Riding a bus...

Howdy everyone! Back from Otavalo, where I spent way too much money but bought some really awesome stuff! It was really exciting to be in the market, it was huge and there were just so many colors. Every stall was just full of so many things, scarves and hats and blankets and jewelry…it was kind of sensory overload. It's an indigenous market, so everyone was very "cultural" looking; women in white embroidered shirts and long black skirts, long braided hair and very colorful jewelry. They all called me "amiga" and had special prices "just for me". It's fun to bargain, I really enjoy the haggling. Although I do feel bad sometimes fighting to save a dollar off of something, knowing how poor these people are. The saddest thing was the little old women begging in the market, they just looked so fragile. Best find of the day was big balls of alpaca wool yarn (all sorts of colors) for a dollar each. I had to really hold myself back, only so much space in my suitcase. The ride to and from Otavalo was interesting. We didn’t really know where to go to catch a bus, so we just walked north to this big highway and waited till a bus came along with an “Otavalo” sign. Hopped on, and got the last two open seats. On the way back we did the same thing, except no open seats. It was fun standing for 2 hours in the hot bus…seriously, it was a cool experience.

What else has been going on here….went salsa dancing last night. Didn’t really know what I was doing, that one lesson I’ve had really didn’t go that far! But it was fun, and really interesting to watch all of the pros getting their salsa on. I have a few more classes later this week, maybe I won’t embarrass myself as much next time we go dancing. It’s actually the best dancing with the guys in our group, cause they’re at about my level!

I enjoyed my time in Centro’s emergency room last week. Saw lots of little kids, which really was lots of fun. Seeing them all made me think that maybe I should consider pediatrics for a specialty, it just made me happy to see them (even though lots were sick and crying). Next week I head to a private clinic, I think I’m working with a midwife there but honestly I’m not really sure…

Oh, and everyone has to read my next blog entry, because I am visiting a shaman on Wednesday! Oh my gosh! They do a ceremony with a guinea pig (a "cuy" in Spanish) where they shake it all over a person’s body to pull out bad energy. While I’m there I’m going to have it done (hopefully!) so I’ll be sure to tell you guys all about it!

Today is just a lazy day. I went to the movie store next door and bought some movies for $1.50, so I’m just chilling, writing and rolling all of my skeins of yarn into balls. Think the roomies and me might go to a movie this afternoon. And I need to work on entering my data from the clinic into the computer, too. Woot. Guess that’s about all from here, about time for me to go and get some lunch (almuerzo). I miss all you guys, hasta luego!

New Word of the Day: bufanda (scarf)

A Brief Hello

Everyone says that life is much slower paced in Latin America...and I don't think I really believe it. It's just been go go go since I got here! Sorry to those of you (mom) who were worried by my lack of posts the last few days, I'm feeling good as new. Well, right now I'm kind of hungry, but that doesn't really count. Anyway, I just have a few minutes here before my last Spanish class for a few weeks. Next week I will have a lot more free time and I'll be sure to fill you all in on the juicy Ecuadorian details. But in summary....

Wed: Saw lots of children with coughs and elderly people with leg sores in the clinic. Learned a lot from the med student rotating with me, and yes...I poured more antiseptic. At night took a Salsa lesson and went to ladies night at a local bar (free drinks and no men allowed in until 10), good time.

Thurs: More coughing children and sores. AND, so cool, we got to meet Ecuador's Minister of Health at the clinic, even got a pic with her. I'll post it later. Drank goat milk fresh from the animal. For supper went out to Crepes y Waffles, where we had AMAZING food. I didn't ever want to leave. Sarah and Dad, I have new crepes ideas for you.

Friday: All there is in the emergency room are children with coughs and elderly women with sores, I swear. Finished up interviews for my project at this clinic. Yay! Finally got time to go to a working computer and answer some emails. Heading to Otavalo in a few hours to peruse the native market there.

New Word of the Day: dar la luz (an expression for having a baby, literally means "giving a light")

I'm an Antiseptic Pouring Pro...

