Yes i am eating well in the land of beef and wine. Im very glad that i am not a vegitarian because then i would be missing out on on of the best things Argentina has going on. I went to a Parilla the other day with my friend Juan and the food was incredible. The basically have a whole cow cooking on the grill in the back - and in most Parillas you can see everything being cooked. I learned that it is best not to go back and look at the grill until you have already eaten because then you get too excited and get ever so much more hungry! I ordered the Bife de Lomo - im not sure exactly how it translates but it is the best cut of meat there is.... and it was! The meat is served with a little bowl of Chimichurri sauce that is a combination of herbs and oil i think... and it is green... (sorry for the lack of details :) I am definitely bringing some of this sauce back, delicious. For a started i was told that it is a crime not to try the Provalone cheese - a round slab of provalone about a inch or two thick that they grill. Another YUM. (I cant eat that often... i dont want to come back as a rolly polly) All in moderation right??! good motto. And... wine and water are often the same price. so por que no? (why not?) The Malbec is my favorite. I do miss not having to pay for water though....
On a side note, there are little grocery stores every few blocks or so that have a few rows of the essentials and then all of them have an entire WALL of wines. I thought it was funny that there are little alarms on the bottles that are 30 pesos and up - that is about $10 :) Shoot - they should put alarms on the imported salad dressings that they sell for 35 pesos too!
Another night i went out to a very popular restaurant with some new friends from my residence. (yea for new friends!) I got pumpkin raviolies (spelling on that one??) with a rosa sauce. WOW. YUM. and a glass of wine ( I figure i have a lot of people to drink a glass of wine for... plus a glass of red a day is supposed to be good for you) But no .... i am not turning into a lush, no worries! I am actually wondering if i am going to develop a slight Italian accent on my spanish bc of my Italian roommate! Plus i realized quickly that i really dont enjoy hanging out with the Americans, Aussies, and Londeners (new word) because they drink like there is no tomorrow 7 days a week and they speak only in English. Thanks but i'll pass! My nitch is with the Italians and Argentinans - who dont speak english and do more than drink. :) Actually one of the Argentina guys in my residence, Jauquin, is studying to be a doctor - its fun to talk about the differences in medicine in our 2 countries and i am also learning a lot more terminology.
Friday night we got home after 6am... crazy i know! The crazier thing is that there still was a ton of people out a about! When in Argentina....! Besos a todos! (kisses to all!)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hospital work
I finally made it to work at the hosptial! The program organizer was slightly slacking in my opinion in setting me up with what i came down here to do. so Finally! only a week late.... but definitely vale la pena (worth it). I have so much to say....
The hospital that i am working in is called El Hospital Policia Bartolome Choccomo (or something like that). It is a hospital only for the federal police and their families. I still cannot believe that the corrupt police have their own hospital - and it is definitely the nicest out of all the others. I am spending my time in the critical medicine ward, which would kind of be like our ICU. When i arrived Thursday everyone was very excited that i was from Colorado - i had two people say, oh! the grand canyon! and another person say, oh las vegas! oh well! at least they are close! :) I was really excited when they introduced me as "Megan our new resident from colorado" :) Plus, i have to wear a white coat - which makes me look very professional and like i know what i am doing! (I try to forget that i bought the white coat in a store down the street and anyone can buy one!) My first day in the hospital there was a lot of blood. We had 3 or 4 new admits all with the 5-6 hours that i am there. A lot of the people in this ward are older - some have had a stroke or organ failures. I even got to see their 'flight for life' helicopter fly in and deliver us a young man who was in a motorcycle accident. They were only transfering him from another hospital so he wasnt fresh off the pavement, but he had stitches from throat to navel and on both knees and one arm. That is why you DO NOT ride motos here unless you are asking for a death wish!
Another one of the admits was a VERY obese guy (pretty rare down here) who had some kind of infection. He had so much fat on his arms that the nurses couldnt but a good IV in, so they went for one of the main vein or artery (Teresa help me out) in the neck. They kept sticking and sticking him and there was quite a bit of blood. I cant explain everything exactly because i only understand about half that is going on in the first place!
I was SO shocked with some of their techniques/machines that they used. FOr example, in order to take a look at the patients heart theye have a machine that looks like it was from the the 70's! They wet the ankles and wrists and then put these giant clips with wires on, this is followed by wetting their chest and then they have 8 balloon things that they suction on in various spots. It is so crazy!
