slept much in the last couple of days, but I couldn't sleep anymore this morning. I only got a couple of hours of sleep last night at the house, and I slept something like 6 hours on the plane. But I survived, and am at last here. I haven't seen much yet... I haven't tried any Indian food yet... but I think I'll get my first real meal here within the hour. Wish me luck! ;-) The people at the office are very nice. It sounds like they intend to take good care of me. I think they were expecting me to have a lot to say when I got here... but I've been fairly quiet, and am not certain of what to say to them. It will be interesting. I really need to talk to Dave before I start giving out any orders or anything like that. I'm not a boss... but then again, I don't really know what I am. So all I can really say is, "Hi, I'm BJ." And then I become quiet. ;-) Dave's house is nice. I'll be staying there for the next week or so. At which point, I'll be moving to another house that is closer to eco tech. I haven't seen it yet. It's warm here. In the office it is 92 degrees. But there are lots of fans blowing, so it is ok. But it is supposed to get warmer too. This is only May. eek.
Love you all!
Love you all!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Long over due pictures
I realized the other day that I never posted these pictures from Tanner's blessing. Please click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/taylors2004/TannerSBlessing
I'm sorry Dani and all for not getting these out sooner. I hope you enjoy them!
I'm sorry Dani and all for not getting these out sooner. I hope you enjoy them!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Ok, ok
I promised BJ that I would blog, so here I am. BJ has already posted all of the interesting/ exciting stuff, but I will add my two cents. I finished up with finals last week, and they all went well. I am glad to be done with the semester. In the meantime, I have been running around town, doing errands and preparing to leave. I am actually all packed up, minus a few things, and just have a few more things to do. I looked at a plug adapter that I bought for Argentina, and realized it was the wrong one today. Darn. I will have to go back and get the right one. For the past couple of weeks, I have gathered medical supplies and hygiene supplies. The medical supplies will be donated to the maternity hospital. It is a community hospital, so not nearly as nice as some of the privately funded hospitals in the area. They lack many supplies we take for granted. Our goal is not to go in and "save" them (thus undermining their self- reliance etc.) by donating tons of stuff, but we do try to bring a few things that might be hard for them to get down there. It is sort of our way of saying we care, and thank you for letting us observe and learn in your hospital. We will work in the labor and delivery unit, the mother baby unit, and the NICU there.
The hygiene supplies have a unique use, which I will explain shortly. We spend part of our clinical time in the comedores, which I explained a little bit in an earlier post. It is pretty sad, but this government funded program provides, for many children, the only meal they will eat that day. Even more hard to accept is the fact that it does not provide complete nutrition (a typical meal is a bowl of white rice, with a few onions or other similar vegetable in it, some beans, and a piece of bread) and that in some neighborhoods, where the children have to bring their own bowls in order to get food, the children take the food home and share their small meal with the entire family. Our role in this program is to monitor their growth and health status. We measure their heights and weights, test their hemoglobin levels, and do lots of teaching. One of the main things we teach about is hygiene. I/ we have collected sample shampoos, soaps, and lotions, and toothbrushes/ toothpaste that we will pass out to the children as we teach them how to use them. It may sound crazy that they wouldn't know how to use them properly, but many of them just haven't had access to the things we will be teaching. It will be interesting to see how that goes.
While in Argentina, I will be visiting a few sightseeing places. We will go to Salta, Buenos Aires, and Iguazu (the waterfalls that would put Niagara to shame) for sure. Getting to Tucuman, where I will be living for the majority of the next 6 weeks will be an adventure in and of itself, but that will be a story for another time.
The hygiene supplies have a unique use, which I will explain shortly. We spend part of our clinical time in the comedores, which I explained a little bit in an earlier post. It is pretty sad, but this government funded program provides, for many children, the only meal they will eat that day. Even more hard to accept is the fact that it does not provide complete nutrition (a typical meal is a bowl of white rice, with a few onions or other similar vegetable in it, some beans, and a piece of bread) and that in some neighborhoods, where the children have to bring their own bowls in order to get food, the children take the food home and share their small meal with the entire family. Our role in this program is to monitor their growth and health status. We measure their heights and weights, test their hemoglobin levels, and do lots of teaching. One of the main things we teach about is hygiene. I/ we have collected sample shampoos, soaps, and lotions, and toothbrushes/ toothpaste that we will pass out to the children as we teach them how to use them. It may sound crazy that they wouldn't know how to use them properly, but many of them just haven't had access to the things we will be teaching. It will be interesting to see how that goes.
