Brasil Week 2... Time please slow down!

The second week of classes here just flew by (on a jet plane) super fast!  Monday we continued our talk on women's health by discussing birthing practices.  We had a panel consisting of three women from Sao Paulo who each gave us personal accounts on their birthing experience.  I was surprised to hear that most women in the city have C-sections (90%) as opposed to natural or ordinary labor.  This is because of two main reasons: (1) in the past the government of Brasil encouraged women to become sterilized as a form of contraception.  However, they did a faulty job in educating women on this practice.  For example, women who came in for the treatment later came back to their doctors asking for an "undo", because they were now ready to have children.  This was a huge problem to say the least.  After clarification however, it became very common to undergo sterilization after a C-section given that no extra surgical procedure was necessary.  (2) Doctors also encourage pregnant women to undergo C-sections because they get paid more for the procedure.  As disappointing as this may be its a reality that affects all workers, and despite the added health risks for the mother, they still consider it to be the best option for delivery.  All the women we talked to were against C-sections, and it was very alarming to hear their stories of Brazilian hospitals and their struggle to have ordinary labor.

After this panel, we were split up into groups to visit different women's hospitals.  I went to Perola Byington, a hospital for women who have experienced sexual violence.  This is a huge problem in Sao Paulo.  Approximately 12 million women are victims of sexual assault each year and this hospital treats about 15 new women a day.  Their hospital is equipped with an ER, gynecologists, oncologists, psychologists, and community health workers or agents.  I was very impressed by their ability to dedicate an entire building to this type of work in Sao Paulo.  I think it is a very important step to realize that forms of sexual violence also fall under the umbrella of health problems because not only do victims experience physical consequences, but they tend to have a great deal of mental repercussions as well.  One of the biggest problems that women of this hospital face is becoming pregnant as a consequence of rape.  Brazil is a very religious country, and as a result abortions are viewed as crimes.  Women are highly criticized and stigmatisized for this, so most choose to undergo abortions illegally, which impacts their health greatly due to unsafe methods.  Recently however, a law was passed in the country to allow for abortions in 2 circumstances: (1) in cases of maternal mortality and (2) in cases of rape.  This alleviates part of the pain, however it is still very much ingrained in these women's minds that what they are doing is wrong.  Part of this comes from the penalty of being accused of having an abortion.  The penalty for abortion is 2-5 years in prison (the same penalty for the sexual assaulter!  Incredible).  On a happier note, below is a picture of some graffiti right outside the hospital.  Sao Paulo is known for its graffiti as a form of art all around the city.

Tuesday we got out of class early, so we celebrated by going to the Mercado Municipal.  This is a permanent market in the city of Sao Paulo, open everyday, with all sorts of foods including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, wine, nuts, spices, you name it!  It was great.  If you would like to learn more about it see Anthony Bourdain's video on Brazil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1THRZ4BbJA (min 3:45 - 6:45).

Wednesday we began our discussion on HIV/AIDS in Brasil.  Every year 7,000 cases of HIV/AIDS are added to the total population in Sao Paulo.  It is a huge issue to be addressed and thankfully it has been.  There are many organizations in the city set up to raise awareness and offer support to victims of this disease.  Most importantly, AIDS here in Brasil is viewed as a communal problem, not blamed on the individual.  They realize (and rightly so) that AIDS will affect their entire population if not handled correctly.  Brazil, unlike the US, is a very culture and community orientated country and I believe this helps greatly in the prevention of  AIDS.  Medications are also easily accessible and available free of charge to the public, so there exists a lot of  resources to prevent spread of this very much prevalent health hazard.  After class we went to visit several NGOs relating to HIV/AIDS.  The first place we went to was the Center of Reference and Training in STDs and AIDS.  This place was like Perola Byington in that it was entire building dedicated towards one health issue.  After visiting this center, we split up into groups and visited other NGOs.  I went to E de Lei which was an organization that worked with the homeless population in Sao Paulo, especially those that were doing drugs, and those affected with HIV.  Instead of just telling people to stop using drugs they focus more on helping individuals through the struggle by giving them needed attention and care.  They educate them on several health and social issues as well as accompany them to doctor visits, since most can't read or write.  This is a small organization that simply acts as a bridge between the homeless people and doctors.  "Homelessness is not forever, it is just a moment of life we must take care of."  It was after this visit that I came to a huge realization.  There are many issues affecting health such as sexual violence and homelessness that most of society chooses to ignore or view as just another way of life.  But when you take time to address these issues, people really begin to shine.  During both of my visits to these hospitals/centers, I was approached by patients asking me where I was from and what I was doing.  After telling them the reason for my visit they held my hand, looked me in the eye, and thanked me sincerely for being there and for taking the time to learn about these issues.  "Thank you, thank you, we really need your help."