This is exactly what i was hoping to do down here so i am so glad that it is working out. I'm staying really busy because they actually let me help do a lot of things. I ran the cardio machine by myself, went to a lecture on dengue fever, helped give bed baths, and helped change a stoma bag (my first one - pretty intense). I was SO surprised when i saw the majority of the staff wearing sandels! In the states you cant even serve food if you are not wearing closed toe shoes!
So yes, my time at the hospital is going great. and when i was leaving the hospital on Thursday i even saw a green parrot! At first i thought it was a pet that escaped but then i saw 4 more! pretty cool.
The hospital that i am working in is called El Hospital Policia Bartolome Choccomo (or something like that). It is a hospital only for the federal police and their families. I still cannot believe that the corrupt police have their own hospital - and it is definitely the nicest out of all the others. I am spending my time in the critical medicine ward, which would kind of be like our ICU. When i arrived Thursday everyone was very excited that i was from Colorado - i had two people say, oh! the grand canyon! and another person say, oh las vegas! oh well! at least they are close! :) I was really excited when they introduced me as "Megan our new resident from colorado" :) Plus, i have to wear a white coat - which makes me look very professional and like i know what i am doing! (I try to forget that i bought the white coat in a store down the street and anyone can buy one!) My first day in the hospital there was a lot of blood. We had 3 or 4 new admits all with the 5-6 hours that i am there. A lot of the people in this ward are older - some have had a stroke or organ failures. I even got to see their 'flight for life' helicopter fly in and deliver us a young man who was in a motorcycle accident. They were only transfering him from another hospital so he wasnt fresh off the pavement, but he had stitches from throat to navel and on both knees and one arm. That is why you DO NOT ride motos here unless you are asking for a death wish!
Another one of the admits was a VERY obese guy (pretty rare down here) who had some kind of infection. He had so much fat on his arms that the nurses couldnt but a good IV in, so they went for one of the main vein or artery (Teresa help me out) in the neck. They kept sticking and sticking him and there was quite a bit of blood. I cant explain everything exactly because i only understand about half that is going on in the first place!
I was SO shocked with some of their techniques/machines that they used. FOr example, in order to take a look at the patients heart theye have a machine that looks like it was from the the 70's! They wet the ankles and wrists and then put these giant clips with wires on, this is followed by wetting their chest and then they have 8 balloon things that they suction on in various spots. It is so crazy!
This is exactly what i was hoping to do down here so i am so glad that it is working out. I'm staying really busy because they actually let me help do a lot of things. I ran the cardio machine by myself, went to a lecture on dengue fever, helped give bed baths, and helped change a stoma bag (my first one - pretty intense). I was SO surprised when i saw the majority of the staff wearing sandels! In the states you cant even serve food if you are not wearing closed toe shoes!
So yes, my time at the hospital is going great. and when i was leaving the hospital on Thursday i even saw a green parrot! At first i thought it was a pet that escaped but then i saw 4 more! pretty cool.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
the horror adventure of riding the buses
yes, i rode the colectivo (local buses) for the first time today and prayed the whole time through! the buses are super scary, they honestly don't stop or slow down for anything and a few times a was sure that we were going to hit a person crossing the street. AND.... if you happen to be the only person getting off at a stop, the driver will slow down, but never stop! and you just have to jump and hope you land on even ground!! I've seen how crazy and dangerous the buses can be this past week but never got up the courage to actually get on.
So while i have been waiting for my work in the hospital to start, i have been quite the sight-seer. I went and saw Argentina's version of our white house - except that theirs is pink! i read that a long time ago they used to stain the building with ox's blood to get the color... hopefully they have found a better way to mkae it pink. (you would think it smelled horrible!) this was also the same building were Eva Peron would make her speeches. The really interesting thing about all these huge government buildings down here is that some of them are surrounded by a huge metal gatse and all of them have these giant movable 'walls.' There are always protestors shouting and drumming about something - so when it gets really bad they put these 'walls' in a line to try and form a baracade. The police don't do much - they pretty much just direct traffic and let whatever is happening happen. I even saw a policeman today with a huge knife in his belt! E!
