Pictures! Fotos!

Oi! Photos from my trip, so far.. 

First day. Hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil with Jo Francis. 
Shout out to my girls, Lyly, Qua and Hang! 

Went on a walk with some friends at a park near hotel. It was the night before we separate to out home stay families. Felt like the beginning of a horror movie, 
"Hi, we're... and we're in Brazil.... weeee!" DEAD. Let's hope not. Lawlzzzzz.

Warm welcome to a temporary home with lots of fruit! 

A beautiful hospital associated with the Santa Casa Medical School, my host university. 

We take the bus to school, it takes us around 30 minutes total.
FYI, you don't get off by waving your hand, you press the stop button. 

Dia Primeiro de Escola. (Fatima, a student in my program, is great! And fashionable!) 

Neighborhood day in Bom Retiro, a very poor area and abandoned area. We walked through a "crackland", where people deal, smoke, i-don't-know-what-else with crack and live on the streets. We walked really fast and were "situationally aware."

There was a huge Bolivian  community, so we had delicious Bolivian food today for Lunch! This is my friends' meal, chicken, potatoes, full plate of rice, and fresh cinnamon apple juice. 

Saw a beautiful flower growing on a tree today on the walk home from school! 

 

I weent on a run today with Bethany.  A picture of our neighborhood, lots of hills. Because i'm so out of shape, it was a HILL-arious run... NOT! 

Enough with the fun, a tragedy is on my mind.. 

On Sunday, a fire in the city of Santa Maria in a night club killed 235 people, 141 are admitted into hospitals with 70 in critical conditions - and 20 of them are suffering from chemical pneumonia. Apparently, there are issues concerning limited respiratory machines, supplies, and funerals.

How did a fire lead to so many deaths? Allegations include: fireworks on stage, overcrowding (twice the capacity), poor emergency equipment (the fire extinguisher did not work), and only one exit. The security guards initially thought it was a fight, stampede, and did not allow people to leave at first.

Side note: I'm in Sao Paulo so I was not close, thank God. (Not that I would be at a club, right, mom?)

This tragedy has caused many people to question.. 'Who's fault is this?/ Who is it to take responsibility?'  Was it the responsibility of the customers? Should they have checked the fire exits as a responsible citizen? Is it the government for not regulating the club? The owner? The security guards? The band member who (may have) started the fire?

How would you answer that question? I think most people would automatically say authority. The government. I think I initially said authority. But why? Is it just easier for me (or we) to blame authorities because in the U.S. we are capable of suing? Should there be more public health warnings? Or are we just used to those warnings because so many people have legally harassed industries and now there are warnings on EVERYTHING in the U.S?

I don't know. I don't know who's responsible or why things happened the way they did. But I do know that there are social determinants of health. The environment people are in is definitely important in determining health. Yet, perhaps, symbols/warnings/signs can communicate and, eventually, determine life or death. I don't know.

Read more about it (or google it, bro):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/28/brazil-nightclub-fire-police-question

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21269004

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/01/30/santa-maria-fire-aftermath-brings-more-tragedy/

Tchau, 
Lynn

"We will learn from each other."

Just now, my host mother Elizabeth - or we call her Betchy, wrote on her computer screen through google translate: "Lynn, anything you need, let me know. I am connected to google." 

So I responded: 











She is so sweet! She speaks Portuguese, but she's still learning English. She is a personal trainer and works random hours. She has one daughter who is in Northern Brazil studying. 

I am living in her house with a friend I met two weeks ago in DC, Bethany, Chris, and two doggies! Chris is a student I met tonight. He is also studying abroad, he's been here for two weeks and will stay here for six months. He's been translating for us and cooked dinner for Bethany and me.  Tomorrow, he will wake up early to take the bus with us to our host university tomorrow. Wee! (Stay tuned for pictures! Hehe)

After reading and pronouncing the words aloud together, She responded to me: 
"We will learn from each other."


Fortunate, 
Lynn 

Oi, boy! Here's a poetic history lesson on Brazil.

A Poem on My First Class

It's only my 2nd day in Brazil, 

Unfortunately, my energy level is downhill, 

Hence, I'm writing this poem in class 

or else I'd fall asleep - real fast. 

It's probably just the jet lag,

Getting up for class was quite the drag.  

I shouldn't have stay up late on the plane, you see, 

tearing up while I watch "Katy Perry, Part of me." 

