Written Aug 20th
Rio sucio is a river community. Flooding is not something new here. The houses are built already elevated to, hopefully, accommodate the river water as it gets in. As our house cleaner said, it is just like Venice; except that instead of romantic gondolas, there are leaky old canoes with small motors attached (boat-taxi), and instead of beautiful arquitecture, there are very poor wood houses, infested with rats. I asked her why don’t people move to some place higher ground, and she replied that everything floods around here. But I think it is more than that. The people have a unique relationship with the river here, and their lives literally revolve around it.
On my boat ride to the clinic I can observe that lifestyle very clearly: the little kids running around naked and bathing on the river with their siblings playing in it, while the women scrub their clothes clean; somebody is peeling vegetables and washing it on the river, somebody else is getting water with a big basin, and so on.
Walking around town is a real skill. Some places have raised “catwalks” made of wood boards supported very precariously by more loose wood. I now understand where the name catwalk came from. One has to really be a cat to navigate them with any grace. I am no cat, and looked quite ridiculous trying to walk and not fall on the water. If I looked up to the distance ahead of me I would start to panic. So instead I had to concentrate on each step while doing it, specially when you get to the middle of the board, which is quite bouncy. Somehow I managed to stay dry.
Today I went to the clinic and started to get acquainted with the way things work and how things are done here. The last bit of the evening I spent with the GP, observing the consults. It was just after the power went down, and with it, the fans. The ObGyn also had to stop, since his ultrasound machine powered off. The room where the GP worked was by far the hottest in the place, with the sun hitting a window by his desk right on. I was melting and couldn’t stop complaining about it. He just kept patiently mopping the sweat of his forehead with a towel in between questions to his patients. The water was also not working, so he patiently rubbed some alcohol on his hands between patients instead of washing them. I admired his patience. It was getting late and I know he barely had time to eat anything today. How many doctors could function in these conditions and still keep a cool, patient and professional attitude…
The patients are many, and the issues very sad to hear about, sexual violence being among them. Fortunately MSF offers not only medical help here, but also psychology and social services.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The things you see on the road
Written yesterday, posted today:
Yesterday I finally arrived in my mission: Apartado, Colombia. The original plan was that I was to get an early flight at 6am, with a connection in Medellin at 08 and arrive at 0845. But when it comes to me taking an airplane, something has to happen, right? So, I was not surprised when they announced that the airport in Medellin was closed due to poor weather, and it didn’t reopen for 2 hours. I was also not surprised when I missed my connection to Apartado, because of miscommunication. Similarly, I wasn’t alarmed at all when the next flight was only late for mere 6 hours and I had to sit patiently at the air port with my i-pod. Looking at the bright side, at least my luggage made it, and actually got here before me, since it did take the connection I missed.
When I looked up Apartado on google, from my comfy chair in Canada, I didn’t find a whole lot of info, but it said that the economy was based on the plantation of Bananas and Platano. So I imagined a few banana farms. Well, was I ever wrong… this is banana LAND. Coming down on the plane, as far as you can see on the horizon, it is banana trees. Amazing… everywhere you look there are banana trees. I mean everywhere, with their bananas carefully covered with blue plastic for bug protection. I thought the plane was going to land on them.
Anyways, that was yesterday. Today I was put on the road already, and didn’t even had time to unpack, but rather had to repack everything (or rather a few MSF t-shirts, a hammock, mosquito net and essential items) in my “new” (in reality used, but new to me) MSF backpack. We got into the car early, at 0730am, bound to Rio Sucio, a small community in which there is a “hospital” and MSF has a small clinic.
I was quite impressed with the road initially; narrow but decent pavement. But that was just the start. We take a turn to the right and then it’s welcome to the moon. Big craters, mud and a lot of bouncing. I realize now why MSF cars have tall roofs: to avoid head injuries from banging your head so much. We did this jumping around for 3 hours, our skilled driver didn’t get stuck once, and there were occasions when I was sure we would get stuck.
On the road I saw many interesting things. One of them was the “bus”, which consists of a small truck that looks like a 4x4 jeep to me. It would beep when passing a village and people jump on the back. If the back is full, then they jump up on the roof. We passed several of them with the roof packed with people trying to hold on to this little metal bar. I have no idea how they manage to hang on while the truck negotiates the big holes and the mud, but they must do it since I saw nobody lying dead on the road.