Everything is so cheap here! this could be good or very bad! But i do have to say that i have had very good self control so far with the shopping and the dulce de leche goodness that melts in your mouth :) In a nice cafe my lunch would usually be around 25 -30 pesos which is about $7. Bottles of wine in the suermarket can be bought for 10 pesos ($3ish)! the funny (and annoying) thing about buying things down here is that no one ever has any change. They look at your 100 peso bill ($23) and cant sell you anything because they don have change! that would be like no one being able to break a 20 at target! its crazy!
I'm keeping semi - busy with visiting the japonese gardens, botanical gardens, taking wine tasteing classes, reading my book in a cafe, eating ice cream :), and tongiht i'm taking my first Tango dancing lesson. On Monday night i went to "La Bomba" which was a group of about 15 guys playing the drums for hours! It was SO much fun - people were just dancing away non stop! My spanish is getting pretty good already because the people i hang out with either dont speak any english at all or their accent is too thick that it's easier for both of us to speak in spanish.
Tomorrow i'm going to the hospital to hopefully be matched up with a doc, intern, or nurse! Fingers crossed!
BESITOS!
So while i have been waiting for my work in the hospital to start, i have been quite the sight-seer. I went and saw Argentina's version of our white house - except that theirs is pink! i read that a long time ago they used to stain the building with ox's blood to get the color... hopefully they have found a better way to mkae it pink. (you would think it smelled horrible!) this was also the same building were Eva Peron would make her speeches. The really interesting thing about all these huge government buildings down here is that some of them are surrounded by a huge metal gatse and all of them have these giant movable 'walls.' There are always protestors shouting and drumming about something - so when it gets really bad they put these 'walls' in a line to try and form a baracade. The police don't do much - they pretty much just direct traffic and let whatever is happening happen. I even saw a policeman today with a huge knife in his belt! E!
Everything is so cheap here! this could be good or very bad! But i do have to say that i have had very good self control so far with the shopping and the dulce de leche goodness that melts in your mouth :) In a nice cafe my lunch would usually be around 25 -30 pesos which is about $7. Bottles of wine in the suermarket can be bought for 10 pesos ($3ish)! the funny (and annoying) thing about buying things down here is that no one ever has any change. They look at your 100 peso bill ($23) and cant sell you anything because they don have change! that would be like no one being able to break a 20 at target! its crazy!
I'm keeping semi - busy with visiting the japonese gardens, botanical gardens, taking wine tasteing classes, reading my book in a cafe, eating ice cream :), and tongiht i'm taking my first Tango dancing lesson. On Monday night i went to "La Bomba" which was a group of about 15 guys playing the drums for hours! It was SO much fun - people were just dancing away non stop! My spanish is getting pretty good already because the people i hang out with either dont speak any english at all or their accent is too thick that it's easier for both of us to speak in spanish.
Tomorrow i'm going to the hospital to hopefully be matched up with a doc, intern, or nurse! Fingers crossed!
BESITOS!
Monday, January 25, 2010
buen dia
hello!
Things have been so fun lately. I met up with the Argentine guy that jessica and i met while we were Italy and he is doing s great job at playing tour guide. His name is Juan, he is kind of older (around 30-32 or so), a lawyer, and he has a car- which makes everything easier. We went all over the city and visited a lot of the tourist spots and went to several of the artisian fairs. He said he didnt mind showing me around because as a native he never goes to see this stuff anymore. and yes, i AM being careful. :) Later that night he invited me to a dinner that he was going to at his friend´s new house. It was SO much fun! i was bascially the guest of honor and they loved to ask me questions and make me try foods that i had never had before. There were only 5 of us at dinner but from the amount of meat, wine, and ice cream there was you would have guessed that there were twice as many people there! The wife of his friend (who were all lawyers) is finishing her doctorate in biochemistry and was super sweet. I hope we hang out again :) Im still getting used to the time differences of how they eat dinner at 10 or 11 and head for home around 3am! but... when in Rome (or Argentina in this case!)