Yesterday was the start of a new clinical rotation, at Comite del Pueblo Centro de Salud No. 9. It’s a governmentally funded public clinic. Birth control is free, and pregnant women and children under 5 receive healthcare free of charge. I had to take 2 buses and a trolley to get there, took about an hour. A nice older man from the Spanish school met me in the morning and made sure I got there alright. They do that every week on the first day for all the students, to make sure we don’t wander around the city lost all day. It’s a little difficult to figure out directions here, the roads are all curvy and ill-marked.

Once at the clinic it was a little disappointing. I observed a few appointments, mostly women wanting birthcontrol, then the Doc took me downstairs to the emergency room and told me to wait there for him. So I helped out there for awhile: poured antiseptic and alcohol, held a little boy so stitches could be removed, and mainly observed while various injuries were cleaned and bandaged. There was a med student there who explained things to me and asked me to help out, which was very nice of her. Emergency rooms are interesting here. 3-4 beds per room, and people come in first come first serve. If a person needs anything besides a tongue depressor or antiseptic for their treatment (like gauze, ointments, antibiotics, syringes, etc.) a family member has to go to the nearby pharmacy and buy whatever is needed. Pretty cool to see. If you don’t have family here, I think you’d really be in trouble at the hospital. The doctors there were more careful than in La Maternidad about keeping their hands clean. They washed them pretty well between each patient.

After about an hour and a half the doc showed back up and told me to go home for the day. It was 10:30….wasn’t supposed to be done til 12:00. So overall, not a great impression. I think he just wasn’t very interested in having students there, maybe just doing it for the money (the preceptors are paid by the program for their time). Hopefully it will be better tomorrow!

I’m staying home sick today. Fighting off some kind of gastrointestinal issues, figured it would be good to just take it easy and not surround myself with sick people for a day. I had some chamomile tea, and I think it did actually help my stomach a little. It’s really no fun to be sick when you’re traveling! But the big triumph of today...I finally figured out how to take a hot shower! Only took a week and a half! I'm pretty proud of myself.

New Word of the Day: chevere (cool)

Clinics and Bungee

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Hola amigos! Today was a full day at the clinic! Two births and a C-section. It was a little tough to actually see the c-section, since the room was full of residents and students observing. But it was pretty cool that we could stand right there and watch. During the non-cesarean births I got to pour antiseptics and move a light. Pretty exciting, oh yeah. The doctors are all very friendly with each other, it seems like a happy place to work. One of the residents was chatting with us and said he works 50-80 hours a week, which sounds about like how much residents in the US work, too. It struck me how different people are with regard to cell phones here while at La Maternidad. Phones were going off during procedures, people (not the sterile people) would answer them, people observing the procedures were texting, it was pretty different.

To fill everyone in on questions you've been asking... yeah, there are electric heaters in the shower head, which sounds dangerous but is really safe. Although not very effective, I haven't been able to get a hot shower yet. I will prevail! The weather here is very nice, kind of chilly in the mornings and evenings but warm (75 ish) during the day. It's been raining a little in the afternoons, which the locals say is not normal. Oh global warming...

New Word of the Day: sabon (antiseptic)

Friday, September 05, 2008

Last day at La Maternidad. Not too much happened, it was kind of a slow day, but we did get to see one delivery. The doctor performed an episiodomy, which was interesting to see. Said it was because it was the woman’s first birth. I think everyone gets episiodomies the first time here. Numbed the area and then just cut a 2-3 inch area below the vagina. He stitched it up afterwards, and I think he hadn’t done it very much before because he was very slow and very careful, and there was an attending telling him what to do. I felt kind of bad for the new mom, she had to stay there for a long time. Interestingly, the doctor asked me to get the bottle of anesthetic for him, and clean the cap with an alcohol swab. He then proceeded to draw the dose with a used needle. Don’t know if that was his mistake or a common practice. Kind of goes along with the fact that we had to wear hear nets and booties over our shoes, but there was no soap or toilet paper in the doctor’s bathroom. Just a little different. I’ve asked all the new mothers if they had names picked for their babies, and none of them had. I’ll have to ask Lorena (host mom) why that is. Thought it might be because of the infant mortality rate; easier not to be attached if the baby has no name? Don’t know.

