Has it really been two weeks?!

Hello! I am two weeks into my Brueggeman trip--shocking! The rate at which time passes never ceases to amaze me.

Work continues to be a huge challenge, but if it weren't a challenge, would it be worth it? Probably not! :) So, while it is hard, I am very grateful for the challenges that have been presented to me. Also, did zumba today, and that was fun!

I did some really interesting research today at work. For the World Bank, we are working on a (never-ending, may I add) literature review on the HIV/AIDS situation in Malawi and what can be done to help the epidemic (the quickest summary I could possibly give). I haven't been on board long, so I am just helping out with the tail end of the lit review. I think I may have mentioned this in another post.. Oh, well. Anyways, today I did a lot of research on community-based interventions for HIV (really, it is a method that can be applied to anything, but I was looking specifically at its application to the HIV situation in Malawi). It was really interesting! So, as you can probably tell from the name, community-based interventions are--wait for it--based on individual community needs! :O I'm so insightful.

Kidding aside, I really believe this kind of approach is truly vital when it comes to providing care. Obviously, every community has different needs and characteristics--the same approach to health in Cincinnati isn't going to work as well if it was applied in Honolulu, for example. My research today reminded me a lot of some organizations I have had the privilege of stumbling upon while at Xavier. Two specifically come to mind. The first, Closing the Health Gap, aims to eliminate racial and health disparities in Cincinnati. For those of you who aren't really familiar with the overall health of Cincinnati, just be aware MANY problems exist. For instance, infant mortality in Cincinnati and Hamilton county are nearly double the rates of the rest of the country. And, to illustrate the horrific disparities that exist in our community, infant mortality among live births to white mother is approximately 7.5/1000--among live births to black mothers, it is around 17.8/1000 (Cincinnati Children's, as of 2010--I am sure there are more updated stats out there, but as I research all day at work, I think I will take a break from that for now). Crazy, right?? This is why the delivery of healthcare is so important--and not just any healthcare, but care designed to fit a community's specific and unique needs! Allow me to digress for a moment--one of the other Fellows, Tess Petrozzi, is doing some really incredible work in New Zealand with infant mortality & midwifery systems. Her trip is based a lot upon another cool organization in Cincy, Healthy Moms and Babes, which also aims to help with the health problems in Cincy. I'm speaking for Tess, so I hope I represented her correctly. :)

Anyways, back to Closing the Health Gap--As a Health Services major, we have a lot of different guest speakers come into our classes. It is a really cool networking tool and it helps us explore different careers in the healthcare industry. From my ~1.5 years experience as this major, a majority of the guest speakers are business-related; don't get me wrong, it is really interesting, but a lot of the times I am not really inspired by that aspect of healthcare. Someone is meant to be in charge of billing and revenue streams, but that someone probably isn't me. :p One day during Fall 2014, two women from Closing the Health Gap came in, and it was a breath of fresh air!! It was really interesting to hear about how they are trying to improve the health in Cincinnati in a hands-on way, one that reflects a lot of what I learned about from my research today on community-based interventions.

Crossroad Health Center is another interesting organization I am across this past spring semester. In similar ways to Closing the Health Gap, Crossroad Health Center's mission is to provide accessible, affordable, COMMUNITY-BASED primary health care services and mental health counseling to the residents of OTR and surrounding Cincinnati communities (that mission statement is, more or less, copy & pasted from their website). The husband & wife that started the clinic gave a talk to the pre-med society (no, I am not pre-med, I just attended because that is what I do for fun!), and it was truly inspiring. I took really detailed notes, but I left them back at home, so I can't really go into too much detail about the presentation. Basically, they provide care to the needy population of OTR in Cincinnati. Also, I was also amazed because the mission of the organization is rooted deeply in faith! It is quite inspiring to me. I would actually really love to get an internship here in the fall; they mostly hire on pre-med kids, but I think if I plead my case, I may have a shot! Prayers, please. :)

These sort of organizations, in my humble opinion, are truly vital for providing the healthcare that a community needs. For those of you interested, here are the links to the websites of the organizations (I don't think they would mind if I shared!):

Closing the Heath Gap
Crossroad Health Center

Whether it be for a community in Malawi struggling with HIV or Cincinnati, Ohio, community-based interventions offer a lot of great things for the provision of healthcare. A challenge is implementing such interventions, especially on a state or federal level. Could the US ever do that? Hmm, I'm not sure, because that would mean that healthcare isn't just about money.. ;) Oops, said too much!

I would like to learn more about these kind of approaches to healthcare; what I have blogged about thus far is based on just a little bit of research that I did today! I will work on it some more tomorrow before I am, no doubt, given many more assignments to complete. :)

Well, that was work for today! I am sure the rest of the week will keep me on my toes & teach me many, many new things. :)

As for my weekend, I had a really wonderful trip to Playa del Coco. It was really beautiful! My first time to the Pacific Ocean! :) I've been very blessed to make friends. I am truly thankful they have welcomed me into the group. They are so nice and friendly.. and tons of fun! :) Which is good for me, because we all know how much fun I normally have. :P We have had a lot of fun together, and I am just very happy to have made friends.. It makes the experience all the more enjoyable. :)

To give you some perspective.. I live in San Jose. It was about a 5 hour bus ride to Playa del Coco. 

First touch of the Pacific Ocean! :) 

Breakfast and a view! And my new true love.. PAPAYA! So good! Also very happy to have green tea, my other true love. <3

One of my favorite photos from the weekend--so beautiful! The water was really warm, which was great. 

Hello!

Costa Rican beach sunsets >>>

Spanish mass: Round Three!

This mass was a little strange--the music was like very creepy, weird carnival music. I cannot make that up! Not a huge fan. Besides that, it was a great mass! Good news, I am understanding more and more each time around. I can ALMOST follow along with the "Our Father." Homilies are still hard, but I figure as long as I have a basic understanding, it is fine. Reading the selected readings beforehand also helps. Also, I have some interesting thoughts on masses:

1. There are no hymnals, song booklets, nada, but somehow, EVERYBODY always knows every song and sings along. So, either there is some serious work of the Holy Spirit going on in the music liturgy in Costa Rica, or they sing the same 3 songs. I will research further. 

2. At the sign of peace, all the little kids in the church go up and shake the priest's hand--this has happened at all three masses I have attended so far in Costa Rica. I like it a lot, and it probably helps the children develop a healthy perspective/relationship of the pastoral leadership of the church. #vocationproblems #itsthelittlethingsthatcount #getonboardchurchofamerica

I do not believe this church had a name. I scoured the internet, and all I could find was "the bright green church." So, La Parroquia de La Iglesia Verde Brilliante is what I am naming it

Up close & personal! I always feel kind of strange taking pictures of churches, but I guess if I'm going to take pictures of anything, churches aren't that bad.

They love their Divine Mercy here! I've seen it on buses and trucks, even! Imagine that in the US! :O

They also love Mary. She is on a lot of buses, trucks, and cars.

That's all for now, folks! Thanks for reading! 

amdg.