Mass & Conference Photos

Tonight I went with Katie and AnaCe to Santa Teresita, the church right around the corner from my apartment. Katie had said she really likes the 7pm mass because a lot of young adults show up, they use contemporary music, and the words for all the prayers and songs are projected on screens so everyone can see and follow along. What she didn't tell me was that it would be standing-room-only. The church was packed. Even though I didn't really understand everything that was being said, it was a really beautiful service. The priest was wonderful, his homily was engaging, and you could tell that he had a wonderful relationship with his congregation. The only mass that can really top this one in terms of energy and number of people relative to available space would be the March for Life Vigil Mass. The really incredible thing is that this mass in Bogotá occurs every week! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so I will try to take pictures next week. After the mass, there were vendors selling tea and snacks outside. I can't wait to go back next Sunday!

The following are several photos from the conference. I realize it was more than a week ago, but better late than never. You will notice a distinct lack of mountains. That's because they are all inside, except for the first one.




This is just the outside of the building where the conference was held.












One of Gilete's tables at the conference and two of the girls who work in the office.










Tina's table (she works for a wheelchair company, in case you couldn't tell). She is sitting on the right behind the table talking to Eric on the left. They are both Americans who presented at the conference.








Snacktime! On the right is pound cake, nothing fancy. On the left is "Pony Malta," a malt-flavored soda. I really didn't like it, but just about everyone down here drinks it, so maybe it's just an acquired taste.










On the right is Dr. Gomez. He's trying out John's 'helper' Katie, who wears a reciprocating gait orthosis (RGO). The patient uses his/her back to help propel one leg forward, which in turn pulls the other back. It's a very cool contraption.











Laboratorio Gilete's other table. You can see Katie on the right.










Me with Katie, just before John's speech. Notice that each leg looks like it has a different orthotic. They are both for the RGO, but the one on the left is an over-the-shoe boot, which provides more support for the ankle. The one on the right has an in-the-shoe part that goes from the calf down the bottom of the foot.








Here's John at the end of his presentation showing the audience how Katie can walk with the RGO. John is the other American who was here to present at the conference















Here's the 'real' Katie, so for anyone who was reading the captions on the last few pictures and wondering if that was the same Katie I've been talking about, the answer is no, I'm not going crazy (yet). Katie works at Gilete as a physical therapist. She was initially only going to be in Colombia for 6 months, but has been here for about a year and a half already. Yes, she has dreads, and they're pretty awesome.













Here's Tina giving her workshop on how to properly fit a patient with a wheelchair.

Finally, Some Photos!

Today I slept in and lazed around for a good part of the day. I was able to chat online with Matthew, who just arrived in Germany. Then I decided to explore the neighborhood a little. I stopped in to check mass times at the church that's about a block from my apartment and then walked for about 20 minutes along one of the main roads. I stumbled upon a store that looked like a Target or Wal-mart and decided to stop in and get some tape, because I haven't been able to find any in the little markets near my apartment. This 'quick' trip turned into a rather lengthy one, because the store was packed. Apparently everyone does their shopping there on Saturday evenings. When I finally made it out of there, it was dark. I ended up getting a little lost on the way back because none of the streets here are very straight. At one point I was so turned around that when I looked up at where I thought the mountains should be (they are east of the city), they were in exactly the opposite place! Luckily, though I knew the address of my building, and after about half an hour of walking around blocks (and at some points going in circles) I finally found my apartment! All those Hail Marys paid off!

Thursday night, Katie and AnaCecilia came over to my apartment. Katie made miso soup while AnaCe and I picked up some beer and chips. It was like a little housewarming!

Friday was nothing special. After I got back from Gilete, I did my laundry in the sink. "Why?" you may ask. Well, because 1. I have no idea where the nearest laundromat is, and 2. I figured that it's way cheaper anyways.

Okay, finally I'm going to post some photos! This will just be a random assortment from the past 2 weeks. I wish I could just walk around all the time with my camera out, but Guadalupe said it's not particularly safe to do that, so I don't have nearly as many photos as I would like. Anyways, this is only the first installment of photos. I have at least 3 more sets, though, and the next ones should be either more timely or more related to each other.



This is the hotel room I was in for the first week. It had a very clean, modern design. I practiced my Spanish with the employees, but most of them knew enough English as well, so communication was not a problem.









This is a view from my hotel window looking east. You can see the mountains in the background.