Went to a nearby mall this afternoon because it has free wifi. Two hours later…my computer said it was connected, but it LIED. It was incredibly frustrating! I got fed up and just left, have to try it again next week. I did have some ice cream, that made me feel a little better. It would be great if I could get that free wifi to work so I can use Skype; phone calls to the US are kind of pricey. Oh well, que sera sera.

At 4:45 our group is headed to Banos, a city a few hours south of here. Apparently it is just gorgeous there, lots of mountains and waterfalls. We’re going to bike and white water raft, so it’s our extreme sports outing. I came back to the apartment a little early to shower and everything (don’t know if I’ll be able to shower where we’re going), and there is no water. The joys of living in a developing country! Apparently it’s pretty common. Yesterday there was no power for most of the day. We walked right by the downed power line. Pretty crazy.

New Word of the Day: Aguja y hilo (needle and thread)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Back from Banos! 9 of us went, 3 of whom continued onto their program in a town in the jungle. It was so much fun!! Went on a 22 km bike ride through this gorgeous area full of mountains and waterfalls. A little scary, because people here are loco with the driving. We stopped once to go bungee jumping, and I totally did it! It was off of a random bridge, so fun. It was quite the thrill, let me tell you! Everyone in the group bungeed, it was really fun to watch people poise on the edge and decide if it was really such a great idea. The ride terminated at a gorgeous waterfall that we hiked down to. (Seriously, this weekend was more exercise than I've ever had in my life.) We crawled through some caves to be able to go behind the waterfall, which was pretty cool. Got really wet, but there were good photos! And to top the day off we rode back to Banos in the back of a random truck. I felt so very adventurous. In the evening the hostel manager (by the way, if you're ever in Banos, Princesa Maria is an incredible hostel, highly recommend it) suggested that we go to the hot baths, which is what the town is named after. It was quite the experience. There were so many people! The hot water felt really good for the sore muscles. We alternated from really hot to really cold baths, cause it's supposed to be good for you. Does give the system a shock!

The next day I woke up with some pretty crazy gastrointestinal issues. Not good. Decided that maybe the best place for me was not on a raft all day. So me and another girl who was feeling the same stayed in the town and wandered around. Bought an awesome scarf, totally made my day. And then we ate cuy, which is (drumroll please).... guinea pig, the local specialty. There was just a woman roasting the whole critter on a fire, then she chopped it into quarters and served it up. The lighter parts tasted kind of like chicken. It was weird the have the head, teeth and all, still attached while eating it... we got lots of pictures, it was very exotic. Took the 4 hour bus ride back to Quito kind of late, didn't get back till midnight. And the bus was so cold!! Overall, it really was a great trip, and I definitely had fun (minus the diarrhea part).

New Word of the Day: Medias (socks)

Hospital Time

First day in the hospitals. This week Kristin and I are rotating at La Maternidad Isidro Arudya. It is a public maternity hospital, funded by the government. Dr. Leonard Marquez was our preceptor, a very nice man. He really tried to explain things to us and make sure we were seeing and understanding what was going on. He spoke a little English, so we communicated in Spanglish. The funniest part of the day was trying to find Dr. Marquez. We asked at the desk, they said to go to the second floor of the building we were in. Went there. Nurse said Dr. M didn’t work there, he was in the other building. Went there. No, Dr. M doesn’t work there, he’s in the Sala de Parto (delivery room) in the other building. Went back to original building and asked where the Sala de Parto was; in the other building where we had just been. Then a nurse informed us that Dr. Marquez was in a meeting until 9. So we waited until 9:30, then began again. Finally, a pharmacist directed us to the Sala de Parto, through some doors that said “entry prohibited”. We felt a little bad, because Dr. M said he’d been there all morning wondering where we were. But we explained it to him and I think it was all okay. Tomorrow we know exactly where to go, by golly!

