Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hospitals, Buses, and Rainforests

We are well into our routine now, and time is flying by. It’s been over a week since my last post, but I have plenty of updates and, I’m glad to say, a few pictures to share.

Last Friday we took our first trip to a hospital in Costa Rica for a small taste of what we’ll encounter next month. Of course, the hospitals and healthcare in Costa Rica, while not what you would find in Europe or the US, are much better off than what we’ll probably encounter in Honduras and Nicaragua.

In the morning, the hospital director gave a presentation to the group to share a little about the hospital and healthcare system of Costa Rica. While the slides were in English, the full speech was in Spanish, so my understanding was limited to the occasional word, phrase, or number. I was able to learn more talking to a hospital engineer, or “ingeniero médico” as they are called. Ultimately, I gathered Costa Rica relies on a system of universal healthcare, with a few private hospitals available at a greater expense. It seems more or less similar to other universal plans in which all citizens—wealthy and poor alike—pay a fixed portion of their income, around 9% in C.R., for full access to healthcare. Most citizens and employees of the hospital really seem to take pride in the Costa Rican system and its effectiveness.

From a student’s perspective, I was surprised to learn that there is little distinction between an engineer and a technician in the country. While in the U.S., an engineer might complete a bachelors or masters degree and a technician might learn from a technical college and work in a hospital, Costa Rica primarily has an engineering program, and these graduates are the ones repairing and maintaining equipment on a regular basis.  The distinction doesn't seem to exist, or at least not to the same extent.  The real content of the engineering programs and whether there are many industrial or academic opportunities is something I have yet to learn.

Later we divided into pairs, each pair troubleshooting a particular device. Ours was an older ultrasound machine, probably much older than me, that was functional but not producing reliable or regular sounds. We spent a little time looking at a damaged circuit board, and attempted to resolder a couple components, but unfortunately weren’t able to get it back to full working order. Some of the other groups looked at a pulse oximeter and a suction pump, with varied success.

Also, classes are moving along . . . flying really. The language barrier is continuously frustrating, as in the hospital presentation, but when I consider what we’ve learned, it is no small accomplishment for only one and a half weeks. We are also continuing with the troubleshooting labs and lectures in the afternoons, and the picture here depicts a few of us working on our labs. In this particular lab, we are building an LED flashlight from basic components. Both the Spanish and technical classes are held at the language school here in San José.



Like I touched on before, we’re traveling around town almost exclusively by bus, and deciphering the Costa Rican bus system has been an adventure in and of itself! On the day of our orientation the six of us at our homestay were taken to the bus stop by our host mother, the grandmother of the family, who also showed us which stop we needed on the route. However, when leaving the house, we didn’t take note of the exact stop where we boarded. This would seem straightforward until you realize so many of the streets look identical. Homes seem to blend together in the characteristic light blues, pinks, and greens of the architecture here, and only the main roads have true names, so there are zero street signs!

Needless to say, coming home, we got lost…..in the pouring rain. After getting off at what we thought was the right stop, we ducked into several side stores and bars to ask for help, without much luck. Fortunately, we managed to find a Costa Rican who spoke English fluently. She was able to call our host mother, who sent her son to pick us up, drenched from head to toe. We were a little embarrassed to realize we were only one block away from the original bus stop. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way, but we haven’t missed our stop since.

We’re finding ways to enjoy the afternoons too, outside the homework lessons. The city mall, although similar to any mall in the U.S., falls along our bus route, and the main part of the city is within walking distance of the school. In the picture below, a few of us are at a local tea shop, a common tradition here.



Over the past weekend, we took a trip to a rain forest near the Nicaraguan border, known as Monte Verde, or “Green Mountain.” The park is a hot spot for tourists, with hiking, zip-lining, night-tours, etc. The mountains in the picture below say it for me, but the scenery is truly gorgeous. As a link between North and South America, Costa Rica is home to some of the greatest biodiversity and mountainous regions of the Americas. Hummingbirds, stick-insects, and tarantulas, among others, are all common in the rainforests, although I didn’t see as much wildlife as I had hoped on our hike Saturday. However, Sunday we were lucky enough to do some zip-lining and see the forest from above. The steel cables used for zip-lining are suspended high in the air, strung across trees at high points throughout the forest. A roller allows you to glide down the cable from tree to tree, over a total of about 3 kilometers. This was a blast, and definitely the highlight of the trip.

Monday, June 21, 2010

First Day of Class

Today marked the first day of class, and we are jumping straight into the lessons. Spanish was first this morning, from 8:15 to 12:15. Even for the beginners’ course, the entire class is taught in Spanish. If my count is right, our instructor, Harry, spoke a grand total of 3 English words throughout the full course of the morning! Even when it would be easy to translate a simple noun, Harry stayed true to his tactics and filled the board with diagrams of birds, firefighters, and other figures to convey the definitions. Of course, most of the instruction was focused on basic conversation, verb conjugation, etc.