This is a very cool device. It's called a Walk Aid. The two wires going under the band are attached to electrodes. The device has a inclinometer, so when it gets to a certain angle when the patient is walking, the electrodes send a shock to the underlying muscles, which helps to lift the foot and make the step easier and more natural. There's another part that connects to this so Katie can test out a few different angles and then all the data is uploaded to a computer and analyzed for the best scenario. It was fascinating to watch the whole process.




This is part of the shop, where the various stages of the manufacturing process take place. John is in the middle working on a positive mold of a leg. Guadalupe is on the right. In the foreground is the mold I did of John's patient.









Here is AnaCecilia cutting velcro for an orthotic. She's one of Katie's roommates and is actually younger than I am. She speaks a little bit of English, so she and I talk a lot and usually can figure out how to communicate almost anything between English and Spanish.









These flowers were just growing in someone's yard. The plant life here is really beautiful because the weather pretty much stays the same all year.








On the way to the conference one day, we saw this white pickup with armed soldiers just driving through the city. Also of note in this photo: the rosary hanging from the cab's rearview mirror (the country is mostly Catholic), the line of cabs on the right (they're everywhere), the Nemo toy on the dash, and the Smiley face stress ball hiding on the dash shelf (just because). This photo is like an I-Spy!







Here's another armed soldier, just chillin' on a corner somewhere. Today I was walking around and and nearly ran into 4 soldiers, all also carrying guns. It's a bit unnerving the first few times you see them.








This is a photo of one of the army training bases in Bogotá with the mountains in the background. In case you couldn't tell, I love seeing the mountains every day. :)











There's a lot of graffiti in the city. Again, there are the mountains. So beautiful! You'd never guess
I'm from the flatlands of North Dakota...










Yes, this is yet another picture of the mountains, but the brown-red parts on the left half of the mountain are a bunch of houses. I'm not sure if it's part of the city or a village on the outskirts, but it's really pretty, especially at night when it lights up the sky.

Conference, Apartment, and Rain

Wow, sorry blog followers, it's been awhile since I last wrote. A lot has happened in the past week, but I will try to keep this as short as possible (emphasis on the word try).

So Friday and Saturday we had the conference. I got to see some pretty cool technology in Orthotics and Prosthetics and practice my Spanish. Friday evening, Guadalupe (one of Katie's roommates and employee at Gilete) took Tina, John, and me to "el centro" (downtown) for a little shopping. They talked me into getting my ears pierced! Apparently, on Fridays, many of the streets downtown are closed and street performers come out and try to make a little money. This particular Friday there was also a cultural parade, which was really cool. There were groups of people in traditional dress dancing and/or playing instruments.

Friday night, a whole bunch of people from Gilete and the "gringos" who were in Bogotá for the conference went to a nice restaurant for dinner and conversations. I spoke with Eric, one of the speakers from America, who is in a wheelchair, and he told me a lot about the adjustments, both internal and external, after suffering an injury that requires a wheelchair.

Saturday after the conference, John and I walked to a church near our hotel. We were told that mass was at 7:30pm, but apparently that was incorrect, because we walked in during the homily and there was also a small wedding going on. It was a really beautiful church. After, we walked back to the hotel through a bunch of vendor tents. Then Tina took us out to eat at a nearby restaurant.

Sunday there was some crazy thunder and lightning. I did some laundry in the hotel sink and packed my bags because I had to check out Monday.

Monday I went to Gilete with all my stuff, then Katie took me to look at an apartment. It's within walking distance from Gilete and there are plenty of shops nearby so that I can get anything I need. It's about $400/month for a studio. I have a bathroom, kitchen, closet, 2 tables, 2 nightstands, 4 chairs, and a queen bed, plus tv and internet. The kitchen has cooking stuff and dishes, so all i need to provide is the food. I have the place for a month, and then I can decide if I want to rent for another few weeks until I leave (there will be about 3 weeks left at that point) or if I want to travel or stay in a hostel.

Yesterday I helped out in the shop. This was definitely a challenge because Guadalupe is the only one who works in the shop who speaks English, and she was gone for half the day. So I was taking instructions in Spanish about putting together a prosthetic leg, making molds, and various other tasks in the shop. It really wasn't too bad because we all used a lot of impromptu sign language. Everyone was really patient with me and I learned a lot.

Today I observed two fittings for children. I had mixed feelings - on the one hand, it's hard to see kids who can't just run around and be carefree, but on the other hand, it's great that they are getting quality treatment early. I left work early to get the fridge in my apartment fixed (it turns out that there is a thing inside that had to be turned on) - also a slight challenge to communicate.

My Spanish is slowly improving and the people at Gilete are very good at repeating themselves or rephrasing things when I don't understand. Katie and Guadalupe are trying to speak to me only in Spanish so I can learn more quickly.