Right now I'm at Santa Casa, a private medical school, 

"No shorts, No slippers," it's a strict rule. 

Students here have to pay a fee, 

unlike public universities, which are free. 

Our guest speaker is a historian, 

No wonder why I think it's borin'. 

Just joking, It's sometimes cool, 

(only because my sister studies it in school.)

So Brazil's colonial period was 1500- 1822, 

He talks about 90 languages, mixed ancestry, and debt due. 

In 1822 - 1889, the imperial period was a must 

The first emperor was claimed by Pedro the First. 

 There was also the first printing press, education institution in its' history, 

which had huge implications and consequences of illiteracy. 

Coffee playd a huge economic role, 

In 1888, slavery abolished and remained low. 

What happened in the next century, I don't know. 

My thinking process was a little slow. 

I went in and out of sleep, so I stopped taking notes, 

I picked up random words like: minimum wage, order, and votes. 

Now I'm writing this poem, 

Thinking about meeting me host family and new home. 

By the way, to say hello in Portuguese is "Oi!"

I've been practicing a lot, especially when I see a gorgeous boy! 

Joking (okay, mom!)

Lynn 

Hokie and Heelots

I was a Hokie. 

Hokies are very interested in number and statistics. They're also very gender specific, females only talk to females, and if they want to talk to the other sex they need to ask the "head hokie." They communicate by asking questions and to start a conversation they tap the person on the shoulder, say the number of the letters in their name, then tap again to end the conversation. Today, the Hokie's mission is to find out the Heelots birth month and the number of siblings they had. 

In order to do this, we needed to go into the land of Heelotia. The Heelots were very different. They didn't like any physical touching, only talked when the right cheek was next to the other right cheek of each person, and whispered. They only answered questions with a "heelot" which meant "yes" or "heelotia" which meant "no." They also thought numerical information and statistics were invasive and personal information. 

Obviously, these two cultures conflict. And to answer the very obvious question: NO, I was not tripping on acid. YES, this is a culture simulation my group did today. (Based off the BaFa' BaFa simulation.) You can guess what happened... communication failed, people questioned if they should changed their norms in order to integrate into the others, there was frustration, some felt alienated and others felt like there was a lack of understanding. 

This Saturday, I will leave to Brazil with the Hokies and Heelots in mind. This example illustrates what can happen when you go into a new country, culture, and community. At what limit do you lose apart of your "self" or your identity in order to adapt to another culture? How does your attitude and behaviors impacting those around you? What are the values and beliefs you want to keep? 

Let me end with the Sunglasses Story that I was told today.

"Imagine that in your own country, from the time of the first people, today, and far into the future, everyone that was ever born or will be born with 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth and a pair of sunglasses. The color of the lenses in the sunglasses is yellow. No one has ever thought it strange that the sunglasses are these, because they have always been there and they are a part of the human body. Everyone has them. What makes them yellow are the values, attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and assumptions that all people in your country have in common. Everything they have seen, learned or experienced (past, present and future) has entered into the brain through yellow lenses. Everything has been filtered and interpreted through these values and attitudes that have made the lenses yellow. The yellow lenses thus represent your attitudes, beliefs, values and cultural background.

 Thousands of miles away in another country, from the time of the first people, today and far in to the future everyone that was ever born or will ever be born with 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, a nose, a mouth and a pair of sunglasses. The color of the menses in the sunglasses is blue. No on has ever though it strange that the sunglasses are these, because they have always been there and they are a part of the human body. Everyone has them. Everything the people see, learn or experience is filtered through the blue lenses.

 A traveler from the yellow sunglasses country who wanted to go to that far away land has enough sense to realize that to learn about the country and the people more thoroughly, he would have to acquire some blue sunglasses so that he could “see”. When the traveler arrived, he wore the blue glasses, stayed for 2 years, and felt that he really was learning about the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the people. He actually “saw” wearing the sunglasses. He came home to this own country and declared that he was now an expert on the country and that their culture was green."

Why was Obama speaking at Beyonce's Concert?

Just joking.. :)

I got the privilege of going to President Obama's Inauguration today at the Mall in Washington, D.C. 

So many people, so many coffee cups!! 

It was cold and crowded but a very special experience. James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson, and Beyonce performed at the Inauguration. 

The entire time I was thinking about how I wished my family could be here and how blessed I am to have parents who traveled from Vietnam into this country in 1991. They are so strong, courageous, and truly fought for the American Dream that a lot people cannot attain due to many reasons, including greater powers and forces.