We stopped at a small village for a break and a little girl, obviously curious about this big white truck and this funny people with white t-shirts mustered the courage to approach us and ask questions. She was 12 and I was happy to notice that she looked healthy and well nourished; she was also attending school. The village was very poor, that was not a question. But I saw several children on their school uniforms, carrying their books and looking at us with curiosity.
We continued our journey to Rio Sucio, passed a military roadblock with no difficulty. They just looked at our little flag, that the car has with the MSF logo on, and opened the gate without any questions.
Although we didn’t have to stop for the military, we had to stop for the cows. About 100 of them, or maybe more. Walking quickly with the cowboys on their tails. Cows gone, we kept going.
Finally arrived in rio sucio around noon. We leave the car at the entrance of town and proceed to the MSF house by boat. The town is flooding. I got to meet some of the MSF team at the clinic briefly: one GP, a ObGyn (that comes once a month), one nurse, and a bacteriologist.
At the house I met the coordination team and we went out for lunch. When walking on the street, the water was going up almost to my knees, but just low enough for the rubber boots, so I did not get wet. Lunch was good, beef, rice, beans and platano (of course).
Back in the house I had more briefings and a look at my schedule for the next month. We are going on an explo mission in a week to a small aboriginal village called Urada. We will have to drive to a certain point and then proceed on foot for 3 to 4 hours. At least we will have some mules to help carry the supplies, but there was a big debate here on how to carry the water. There are 9 of us going, and we need at least 3L of water per person per day. That is a lot of water to carry and I am not sure how it is going to be done, but I trust the expertise of these guys.
Tomorrow I am going to the clinic and getting to work finally. But first I have to survive the night with the rats. I can hear one somewhere in my room and have already found “evidence” of their presence. They reassured me that with the mosquito net I am safe in my bed, and that ultrasonic rat repellents have been ordered along with fumigation the end of this month. For tonight I just have to tuck in my mosquito net tightly and pretend that what I hear is a bird. If only I had my cat here… But overall I am very happy to be here, and very happy to be able to help.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Yo Pito, tu pitas, el pita...
Written Aug 13, posted today. Image from Colombia Reports.
Yesterday a car exploded in front of a big building here. It was 0530 in the
morning, so luckily the damage was "mostly" material. Or I think I should
say that the most noticeable damage was material. Buildings all around it
have broken windows, all the way up to floors that are very high up from the
ground. I can only imagine the force of the blast to cause such damage. As I
have written on my previous entry, the mental and psychic damage in this
country is already very serious, and incidents like this one certainly don't
help.
I have driven by the place twice while going places. My cab driver alerted
me against taking pictures; he said we would be lynched. I understood. This
is not a tourist attraction for me to be taking pictures of. It is a true
tragedy. We drove by it in silence and I said I silent prayer. Thank God
nobody died.
Yo Pito, tu pitas, el pita..
Pitar, in Spanish means to honk the horn (of a car), and boy do they ever
like doing it here. I don't know.. there must be some sort of excitement,
heat or whatever that they feel when they honk that horn. Maybe it is their
way of relieving all their accumulated frustrations. Since they can't go out
on the street and yell, maybe honking the horn is the next best thing. I
really don't know. What I know is that it is very annoying and after a while
it loses it's purpose of alerting someone to something, since you are just
filtering the sound out of your head.
The other day we were stopped on a traffic jam (as usual) and there was an
ambulance somewhere behind us with the siren on. Since cars don't fly, there
was absolutely no way of moving the cars out of the way for the ambulance to
pass. So, what is the logical thing to do? Well, if you are Colombian, to
honk the horn! So, a horn concert started until the traffic started to move
again.
Canadians are the complete opposite. Even when they have reason to do it,
they don't. For example, in Canada, if there is a red light on an
intersection, you can still turn right as long as there is no car coming.
You just need to stop at the light, signal, and turn. Because in Brazil you
always have to wait for the green light, I am often waiting for the green
light even when I could be turning right. I just forget about it. You would
think that the person behind me, who also wants to turn right would give a
little beep to wake me up, but no. Nobody has ever beeped me. They just sit
behind me and wait for me to make up my mind. That's just the way Canadians
are I guess, very patient people.
morning, so luckily the damage was "mostly" material. Or I think I should
say that the most noticeable damage was material. Buildings all around it
have broken windows, all the way up to floors that are very high up from the
ground. I can only imagine the force of the blast to cause such damage. As I
have written on my previous entry, the mental and psychic damage in this
country is already very serious, and incidents like this one certainly don't
help.
