Week 2 is complete... And we're off!

Monday was one of my favorite days this week.  We were given the opportunity to visit two NGO's, WEAVE and N Street.  Both of these organizations were advocating mainly for women in the Washington DC area.  WEAVE (Washington Empowered Against Violence) was both a legal and a social services agency that targeted victims of domestic violence.  What I found to be very interesting in this visit was their work with illegal immigrants.  In the case of marriages between an illegal immigrant and a US citizen, there is a great power imbalance between spouses which most often leads to some form of domestic violence (where the US citizen takes advantage of their partner).  It was very interesting to hear the agent tell us about her work in trying to defend the victim while also trying to prevent their deportation, a very difficult task indeed.  

N Street, our second NGO, was a shelter for homeless and low income women.  This shelter provided beds, laundry service, showers, two meals a day, social services such as aid in job searches or education, and most importantly free basic health care services such as physicals, dental cleanings, and even counseling services.  Only one or two registered nurses work on salaries and the rest of the workers here are all volunteers.  The most memorable part of our visit was when we got to hear wellness center volunteers tell their stories.  Virginia Mae was originally from Missouri and due to a series of unfortunate events she lost her job as well as any support from her husband and was left on the street with nothing but the clothes on her body.  Somehow she was able to make her way up to DC where she thought chances of prospering were much higher.  During this time she was also diagnosed with cancer.  She began wandering the streets in search for a place to stay.  But she didn't know where to go because she had never been homeless before (which is usually the case for most homeless individuals in the US).  She found a park and what seemed to be an empty park bench, however another homeless lady had occupied that bench.  But luckily for Virginia, the homeless lady was willing to share the bench with her if she only promised to do one thing.  The lady told her to go visit N Street, a homeless shelter for women.  So Virginia went of course and received a lot of aid from the shelter, she was able to find work there as a volunteer and N Street also helped her find other jobs as well as provide her with the medical attention she needed.  When she went back to look for the lady at the park, she was no longer there.  To this day Virginia continues to look but she has yet to catch sight of her.  Virginia believes this lady was an angel sent from above to help her regain her life.  Thanks to N street and the guidance of a homeless woman, she was able to fight her cancer and regain her life.  "When you are down that doesn't mean you are useless, you can still get up and help somebody else." - Virginia Mae

I'm skipping Tuesday for the sake of time and space but also because all we did was class (too normal to be entertaining).  So, with that said, I am going to talk about Wednesday, which was my second favorite day this week.  Wednesday was our Civic Engagement day, in other words it was the day in which we were sent to Capitol Hill to lobby a bill (by ourselves!).  We were sent to convince members of the House of Representatives to co-sign the Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Act.  This bill was written in 2011 and its aim is to improve issues of sexual and reproductive health internationally.  For example access to pre- and post- natal care, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, violence against women, and sex education are all aspects of reproductive health that this bill aims at improving.  There are many alarming statistics on infant and mother mortality rates which can be reduced if sexual education and awareness were spread internationally.  So in order to accomplish this task, our class was split up into state groups, and sent off to meet with House members.  I formed part of the Massachusetts group who met with two Congressmen.  I have to admit, we were a bit nervous going into it, but due to our passionate views on the issue and our general appreciation for public health, we were able to convince both of our representatives to co-sign the bill!!  Wow!  I never in my life thought I would have an opportunity like this one, to form part of this governmental support for health policy.  It was truly amazing to know that as average citizens/students we have the ability to meet with members of congress and by simply engaging them in conversations about our views on health, we can gain their support and ultimately change current policy.  (The two buildings above and below, are House buildings on Capitol Hill; the buildings where we met our members of congress).

Very quickly... one thing I forgot to mention is that this week dinner has been cooked for us by country groups.  At the beginning of the program we were all split into country groups ( DC, Brazil, Viet Nam, and South Africa) and each group has been in charge of dinner for one night.  Wednesday night was my night (South Africa group) and I just wanted to boast about my fabulous dessert-making skills.  I was in charge of finding and preparing a traditional South African dessert for 35 people and my creation was Malva Pudding (shown below).  All I can say is that it was delicious! Maybe I can make it again when I return to the states =)

Thursday was our last official day of class in DC and we celebrated by moving our lecture to a neighborhood of DC called Dupont Circle.  It was a very cute town with interesting architecture and housing schemes (see below).  The town had a very homey and New Englandy feel to it.  I liked it.