When I got back to the hostel, I was confronted with this quote...

"We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin—we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

-April 4th 1967, Martin Luther King Jr 

So I ask you, when in your life have you experienced privilege? What does it tell you when we have to stop and take time to consider privilege, when others around the world are faced with the lack of privilege everyday? 


Much Love, 
Lynn 

Happy weekiversary! Cheers!

I've only been in Washington, D.C. for one week and so far...

I've given 2 presentations 

Listened to 3 guest lectures 

Visited 3 non-governmental organizations (NGO's) 

Watched 2 films/documentaries 

Had class on a everyday (including saturday and NOT sunday!)

Went to a Quaker pot luck 

Volunteered at a local food bank (Martha's Table) 

Ate 2 Half-smokes (A half-smoke is a "local sausage delicacy" found in Washington, D.C.

Climbed at the largest climbing gym in the country (Earth Trek's in Maryland) 

Participated in A LOT of community building activities (love them!) 

Met so many people with similar - and different - lives, mannerisms, and humor 

Found a few friends of Faith - one who said something I've never heard

before, she said "I think you are the answer to my prayers." 

The days have been extremely long, but absolutely fantastic. Thank you Mom and Dad (and everyone else) for letting me explore new territory (literally and figuratively.) Please keep me accountable with my goal to NOT complain. There is so much to be thankful for! Why complain about your life when there is someone (or millions) fighting to save theirs?

Because we were granted with our beautiful life.. I really encourage us take the time to examine the past days/weeks/years, examine our hearts, celebrate our successes and reflect on our failures. I hope that we can all live our lives purposefully and gracefully. 

Counting her blessings, 

Lynn 

Martha's Table serving some health care lessons

During my time in Washington D.C., we are staying in a hostel place called the William Penn House. 

It is a Quaker based home and the people there are very welcoming and warm.  I got the option to meet a few of the workers at a pot luck in the house and a talk about the Spiritual life of a Quaker woman, Mary. 

Hearing and sharing stories with new people rejected some of the pre-conceived notions I had of Quakers. Mary was an oncologists and performed several abortions when she was practicing. She believed women were educated enough to make their own decisions. An 80 year man in the audience shared his viewpoint, saying how his ex-wife wanted an abortion when they first found out she was pregnant. Coming from a Catholic background, he did not allow that. His son his turning 45 this weekend and is his life and joy. They were very open and acceptive of different opinions. I respect that. 

Another man from the Quaker house told me about a volunteer opportunity during our free half day. So, yesterday, me, Josh from the House, and 9 others from my program volunteered at a Food Bank organization, "Martha's Table."

Martha's Table deals with the immediate effects of poverty and finds long-term solution with education, nutritution and family support services. (http://www.marthastable.org) 

We helped with their grocery service and distrubuted groceries to families of Garrison Elementary School. The school was mostly composed of African Americans and Hispanic families. Each kid greeted us with a big, "HELLO!" 


Depending on the number of children in their family, they received a paper grocery bag and walked around picking a type of canned meat, vegetables, cereal, juice, fruit, and bread, etc. for their family. We stood at different tables to facilitate the choosing and to socialize with the families. 

Some big-booty carrots.

The food available was all donated from target. This experience, not only humbled me but also taught me a lot about our health system.

The United States spends the most on their health care system than any other country BUT has the worst outcomes as well.

There are multiple reasons for that:
(1) the economic system in place, our health care system is very profit-driven.. or should I say, our wealth care system..
(2) it's very dependent on expensive technology,
(3) it's a disease care system that treats symptoms rather than prevents and
(4) it does not recognize the social determinants of health such as your environment, food options, geography, media, and larger forces at work.

So who is getting access to the services that we spend so much money on? Is everyone?

For our Community Health and Research Methods class, we were divided into different communities around D.C. and just observed what was there and what was not there. I was in the area of U-street and focused on the community's access to the medical services and technologies. Interestingly, this was the same area Martha's Kitchen was located. 

Some artifacts that I brought back are pictures of Howard University hospital and a community garden at a park. 



The service of a hospital and presence of healthy food were observations NOT all of my class mates could bring back to our discussions. What is really interesting is the question, just because those services are present in the community does it necessarily guarantee access?


Now back to lady Martha... At Martha's Kitchen, there were some hispanic families who could not speak English. It was sad, because they couldn't even articulate if they wanted oatmeal or cereal. Does that influence their ability to get access? What about financial access? If they couldn't afford groceries how can they afford health care, medications, hospital visits? 