On Sunday my roomate (Italian), another girl (also Italian) and I (not Italian) all went to San Telmo to the largest artisan market in BA. As far as you can see down this one street people are lined up - table to table - with all the stuff they are selling. The exciting and dangerous thing is that all the stuff in really really cool! Remember when i was here the last time and i took a picture of that scary women in fishnets carrying around the head of a doll? well this is the same place :) it is very cool. There are of course a ton of tourists, but there are also Argentines everywhere - of whom all are drinking Mate. Mate is a kind of tea down here where you fill up this little gourd with tea leaves and you pour just enough water in it to cover the leaves - and then you have this fancy ¨bombilla¨(straw) that lets only water through. its kind of funny to see so many people walking around with a hot water thermos under their arm.
Later that night back at the residencia i was invited to eat dinner with my Italian and Argentine friends. I didnt contribute to the meal in the least bit, but at least i washed the dishes :)
So if you cannot tell by how many blogs i have created in the past few days - i have a lot of time on my hands. I will hopefully be starting my work at the hosptial tomorrow - but until then, there is only so much walking around you can do in 90 degree heat with 85% humidity!
chao!
Things have been so fun lately. I met up with the Argentine guy that jessica and i met while we were Italy and he is doing s great job at playing tour guide. His name is Juan, he is kind of older (around 30-32 or so), a lawyer, and he has a car- which makes everything easier. We went all over the city and visited a lot of the tourist spots and went to several of the artisian fairs. He said he didnt mind showing me around because as a native he never goes to see this stuff anymore. and yes, i AM being careful. :) Later that night he invited me to a dinner that he was going to at his friend´s new house. It was SO much fun! i was bascially the guest of honor and they loved to ask me questions and make me try foods that i had never had before. There were only 5 of us at dinner but from the amount of meat, wine, and ice cream there was you would have guessed that there were twice as many people there! The wife of his friend (who were all lawyers) is finishing her doctorate in biochemistry and was super sweet. I hope we hang out again :) Im still getting used to the time differences of how they eat dinner at 10 or 11 and head for home around 3am! but... when in Rome (or Argentina in this case!)
On Sunday my roomate (Italian), another girl (also Italian) and I (not Italian) all went to San Telmo to the largest artisan market in BA. As far as you can see down this one street people are lined up - table to table - with all the stuff they are selling. The exciting and dangerous thing is that all the stuff in really really cool! Remember when i was here the last time and i took a picture of that scary women in fishnets carrying around the head of a doll? well this is the same place :) it is very cool. There are of course a ton of tourists, but there are also Argentines everywhere - of whom all are drinking Mate. Mate is a kind of tea down here where you fill up this little gourd with tea leaves and you pour just enough water in it to cover the leaves - and then you have this fancy ¨bombilla¨(straw) that lets only water through. its kind of funny to see so many people walking around with a hot water thermos under their arm.
Later that night back at the residencia i was invited to eat dinner with my Italian and Argentine friends. I didnt contribute to the meal in the least bit, but at least i washed the dishes :)
So if you cannot tell by how many blogs i have created in the past few days - i have a lot of time on my hands. I will hopefully be starting my work at the hosptial tomorrow - but until then, there is only so much walking around you can do in 90 degree heat with 85% humidity!
chao!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Bed time at 6..... AM
Hola a todos!
today (a hot and sweaty day) i walked the 10 blocks to the hospital to meet the coordinator of the volunteers. The hospital looked like it was from out of a horror movie! Giant cement building with close to no windows. Any ways - she began to explain to me the type of work i was going to be doing - with was talking and feeding patients and playing with children - and i explianed to her that that is not what my program lady said i was going to be doing.... SO... the GIC program is placing me at another hospital where hopefully i am going to be observing and shadowing the residents. i should know by tomorrow.
I wandered about today for about 4 hours or so and i crossed the biggest avenue in the world! This street is 18 lanes wide! I almost felt like i should run across it just to make sure that i wasnt caught in the middle when the light changes! (you never know with traffic here) I had my first helado (ice cream) today :) and actually it was a McDoland one - BUT it was called tres suenos (three dreams) and it had carmel in the bottom of the cone and came with a big piece of chocolate stuck in the side. Also, they dont have chocolate at MCDs - it is dulce de leche flavor! (wow, that was the longest description of an ice cream cone ever!)
I have already learned that the correct way to act around Argentinan men is to be as mean and rude as possible. For some reason they decide that they need to make kissing noises at you..... not sure. And today i had several men say either "gringa" or "linda" to me.... not sure which. One means white american girl and the other means pretty girl.... hmmmm.
