Hello! It's been a little while since the last update. Things are going
well here in Tixan and at the moment, everyone is gearing up for Carnival,
which kicks off tomorrow with the crowning of the King. Ecuadorians take their
parties very, very seriously, so it should be a good time!
We're also in the middle of 2 weeks of school vacations, so I've mostly
been hanging out at the clinic. It seems strange now that I used to go there
all day every day, because while theres stuff to do... theres not THAT much to
do. I'm also becoming very conscious of the fact that I'm leaving in 6 months,
so I'm trying to back off a bit in terms of the free labor. There are some
things I do at the clinic that are mostly outside of their work area (nutrition
counseling, organizing/reorganizing the files), things that wouldn't otherwise
get done if I wasn't there. However, there are other things that I sometimes do
because theres nothing else to do... but I probably shouldn't. Sometimes I help
take vitals, do some filing and help clean, because I'm bored. The problem is
that these are things that are explicitly in the job description of other
people, so to some extent, I'm enabling their inefficient work habits by doing
part of their job.
Occasionally, I help out because theres just no one else to do it (like the
days when all the nurses leave to do vaccines, and the doctors are left without
anyone to take vitals), but this is also problematic. The doctors are perfectly
capable of pulling files and taking vitals themselves... it's just that it
takes so goddam long to do, people will end up waiting for literally 5-6 hours.
My conscious always sides with the patients, so when I help out its always to
make things more efficient and pleasurable (as much as possible) for the sick
people. I think that people appreciate and like me for this, which is great for
me... but what happens when I leave? Will things just go back to the way it was
before? When everyone yelled and treated the patients (and each other) like
crap?
I don't know. It's impossible to know now. I worry about it though, and I
wonder if there are any measures I can put in place to help prevent things from
reverting back to the inefficient, unhelpful status quo. To some extent, I
think that my presence sort of shames people into acting better. I don't yell,
I say please and thank you, I don't give people a hard time about stupid,
random things. I'm always mystified on the days when the occasionally enforced
"rule" is that people can only get one appointment per family. What
if 2 kids are sick with fever? What if the family comes with 5 people because
they live really far away and can't make it more often? What if the mom needs
to get her birth control TODAY and her child is sick? (All of which happened
the other day).
I should point out that I don't think its not like this everywhere. Other
clinics and hospitals have a better system, more management oversight, and more
doctors. The major problem with my clinic can be summarized in one word:
burnout. People are jaded and don't even try to have patience anymore. Burnout
exists in every field, in every area of the world, but its especially harmful
in this sort of first-tier dealing with the public situation. Tixan is a
difficult area to work in, FOR SURE, but it doesn't excuse the behavior of some
health workers. I've had days where I just have to leave after a few hours
because I can't believe how horrible people are being and I feel like
continuing to work condones their behavior. Could I say something? Maybe, if
the perfect opportunity came up. Otherwise, I keep my mouth shut, because after
all I'm just a random, privelleged gringa. There are some moments when I put in
my 2 cents, moments that are more suited to my areas of expertise, but when it
comes to basic human behavior... nope. I'm no one's mother. The way most
Ecuadorians avoid taking the blame for anything (even in situations when it was
clearly their fault), it would be suicidal to give a name to the obvious
problems.
I've thought about possibly bringing up some of my issues right before I
leave, but if I ever want to come back to visit and actually be welcomed, I
can't do it. Be smart, Chloe! When has burning bridges ever been beneficial in
the long run??? Never ever ever.
Anyway! In terms of other work... the health classes I teach at the two
schools have been going really well. The kids are finally calming down, so
classroom management hasn't been as big of a headache as at the beginning. I
also finally got the 6th and 7th grade teachers at Escuela Luz Elisa Borja to
pay attention to me and help me out with behavior issues, so my last classes in
January were very pleasant and productive. It took nearly 2 months of
complaining, walking out of a couple classes, and finally complaining to the
other teachers to get them to change, but better late than never! For the first
time, the kids listen, participate appropriately, and are (mostly) respectful
for the entire 40 minutes I have with them. Imagine! Its a small miracle.
In my spare time, I'm also working on compiling my lessons into a manual
for the teachers to have once I leave. Probably no one will use it, but hey,
you never know! I mentioned this project to a woman who works at World Vision
(the largest NGO in the world. You know, "for only pennies a day you can
sponsor a child...") who is in charge of a national effort called Escuelas
Promotores de Salud or Health Promoting Schools or something. Last year, I
presented at a conference for the schools in my area, but they haven't asked me
to do anything else. Anyway, I mentioned that I'm putting together this manual
of lessons for health classes and Veronica seemed interested in possibly using
it for this network of healthy schools. I'm going to try and get it done in the
next month or two, because it would be awesome to promote it at the
participating schools before the year ends in June. The Health Promoting
Schools project is a great idea, but its also really vague. At the conference I
went to, they didn't exactly teach the teachers how to incorporate health
lessons into their curriculum. They mostly just told them stuff they should
already know, about hygiene, sexual health and nutrition. To me, taking that
information and translating it to the classroom is the real challenge! Luckily,
I've got a bunch of tried and true lessons that do just that.
There are a few others projects in the works, such as a women's jewelry
cooperative, a girl's club, baking/cooking classes, and English lessons, to
name a few, but I'll return to talk about those another day. It's funny that
with 6 months left, all these opportunities suddenly fall in my lap. I wish I'd
had these bright ideas a year ago, but what can you do?
Lastly, I applied to the Portland State University Master's in Social Work
program for entrance this fall, so fingers crossed they let me in and give me
lots of money! This means that I'll be heading back to Portland after Peace
Corps ends in July or August, which is pretty exciting. It feels really good to
have something of a plan and a place to be for the next couple years... which
is a big reason I signed up for PC in the first place. I can't seem to settle
down in one place on my own, so I have to force myself to do it using other
means! Restlessness is really a big problem.
Anyway, I hope you're all doing well! I'd love to get an email update when you get a chance. Seriously! I'll leave you with a picture of me and some of the health workers after our Christmas program at the clinic. The ladies helped me buy my outfit and get all dressed up, which was a lot of fun!