Thursday- the party begins!  After class on Thursday we headed to a school of samba called Vai Vai.  We were lucky enough to visit the oldest Samba school in Sao Paulo, and we were even luckier to be able to talk to the man who founded the school.  He had been there for over 50 years, so he knew a lot about the history of the dance.  Samba originally was an African dance which came from the religious ceremonies of the slaves in Brasil.  During rituals, people would share spiritual callings by singing and dancing, more specifically they would pass all their good spirits along from one person to the next by touching each other's belly button .  The word for belly button in their native African tongue is "sumba", so from this you can see where the word for Samba came from.  After the history of the dance, we were invited to stay longer to watch the members of Vai Vai practice for Carnaval.  It was a lot of fun.  There were drummers and dancers of all age groups... from little children to elders.  After they processed through the streets several times, we were invited to join them in their dancing and singing.  I'm sure the locals were making fun of our dancing, but we didn't care, we were enjoying the music and festivities!

Friday we spent our entire day at the Butantan Institute.  This is a research facility for venomous animals such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions.  Scientists here extract and use these venoms for medicinal purposes, the most common being to treat animal bites.  The research institute has a great history, being founded over 100 years ago during times of the bubonic plague, and the motivational drive behind their work is very impressive.  Because of Brasil's SUS program, most of the medicines, vaccines, and serums produced in Butantan are given to patients free of charge.  In the US I feel like this medical research and production would not go without some form or another of payment.  Every scientist is looking to make a ground-breaking discovery in order to win fame as well as monetary compensation.  Also, in the US every new idea or discovery is immediately patented with the fear of others taking the idea and the prize.  Here in Brazil medical researchers are not looking to be millionaires, instead they work for the betterment of their own community, for the advancement of science.  Their priority here is to publish papers so that other people can learn about their achievements and implement them, not to patent for legal and monetary rights.

After our visit, we had a dinner party with all of the students and their host families.  It was fantastic!  The dinner of course was delicious, with an assortment of fruits (mango, grapes, pineapple, watermelon and papaya) and a salad bar including guacamole =).  We also had white rice with chicken for dinner and banana cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  After dinner we put on a show for the families, buy singing American songs including but not limited to "Small Town Girl" by Journey and "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys.  This sing-a-long soon turned into a kareokee and everyone was singing and dancing with us.  One of the dad's played the guitar and the rest of us clapped and hummed to the beat.  This get together began at 8pm and lasted well up until midnight if not later.  But we weren't done, after dinner we all decided to go to Canto de Ema, a Brazilian club with regional music called Forro.

The weekend was pretty low key.  On Saturday we headed downtown to walk around and we coincidentally ran into some guys doing Capoeira.  This is a Brazilian martial art which mixes dance and music in it as well.  It was a lot of fun to watch all the jumps and kicks as well as the maneuvering back and forth.

Sunday we went back to the Feira du Praca da Republica and toured the food portion of the square.  They had some wonderful smelling desserts and all kinds of delicious snacks.  Food food everywhere!  I wouldn't be surprised if I can no longer fit into my jeans by the end of this program... ahh!!!  But I still love you Sao Paulo =)