Things that i have learned thus far:
1.) make sure there is water before you take all your clothes off or before you start brushing your teeth
2.) do not make eye contact and smile at random people - they might decide that you are interested in them
3.) dont cross the street just because everyone else is... chances are you are not supposed to be crossing and might get hit by a suicide cab driver
4.) Police are not the same as in the US - they are ususally pretty shadey and are bought off all the time
5.) never take the small papers that people hand to you on every street corner - they are ALWAYS porn cards
Last night i went out with some of the kids from my residencia. It was hard at first because there were like 15 people in our group and we just stood there.... (i'm working on my patience). We soon split up and first we went to a bar with a live band, and next we went to a dance club. Pretty fun night actually. The good thing is that cabs are pretty cheap and girls always get in for free or for a discount! Last night i think i only spent 50 or 60 pesos - which is like $15. For 3 cab rides, 2 drinks, and a cover charge. We left our house at 1:30 and got home at 5:30..... its going to take some getting used to! I have no idea whet people do from 9pm till 1am when we go out....!
THe exciting thing that happened today was that there was a protest on the street outside my building. They were students protesting something about a left-sided government from what i could tell. They had big drums, huge signs, and everyone was chanting something. THe police were there shortly and then the swat looking team came with shields and everything! The protesters moved out into the street and closed down a major intersection for hours! It was crazy thats for sure.
Love you, take care
Megan
today (a hot and sweaty day) i walked the 10 blocks to the hospital to meet the coordinator of the volunteers. The hospital looked like it was from out of a horror movie! Giant cement building with close to no windows. Any ways - she began to explain to me the type of work i was going to be doing - with was talking and feeding patients and playing with children - and i explianed to her that that is not what my program lady said i was going to be doing.... SO... the GIC program is placing me at another hospital where hopefully i am going to be observing and shadowing the residents. i should know by tomorrow.
I wandered about today for about 4 hours or so and i crossed the biggest avenue in the world! This street is 18 lanes wide! I almost felt like i should run across it just to make sure that i wasnt caught in the middle when the light changes! (you never know with traffic here) I had my first helado (ice cream) today :) and actually it was a McDoland one - BUT it was called tres suenos (three dreams) and it had carmel in the bottom of the cone and came with a big piece of chocolate stuck in the side. Also, they dont have chocolate at MCDs - it is dulce de leche flavor! (wow, that was the longest description of an ice cream cone ever!)
I have already learned that the correct way to act around Argentinan men is to be as mean and rude as possible. For some reason they decide that they need to make kissing noises at you..... not sure. And today i had several men say either "gringa" or "linda" to me.... not sure which. One means white american girl and the other means pretty girl.... hmmmm.
Things that i have learned thus far:
1.) make sure there is water before you take all your clothes off or before you start brushing your teeth
2.) do not make eye contact and smile at random people - they might decide that you are interested in them
3.) dont cross the street just because everyone else is... chances are you are not supposed to be crossing and might get hit by a suicide cab driver
4.) Police are not the same as in the US - they are ususally pretty shadey and are bought off all the time
5.) never take the small papers that people hand to you on every street corner - they are ALWAYS porn cards
Last night i went out with some of the kids from my residencia. It was hard at first because there were like 15 people in our group and we just stood there.... (i'm working on my patience). We soon split up and first we went to a bar with a live band, and next we went to a dance club. Pretty fun night actually. The good thing is that cabs are pretty cheap and girls always get in for free or for a discount! Last night i think i only spent 50 or 60 pesos - which is like $15. For 3 cab rides, 2 drinks, and a cover charge. We left our house at 1:30 and got home at 5:30..... its going to take some getting used to! I have no idea whet people do from 9pm till 1am when we go out....!
THe exciting thing that happened today was that there was a protest on the street outside my building. They were students protesting something about a left-sided government from what i could tell. They had big drums, huge signs, and everyone was chanting something. THe police were there shortly and then the swat looking team came with shields and everything! The protesters moved out into the street and closed down a major intersection for hours! It was crazy thats for sure.
Love you, take care
Megan
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I made it! barely!
Buenos Aires!