While at the clinic we observed three DNC’s. That’s what I thought he said anyway. Basically, from what I understand, it was an abortion. There were 5 women in the hospital with incomplete abortions, from either botched back alley abortions or “natural” spontaneous abortions. So the doctors performed DNC’s to complete the abortion for the woman’s health. It was really very interesting, even observing from the back of a group of residents. We also saw a woman with eclampsia. They had her arms tied to the bed with gauze because she was seizing, and they were preparing her for a C-section. And we were also able to see a new born baby being cleaned up. They use rubber bands to remove the umbilical cord, because it’s cheap and effective.

The hospital itself is really interesting. There was a very long line of women on the first floor waiting to be seen by doctors. Not all of them were visibly pregnant, I think the hospital does gynecological exams as well. No one had private rooms. The rooms for women post-delivery were very large, holding maybe 40-50 women. In the delivery room there were less people per room, maybe 6-7. Operating rooms are the only rooms a woman would have to herself. Especially interesting was the lack of toilet paper and soap in the doctor’s bathroom. There was also no toilet paper or soap in the patients bathroom. Doctors only wore gloves when they were putting their hands inside a person’s body. For drawing blood or other task they went without. So different from the U.S.! I think it’s all about a lack of resources. They have to stretch what they have to the very limit to be able to help the most number of people. People have said that it is different in private hospitals and clinics; I suppose I’ll find out when I rotate at those.

The doctors and nurses were all very jovial and friendly with each other. I think they didn’t really know why we were there! One asked if I was going to try one of the procedures, so I had to explain that we were not in medical school and were only there to observe. I wonder if they think that we are unfriendly. All the doctors greeted each other with hugs and kisses on the cheek, but not us. Tomorrow we need to be more pro-active, and initiate more conversation.

A few of us skipped out of Spanish class early. Too much information for one day! I walked home in the rain, got some sympathetic smiles from other women drudging along. I’m hoping to find a bookstore around here later this afternoon, I want to get a medical dictionary. I think it would be helpful. Well, that’s about all for today, amigos! Hasta luego!

New Word of the Day: el cuaderno (notebook)

Classes and Monks

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Today was fun. Started out with 4 hours of Spanish lessons in the morning. Nothing wakes you up like grammatical exercises! It was actually pretty interesting, we learned vocabulary for labor and infant health. Tomorrow is our first day in the clinics, so we wanted to be prepared! Ate lunch at Bom Pan, a really nice restaurant near the school. Huge, delicious meal for $3. Que bueno! It’s a little different not snacking during the day. But my host mother always makes us a big breakfast and a big supper, good food. Lots of beans, starches and vegetables. There are plenty of places to buy food during the day, stores and vendors are quite literally on every block, but there’s just no time! I’ve been going to different farmacias (pharmacies) and panarias (bakeries) for drinks throughout the day. I feel really wasteful buying bottled drinks all the time, but there’s really no other option. Me no likey amoebas.

In the afternoon we took a taxi van to a few of the tourist cites in the city. A museum that had something to do with independence or patriotism or something (we didn’t actually go in, it was just a place with a great view of the city and, randomly, cows grazing away) and Panecilla, which is a hill in the city with a giant statue of “la virgin de Panacilla”, the patron virgin of Quito. She is supposed to guard the city from the apocalypse. This is according to two Franciscan monks (complete with robes and the hair and everything) a few of us visited with. They were from Brazil, walking their way across the country (no shoes) to live with and help the poor. It was pretty cool to visit with them, nice guys. We might try to find their monastery later this week and visit, their story is just so interesting.
The drive took us through a new part of town. There were lots of dogs. People were pretty curious and not afraid to stare, but in a friendly way. They would smile and wave if we waved at them from the van. Also, random thought, there are signs for Pilsner beer everywhere.