I have driven by the place twice while going places. My cab driver alerted
me against taking pictures; he said we would be lynched. I understood. This
is not a tourist attraction for me to be taking pictures of. It is a true
tragedy. We drove by it in silence and I said I silent prayer. Thank God
nobody died.
Yo Pito, tu pitas, el pita..
Pitar, in Spanish means to honk the horn (of a car), and boy do they ever
like doing it here. I don't know.. there must be some sort of excitement,
heat or whatever that they feel when they honk that horn. Maybe it is their
way of relieving all their accumulated frustrations. Since they can't go out
on the street and yell, maybe honking the horn is the next best thing. I
really don't know. What I know is that it is very annoying and after a while
it loses it's purpose of alerting someone to something, since you are just
filtering the sound out of your head.
The other day we were stopped on a traffic jam (as usual) and there was an
ambulance somewhere behind us with the siren on. Since cars don't fly, there
was absolutely no way of moving the cars out of the way for the ambulance to
pass. So, what is the logical thing to do? Well, if you are Colombian, to
honk the horn! So, a horn concert started until the traffic started to move
again.
Canadians are the complete opposite. Even when they have reason to do it,
they don't. For example, in Canada, if there is a red light on an
intersection, you can still turn right as long as there is no car coming.
You just need to stop at the light, signal, and turn. Because in Brazil you
always have to wait for the green light, I am often waiting for the green
light even when I could be turning right. I just forget about it. You would
think that the person behind me, who also wants to turn right would give a
little beep to wake me up, but no. Nobody has ever beeped me. They just sit
behind me and wait for me to make up my mind. That's just the way Canadians
are I guess, very patient people.
Colombian fear and paranoia syndrome
Sadly I have reached the conclusion that the Colombian population suffers with what I have named the “Colombian fear and paranoia syndrome” (CFPS). It is a syndrome characterized by a extreme paranoia that everybody is “out to get you” and fear that chances are that the worst that can happen, might very likely happen, therefore it is very important and necessary to take all the possible steps to avoid it from happening.
Take for example, the simple act of taking a taxi. There is a whole huge set of rules and precautions that one must take before and while taking a taxi. You can take the risk of stopping a car on the street, like we do in north America, but that is considered risky. The safest way is to call the taxi from your home. The company will then give you the license plate of the car and a password, which is the last two numbers of your phone. So, when the car arrives he will ask you for the code and you get in.
During the taxi trip, I have been told (by several people) that it is advisable that you call somebody from your cell phone and tell him/her what time you will be expected at your destination. This way, if you don’t show up when expected they know something is wrong and it also tells the driver that it is not a good idea to kidnap you because somebody will miss you right away.
I have also been told you can’t give the taxi drivers large bills, because they often have false bills and will give you those for your change. Talking about false bills, it is very common for people here to actually check if a note is false or not when you pay something.
I have found a taxi driver that actually has a seat belt that works on his back seat and that drives well. So I call him directly to pick me up and with that, I thought I could dispense with the CFPS for a while. One day he was caught up and couldn’t pick me up. Worried that I would have to risk getting a cab from the streets, he reviewed all the “taking cab” rules with me on the phone, including the rule “mirrale la cara” (something like look into the driver’s eyes and decide if he is nice or not).
Everyday I learn some new rule directly derived from CFPS. Today I learned that when you are in the car you don’t leave your purse on the seat, visible to somebody outside. They can break a window to grab it or something like that. You also always lock the door.
Other rules include, carrying change handy, so that you don’t show anybody how much money you have. When paying with credit card, I always have to show them a piece of ID, write down the number on the receipt, sign AND write my phone number.
To sum up, here everybody is assumed guilty until proven innocent. You can’t trust anybody and you can’t help anybody. You always have to assume the worst, and hope for the best. I can only imagine what has taken place here that has transformed the conscience of the Columbian people into this state of constant alertness and fear.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Apologies
I apologize for the lack of postings this week. I have written two, but I can't post them until I get the ok from my head of mission. So, I am waiting...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Touristing
Written Sunday, posted today
So yesterday the new president of Colombia took office here in Bogota. The friday before, there were concerts and other celebrations around town. I wanted to go watch the fireworks, but was not allowed to go, due to security reasons... I also wanted to go watch the new president take office, but was promptly told by MSF that I could not go, security reasons again. One of the Colombians here told me that 8 years ago when president Uribe took office, there were some bombings. So instead I had to just content myself with hearing the helicopters and jet planes flying above my apartment all day long while my spanish teacher patiently tried to explain to me what the hell are tiempos compuestos and all that jazz (spanish is so difficult.. but I am making porgress).
