While in Santa Cruz for the best/hardest day of my life, I was able to stay with Dr. Carmiña's family in their lovely home. I am expecting some reverse culture shock when I get back to the States but I wasn't expecting it to occur before I touched down in the good ol' USA. I'll be honest, it made me nervous.
My first clue that I may not be prepared to re-enter my old life (ten days from now!) was when Dr. Carmiña asked me to please fasten my seat belt when I got into her car. Whoops. I've only worn a seat belt twice in the last three months -and both times were in a airplane, not in a car. I wouldn't have even done it then if the flight attendant hadn't blasted it over the intercom. The vehicles that I ride in regularly don't even have seat belts.
Dr. Carmiña then apologized that the air-conditioning wasn't working very well. I almost laughed out loud because I was thinking about how I'd forgotten that cars even have air-conditioning and what a glorious invention it is. Seriously folks, there is cold air that blows and it keeps you refreshed even when it's freaking hot outside. How wonderful is that?
When I entered la doctora's home, I was only more impressed. "There's a flat screen TV and a computer with internet and leather couches and HOLY SMOKES, is that microwave? This house is amazing! This house is like...my parents' house...and...it's like MY house." It was such a weird moment. Seriously, I was genuinely excited to use a microwave. A microwave. Who knows what my reaction will be to other household appliances...like a TOASTER :)
I recently read article on how to give your fridge a makeover. I was thinking it would be about how to keep your fridge clean but nope, it was actually about how to keep your fridge pretty, literally pretty. Things like use labeled french canning jars to store leftovers in, buy products with pretty packaging, wrap cheese and meat in butcher paper and tie with twine, put a vase of flowers in the fridge...have I just been in South America too long or is this ridiculous? If people's priorities are to put petunias in their fridges, not sure that this is the culture with which I want to identify.
Plus, there are mangoes here.
Showing posts with label Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanksgiving Certainly "Delivered"
Holy smokes, people. You will not believe what I got to do for Thanksgiving!!
I mentioned in my last post that I got the opportunity to tour a hospital in Santa Cruz with a nurse who I met a few weeks ago. What I didn't know was that my friend is not just a nurse but the head pediatric doctor in the maternity ward. That's right. The head honcho!
Before I go much further, I should explain that labor/delivery/prenatal care has always been an interest of mine. No, really ALWAYS. Way back in the day, my favorite episode of Sesame Street was when the Robinson family had a baby and my siblings would scream in horror when I watched A Baby Story on TLC. "Please not a c-section!" my five year old brother would wail (What five year old boy even knows what a c-section is? Sorry Joe!). So basically, I was out of my mind excited to get to go to this hospital and experience the action in real life!
That said, my expectation for the day was this: Watch a lot of things through glass windows. Maybe get to actually have some patient interactions. And that was about it.
My expectations were blown out of the water. Completely.
My first hint that I would be doing a whole lot more than observing was when Dr. Carmiña handed me a white nurse's uniform. "Cool, I'm playing dress-up!" I thought. But when we arrive at the hospital, she lets me follow her around as she examines all the newborns -eighty newborns. There were about seven moms to each room (Seven!) and no curtains giving anyone any privacy. While the hospital was obviously old (think wrought-iron beds and stark white walls) it was pretty clean, although it was obvious that this was where the poorest of the poor come to give birth.
Sarah Groves wrote a song and the lyrics are as follows:
I saw what I saw and I can't forget it.
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
Something on the road, cuts me to the soul.
Your pain has changed me.
Your dream inspires
Your face a memory
Your hope a fire
Your courage asks me what I am afraid of
And what I know of God.
And that's exactly how I felt while at the hospital. I saw beautiful moments of motherly love and tender care of the world's newest members. Precious twin baby girls with the thickest, softest baby hair. Mommas nursing for the first time or comforting their little ones after getting their blood drawn. A lot of anxious, fish out of water, new dads. The proudest grandparents.
But a lot was also completely heart wrenching. The fourteen year old little mamas (yes, there was more than one) that are so unprepared that they don't even have diapers. The mom with Huntingtons disease that can barely control her body enough to breastfeed and another young mom weeping with postpartum depression. Mommas that can't give the daddy's name on the birth certificate because they were raped and babies no bigger than my hand covered in wires and tubes...I saw what I saw and I can't forget it.
Life can be so beautiful and so awful.