Tonight we had a lecture from Dr. Alvear, the medical director of the program. She explained the health system of Ecuador and gave some basic demographic information. And I was so prepared, thanks Dr. Willis for making me write my intro before I came! I could contribute to the conversation and ask questions about information that contradicted my research. Dra. Alvear also looked over my questionnaires and changed some things to make them culturally understandable. So I am ready to interview! I won’t probably this week, because I’m working in a delivery room. I think that’s probably not the best time to impose on a woman.

I feel like my Spanish is improving, if only a little. I can understand people better. Hopefully my vocabulary will improve! I’m sure I’ll write a lot about tomorrow’s experience at the maternity hospital, I’m very excited!

New Word of the Day: la partera (midwife)

Hola de Ecuador!

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Hola Gringitos! (That’s what the Ecuadorians call we blond pale people).

I have arrived safely in Quito. (Sorry to everyone anxiously waiting to hear from me, nothing here is open on Sundays and I was in class all day today.)All my flights went well and arrived on time. On my flight from Houston to Panama we passed over the Panama Canal, which was very cool. I had several small triumphs throughout the day: 1. navigating customs in Quito and understanding the stern man who demanded to know what was in the box I carried (medical donations), 2. successfully translating that the man seated next to me on the plane wanted a coke from the stewardess (he only had to repeat it 5 times), and 3. remembering that in South America you DO NOT flush the toilet paper. Pretty good all around.

I’m not having too much trouble communicating with my host family, they are used to having American students and know what mistakes me make! The “mother” of my family is a Spanish teacher at the language school, so she is really good at understanding and correcting our errors. There are two other girls staying here right now, both very nice. Our house in right off of one of the main streets here, so it’s very easy to get buses, trolleys and taxis. I did all three today, which was quite the experience. El metrobus=giant blue sardine can! I’ll never think that the UNL buses are crowded again. Also, I am very conscious here that I am a blond giant.

I do have a cell phone here, and incoming calls are free (for me…). So if anyone ever wanted to give me a call, from the US you would dial: 011593096241037. I know, it’s ridiculously long.

The weather here is very nice, overcast and about 65. Gets colder in the evenings. Tomorrow I’m going to be taking a tour of the clinical sites of the program, and on Wednesday I start my first rotation at La Hospital Maternidad. And, best part, I get to wear my scrubs and a white coat. Have to actually, or the security guard won’t let me in. So woohoo! And I think I will be able to begin interviews for my research this week or next week at the latest, the director here just wants to approve my study forms. We’re going to get more information tomorrow about travel opportunities within Ecuador, so hopefully there will be some fun weekend excursions coming up. There’s one to a big outdoor market that I know of in Otavalo, a city a few hours from here. Oodles of crafts! And the opportunity to visit a shaman, which is way cool. They use guinea pigs in the treatments (that can’t be good for the guinea pig), which I can’t wait to see.

New word of the day: la finka (a farm)

Adios!


Monday, September 1
Today I succesfully had a lukewarm shower. It was a big accomplishment. They use electric water heaters in the showerheads here and its a little tricky. Toured the clinical sites this morning, which involved a trolley ride to the south of the city. And I am proud to say that I have passed a right of passage for Ecuadorian travellers: I had my pocket picked. I hope that person is real happy with the 10 cents they got. HA! One of the other students had his cell phone stolen, so its safe to say that no one was exagerating about theft in Quito. I remain vigilant, and we (females) are all now storing valuables in our bras when on the trolley.

This afternoon was 4 hours of spanish class. Ooof. But it will be good, it´s nice to review the grammar and learn new vocab. We´re all trying to decide where we want to go this weekend, there are a lot of attractions nearby.

Anyway, that´s my update for today. Tomorrow are EVEN MORE spanish lessons, and a tour of a nearby mountain. There´s a statue at the top, it´s one of Quito´s sites. Hasta luegos, amigos!

New word of the day: el bruto (badass)

It's four days until departure. I think I have everything packed. Almost forgot dental floss. That could have been bad. I received information on my host family the other day. There will be one other student and myself living with a family of four. Two little boys, that should be interesting! Anyway, just wanted to have something posted up here so you guys would know that I am actually using this blog. Adios!