After class we had our alumni dinner at a nearby Morrocan restaurant called Marrakesh. It was very fancy and elegant (see below).  I got a chance to meet a lot of alumni from as long ago as 2000 and from as recent as 2011.  And I was amazed to hear how much IHP has influenced their life since then.  It was very empowering and motivating to hear them talk about their experiences and I couldn't wait to get started on mine!

Friday was our final day of scheduled events in DC, which mostly consisted of program evaluations and reflections.  It was hard to believe that our first two weeks were over and that we were now about to embark on a new journey in Brazil.  I learned a lot more than I ever expected to learn about the health care system and any other aspects of life relating to health in the US.  It was amazing to see how many disparities there were within DC alone, and not to mention all of the ones that exist within our entire country.  There is definitely a lot more left for me to learn, and I can't wait to take on that challenge.  In order to make any advancements in health and in medicine I find it crucial to understand all of the underlying social, economical, political, and cultural conflicts between different groups of people, and I hope that this program helps me understand and connect all of these aspects better.  Below I have a picture of my luggage (aka everything I will own for the next 3 or so months).  I think I did pretttty good.  But I couldn't have done it without the bags... Thanks DeLeon Family!!! 

Ahh.... Saturday!  The day has finally arrived.  Ready to spend an entire day flying (from 1pm to 3am), hope I didn't forget anything important.  Good-bye DC it was a pleasure coming to visit - Bon voyage!

Exploring the Smithsonian

Snowwww!!  Saturday I woke up and the city was covered in white.  The snow finally came our way transforming DC into a winter wonderland.

After brunch at a local family-owned diner, some classmates and I made our way over to the National Museum of the American Indian.  This museum was superb!  It included artifacts and tribal history ranging from the Mayans in Mexico to American tribes in Oklahoma and Alaska.  It was a humbling experience to say the least, because it made me further appreciate the history of the Americas and the relationship that people have with the sun, earth, and the moon.  

Afterwards we headed to the Air and Space Museum.  Here we saw various exhibits on space expeditions, US army fighter planes, missiles and rockets, and passenger planes.  But the most interesting exhibit for me was the Wright Brothers one.  Among many of the artifacts displayed, this DC museum possessed the original first and most famous Wright Brothers airplane (below).  It was quite interesting to see the actual dimensions of the plane.  It wasn't very large, but not small enough to fit in a typical two-car garage either.  It was 40 ft wide and about 21 feet long, with room only for one.  

Sunday our aim was to see the Holocaust Museum, however due to the Pro Life March in DC that day, the city was bombarded with visitors from all over the country.  The line to get into the Holocaust Museum was all the way around the block, so needless to say we did not wait in line.  Instead we headed over to the US Botanic Gardens.  It was absolutely beautiful, peaceful, calming and zen.  They had plants from all over the world, jungle plants, desert plants, even an area for medicinal plants.  The place was an oasis in the city.

Week one complete!

Wow!  I can now proudly say that my first week in IHP is complete.  It definitely has felt like an eternity though... with my hours feeling like days and days feeling like weeks.  But in retrospect we certainly have accomplished a lot thus far.  And looking ahead we only have one more week left in the states!!!

Thursday was a very exploratory day.  We began our research methods course by emerging ourselves into some of DCs most diverse neighborhoods.  I was part of a group that was sent to Southwest DC.  It was very interesting to see the dynamics of this neighborhood.  In terms of commodities there was only one Safeway, one Starbucks, a McDonald's and a CVS in the entire area.  We were also very lucky to find a resident of the area walking nearby.  He was an African American man who had lived in this area for 26 years with his family.  He told us about some of the history of the place and all of the current developments.  Apparently this area was really unsafe before, occupied mostly by an African American population and really underdeveloped.  But as soon as "white people like you (me)" started to move in, the area began improving, becoming safer, and cleaner as well.  Very interesting but very true.  The area is found near the Waterfront which is becoming a huge market attraction for real estate and increasing the neighborhood's value.