---
I'm having a once in a lifetime experience helping Dr. Carmiña when the most freaking embarrassing moment of my entire life happens. All of a sudden I start to feel horrible. My stomach is flippity flopping and my limbs feel like million pounds. And then I start to BLACK OUT. I can feel my knees buckling so I clutch the nearest table thinking "Well, I guess a hospital is probably one of the safest places to pass out." Dr. Carmiña realizes what is happening and guides me to a chair. After I'm seated and drinking some juice, I immediately feel much better -except for being completely humiliated in a room full of woman who have just been through the worst pain in their lives. Are they collapsing? Oh no, it's the wimpy gringa who is passing out -for no reason!
I still don't know why that happened. I'm not queasy around blood or hospitals and I'd eaten breakfast that morning too. I hadn't even seen the worst of it at this point. Maybe I was just too excited? Not sure. Thanks a lot, body :(
After I recover (physically, mentally I am forever shamed), I get to help one of the nurses give all eighty infants their TB vaccinations. This was one of my favorite things even though we made all of them scream their poor little hearts out, it just meant I got to cuddle them afterward.
That afternoon, Dr. Carmiña told me that she was assisting during a cesarean and asked if I wanted to attend! HECK YES was my answer. Once again, I'm thinking looking through a glass window is all that I'm going to be able to do but when we get there, I get handed a pair of scrubs, a face mask, and those little plastic booties that go over your shoes. I am freaking out from excitement but also worried, remembering that my body apparently HATES me and is completely unreliable. "If I pass out during this delivery, I will never forgive myself," I'm thinking as I step into the operating room.
But I don't pass out, in fact I don't even flinch as I see EVERYTHING. I will save you the gory details but I saw it all. My cheeks were hurting from smiling as they pull out a baby girl and I witness her first breath. I get to be the second person in the whole world to hold her, less that five minutes old. I whisper "bienvenidos chiquitinga" (welcome little one) when she opens her eyes and looks at me. And I can't decide whether to laugh or cry so I sorta do both.
And I could have been eating turkey! Best, most unforgettable Thanksgiving day ever!!!!!
Many thanks to Dr. Carmiña for letting me tag along with her. You truly gave me the world this week.
I mentioned in my last post that I got the opportunity to tour a hospital in Santa Cruz with a nurse who I met a few weeks ago. What I didn't know was that my friend is not just a nurse but the head pediatric doctor in the maternity ward. That's right. The head honcho!
Before I go much further, I should explain that labor/delivery/prenatal care has always been an interest of mine. No, really ALWAYS. Way back in the day, my favorite episode of Sesame Street was when the Robinson family had a baby and my siblings would scream in horror when I watched A Baby Story on TLC. "Please not a c-section!" my five year old brother would wail (What five year old boy even knows what a c-section is? Sorry Joe!). So basically, I was out of my mind excited to get to go to this hospital and experience the action in real life!
That said, my expectation for the day was this: Watch a lot of things through glass windows. Maybe get to actually have some patient interactions. And that was about it.
My expectations were blown out of the water. Completely.
My first hint that I would be doing a whole lot more than observing was when Dr. Carmiña handed me a white nurse's uniform. "Cool, I'm playing dress-up!" I thought. But when we arrive at the hospital, she lets me follow her around as she examines all the newborns -eighty newborns. There were about seven moms to each room (Seven!) and no curtains giving anyone any privacy. While the hospital was obviously old (think wrought-iron beds and stark white walls) it was pretty clean, although it was obvious that this was where the poorest of the poor come to give birth.
Sarah Groves wrote a song and the lyrics are as follows:
I saw what I saw and I can't forget it.
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
Something on the road, cuts me to the soul.
Your pain has changed me.
Your dream inspires
Your face a memory
Your hope a fire
Your courage asks me what I am afraid of
And what I know of God.
And that's exactly how I felt while at the hospital. I saw beautiful moments of motherly love and tender care of the world's newest members. Precious twin baby girls with the thickest, softest baby hair. Mommas nursing for the first time or comforting their little ones after getting their blood drawn. A lot of anxious, fish out of water, new dads. The proudest grandparents.
But a lot was also completely heart wrenching. The fourteen year old little mamas (yes, there was more than one) that are so unprepared that they don't even have diapers. The mom with Huntingtons disease that can barely control her body enough to breastfeed and another young mom weeping with postpartum depression. Mommas that can't give the daddy's name on the birth certificate because they were raped and babies no bigger than my hand covered in wires and tubes...I saw what I saw and I can't forget it.
Life can be so beautiful and so awful.
