The first thing I did today was help brainstorm ideas for the creation of an index to measure the productivity of HIV clinics. I talked a bit about indices in my last post, but to elaborate a bit more, these sorts of "scores" give one number to, more or less, summarize the productivity/efficiency/whatever of an organization. A good example is the social progress index. Fun fact: the 2015 report places Costa Rica ranked at #28 and the US at #16, both in the category of "high social progress." #1 is Norway. Click on the link for more info!
I've been looking at a lot of indices throughout the duration of my work as a Brueggeman Fellow. They are pretty useful, but indices have a lot of shortcomings and limitations, too. For instance, consider the social progress index. While the US is overall ranked #16, I am willing to bet there are communities that would have a score as high as or higher than the #1 ranked Norway. On the other hand, there are certainly communities that wouldn't even make the top 100. So, yes, US is #16, but you shouldn't expect that to be a complete, across the board score for every part of the country. Yes, indices are useful, but like any sort of summary, you won't get all the details.
Anyways, what we are trying to do is a little simpler than that (obviously, if I am being asked to brainstorm--I'm just a mathematics minor, after all. :p). I really liked this task because it allowed me to do some critical, math-y thinking, and thinking applied to health, at that! So cool when my interests collide. I'm not sure if what I came up with was very good, but it basically involved a summation of ratios juxtaposing the outputs and inputs of different components of an HIV program (I tried to use big words in that sentence to make it seem more impressive.. I don't think it worked). Basic, yes. But sometimes keeping it simple is all you need in life, right? RIGHT.
Today I also helped edit a proposal for another project. The analysts and consultants here are really amazing, especially considering the fact that many of them are required to work in English, a second language for many. Their English is all very impressive, but inevitably there will be some issues when it comes to grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. In order to help polish the report, I was just asked to do a sweep through to make sure that the English was okay. It was cool to read through the proposal and get a sense of this organization's approach to assignments they want to take on. It is some pretty cool stuff!
I am also continuing to work on the Dominican Republic project. That is also pretty cool. More on that in another post. I like this project because I have been on board for the whole thing, and it is night to see it as it grows.
Also, in other news, I am feeling much better today. Thankfully. I think I just had a little bug in my system, but I rested a bit more this weekend. Also, it is so hot on the Pacific Coast that I might have just sweat it out. :p But I am very grateful to be feeling a bit better.
Of course, I had another AMAZING weekend. This time I was in Montezuma. Here is the map:
Last weekend I was in Playa del Coco which was a bit more north, closer to Nicaragua.
It was about a 2.5 hour bus ride to Puntarenas, a 1.5 hour ferry ride, then another 1 hour on a bus, and then another 20 minutes on a bus. A lot of moving around! One of the AMAZING parts of the ferry was watching the sunset.
STUNNING, the picture really doesn't do it justice
Faye had been here before and just raved about it--all of her positive reviews were definitely true! We were in a remote town in the middle of the jungle on the ocean. It was the most stereotypical beach town, too! Loved it. We stayed at an amazing hostel called "Luz en el Cielo." Besides no air-conditioning, it was great! Literally in the middle of the jungle. In the morning and throughout the day, we could hear howler monkeys, and we got to see some, too.
Little monkey, monkeyin' around in the jungle
On Saturday, we hiked to some local waterfalls. It was another crazy hike, but nothing like Cerro Chato from a few weeks back (wait.. I have been here a few weeks?!?). The tough thing about this hike was that it was SO HOT. I don't think I have sweat so much in my entire life, holy cow.
You can't really tell in this picture, but it was up a jagged, rocky stream. It was pretty tough!
Once we got to the waterfall, it was totally worth it. There were three levels to the waterfall, so the following pictures correspond to the first level:
This one was about 50 feet tall--the biggest one.
As you can kind of tell, the water was pretty dark and brown. Safe to swim in (I haven't gotten sick... yet...). However, if Amanda's nightmares take place in creepy cemeteries, mine take place in deep, dark pools, in which some horrifying water creature grabs my legs and pulls me down into the depths of the water. Swimming in dark, deep water totally freaks me out, but I fought my fear and actually had a really good time! Fun fact: I am not as good at treading water as I thought.
You can't really tell, but that little person jumping off the rocks is me. It doesn't look quite as impressive as it actually felt. That rock was about 10 feet above the water. The climb up the rock was kind of a challenge, too.
After hanging out at the first level, we did another crazy climb to the second & third levels of the falls. This is where the REAL fun begins! There was a 30 foot waterfall that you could jump off.. AND I DID IT!!! :O It was crazy! Yes, 30 feet doesn't sound like much, but it was pretty adventuresome. The fall hurt, too. My feet hit the water first, but my backside caught it at a strange angle, and let's just say it hurts to sit today. :P
To my great dismay, I can't figure out how to upload videos to this blog, but I will try to post the video of me jumping off the waterfall on Facebook! It might be small enough for email, too.
This is the point I jumped from... It was pretty far! Also, my foot.
Besides the waterfall, we spent a bit of time at the beach, which was nice. I LOVE the Pacific Ocean. Yes, I have only been twice, but it has been really lovely. So warm!
Pretty pretty pretty! Check out the cool sand!
Now, Spanish mass round FOUR! Have I really been here for four weekends? The mass went well. I had to go to the town over, which was an adventure, but I made it there and back safely--by the grace of God, really. It was super hot during the mass because they actually had the mass on a basketball court outside due to construction. It is still really hard to understand, but, again, every week I am getting better! Also, everyone knew the music again without song sheets..
Haha, yes, plastic chairs. But Jesus is Jesus, plastic chairs or a pews made of gold.
Well, that's all for now! Off to cook dinner, which I am totally stealing Emily's grilled cheese idea--so excited to try it! Also, Criminal Minds is on TV tonight, in Spanish. And the woman who owns my hostel LOVES it. Life is good and I am blessed. :D
amdg.
You are a brave soul! That jump looks a bit scary!! And Lol bruised butt 😂😂😂
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