I think the most exciting part of the day was going to the Fish Market.  I never thought I would enjoy it, considering my feelings about seafood in general, but I have to say was very intriguing.  The most useful and captivating thing I learned there was how to differentiate between a male and female crab.  Apparently, when you flip a crab over, the male's underside looks like the Washington Monument and the female's underside looks like the Capitol Building (see image below).  Could this have been anymore appropriate for DC? I don't think so! We then had lunch at a place called Jenny's Asian Fusion.  This place was filled with business men and women, a real social hub for lobbyists and other government workers.  Mr. Barack Obama himself even makes his way over to this place (a picture of him and the owner was framed on the wall along with a signed note to Jenny).  How lucky for us to just stumble upon it.

Friday we had a very interesting panel on Community Health Workers in the United States.  I had never really heard of such a role in the health professions and I certainly didn't know what their job entailed.  A CHW is fundamentally a liaison between the physician and the patient, and this role is especially important with patients who have language and/or cultural  barriers.  The panel was very intriguing but the most interesting part came afterwards when we were given time to talk to the CHWs one on one.  I went over to talk to Matilde and Gloria.  Both of these women were Hispanic, Matilde was from Honduras and Gloria was from El Salvador.  I was very surprised to know that both of these women studied in their respective countries and came to get their masters/work in the US knowing hardly any English at all.  As soon as they found out I was Hispanic, by the way I pronounced Guatemala and Argentina, they were ecstatic!  We immediately switched from speaking in English to Spanish, and they asked me all about my family and current educational goals.  I told them my family was from Mexico and that I was a premed student.  Both admired me greatly, knowing from a very personal basis that there is a large deficiency of Hispanics in the health professions.  They were very humble and sincere women, wishing us all a very successful trip.  They kept telling me how lucky I was to be part of this experience and at the end they both gave me a very warm and comforting hug.  I was touched.

And classes begin...

From the moment I arrived in DC I knew my life here would be busy.  And indeed it has been.  Our week started with a day of service - MLK day.  My group volunteered to remodel a homeless shelter.  The largest homeless shelter in the United States, actually.  This shelter holds approximately 1400 beds on one given day (amazing!) and our job was to help by painting the inside second and third floors.  It was a very rewarding experience for me knowing that I was having an ON day instead of a day OFF.  However, not everything was peachy at the shelter.  I feel I must share a quote from a conversation I had with a homeless woman while painting near her "room".  I was putting tape around the edges of the wall and she came out of her room and said to me "you know what this is like?" [referring to our painting] "this is like putting a bandage on cancer." ...  I was speechless.  Here I was thinking we were doing something to improve these peoples' lives but she was right, we weren't.  We were just changing the appearance, the superficial, making things 'look' better, but not actually finding a solution to the problem... homelessness.     

(so I must admit that this is not my photo, I stole it from the internet because unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera along this day, but nonetheless this is the homeless shelter we worked in)

Tuesday was my first official day of class! I was excited and nervous because I wanted to begin but at the same time I didn't really know what to expect.  We were assigned to do three readings and even though I finished them all I was still nervous about our class discussion.  But at the end of it all, things went perfectly fine.  We started the day with a guest lecture on the Affordable Care Act and other state health policies.  It was very interesting to see what the act entailed and how it has or has not been implemented in different states.  We also talked about Medicaid and how it has been reworked to accommodate higher income families.  Overall, this lecture really got me excited for my future studies in public and global health issues.  It has given me a new perspective on the American health care system and ways of improving it to include and provide more access to care.  

Class went great!  My professor is from Chile (or was it Costa Rica... ahhh I already forgot!) but she also spent her post graduate years doing work in Brazil.  So she was able to teach us some Portuguese through a song... it was fabulous.  She also talked to us about globalization affecting health in other countries such as Brazil.  We watched a video on the Amazon and on how it has been diminishing due to rapid resource use and development.  But it was also nice because it focused a lot on medicinal plants and animals found in this region of the world and those which have yet to be discovered.  A major message of the film was that we must get out there quick, before the forest and resources disappear.  It was great... I am so much more excited about Brazil now!    

(photo also taken from the internet, but for a better reason this time.)  This is known as the Giant Waxy Monkey Frog in Brazil.  The slimy poisonous wax found on its skin is used for medicinal treatment by shamans in South America.

