Hola! I have had a very relaxed week, so I really have no excuse for not posting. Normally I have work at the clinic in the morning, go home for a quick lunch, and then go to class until 6:30pm. I never really have time to do anything because once I´ve eaten dinner and done my Spanish homework (or watch Guate television with my family, which is kind of like Spanish homework), I just want to relax and go to bed. But this week I´m not taking class, so I have the afternoons free. It has been great to be able to explore Xela more - which I never feel comfortable doing at night - and study, read and see Harry Potter, which was a tad confusing in Spanish, but I think I understood it for the most part. And I have had an extra relaxing week because I also haven´t had work, due to a protest/strike blockading the road for the last few days - what about I have no idea. Last weekend I went to Lago Atitlan, which is a gorgeous lake surrounded by little towns and three large (dormant) volcanoes. I traveled with my work friend Jessica, and her two friends from school, Joelle and Lisa. We had an amazing time and didnt want to leave! After a three hour chicken bus ride, we found a cheap hotel (Q25 = $3) for Friday night in San Pedro. The hotel was basic but lovely, and had a great view of the lake. We went to dinner at an Israeli restaurant that was all floor seating, meaning you sat in a semicircle floor space with a million pillows and a small coffee table to eat on. It was beautiful and perfect for a quick nap while we waited for our food, which probably took about an hour. It was so pretty (of course we all forgot our cameras), with paper machete globe lamps over every table and a lush jungle-looking area in the back. It was definitely the most relaxing meal of my life! The next day we wandered around town a bit and took kayaks out on the lake, which was gorgeous! We then took a boat to San Marcos, which was very crunchy - lots of meditation retreats and massage places etc. Our friends who were there before us told us to look for the ¨Chocolate Shaman¨who is a gringo named Keith that makes and sells chocolate. After a lot of wrong turns, we finally stumbled upon a small wooden door with a laminated sign reading ¨Cacao Ceremony & Intensives.¨ After a few knocks, Keith the Chocolate Shaman comes rushing to the door, apologizing for leaving it locked, and ushers us onto his porch. Once we tell him that we were advised to visit him by friends, but know nothing about him except that he sells chocolate, he launches into a long winded story which includes his journey of shamanism, his encounter with the chocolate shaman goddess, who tells him how to make and where to find cacao beans (used to make chocolate), his opinion on the lack of antioxidants in conventional chocolate, a brief rant on American society, a meditation exercise and step by step instructions on how to harvest and make chocolate. Of course, at the end of all this, we bought some chocolate, which I am excited to experiment with. One thing I loved about this excursion, besides that it makes a good story, is that I got to see every step it takes to make a bar of chocolate, something that is nearly impossible to do with any food item in the states.
This coming weekend I would like to go to Fuentes Georginas, which are natural hot springs outside of Xela which is apparently crawling with tourists but very fun and relaxing. I also want to hike Volcan Santa Maria on Sunday, which is supposed to be very difficult, so Im a little nervous. All hiking here is very difficult because of the altitude, and Santa Maria is very steep, but I want to do it eventually so I might as well do it now! Wish me luck!!
I am planning to post again very soon about my experience with the clinic and how it has effected my outlook on Public Health, and the accounts of the Civil War and genocide that I have gathered from my host family and teachers.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
First bump in the road
I had a pretty rough day at work today. Normally we have children come to the clinic for health classes, but when we teach more advanced topics to the 5th and 6th graders, we go into the schools. Today I was teaching sexual education to a class of 6th graders. Beforehand, our director told us that the school had restrictions for us on what we could and could not teach. The school requested that we only discuss sexual relationships in the context of marriage and that we were not allowed to discuss contraceptives and preventative pregnancy measures in detail. Guatemala has a very strong Roman Catholic culture, which clearly has a presence at the schools. This was very frusrating and difficult, especially considering teenage pregnancy is a very large problem in Guatemala. Often girls become pregrant at the age of 12 and 13, which alters their lives at a very early age, and is also phsyically very dangerous and potentially life threatening. Teenage pregnancy also results in an early end to education, which can be economically stunting for a young woman, who no longer has the opportunity to continue her education, work or become independent. It is heartbreaking for me because we have so much information that we could teach and that could truly improve or save their lives, and we were not able to fully explain or exphasize it because of cultural boundaries. It is very hard because im here to try to improve their quality of life and give them health education and I am unable to fully teach them the most important thing for them to know. However, at the same time, I don´t want to cast judgement based on my experience, upbringing and culturally subjective ideas of what is a good education. We did push the boundaries and wrote the forms of contraceptives on the board, which I hope allowed them to write them down and research them on their own. We also had them anononmously write questions, which we read aloud: we had about 10 questions asking what a condom was, after which we couldn´t not explain in more detail.
Another twist: 5 minutes into begining our class, the teacher asked if we could pause to go watch a theater group that was performing for the students. This theater group was an American church organization performing a dramatic reenactment of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am in no way against Christian missionaries - faith based groups are and have been for centuries the leading advocate for the poor. However, I didn´t understand what the point was of preaching one´s religion to a group of children and teachers, but not conributing anything else. Also, their tactic was very partionizing and demeaning, in that they utilized flashy effects such as a clown and dramatic music to draw in the children´s attention.
The contrast between the attention and acceptance the church group received and the hushed manner in which we needed to conduct our class was upsetting. However, I was able to provide some form of sexual education to a group of young people that may never receive structured sexual education again. For that I am very grateful.