In the afternoon, we had a lecture and lab on electrical safety and basic precautions throughout a hospital. The lab that followed involved the construction of an extension cord from basic components. My background in electricity is limited to an Intro. to Electrical Engineering course and to what I’ve picked up in a few projects at home and elsewhere, so it’s nice to gain these skills and apply them in context.

I think we are all anticipating an intense four weeks of class. The challenge is intimidating but also inspiring. With our resources and time, it feels like the only limitation to how much I learn and prepare in the next four weeks is the amount of energy I dedicate to it.

Like I mentioned before, we had some time to enjoy ourselves over the weekend. Rafting was a blast! We went through rapids from class I to IV through scenery some of us compared to Jurassic Park. For a boat of beginners, the six of us did pretty well. Of course, the guide directs the boat and calls out when to row forwards or backwards, so doing well mostly translates to staying in the boat! At one especially rough point, we were caught off guard and more than half our crew ended up in the water. I was fortunate enough to have a grip on the rope around the boat perimeter and stay on. This is definitely worth a try during any visit to the country.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Hola from San José

It is now Friday night, and after a smooth arrival Thursday, we are settled into our homestays and getting oriented. It’s been an eventful two days, and for the first time, I am truly feeling like a foreigner! We are immersed in a culture of altogether different people, language, and lifestyles.

Almost immediately after arriving, we were introduced to our homestay families. Ours has been more than welcoming . . . . to all six of us! Most of the group was paired off, but with six guys, we are by far the largest. This has led to the nickname of the “frathouse,” although it’s far from that environment. We are living with a family spanning three generations, of which the grandmother has primarily played host to us. She also cooks breakfast and dinner for us, as part of the program tuition, so we are fortunate enough to have some genuine local cuisine. Only one member of the family speaks any English, and his is very basic. Only one of our group has any Spanish background, so we will learn through immersion, no doubt.

Granted, none of us have spent any time in Central America, and with the warnings from home to beware of what we eat and drink, especially the tap water, we spent much of our first meal at the home in contemplation of what to eat. It was a fairly basic meal, with chicken, rice, salad, and a pineapple juice drink. The family seems to host groups such as ours often, so we reasoned they would know what is safe for foreigners and gave it a shot. We have since learned the food and water throughout the main city of San Jose should be fairly safe to drink, and did not hesitate to clear our glasses and plates tonight.

Beyond immersion into the culture of Central America, I can see we will learn from other participants as well. Participants come from all over the U.S. and Europe, including Italy, England, and Denmark. Some have Asian backgrounds as well. I have already learned from them and explained American football and the basics of Greek organizations— fraternities and sororities—of American universities.

Tomorrow we plan on a rafting trip for some fun before jumping into classes. I’m looking forward to rafting for the first time and hope to share more soon.

Adios!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Counting Down, 1 Week to Departure!

Hey everyone,

After months of anticipation, I am now only 7 days away from departure to Costa Rica!

Many of you already know the basic details of my mission trip this summer, but I’ll take this opportunity to update everyone and fill in the gaps before heading out. From June 17th to August 15th, I’ll head to Central America with about 26 other engineering students from around the globe. This is through the Engineering World Health(EWH) Summer Institute, dedicated to enhancing medical technology in developing countries. We plan to spend one month in San Jose, Costa Rica, for lessons in Spanish and medical equipment troubleshooting before partnering up and traveling to selected hospitals in either Nicaragua or Honduras to repair medical devices for a second month.

In these developing nations, a surprising amount of medical equipment can’t be used because the resources for basic repairs are lacking or because medical staff simply haven’t been trained on equipment operation. We’ll bring tools and equipment to put into practice what we’ve learned in school as well as what we learn through our training in Costa Rica to tackle what we may in just a few short weeks. Some of the tasks might include performing inventory, repairing devices, writing instruction manuals, and training others.


During the second month, from mid-July to mid-August, I’ll be working at the public hospital of Roatan, located on Roatan Island, Honduras. Check out the map. Roatan is circled, one of the three main Bay Islands, or “Islas de la Bahia.” Of several hospitals, this is the single public hospital on the island and the only affordable option for many. I’m no expert on the conditions there, but will be learning much more in the coming weeks. Ironically, just west of where I’ll be is one of the most popular scuba diving and snorkeling hot spots in Central America.

As you can imagine, I’m looking forward to an awesome cultural immersion experience and to being a part of this larger effort to improve healthcare around the globe! I’ve created this blog to help stay in touch with everyone at home in the US, and will try to post here often and as internet access allows.

Please check back often, and I’ll do my best to keep it interesting!

Tom