Getting here was pretty rough actually... the 9 1/2 hour flight turned into an 11 1/2 hour flight. Once everyone was boarded in Dallas the captian comes on the overcom and says that the engine or something is broken and that they were going to try and fix it. Well captain... that would probably be a good idea before we fly over water! 45 min pass and then he comes on again and says that yes the part was broken but that they had another part that was on its way from the hanger. So after it was all said and done with installing it and doing a test run, we had been sitting in our seats, not moving, for 2 hours. PLUS the air conditioning wouldn´t work (they had to open the emergency exits so we could breathe!) PLUS i just knew as soon as i sat down that the heavy person i saw waiting in the terminal was going to sit by (on) me... and i was right. I´m generally not one to be clastrophobic but i honestly could not sit in my seat without being touched by his arm or leg. It was a long flight.
Another notch down the board was recieved when i fould out that since i am an American, i had to pay Argentina $131 bucks for visiting their country. Thanks uncie Sam (jess - say with a SH) BUT... my bags arrived and i saw my name in big letters on a sign, right where i was supposed to see it! In my renewed first impression of BA (buenos aires) i thoguht immediatly of my dad because the traffic was SO crazy and there was no rhyme or reason to anything that people did (a simmilar experience we had when my family decided to rent a car in Chile).
Today i am tired, so i am taking everything in with a grain of salt. The place that i am staying in looks NOTHING like the pictures online. and... i got assigned to the bottom bunk in a room that is 10x10 - next the busy road. It wouldn´t be so bad... but Argentians use theirs horns every other minute. So.... i´ll see how it goes and then ask to switch if i need to.
On a funny note - while i was busy getting lost trying to find this one office - i saw at least ten people within 4 blocks who were sleeping on mattrisses under varius trees and bushes in a park/plaza. Where the heck did they get those mattresses? Maybe i should be carrying one around too... just in case i need a snoozer. (like now).
Tomorrow i have my orrientation at the hospital and we will talk about what i want to do and what i dont want to do. I´m definitely not afraid to tell them exactly what i want to do because afterall i did decide to PAY to volunteer.
PS - today was not a good day if you happen to be a sweaty girl - i need to buy more shorts.
LOVE YOU
Getting here was pretty rough actually... the 9 1/2 hour flight turned into an 11 1/2 hour flight. Once everyone was boarded in Dallas the captian comes on the overcom and says that the engine or something is broken and that they were going to try and fix it. Well captain... that would probably be a good idea before we fly over water! 45 min pass and then he comes on again and says that yes the part was broken but that they had another part that was on its way from the hanger. So after it was all said and done with installing it and doing a test run, we had been sitting in our seats, not moving, for 2 hours. PLUS the air conditioning wouldn´t work (they had to open the emergency exits so we could breathe!) PLUS i just knew as soon as i sat down that the heavy person i saw waiting in the terminal was going to sit by (on) me... and i was right. I´m generally not one to be clastrophobic but i honestly could not sit in my seat without being touched by his arm or leg. It was a long flight.
Another notch down the board was recieved when i fould out that since i am an American, i had to pay Argentina $131 bucks for visiting their country. Thanks uncie Sam (jess - say with a SH) BUT... my bags arrived and i saw my name in big letters on a sign, right where i was supposed to see it! In my renewed first impression of BA (buenos aires) i thoguht immediatly of my dad because the traffic was SO crazy and there was no rhyme or reason to anything that people did (a simmilar experience we had when my family decided to rent a car in Chile).
Today i am tired, so i am taking everything in with a grain of salt. The place that i am staying in looks NOTHING like the pictures online. and... i got assigned to the bottom bunk in a room that is 10x10 - next the busy road. It wouldn´t be so bad... but Argentians use theirs horns every other minute. So.... i´ll see how it goes and then ask to switch if i need to.
On a funny note - while i was busy getting lost trying to find this one office - i saw at least ten people within 4 blocks who were sleeping on mattrisses under varius trees and bushes in a park/plaza. Where the heck did they get those mattresses? Maybe i should be carrying one around too... just in case i need a snoozer. (like now).
Tomorrow i have my orrientation at the hospital and we will talk about what i want to do and what i dont want to do. I´m definitely not afraid to tell them exactly what i want to do because afterall i did decide to PAY to volunteer.
PS - today was not a good day if you happen to be a sweaty girl - i need to buy more shorts.
LOVE YOU
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