But today I was free (a little bit more free). My teacher and her sister took me around Bogota to visit and, of course, to practice spanish. By the way, do you know why the airport of Bogota is called El Dorado? Apparently, a long time ago, the local indigenous tribe (the Muisca) would offer gold to the Gods by throwing it in the lake of Guatavita. Therefore, the european explores have searched that gold for a long time and believed that there was a place here where gold was very abundant: El Dorado. Interesting, no? Anyways, there was a lot of gold that the caciques used to wear and I was impressed by the nose jewels...they are so big! I am so glad that the nose fashion did not stick around. That´s got to be uncomfortable.
I love walking around really old places, like the streets of Candelaria here in Bogota. They have the magic power to transport you to a different time and a different place, and I like to imagine what the sounds and smells would be like, what people would be doing, what kind of faces I would see, etc.
Candelaria is the neighbourhood where Bogota started. There is a big square (Plaza de Bolivar) with a nice church and the government buildings, and in the middle of it all there was.... a llama! Yes, so of course I took a picture with it. Such a cute llama.
We also visited the exposition of Botero, a famous Colombian artist who paints everything fat and big. It was very therapeutic as I felt very slim, specially when standing beside the sculpture of this huge naked model. Must be why people like his paintings.
Also had the opportunity to eat the typical dish of bogota, a soup called Ajiaco, very, very tasty. I recommend it, but the bowl they served me could have easily fed three Raquels.
Anyways, this it it for now.
So yesterday the new president of Colombia took office here in Bogota. The friday before, there were concerts and other celebrations around town. I wanted to go watch the fireworks, but was not allowed to go, due to security reasons... I also wanted to go watch the new president take office, but was promptly told by MSF that I could not go, security reasons again. One of the Colombians here told me that 8 years ago when president Uribe took office, there were some bombings. So instead I had to just content myself with hearing the helicopters and jet planes flying above my apartment all day long while my spanish teacher patiently tried to explain to me what the hell are tiempos compuestos and all that jazz (spanish is so difficult.. but I am making porgress).
But today I was free (a little bit more free). My teacher and her sister took me around Bogota to visit and, of course, to practice spanish. By the way, do you know why the airport of Bogota is called El Dorado? Apparently, a long time ago, the local indigenous tribe (the Muisca) would offer gold to the Gods by throwing it in the lake of Guatavita. Therefore, the european explores have searched that gold for a long time and believed that there was a place here where gold was very abundant: El Dorado. Interesting, no? Anyways, there was a lot of gold that the caciques used to wear and I was impressed by the nose jewels...they are so big! I am so glad that the nose fashion did not stick around. That´s got to be uncomfortable.
I love walking around really old places, like the streets of Candelaria here in Bogota. They have the magic power to transport you to a different time and a different place, and I like to imagine what the sounds and smells would be like, what people would be doing, what kind of faces I would see, etc.
Candelaria is the neighbourhood where Bogota started. There is a big square (Plaza de Bolivar) with a nice church and the government buildings, and in the middle of it all there was.... a llama! Yes, so of course I took a picture with it. Such a cute llama.
We also visited the exposition of Botero, a famous Colombian artist who paints everything fat and big. It was very therapeutic as I felt very slim, specially when standing beside the sculpture of this huge naked model. Must be why people like his paintings.
Also had the opportunity to eat the typical dish of bogota, a soup called Ajiaco, very, very tasty. I recommend it, but the bowl they served me could have easily fed three Raquels.
Anyways, this it it for now.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Must be my luck
Written yesterday and posted today: (I apologize in advance for my english, but my head is a complete mess of languages right now and I imagine it is going to get worse)
Three days now without my luggage... I am starting to get worried and cranky. The good news is that they have at least figured out where my bags are. The bad news is that they are still in Vancouver and won't be here for another 2 days. Well, if they are in Vancouver at least my chocolates are not melting.
