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.