---
I'm having a once in a lifetime experience helping Dr. Carmiña when the most freaking embarrassing moment of my entire life happens. All of a sudden I start to feel horrible. My stomach is flippity flopping and my limbs feel like million pounds. And then I start to BLACK OUT. I can feel my knees buckling so I clutch the nearest table thinking "Well, I guess a hospital is probably one of the safest places to pass out." Dr. Carmiña realizes what is happening and guides me to a chair. After I'm seated and drinking some juice, I immediately feel much better -except for being completely humiliated in a room full of woman who have just been through the worst pain in their lives. Are they collapsing? Oh no, it's the wimpy gringa who is passing out -for no reason!
I still don't know why that happened. I'm not queasy around blood or hospitals and I'd eaten breakfast that morning too. I hadn't even seen the worst of it at this point. Maybe I was just too excited? Not sure. Thanks a lot, body :(
After I recover (physically, mentally I am forever shamed), I get to help one of the nurses give all eighty infants their TB vaccinations. This was one of my favorite things even though we made all of them scream their poor little hearts out, it just meant I got to cuddle them afterward.
That afternoon, Dr. Carmiña told me that she was assisting during a cesarean and asked if I wanted to attend! HECK YES was my answer. Once again, I'm thinking looking through a glass window is all that I'm going to be able to do but when we get there, I get handed a pair of scrubs, a face mask, and those little plastic booties that go over your shoes. I am freaking out from excitement but also worried, remembering that my body apparently HATES me and is completely unreliable. "If I pass out during this delivery, I will never forgive myself," I'm thinking as I step into the operating room.
But I don't pass out, in fact I don't even flinch as I see EVERYTHING. I will save you the gory details but I saw it all. My cheeks were hurting from smiling as they pull out a baby girl and I witness her first breath. I get to be the second person in the whole world to hold her, less that five minutes old. I whisper "bienvenidos chiquitinga" (welcome little one) when she opens her eyes and looks at me. And I can't decide whether to laugh or cry so I sorta do both.
And I could have been eating turkey! Best, most unforgettable Thanksgiving day ever!!!!!
Many thanks to Dr. Carmiña for letting me tag along with her. You truly gave me the world this week.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Dia de Gracias
Well, I don't think I will be having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner here in Bolivia. I first realized this when Helen (my American housemate) and I went to the market to buy pumpkins for our pumpkin pie and came back with acorn squash. But don't pity me too much, my Mom is a gem and Thanksgiving part dos will take place when I get back to the States.
Traditionally, my family always goes around the table before we eat our Thanksgiving feast to say what we're thankful for. If I was going to be there tomorrow, I'd probably mention some of these things for which I have a thankful heart!
1) I'm not scared of bugs. I pick the ants out of the sugar jar without flinching every morning and actually have to remind myself that the spiders here might be dangerous so I should be a little afraid of them. Even the lizard in my bedroom barely raised my blood pressure.
2) I got to go on an amazing trip to Peru, see my dream of dreams, and experience a little more of South America. And I didn't get raped or robbed! Success.
3) My boyfriend emails me. Every. Single. Night. Sometimes, he writes a lot, sometimes a little but there's always an email. You rock, Joey Kelly!
4) I've gotten to hold so many BABIES. Almost every time I go out to el campo there's a little one to love.
5) Skype. I love Skype. And it's free. It's a free, good thing. I'm writing a thank you letter to whoever invented Skype when I get back to the States. (Anybody have his/her address?) :)
6) I am here during the peak of the mango season. I know I've mentioned my undying devotion to them before but my housemates told me that -no joke- I'm starting to smell like them. They are leaking out of my pores. I haven't turned orange yet but I'll keep you updated.
7) Montero is a pretty safe town to explore. I walk around by myself all the time without problems and this gives me a freedom that I'd go crazy without.
8) The fan in my bedroom. My room would be a hotter oven without it.
9) I've only gotten sick a handful of times and never for more than a day. I might owe my body a thank you letter when I get back too.
10) Mirna, our secretary is such a great friend. And her 2 year old son finally likes me! There may have been some bribery with cookies involved in that one, he's a timid little guy!
11) Disney movies in Spanish. So great!
12) The weather here is beautiful. I'm worried that I will freeze to death when I head back to Washington.
13) The street food here is so amazing! If you can get over the sketchy-ness of it, it's some of the tastiest food ever! Last night, some friends and I sat at a woman's cart, where she had raw chicken in gallon buckets that she was frying up with yucca (that weird potato thing) and veggies. A plate was less than the American dollar!
14) Jesus isn't just in America. Amen? Amen.