When it rains in Bogotá, is pours....no, really. It's technically winter here, which is the rainy season. I'm pretty sure it's rained at least once every day since I arrived, often several times per day. I'm not complaining too much, though, because the average temp is in the 60s, and from where I'm from, that's pretty awesome for winter.

Americans!

Today there were three other Americans at Laboratorio Gilete. They are here for the conference this weekend and so they spent today doing consults for some of Dr. Gomez's patients. I helped with translations when Katie was busy with other patients. I picked up a few new words and practiced conjugations.

I was really surprised when Katie said we were eating lunch at a place called Crepes and Waffles. They had several pages of different types of crepes - with meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, etc. It was pretty good.

When we returned to Gilete, I helped one of the Americans with a plaster mold for a patient's legs. The patient lost use of his legs after he was ejected from a car. He uses two full leg braces and a walker, but the American CPO (certified prosthetist and orthotist) was fitting him for half-leg braces that will connect to a back brace. There are a few moving parts that will give the patient more mobility.

Today, I was bombarded with Colombian mullets! A patient's brother had one, at Crepes and Waffles a brother and sister were sporting matching mullets, and there was even a guy on the street with a mullet-mohawk!

For supper, all of us American travelers went with Dr. Gomez, Katie, and Guadalupe (one of Katie's roommates who works at Gilete) to an Italian Restaurant right around the corner from our hotel. We all swapped stories and had a great time.

Back at the hotel, we discovered that there was no running water because of some problem with a pipe in the street. I'm currently listening to a crew fixing it right outside my window. Lovely.

Tomorrow, I will be at the conference for most of the day. In preparation, I have been going over some Spanish medical terminology. Hopefully I will understand at least some of what the speakers are saying.

Hasta mañana.

Laboratorio Gilete

Today I awoke in a panic. I dreamed that I had slept until 2 in the afternoon, and I jolted awake. I turned over to look at the clock, which I had set last night, only to find that the screen was completely blank. This cannot be happening! I realized that the outlet is connected with the lights, so when I turned off all the lights for the night, I also turned off the clock and thus the alarm. I quickly turned on my laptop and discovered that it was only 8:15am, 45 minutes before I had planned to wake up. Whew! Crisis averted.

I went downstairs to the hotel lobby and had some wonderful fresh fruit and possibly the best cup of coffee ever. Ever. I sat next to an open terrace and let the sun warm my face. It was a great start to the day after the near-catastrophe with the alarm clock. I came back up to shower and was really confused for about 2 seconds because I couldn't find the shower head. It's actually on the ceiling and is really quite pleasant.

Then the fun began. I took my first taxi ride and thought I was going to die. There are no seatbelts in the cabs and everyone weaves in and out of traffic. Oh, and motorcycles apparently don't really have to obey the regular flow of traffic. They dart in between lanes and up the sides. In summary, that ride was terrifying.

On the way, I did take a moment to notice how beautiful the tree-covered mountains are. I also noticed that there are many horse-drawn carts (really more like platforms on wheels) that carry street vendors and their goods around the city.

Much to my relief, I finally arrived at Laboratorio Gilete, the orthotics and prosthetics center that Prof. Meade from IIT works with. I paid the driver 7.000 pesos (just under 3.50 USD) and went inside. I was able to observe several patients as well as almost everyone on staff throughout the day. It was very interesting to see some of the cultural differences. For example, none of the patients were alone at the clinic. Most had at least 2 family members present, many had more. I was in the ¨gym¨ this morning, where they do some rehab-type stuff (very scientific terminology, I know). There were 2 or 3 patients in the room at almost all times, plus all their family members, plus several orthotists-prosthetists, a doctor, and physical therapists who came in and out of the room. It was a wee bit crowded, but really interesting. The patients and their families were all talking to each other and there was very little privacy. A few were in their underwear because they had leg orthotics or prosthetics, but no one seemed to mind. Very different from the United States.

For lunch, Katie took me down the street to a vegetarian restaurant. There is no menu, they just tell you what they are serving for the day and you can take it or leave it. I ordered one meal for the road and brought it back to Gilete. The meal was enormous - way more than I can eat in one sitting - and cost less than 5 USD.

In the afternoon I watched one of the technicians do a few AFO (ankle-foot orthosis) molds. I also observed the various stages of fabrication of a wide variety of orthotics and prosthetics.

Katie and I left Gilete at round 6pm and went back to her place for a quick bite to eat. She made arroz con leche (rice with milk), which was delicious. We then tromped through the rain a few blocks to the supermarket so I could pick up a few items. The supermarket was more like a Sam's Club - they had everything from groceries to clothes to washing machines and fridges.