While in Argentina, I will be visiting a few sightseeing places. We will go to Salta, Buenos Aires, and Iguazu (the waterfalls that would put Niagara to shame) for sure. Getting to Tucuman, where I will be living for the majority of the next 6 weeks will be an adventure in and of itself, but that will be a story for another time.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Let's Talk!
So as you may have noticed... Rochelle and I are getting ready to take off here in a few days. Rochelle leaves on Monday... and I leave on Tuesday. I get back on June 19th, Rochelle on the 20th. My travel itinerary was scheduled to match up with hers. So, now that we are going to be scattered across the face of the earth, how do we keep from loosing contact with each other? Well, we are going to do be using a couple of voice chat programs.
Google Talk: http://www.google.com/talk/
Skype: http://www.skype.com/download/
The two programs are pretty similar in functionality. They both allow you to chat over the internet for free (you just need a headset with a mic, or speakers and a separate mic, although the headset is preferred). Although both Rochelle and I have both programs installed, we kinda favor talk over skype, even though we tried this first on skype (it's the one that I use at work to talk with my boss). Google Talk seems to be a little easier to set up and configure, and well... I'm a google fan. Anyways, you don't need a gmail account for Google Talk, but you do need a "Google" account, and it will help you set one up if that's the one you prefer. Skype also needs an account. Just please don't pay skype any money. You don't need to (although I'm sure they wouldn't mind it), all the features you need are free. They just want you to buy extra features. I should say also, that skype allows you to see our pretty faces on the webcam, although we will not be able to see yours if you do not have one. If you look to the right, you will see a series of world clocks. And just above that, a link that shows a time chart for the 4 different time zones. Rochelle and I haven't figured out when we are going to be able to talk to each other yet. We don't know what our schedules will be like yet. But when we do, we will let you all know, and try to say 'hi' as often as we are able. We are also going to try to keep the blog updated. Ron and Sue have a headset and are set up, and so does Quin and Cindy, and so we will be able to talk with them as time allows. But because we aren't calling on the traditional telephone, if the computer is off, there is no way for us to get a hold of you. At that point, we can only blog and email. I'm sure I'll be at work a lot, and so you might be able to get a hold of me fairly easily at certain times. Rochelle doesn't know when she will be available yet. My skype account is beeg_98, by google account is taylors2004, Rochelle's skype is rochellerct, and her google account is rochellectaylor. We will welcome your calls!
Love you all!
Google Talk: http://www.google.com/talk/
Skype: http://www.skype.com/download/
The two programs are pretty similar in functionality. They both allow you to chat over the internet for free (you just need a headset with a mic, or speakers and a separate mic, although the headset is preferred). Although both Rochelle and I have both programs installed, we kinda favor talk over skype, even though we tried this first on skype (it's the one that I use at work to talk with my boss). Google Talk seems to be a little easier to set up and configure, and well... I'm a google fan. Anyways, you don't need a gmail account for Google Talk, but you do need a "Google" account, and it will help you set one up if that's the one you prefer. Skype also needs an account. Just please don't pay skype any money. You don't need to (although I'm sure they wouldn't mind it), all the features you need are free. They just want you to buy extra features. I should say also, that skype allows you to see our pretty faces on the webcam, although we will not be able to see yours if you do not have one. If you look to the right, you will see a series of world clocks. And just above that, a link that shows a time chart for the 4 different time zones. Rochelle and I haven't figured out when we are going to be able to talk to each other yet. We don't know what our schedules will be like yet. But when we do, we will let you all know, and try to say 'hi' as often as we are able. We are also going to try to keep the blog updated. Ron and Sue have a headset and are set up, and so does Quin and Cindy, and so we will be able to talk with them as time allows. But because we aren't calling on the traditional telephone, if the computer is off, there is no way for us to get a hold of you. At that point, we can only blog and email. I'm sure I'll be at work a lot, and so you might be able to get a hold of me fairly easily at certain times. Rochelle doesn't know when she will be available yet. My skype account is beeg_98, by google account is taylors2004, Rochelle's skype is rochellerct, and her google account is rochellectaylor. We will welcome your calls!
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