15) Tomorrow, I get to tour the prenatal care/birthing center at the hospital in Santa Cruz! I am so excited that this opportunity fell into my lap as I've always been passionate about maternal/child health. It's not how I'd usually spend Thanksgiving but one I'm sure that I won't forget :)
Traditionally, my family always goes around the table before we eat our Thanksgiving feast to say what we're thankful for. If I was going to be there tomorrow, I'd probably mention some of these things for which I have a thankful heart!
1) I'm not scared of bugs. I pick the ants out of the sugar jar without flinching every morning and actually have to remind myself that the spiders here might be dangerous so I should be a little afraid of them. Even the lizard in my bedroom barely raised my blood pressure.
2) I got to go on an amazing trip to Peru, see my dream of dreams, and experience a little more of South America. And I didn't get raped or robbed! Success.
3) My boyfriend emails me. Every. Single. Night. Sometimes, he writes a lot, sometimes a little but there's always an email. You rock, Joey Kelly!
4) I've gotten to hold so many BABIES. Almost every time I go out to el campo there's a little one to love.
5) Skype. I love Skype. And it's free. It's a free, good thing. I'm writing a thank you letter to whoever invented Skype when I get back to the States. (Anybody have his/her address?) :)
6) I am here during the peak of the mango season. I know I've mentioned my undying devotion to them before but my housemates told me that -no joke- I'm starting to smell like them. They are leaking out of my pores. I haven't turned orange yet but I'll keep you updated.
7) Montero is a pretty safe town to explore. I walk around by myself all the time without problems and this gives me a freedom that I'd go crazy without.
8) The fan in my bedroom. My room would be a hotter oven without it.
9) I've only gotten sick a handful of times and never for more than a day. I might owe my body a thank you letter when I get back too.
10) Mirna, our secretary is such a great friend. And her 2 year old son finally likes me! There may have been some bribery with cookies involved in that one, he's a timid little guy!
11) Disney movies in Spanish. So great!
12) The weather here is beautiful. I'm worried that I will freeze to death when I head back to Washington.
13) The street food here is so amazing! If you can get over the sketchy-ness of it, it's some of the tastiest food ever! Last night, some friends and I sat at a woman's cart, where she had raw chicken in gallon buckets that she was frying up with yucca (that weird potato thing) and veggies. A plate was less than the American dollar!
14) Jesus isn't just in America. Amen? Amen.
15) Tomorrow, I get to tour the prenatal care/birthing center at the hospital in Santa Cruz! I am so excited that this opportunity fell into my lap as I've always been passionate about maternal/child health. It's not how I'd usually spend Thanksgiving but one I'm sure that I won't forget :)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Weekend Thoughts
I apologize ahead of time for the choppiness of this post! Some days, I feel like I've got the writing groove going on but today that groove has alluded me. But the weekend has come and gone so here we go!
Mirna invited me to go with her and her family to a concert in Santa Cruz on Saturday night. The first group to perform was pretty much the Bolivian version of the Backstreet Boys -only with matching orange and blue outfits. Their dance moves made me giggle, they were so sappy! But the sappiness was missed by every teenage girl there so I kept my giggling to a minimum. Not that I was heard over the screeching/screaming that was going on anyway.
The next group was a traditional Bolivian band and the crowd really went wild for them! They may be the equivalent of U2 in the States. They were pretty neat and I enjoyed them! But honestly, what I enjoyed most about the concert was this coconut milk popsicle thing I had. I'm telling you, these people know how to make ice cream, yogurt, and juice. Which, ironically are things that I cannot easily take back to the States with me. Rats.
After the concert, we headed further into the city of Santa Cruz. The last time I was in Santa Cruz was when my plane landed and I remembered not being super impressed by how nice it was. My coworkers kept saying, "Isn't this pretty? Look at that! How impressive, no?" And of course I would smile and nod but inside, I'm thinking "Yeah, it's nice but it's not amazing." Well, after a week in rustic Montero, my eyes were sure opened! Almost every store and street had me captivated by how beautiful and shiny everything was. There was even a shopping mall! Whoah, right? Country girl meets the city :)
We were able to go to a fair in Santa Cruz and it was there that I risked my life on a ferris wheel. It wasn't until I got on the ride that it occurred to me that I was trusting rusty arms of steel to plummet me to earth just short of suicide. "IS THAT BOLT LOOSE?" There were way too many creaks and groans for my liking but it made what could have been a boring ride, anything but! I have to say though that the view from the top was incredible!
By this time, we were all hungry so we ate at a street side BBQ. And by BBQ I mean, there's a woman, with a decrepit grill, slices of meat, and a big pot of soggy rice. You sit yourself in the patio furniture and she serves you up. It's pretty crazy. It was here that I had my first taste of some sort of intestines. Folks, I cannot recommend them. Whatever the gray paste inside of them was, it was really, really...yucky. Not even Mirna's daughters ate them. I pulled the whole spit-it-out-in-your-napkin-while-acting-like-you're-wiping-your-mouth trick. Love that one.