Back at Katie's apartment, we tried calling the cab company, but because of the rain, all their lines were busy. Katie had to leave, so I spent about two hours chatting with one of her roommates (who doesn't speak English beyond a few words here and there). It was really good practice for me and she shared a bit about the geography of Colombia.

Then she wanted to see pictures of my family and where I live and study. She asked lots of questions, and I was surprised at how few times we had trouble communicating. Then she saw a picture of Matthew Marks and I and asked who it was. I explained to her that he is my boyfriend and she asked about his studies. I told her that he's really, really smart, and she said (in her Colombian accent), "Oh, super-nerd!" That was a great cross-cultural moment, if I've ever had one.

Finally, we got through to the cab company and I made it back to the hotel. All in all, it was a great first day in Bogotá.

¡Estoy aquí!

I have survived my first few hours in Colombia unscathed!

This morning, I forgot which airport I was supposed to fly out of, so I had to call Naomi and have her log into my email and check for me (thanks Naomi, you're a lifesaver). Oops.

After that, the trip went quite smoothly. The flight from Chicago to Atlanta was uneventful, and then I had an hour and a half layover in Atlanta. I took the opportunity to stretch my legs before boarding the plane for Bogotà.

On the plane, I took a nap and woke up just in time for the on-flight dinner. The food really wasn't bad, although it seemed like a random compilation of items lying around. There was an itty-bitty salad, cheese ravioli, a dinner roll, brownie, a tiny cup of water, a butter packet, slice of cheese, and club crackers. I then watched "Men Who Stare At Goats," a short nature documentary, and the first episode of "The United States of Tara." There was some really cool-looking lightning a little northeast of the plane. I tried taking a picture, but failed miserably. After about 20 attempts, I gave up.

Customs was no problem. There was a bit of a line, but it really didn't take long at all. Once I had picked up my luggage, I tried getting some Colombian pesos. The currency exchange doesn't take cards, and I apparently didn't have any USD on me, so the woman at the counter told me there was an ATM on the second floor. I falsely assumed that it would be easy to find once I went up the escalator. As I was clearly a bit lost, one of the airport employees and a boy standing next to him tried helping me out, but they apparently did not understand that I did not have any cash to exchange and the boy led me back downstairs to the currency exchange. I spoke briefly with a man behind the counter, and then the boy realized that I needed an ATM and led me back upstairs and down a ways. After that brief adventure, I was finally able to make a withdrawal. Success!

I then went outside and looked for Katie, a U.S. citizen who has been working at Laboratorio Gilete (I will explain this in a minute) for the past year and a half. I actually found her with very little trouble and we were off.

Riding in a car was pretty nerve-wracking. I'm a nervous passenger, but I didn't want to seem rude, so I distracted myself by talking with Katie and taking in the city. There were quite a few people wandering around, and it seemed like a lot of places were still open, considering it was after 10pm.

I will be staying in a hotel for this first week. It's a nice little room, but I think the walls are pretty thin. I'm tired enough that I don't think sleep will be much of a problem though.

Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in a little, have breakfast in the hotel lobby, and then catch a taxi to Laboratorio Gilete. Gilete is an Orthotic and Prosthetic Center in Bogotà. They do a lot of work with soldiers. I will primarily be observing tomorrow and getting a feel for how the clinic runs.

I took some photos today but have not uploaded them. Hopefully I can get them up in the next few days.

Until next time, faithful readers, keep it real.
(I feel like I should always have something witty to say at the end of a post, but alas, it's just not meant to be.)

Less than 1 Week!

Disclaimer: I have never been a blogger, so hopefully these entries will get better as I go along.

Dear friends and family,
Tuesday, May 18, I will be on a plane to Bogotá, Colombia. That's right, I'm going to South America! I will be down there for 58 days.

This trip is linked to a class/project with one of my professors at IIT. I will be observing/working some in a clinic specializing in Orthotics and Prosthetics. May 21-22 I will attend a conference on Spinal Injuries and Treatments.

My Spanish is functional, but not spectacular. That will surely change after 2 months!

I am currently packing, cleaning, and moving out simultaneously. My apartment is a crazy mess, but all the pieces are slowly coming into place. I am working out some of the details of my stay with an American woman who has been in Colombia for over a year. I will also be working with a doctor who is a colleague and personal friend of my professor.

I don't know how often I will have internet access or time to blog, but I will try to keep you all up-to-date as much as possible. If you have any tips or suggestions, please drop me a line.