What about your social standards that prevents you from getting care? In a documentary we watched today, Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, a man was talking about his acupuncture experience. It helped him get over his addiction to painkillers that he acquired when we was in the military. He said his friends from the South have never heard of it before and wouldn't approve. So what stigmas prevent people from getting access? 

There are so many different disciplines that contribute to the public health of a community and country. To challenge you, what do you first think of when you hear the word "health?" Do you think of bacteria? The human body? Runny noses? Loogies? Most people view health from a bio-medical lens. However, much more goes into an individuals health. 

How did our health system become the way it is today? What kind of change do we expect to see in the upcoming years? 

Anyways, I leave you with a very informative video of the Health Care Reform act that was recently passed.

Loving to learn,
Lynn 

Who knows me best?

During this season of meeting and greeting, I am reminded that no one here knows me as well as my Father. And that's a rejoice. 

This morning I read Psalm 139. 

I love Psalms.  They are intimate confessions and affectionate chronicles of the disappoints and celebrations we have in our relationship with God. 

Psalm 139 

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

It's a good morning, 

Lynn 

Goals! (No, not the field goal that led to the Broncos defeat..)

Somebody once told me that before I go abroad I should make a list of personal goals. The reason was so, even if the program did not fulfill the expectations, my experience can still be a successful one. 

During orientation today our Trustees Fellow, who is traveling with us, asked:
"What do you hope to bring to the learning community?" and "What do you hope to learn?" We wrote our answers on the sticky notes and posted them on the board with vulnerability. Extracting from those two questions, I decided to create a list of some goals. 

Discover and explore my purpose in (or out) of the Global Health realm. 

Learn about my strengths and weaknesses, that can only be done by uncomfortable exploitation. 

Travel in a spirit of humility and modesty.

Have a genuine desire to strengthen my relationship with God through devotionals and meditation. 

Cultivate the habit of good note taking, observing, and listening. 

Illuminate some poor assumptions and biases that I may have and question their origins. 

Train myself to see the strengths and powers of a country along with the inequalities and failures. 

Share life stories (and bad jokes) to my group, new people that I meet, and my host family. 

And most importantly, don't die. That way, I can share my experience with my loving family and (future) children. 

Watching The Last of the Mohicans, 
Lynn 


Also, a poem in honor of our loss tonight: 

Is it sad that football can..
break my heart easier than any man? 

Though the game was pure heart and fight,
It was the worst way to end my night. 

The refs were so bad, they cause a roar
Oh, that’s right, they must have been from Baltimore! 

I thought Ray Lewis was going to retire,
But now he’s got me singing Adele, "But I set fire... "

Soleful Secret: My Grandmother's shoes

Thank you Grandma, for letting me borrow your shoes while I study abroad AND helping me make friends! 

I got three compliments on the shoes I was wearing today. One girl even said: "If I were to see those shoes at the store, I wouldn't even think of buying them. But you rock them." Another asked about the brand. 

Little do they know they're my grandmas and I only borrowed them because they're comfortable! 
Wahahaha :) 

Feeling sneaky (and soleful - get it?), 
Lynn 

I may need to put a LID to these weird dreams..

Last night I woke up at 2 in the morning after a dream about my eye lid. My eye was the size of my hand. And I was scooping, squeezing, and squirting out pus from the eye lid. 

That was my dream. Also, I woke up with a swollen eye.. 

Confused, 
Lynn 

Some fun facts about eyes:

1. An ostrich's eye is bigger that its brain. 
2. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
3. The study of the iris of the eye is called iridology.
4. The eyeball of a human weighs approximately 28 grams.
5. Under the right conditions, the human eye can see the light of a candle at a distance of 14 miles.

Sources:
http://www.hightechscience.org/funfacts.htm
http://www.funshun.com/amazing-facts/eye-human-body-facts.html

First day, too soon for Yoda accent? Nah.

Today I met the other 29 students I will be traveling with for four months. 

Four of them were lucky enough to hear my Yoda accent. 

They all agreed that it was good. This is excellent. 

Or as the highly respected Borat Sagdiyev would say 'veerrrrr gooooood!' If you're wondering  if I just know Borat's last name, the answer is no. I wikied it. 

What's up with the comic sans font in this picture? Gross. 

May the Force be with you,

Lynn