Tolochko-san

Naming conventions in Colombia are slightly different from what we're used to. Here, people have two first names and two last names. People also use their first two names interchangably - it's still unclear to me if there are any kinds of general trends. Whether pepole tend to use their first name with their family and close friends, their second first name at work/later in life, etc.

Either way, whenever Robin or I are waiting to be called into someone's office, we are almost always called by our middle names. My guess is that it's because, for a Colombian, Carol and Jack are easier to pronounce than Robin and Jerome.

Today though, something truly wonderful and Colombian happened to me. I showed up to the doctor's office, and after waiting for 30 minutes to be called into the office after my schedule 10:10 appointment time, asked the other people waiting around what was up. One woman looekd at my appointment slip and said that my name had already been called, but the doctor, unable to pronounce my name and convinced that my last name must be Japanese, just yelled out, "Chino! Chino? Chino!" Hence the confusion.

Insight into Colombian Healthcare

Through the help of a family friend, Jerry and I were able to sign up as independents within the Colombian healthcare system. We pay roughly $35/month for both of us, and our co-pays are only $1. I must admit, we are somewhat cheating the system - we applied as people who make minimum wage, keeping our costs down. But hey, that's what happens when you have connections.

It has been interesting getting to know a system that is completely different from the US. Appointments are hand-written in a book. Jerry reminds me it wasn't that long ago when it was like that in the US. When I called to try to schedule an appointment a month ahead of time, they wouldn't let me - "our calendar doesn't go that far into the future." So different from needing to schedule appointments in the US up to several months in advance. On the other hand, it means that there is usually no problem scheduling a same-day or next-day appointment.

One wonderful thing about our health insurance (I can't speak for the whole system, only for my experience) is that birth control is free. $0. I have to go once a month to the nurse to check in and make sure everything is going OK and pick up my birth control pills. For me, a monthly check-up isn't exactly necessary considering I've been with the same stable partner for years, and at first I was annoyed to need to schedule appointments every month. But for those women and girls who have no one to talk to honestly about their sexual activity and birth control, it's actually pretty brilliant. Not to mention, if all it takes is 10 minutes a month for free birth control, I'll take it.

The other day I went for my monthly appointment and ended up asking the nurse tons of questions about women's health in Colombia. She told me that abortion is illegal here, except in the cases of rape (she specifically mentioned rape of minors) and if the baby/mother is seen to have major problems within the first trimester. She quickly added that, of course, there are casas (houses) that perform abortions, many of them in that same neighborhood. Pregnancy amongst young teenagers (13, 14, and 15 years old, and as young as 11 or 12) is not uncommon. According to this nurse, amongst some poor populations where the teen pregnancy rate is very high, many young women choose to have kids at a young age because they don't want their children to view them as old. I had never heard such a point of view before and my jaw dropped. She talked extensively about how the strong influence of the Catholic Church in Colombia (and elsewhere) prevent the promotion of real sex education and the legalization of abortion.

On top of all of this, a scandal within the Colombian healthcare system has recently unfolded with our insurance company, SaludCoop, as a central player. In order to explain it to you, first you need to know a little bit about how the healthcare system works (according to Mauricio, one of my English students who gave me the run-down today). There are 4 main actors: 1) The patients, 2) The service providers, 3) The insurance companies, and 4) A government fund established in 1993 that subsidizes healthcare throughout Colombia. Patient goes to service provider to receive treatment. Service provider bills the insurance company. Insurance company gets reimbursed from the government fund.

The scandal (at least as far as my understanding goes - hell it'd be hard enough to understand a scandal like this in the US in my native language and in my own culture) is as a result of the insurance companies telling the government fund that they paid a lot more than they did, and thus getting reimbursed for way more than necessary. AKA money going directly to someone's pocket. According to Mauricio, some guy within the insurance company and some government official had been doing dirty deals together - which is bad enough - but on top of that, they then started a business together to counsel insurance companies on how to ask the government fund for reimbursement. Some people are going to jail, but who knows if things will change.

Mauricio explained that people like him (with money) pay more and subsidize people who can't contribute much or anything to the system. He agrees with that practice, in theory, but with all the corruption that exists, it's not actually effective at providing people with the best treatment.

He then asked me to explain to him how the healthcare system in the US works, and I realized that I know next to nothing about the new healthcare law, except for that some of my friends could now be on their parents' insurance again. And you can't deny someone coverage due to pre-existing conditions. I think now I need a student in the US to sit me down and explain the system to me in layman's terms.

Guest blog post: Cindy Tracy

Jerry's mom, Cindy, came to visit us for five days last week. I was impressed by her Spanish and loved seeing how excited she was to be in Bogotá with us. This lady worked non-stop for 3 days and only on Shabbat did she rest! Without further ado, here's Cindy with reflections on her trip:

I was fortunate enough to be invited by ProExport Colombia (a government agency that helps Colombian companies export) to the Feria Internacional de Libros – a huge book fair. They paid for my plane ticket and helped me arrange appointments for the first 3 days of the book fair.