Must be my luck, because I tend to have major incoveniences when I am traveling long distances. The fist time I went back to back to Brazil, they wouldn't let me into the plane to go back to Canada because there was some stamp, that I didn't know I needed, missing on my passport. I had to spend a day in Sao Paulo begging the Canadian embassy to stamp it. Then, the next time I went to Brazil, a major airline went backrupt exactly on the day I was flying with them and cancelled all their flights. Another day stuck in Sao Paulo's chaotic airport filled with people and trying to find a flight to my city (which they never reimbursed me as promised btw). Another time I got seriously lost on my way to the airport in Sao Paulo and just about missed the flight (and by just about, I mean literally having to run like a mad woman at the airport to get in). Anyways...now, when something bad such as loosing my luggage for 3 days happens to me, I am not surprised anymore. Must be my luck.
But, on to more interesting things. Yesterday I had another day filled with briefings and I would call my day yesterday as my reality check. The impression I had from my comfortable couch in North America while watching the news, was that Colombia's problems and conflicts are mostly a thing of the past, and things are a whole lot better now. I have watched comercials on TV encouraging tourists to come and visit. But yesterday I got the true picture of the reallity here painted for me, and it was an eye opener to realize all the issues going on. The number of displaced people because of armed conflicts is huge, and these people have very difficult access to health care. The private agency that works for the government to provide health care does give them a card, to have access to the services, but since there are no services near the isolated vilages, that card is pretty much useless (but, of course, that private agency is collecting government money for providing the supposed care to them).
Besides access to services, the consequences of decades of armed conflicts are huge in terms of mental health, sexual violence and similar problems. Recently, MSF has published a report called "Three times victims" about the issue of mental health that I recomend you read, to open your eyes.
Also interesting is this video with photographies.
Anyways, that was yesterday. Today I started my spanish lessons. My spanish teacher is an elderly lady, sweet as pie and with a patience the size of this world. I spent the morning with one of her sisters and then she took me for a walk (also to buy some essential items, since I have nothing). Anyways, I saw this really nice building, where the Canadian embassy is and I wanted to take a picture, you know, to show that Bogota has nice buildings too. But I was stopped by a security guard that said pictures of the building are not allowed. I could take a picture of the street (which I would post if I had my USB cable..) if I wanted. That's when again I was forced out of my illusion that all is well here. When you can't even take pictures of a building...
In the evening I was surprised with one of my teacher's family member having a medical emergency. So I ended up the day at the hospital, which I was very curious to see anyways. I suggested we called an ambulance, to which they replied me that it would be faster to take the taxi. So there we go again with the cuco drivers. Once we got there, although the place was full and there were no chairs for her to sit initially, I must say that she got in relativelly quickly and was triaged appropriately. The hospital looked quite old and simple, but other than that I can't say much. She had to pay 2,600 pesos to be seen (which is actually quite cheap, if you have any money at all... I wonder what happens to people that have no money). But anyways, other than that I can't say much else. I had to leave before it was late so I didn't see much. I am pleased that I was able to interview my first "patient" in spanish and I could understand what was going on.
That's it for now. Looking forward for what else is going to happen.
Three days now without my luggage... I am starting to get worried and cranky. The good news is that they have at least figured out where my bags are. The bad news is that they are still in Vancouver and won't be here for another 2 days. Well, if they are in Vancouver at least my chocolates are not melting.
Must be my luck, because I tend to have major incoveniences when I am traveling long distances. The fist time I went back to back to Brazil, they wouldn't let me into the plane to go back to Canada because there was some stamp, that I didn't know I needed, missing on my passport. I had to spend a day in Sao Paulo begging the Canadian embassy to stamp it. Then, the next time I went to Brazil, a major airline went backrupt exactly on the day I was flying with them and cancelled all their flights. Another day stuck in Sao Paulo's chaotic airport filled with people and trying to find a flight to my city (which they never reimbursed me as promised btw). Another time I got seriously lost on my way to the airport in Sao Paulo and just about missed the flight (and by just about, I mean literally having to run like a mad woman at the airport to get in). Anyways...now, when something bad such as loosing my luggage for 3 days happens to me, I am not surprised anymore. Must be my luck.