Another twist: 5 minutes into begining our class, the teacher asked if we could pause to go watch a theater group that was performing for the students. This theater group was an American church organization performing a dramatic reenactment of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am in no way against Christian missionaries - faith based groups are and have been for centuries the leading advocate for the poor. However, I didn´t understand what the point was of preaching one´s religion to a group of children and teachers, but not conributing anything else. Also, their tactic was very partionizing and demeaning, in that they utilized flashy effects such as a clown and dramatic music to draw in the children´s attention.
The contrast between the attention and acceptance the church group received and the hushed manner in which we needed to conduct our class was upsetting. However, I was able to provide some form of sexual education to a group of young people that may never receive structured sexual education again. For that I am very grateful.
Friday, July 1, 2011
¿Como te fue?
This past weekend I got a chance to explore Xela, learn a lot about the history and social environment of Guatemala, and of course learn some Español. It is hard to describe Xela, but in very few words, everything is brightly colored, relaxed, kind of broken and very very cheap. Everywhere sinks and toilets don´t work, chairs are missing a leg, paint is peeling and sidewalks are trash ridden. But it doesn´t feel inconvenient, it´s just how things are everywhere, and I´ve started to understand it. Why would you fix it if it´s still useable, even if it looks bad. I hiked Laguna Chicabal last weekend, which was beautiful but torturous. It was very very steep and the air is very thin (Xela is already almost 3,000 feet up, with Chicabal at almost 9,000 ft.) Regardless of feeling out of shape, it was great to check Chicabal off my list of places I want to go.
Working at Primeros Pasos has been a very rewarding experience thus far. I´m working with the Children´s Health Program, in which I teach health classes in the clinic and at local schools.The classes address healthy eating habits, safe drinking water (bottled water or boiled for 20 minutes), preventing parasites and general hygiene such as washing your hands and brushing your teeth. When the students come into the clinic - they often range from Kindergarden to 6th grade - they are weighed, have their height taken and give us a feces sample. A huge health problem in the area is parasites, which they can get from eating food without washing it, not washing their hands before eating or after touching animals or playing outside. They can also get parasites or bacterial infections if their drink sink or river water, which is very common. Most of the students that come to the clinic already have parasites, which they would not have treated if they had not come in with their class. I have acquired some doubts and concerns as I learn about the issue addressed and the approach used by Primeros Pasos. My thoughts are in no way critiques of Primeros Pasos, but obstacles for any organization trying to solve a large poverty-related problem. Although it seems that the kids are absorbing the information we are giving them in the health class, I fear that they are just very good at regurgitating information and saying what the teacher wants to hear, considering the public education system is very basic and non-participatory. Also, parents are often uneducated, and give their children unhealthy foods because it is cheaper and readily available. Understanding this, I find it very hard to believe that children are rejecting cookies offered by their parents and begging for broccoli just because we tell them its good for them. In regards to water, having safe drinking water - which is pretty much just bottled water - is expensive, so even if parents know the sink water is unsafe for their children, they don´t have much of a choice. One thing I think Primeros Pasos does a great job of is providing quality health care. Any person that comes to the clinic receives complete quality care and free medicine if their are unable to pay. Also, unlike most hospitals and clinics in the area, we have our own pharmacy, which means patients don´t need to make a trip into Xela or have to pay for expensive medicine. This small convenience is the difference between treatment and helplessly knowing your child has parasites (lice, bacterial infection etc.) and not being able to do anything about it. As is commonly known in the development field, approaches to public health need to comprehensive, accessible and simple. I am starting to see the truth in that first-hand.
This weekend I am traveling to Tilapita, a charming little beach a few hours outside of Xela and I am so excited to lay out in the sun! Above are some pictures of Xela and Chicabal - more to come!
Working at Primeros Pasos has been a very rewarding experience thus far. I´m working with the Children´s Health Program, in which I teach health classes in the clinic and at local schools.The classes address healthy eating habits, safe drinking water (bottled water or boiled for 20 minutes), preventing parasites and general hygiene such as washing your hands and brushing your teeth. When the students come into the clinic - they often range from Kindergarden to 6th grade - they are weighed, have their height taken and give us a feces sample. A huge health problem in the area is parasites, which they can get from eating food without washing it, not washing their hands before eating or after touching animals or playing outside. They can also get parasites or bacterial infections if their drink sink or river water, which is very common. Most of the students that come to the clinic already have parasites, which they would not have treated if they had not come in with their class. I have acquired some doubts and concerns as I learn about the issue addressed and the approach used by Primeros Pasos. My thoughts are in no way critiques of Primeros Pasos, but obstacles for any organization trying to solve a large poverty-related problem. Although it seems that the kids are absorbing the information we are giving them in the health class, I fear that they are just very good at regurgitating information and saying what the teacher wants to hear, considering the public education system is very basic and non-participatory. Also, parents are often uneducated, and give their children unhealthy foods because it is cheaper and readily available. Understanding this, I find it very hard to believe that children are rejecting cookies offered by their parents and begging for broccoli just because we tell them its good for them. In regards to water, having safe drinking water - which is pretty much just bottled water - is expensive, so even if parents know the sink water is unsafe for their children, they don´t have much of a choice. One thing I think Primeros Pasos does a great job of is providing quality health care. Any person that comes to the clinic receives complete quality care and free medicine if their are unable to pay. Also, unlike most hospitals and clinics in the area, we have our own pharmacy, which means patients don´t need to make a trip into Xela or have to pay for expensive medicine. This small convenience is the difference between treatment and helplessly knowing your child has parasites (lice, bacterial infection etc.) and not being able to do anything about it. As is commonly known in the development field, approaches to public health need to comprehensive, accessible and simple. I am starting to see the truth in that first-hand.
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