Hospitals of Hope

 Day 7- The first day at the Hospital (Above photo is a dodgy shot of the entrance, old ambulance and emergency department in background).
Today we were introduced to our supervisors and doctors. All of whom speak only spanish, excepting one. This is the first time that not being able to speak spanish has become a real barrier. Until this point we have been able to fudge our way through with simple sentences and phrases. It is very isolating to not understand a language. You feel stupid and completely disempowered. It is impossible to build rapport and makes integrating more difficult. Being in this situation has encouraged me to be more thoughtful of those who speak english as a second language and not to write them off just because it is going to be more difficult to talk to them.

It becomes easier to understand what people are talking about if you have some idea of the context. Speaking is much more difficult. It requires a greater vocabulary and understanding of the grammar. We are both determined to improve our spanish and have been having daily lessons with Leta and Leticia. These girls both help us tremendously by translating for us. They are such an incredible blessing! Without their translations we would be lost!

The hospital is at a very high standard for Bolivia. Though small it provides a large number of speciality services. By Australian standards the hospital has sparse resources. Everything seems to get reused, often they are out of essentials like gloves, and the equipment is outdated or broken. Yet they manage very well and deliver a high standard of care despite these obstacles.

In the waiting room the patients sit quietly with their families listening to the hospital pastor deliver the morning sermon. Written on a whiteboard at the fron of the room is "the 3 Virtues- Faith, Hope, Love and the greatest of these is Love." The pastor follows his sermon with a public health topic...an interesting alternative to waiting room magazines and day time television.

The above pics are our "home". The building used to serve as a baby orphanage and has 10+ rooms each with many beds in it. There is a large dining area where most of our daily activities take place. It is very homely and we all congregate here most of the day. Each room has its own toliet and bathroom. The showers here are awful lol but they are warm..heated by electricity so whatever you do dont adjust the nozzle with the water running! Bolivia has a very basic sewerage system and consequently you cannot flush the toilet paper! Instead you place it in the bin beside your toilet...yes, you do not want to have to use a public bathroom and you get used to holding your breath for long periods of time.
Cochabamba is surrounded by many beautiful mountains. You cant see well in this photo but the very top of these mountains behind our house are covered in snow! It is very warm during the day but quite cold at night and it is very dry. Otherwise the climate and vegetation is very similar to Townsville, just a little less muggy.
Beside the house you can see stumps...this is the beginnings of an extension to the hospital. It will be a maternity ward.

Today Leta visited the market where Bolivians gather to sell and buy fresh produce. We helped her unpack and soak all the fresh fruit and vegetables in bleach. This is a precaution we take so as not to get sick. It is not safe to drink or even brush your teeth with the water that comes from the tap here.