But, on to more interesting things. Yesterday I had another day filled with briefings and I would call my day yesterday as my reality check. The impression I had from my comfortable couch in North America while watching the news, was that Colombia's problems and conflicts are mostly a thing of the past, and things are a whole lot better now. I have watched comercials on TV encouraging tourists to come and visit. But yesterday I got the true picture of the reallity here painted for me, and it was an eye opener to realize all the issues going on. The number of displaced people because of armed conflicts is huge, and these people have very difficult access to health care. The private agency that works for the government to provide health care does give them a card, to have access to the services, but since there are no services near the isolated vilages, that card is pretty much useless (but, of course, that private agency is collecting government money for providing the supposed care to them).
Besides access to services, the consequences of decades of armed conflicts are huge in terms of mental health, sexual violence and similar problems. Recently, MSF has published a report called "Three times victims" about the issue of mental health that I recomend you read, to open your eyes.
Also interesting is this video with photographies.
Anyways, that was yesterday. Today I started my spanish lessons. My spanish teacher is an elderly lady, sweet as pie and with a patience the size of this world. I spent the morning with one of her sisters and then she took me for a walk (also to buy some essential items, since I have nothing). Anyways, I saw this really nice building, where the Canadian embassy is and I wanted to take a picture, you know, to show that Bogota has nice buildings too. But I was stopped by a security guard that said pictures of the building are not allowed. I could take a picture of the street (which I would post if I had my USB cable..) if I wanted. That's when again I was forced out of my illusion that all is well here. When you can't even take pictures of a building...
In the evening I was surprised with one of my teacher's family member having a medical emergency. So I ended up the day at the hospital, which I was very curious to see anyways. I suggested we called an ambulance, to which they replied me that it would be faster to take the taxi. So there we go again with the cuco drivers. Once we got there, although the place was full and there were no chairs for her to sit initially, I must say that she got in relativelly quickly and was triaged appropriately. The hospital looked quite old and simple, but other than that I can't say much. She had to pay 2,600 pesos to be seen (which is actually quite cheap, if you have any money at all... I wonder what happens to people that have no money). But anyways, other than that I can't say much else. I had to leave before it was late so I didn't see much. I am pleased that I was able to interview my first "patient" in spanish and I could understand what was going on.
That's it for now. Looking forward for what else is going to happen.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bogota - a city under construction
First, I would like tonappologize for the lack of pictures, because my USB cable is in my luggage, which is still lost.
Bogota - a city under construction
Bogota looks a lot like other big cities in Brazil, a crazy maze of streets with drivers just as crazy, chaotic traffic, crumbling pavement and graffiti painted walls.
Bogota has one distinguishing feature: it is under construction. Everywhere you go there is yellow construction tape and make-shift plywood or plastic walls marking construction zones. Lots of new buildings going up and whatever is not going up, it is for sure going down. I don't mean literally, like demolitions, but I mean physically in terms of physical appearance and general looks. Buildings look quite in need of some repair and fresh paint in the best cases. Some cannot be saved at all in my opinion.
Sidewalks are also another item in desperate need for repair. Today I had to go get my immigration register. I got a nice Colombian guide (an MSF human resources employee, properly dressed with a down style jacket on top of another heavy jacket, complete with gloves... I was boiling just looking at her) and she took me walking to another place in town to take pictures. I'll tell ya, those sidewalks can cripple somebody, but somehow I managed not to fall and just twisted my foot a cpl of times while trying to walk fast and hold an umbrella at the same time.
When it was too far to walk, we took the taxi. I kept trying to put my seatbelt on in every taxi we took, but there is no such thing as seat belts for back seat passengers. One of the cars actually had one, but it was tied to the back of the car in a way to prevent you from using it. So, since seat belts wont save me in case of an accident, praying is the only option left. And believe me, it is pure miracle that any taxi driver in this country can have a life expectancy longer than one year on the job. Anybody heard of car lanes by any chance? What about keeping distance from the car in front of you? Signaling BEFORE you jump in front of another car?
Well somehow I made it alive, and enjoyed a day of briefings and paperwork. Our guest house is very far from anything luxurious, but it is comfortable and clean, with no bugs so far. I share a room with a friend that also did the same course in Germany with me, so it is really nice to have a familiar face around. She will be going to a different project here, but we are having all the briefings together, which is nice.
Tomorrow I have more briefings and I get to meet my Spanish teacher, who apparently is quite the character. I am happy that I am understanding most of what people say, as long as they speak slowly, and they can understand my crazy mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and English
Bogota - a city under construction
Bogota looks a lot like other big cities in Brazil, a crazy maze of streets with drivers just as crazy, chaotic traffic, crumbling pavement and graffiti painted walls.