Wednesday, day two of class, was also really successful.  We talked about public health and more specifically health relating to our own lives and our environment.  Our assignment for today was called the River of Life drawing where we were asked to draw a river with tributaries representing positive influences on our health and damns representing negative influences (shown below, no judgement on my artistic ability it hasn't improved much since 5th grade).  We also watched a film on social determinants of health, like income, education, and race.  It was extremely interesting to know that in the United States higher income individuals, with greater education backgrounds, and typically of a 'white' race live a longer life then any other individuals.  The CEO of a company will live longer than the company janitor for example.  Very interesting!

After class today I also made an attempt to visit some of the most famous DC monuments.  However, due to the extensive distances (3 miles walking) and extreme wind conditions (like 30 degrees F and without proper winter attire) we failed to make it all the way to the Lincoln Memorial and Reflection Pool. Nonetheless, we did make it past the Capitol building, the American Indian Museum, Air and Space Museum, Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Castle, and finally to the Washington Monument.  We weren't able to go into all of these wonderful places, but that will be a task for this upcoming weekend! =) Hope you enjoy my tidbits and pictures!

DC... Such a small place with loads to explore!

What an adventure has DC been so far!  It took me about two hours to get to my dorm from the airport because of course I was the last one to get dropped off by the shuttle driver, and on top of that he had only a general sense of where I was going (a.k.a. a bit lost).  But once I got there all was good.  =) I met three other girls from my program (Marjorie, Eliza, and Katherine) and since we were all starving by the time we got there, we decided to go out for dinner.  I took on the diplomatic task of looking for a place to eat and figuring out how to get there.  Needless to say I quickly became acquainted with my surroundings and directed us all towards a Thai restaurant (yummm).  Day 1 in DC was a success.

Oh and by the way the Washington Dulles airport was beautiful, so neat and clean looking.  Below is picture of their train system, which apparently takes you to all the different gates and even to baggage claim.  Very effective and cool!

Day 2... The big day.  Today we got to meet all of the students going on the program (30 girls and 5 guys) and faculty as well (lots of names to remember!).  In the morning before our trip to the World Learning Building, we decided to take a quick walk to the Capitol Building (literally 5 blocks away from our dorm).  Amazing view...

After this quick visit our day was packed with activities... all of which started with our arrival to the World Learning Building.  Again (being a good citizen) I took on the task of leading our small group of now 9 students to the nearest metro station, on the Blue line and to 15th and K street.  We made it!  Here is were I was bogged down by loads of introductions and directions on the next up coming days.  It was a lot of fun to meet everyone and to learn more about our trip, however at the same time it was a bit overwhelming and ya just overly overwhelming.

We continued our day with a trip back to the dorm (William Penn House) for dinner and a guest lecture.  Our guest speaker was amazing, Lawrence Guyot was a former civil rights activist from Mississippi who worked right along other famous people including but not limited to MLK (very appropriate for this weekend huh?).  We ended the day with some group bonding time and more ice-breakers.  Overall I would have to say it was a very busy yet interesting and exciting first day!  Can't wait to do and share more with you later!!

Getting ready for the big day

Packing has always been an endeavor for me... one because I am a girl (enough said) and two because I always like to be prepared for anything that comes my way.  I take anything and everything that I might think I need, because after all "you never know".  Needless to say, packing for this trip has been nothing short of a challenge.  But a challenge I am willing to accept!

Day one of packing I decided to start with all of the miscellaneous stuff.  I figured it would be a lot easier for me to set aside what towel and shampoo I would take as opposed to picking out my outfits for the 123 days I am going to spend abroad (don't you think?).  So that is exactly what I set out to do.  I started off with an empty bed, and ended my day by covering it up almost entirely.  Luckily for me though, I had my checklist with me along the way to prevent me from getting distracted into adding in more than the absolutely necessary.

Day two of packing... and now for the fun stuff.  Today I set out to do the impossible (or so I thought).  I was to finish packing all of my shoes, clothes, snacks, toiletries, you name it I had to pack it. But, I have to say it was more difficult to get started than it actually was to finish, because once I took out those first pair of pants the rest ran like clockwork. 

As you can see, I filled the bed again with more stuff, stuff that needed to be added to the already half-filled suitcase from before.  Grandma said I wouldn't be able to fit it all, but thanks to my super organizing skills/OCD I was able to get it all in and with room to spare (granted not much, but some room nonetheless).  And now my bags are all packed up and ready to board.  I am still amazed by the amount of stuff I was able to fit into my one suitcase, but I am very proud of myself for getting it all in there.  Mission accomplished!