Monday, May 23, 2011

Blog #1- Day 2 in Chirique, Panama

May 23, 2011

As I type this, I am sitting in a tiny little internet café in Chirique, Panama. It holds about 10 computers and the internet is beyond spotty, taking at least a few minutes to upload a website. This alone will give some insight to the stark contrast between rural Panama and most of the United States.

So far, the trip has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I am no stranger to Central America, having taken part in construction volunteer trips in El Salvador and Costa Rica. However, this will be my first trip lasting over seven days. Although I miss my friends and family back home, I am extremely excited to be here and to be able to have community nursing clinicals here.
Panama City seemed very industrial, even somewhat comparable to US cities. The only difference would be the extremely impoverished neighborhoods living side by side to towering high rises. To me, downtown Panama City appears more urban and modern than San Salvador and San Jose.

Yesterday we began our stay in Chirique, Panama; a more rural area (although where we are staying is beautiful!). Today we took a bus ride to each of the three clinical sites our group will be splitting up and going to for the next few weeks. These areas were extremely impoverished—this was the kind of area I was expecting to be in. It is so utterly saddening to know how little these people have. Children seem younger than they actually are due to lack of nutrition, women breast feed for years, and the clinics are not even close to air-conditioned. If a woman is pregnant, she may be forced to walk up to three days (or be carried in a hammock) to the clinic. Nothing close to the US!

Another difference between the US and Panama is that Panama utilizes a universal health care system where every citizen has access to some form of care for free. Where this may bring about problems, I think it is wonderful that every human being has the opportunity to seek care.

I am looking forward to beginning the hands on clinicals on Wednesday and cannot wait for all of the stories, pictures, and memories I will bring home with me from Panama.

Tami

No comments:

Post a Comment