Bogota has one distinguishing feature: it is under construction. Everywhere you go there is yellow construction tape and make-shift plywood or plastic walls marking construction zones. Lots of new buildings going up and whatever is not going up, it is for sure going down. I don't mean literally, like demolitions, but I mean physically in terms of physical appearance and general looks. Buildings look quite in need of some repair and fresh paint in the best cases. Some cannot be saved at all in my opinion.
Sidewalks are also another item in desperate need for repair. Today I had to go get my immigration register. I got a nice Colombian guide (an MSF human resources employee, properly dressed with a down style jacket on top of another heavy jacket, complete with gloves... I was boiling just looking at her) and she took me walking to another place in town to take pictures. I'll tell ya, those sidewalks can cripple somebody, but somehow I managed not to fall and just twisted my foot a cpl of times while trying to walk fast and hold an umbrella at the same time.
When it was too far to walk, we took the taxi. I kept trying to put my seatbelt on in every taxi we took, but there is no such thing as seat belts for back seat passengers. One of the cars actually had one, but it was tied to the back of the car in a way to prevent you from using it. So, since seat belts wont save me in case of an accident, praying is the only option left. And believe me, it is pure miracle that any taxi driver in this country can have a life expectancy longer than one year on the job. Anybody heard of car lanes by any chance? What about keeping distance from the car in front of you? Signaling BEFORE you jump in front of another car?
Well somehow I made it alive, and enjoyed a day of briefings and paperwork. Our guest house is very far from anything luxurious, but it is comfortable and clean, with no bugs so far. I share a room with a friend that also did the same course in Germany with me, so it is really nice to have a familiar face around. She will be going to a different project here, but we are having all the briefings together, which is nice.
Tomorrow I have more briefings and I get to meet my Spanish teacher, who apparently is quite the character. I am happy that I am understanding most of what people say, as long as they speak slowly, and they can understand my crazy mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and English
Monday, August 2, 2010
The international me
As I sit here at YVR with nothing to do, waiting for my delayed flight to Mexico City, I realize that probably everybody around me thinks that I am Mexican. Actually, the mexican a employee who came to help me find a currency exchange booth first greeted me with "hola", instead of the usual hello. It's ok, I am used to that. Usually, in BC people always think that I am east Indian, and the majority of the east indian patients talk to me in punjabi before even asking where I am from. I have been asked many times to go help translate something when I am working in big centers and people don't know where I am from originally. What can I say, I guess I must have an international face.
My background has nothing exotic about it. The typical brazilian mixture of portuguese and south american natives. I thought I was the typical brazilian mulatta. If you go to Brazil you will see lots of me. But funny enough, I have learned that most brazilians living abroad have similar problems and are taken for just about any nationality, but Brazilian. Facebook has a community called "you know you are a brazilian when..", and they mentioned that nobody can figure out where you are from. I have to agree. They also mention a lot of other funny and interesting facts about being a Brazilian. My Brazilian friends will laugh reading it and my non Brazilian friends will learn a bit more about us if you want to check it (just ignore the pictures people posted and read the text on the left side). You can tell me if you agree with the description or not :)
It is extra funny to see the surprise on people's faces, specially my punjabi patients when they finally find out where I am from. They aways give me back a smile, and usually enquire further about carnival and soccer. I of course have always loved to talk about my home country, so I welcome the dialogue and make a new friend.
Anyways, I guess we should be boarding soon, so Colombia, here I come!
My background has nothing exotic about it. The typical brazilian mixture of portuguese and south american natives. I thought I was the typical brazilian mulatta. If you go to Brazil you will see lots of me. But funny enough, I have learned that most brazilians living abroad have similar problems and are taken for just about any nationality, but Brazilian. Facebook has a community called "you know you are a brazilian when..", and they mentioned that nobody can figure out where you are from. I have to agree. They also mention a lot of other funny and interesting facts about being a Brazilian. My Brazilian friends will laugh reading it and my non Brazilian friends will learn a bit more about us if you want to check it (just ignore the pictures people posted and read the text on the left side). You can tell me if you agree with the description or not :)
It is extra funny to see the surprise on people's faces, specially my punjabi patients when they finally find out where I am from. They aways give me back a smile, and usually enquire further about carnival and soccer. I of course have always loved to talk about my home country, so I welcome the dialogue and make a new friend.
Anyways, I guess we should be boarding soon, so Colombia, here I come!
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