Mirna's family was very, very hospitable and super nice to me. I cannot express in either of the languages that I know, what it means to be invited into a family for a night when you have barely known them for a week. It is definitely making me wish that I would have reached out to international students more when I was at WWU.
On Sunday, I was able to attend church here! The service was definitely different than what I am used to but it was great and I was able to understand the pastor without any problems. I also met two sisters and they've already invited me to go to a celebration with them next weekend. I'd like you to take a minute to appreciate whatever community/friends/family that YOU got to hang out with this weekend. Fellowship is something that I definitely don't take for granted here!
Ok, last thing and then I'll end this mammoth post: I had completely forgotten the custom of greeting a newcomer during church services in Latin America and so when the announcement guy started talking about "our newcomer, David" I was completely clueless -until one of the sisters told me to stand up. It was then that I caught on that I was David. The whole church then recited a greeting to me, while I turned a deep shade of scarlet. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything.
Phew, ok. Believe it or not that was my weekend in a nutshell. Good job if you got through all of that! I'll try to make the next one shorter :) Thanks for reading!
Mirna invited me to go with her and her family to a concert in Santa Cruz on Saturday night. The first group to perform was pretty much the Bolivian version of the Backstreet Boys -only with matching orange and blue outfits. Their dance moves made me giggle, they were so sappy! But the sappiness was missed by every teenage girl there so I kept my giggling to a minimum. Not that I was heard over the screeching/screaming that was going on anyway.
The next group was a traditional Bolivian band and the crowd really went wild for them! They may be the equivalent of U2 in the States. They were pretty neat and I enjoyed them! But honestly, what I enjoyed most about the concert was this coconut milk popsicle thing I had. I'm telling you, these people know how to make ice cream, yogurt, and juice. Which, ironically are things that I cannot easily take back to the States with me. Rats.
After the concert, we headed further into the city of Santa Cruz. The last time I was in Santa Cruz was when my plane landed and I remembered not being super impressed by how nice it was. My coworkers kept saying, "Isn't this pretty? Look at that! How impressive, no?" And of course I would smile and nod but inside, I'm thinking "Yeah, it's nice but it's not amazing." Well, after a week in rustic Montero, my eyes were sure opened! Almost every store and street had me captivated by how beautiful and shiny everything was. There was even a shopping mall! Whoah, right? Country girl meets the city :)
We were able to go to a fair in Santa Cruz and it was there that I risked my life on a ferris wheel. It wasn't until I got on the ride that it occurred to me that I was trusting rusty arms of steel to plummet me to earth just short of suicide. "IS THAT BOLT LOOSE?" There were way too many creaks and groans for my liking but it made what could have been a boring ride, anything but! I have to say though that the view from the top was incredible!
By this time, we were all hungry so we ate at a street side BBQ. And by BBQ I mean, there's a woman, with a decrepit grill, slices of meat, and a big pot of soggy rice. You sit yourself in the patio furniture and she serves you up. It's pretty crazy. It was here that I had my first taste of some sort of intestines. Folks, I cannot recommend them. Whatever the gray paste inside of them was, it was really, really...yucky. Not even Mirna's daughters ate them. I pulled the whole spit-it-out-in-your-napkin-while-acting-like-you're-wiping-your-mouth trick. Love that one.
Mirna's family was very, very hospitable and super nice to me. I cannot express in either of the languages that I know, what it means to be invited into a family for a night when you have barely known them for a week. It is definitely making me wish that I would have reached out to international students more when I was at WWU.
On Sunday, I was able to attend church here! The service was definitely different than what I am used to but it was great and I was able to understand the pastor without any problems. I also met two sisters and they've already invited me to go to a celebration with them next weekend. I'd like you to take a minute to appreciate whatever community/friends/family that YOU got to hang out with this weekend. Fellowship is something that I definitely don't take for granted here!
Ok, last thing and then I'll end this mammoth post: I had completely forgotten the custom of greeting a newcomer during church services in Latin America and so when the announcement guy started talking about "our newcomer, David" I was completely clueless -until one of the sisters told me to stand up. It was then that I caught on that I was David. The whole church then recited a greeting to me, while I turned a deep shade of scarlet. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything.
Phew, ok. Believe it or not that was my weekend in a nutshell. Good job if you got through all of that! I'll try to make the next one shorter :) Thanks for reading!
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