We arrived at their apartment in time to drop my bags and walk to the little mercado about 1 minute from their apartment before it closed for the day. Though small, it has a great variety of fruits and vegetables, some familiar, but many new fruits (I have absolutely been amazed and delighted by the new fruits I have tasted here). That night, we hung out, admiring the great view of the city from their apartment.

6:45 Wednesday morning, my taxista was thrilled that it was my first trip to Bogotá and that I spoke Spanish. He explained that the corrupt mayor had begun all these construction projects and then the bribes, corruption, etc. came to light. There is construction EVERYWHERE. I learned immediately NOT to watch how the taxistas drive!

At the book fair, I had table # 116 and from 8:30 to 6:00 pm, had 40 minute appointments arranged. There was one 20 minute break in the morning, an hour and a half for lunch and one 20 minute break in the afternoon. Only 2 appointments did not show up, which gave 2 TV stations and ProExport a chance to interview me. It seems I was the only American there that could speak fluent Spanish. Of course, before the cameras rolled they each asked me questions to make sure my answers would be favorable!

At the end of the day, I exited the front of the book fair to catch a cab back. After watching cabs whizz by, I approached this group of young policemen and in Spanish, said “Excuse me, I am an American, is this not the right place to get a taxi? None are stopping.” One of them said, No, this is the place to hail a cab and one of the others said, “He does not know anything because he is from Cali”. They were hilarious and helped me get a cab.

The cabs work in an interesting fashion. The meter displays a number, like 102 and every cab has a laminated sheet that tells you how much the fare is for that number. Jerry told me to ask for the sheet, so they would not overcharge me. I was so happy that the cab drivers were so nice and eager to talk, I never did – so I never paid the same fare twice! They never overcharged me much – the most I paid was 9000 pesos (about 1800 pesos to the dollar).

I had been worried about the effect of the altitude, but am happy to say it never slowed me down! I was also worried about “Montezuma’s revenge” but even drinking the tap water I didn’t have any problems. I think Jerry was surprised that I could keep up with them!

The book fair is HUGE – 6 enormous buildings with dozens of booths in each building. I was very tired by the end of the day, but had great appointments with interesting publishers, and most had never tried to export to the U.S. before.

Thursday for lunch, this publisher took me to a restaurant known for typical food from Medellin – Restaurante Poblado. He explained that we should not get an appetizer because the portions are quite large. I had the daily special – Perchugo – chicken, turkey, sausage, corn, potatoes, etc. – SO MUCH FOOD – I left half of it.

Thursday night, Jerry and Robin made an amazing carrot and ginger soup and a quinoa salad and of course, more delicious fruit. Besides uchuvas, I love pitaya and feijoa and guanabana!

Friday was the last day for me at the book fair. Jerry got me 700,000 pesos to spend on the books I needed to buy. I could not resist these adorable “libros en tela” – cloth books in Spanish I plan to sell.

But no more business talk, Friday night when I got home we went out to a restaurant they had been wanting to try. It was good, but the main course was as big as the tapas, and twice the cost – so we decided it was okay, but not great. They also tried to give me bottled water instead of “agua de la llave” (tap water) – which Robin caught!

Saturday morning they took me to the flower market which was amazing. These that we bought were really unique. The yellow ones are called “manitos de oso” (little bear claws).

Then we went inside the regular market. You could get lost so easily, it is SO big!! How many markets in the U.S. have a guy go by with an entire pig on his back and then the next stall has dozens of live chickens – ready to chop off their heads!

Then I had an experience most visitors to Bogota do not have. I went to the dentist. When Pat was in Colombia for the Peace Corps 40 years ago, he became friends with Hernando Acosta, who is now a dentist in Bogotá. I was nervous about going to a dentist I had never met before, and Jerry saying “His office is in a nice part of town, so he should have modern equipment” did not comfort me much. However, he did a great job, and because of his relationship with Patrick, refused to charge me anything.

After the dentist, we walked up through a lovely park

and Jerry showed me the Orthodox synagogue. Then he took me on a bus, explaining that he would let me get on first to find a seat since the driver does not wait until you are seated to start moving. After a couple of blocks, a young boy gets on the bus with plastic flowers and begins to sing. He does that for several blocks before getting off and several people give him a few coins.

At 3 pm, we were expecting Luis’s family to come over, but they came over early - so un-Colombian! When Pat was in the Peace Corps, Luis, as a boy of 10 or 12 years old, was his helper. Pat stayed in touch with him all these years, sending him money now and then to help him. When Pat was here in March, he had an emotional reunion with Luis and his family. Luis came with his wife, Hermina, their daughter Sandrita and her son, Sebastian, and their daughter Marcela and her adorable 2 year old son, Samuel. We had a wonderful time eating and talking.

Then we walked the 5 minutes to the movie theater to see Water for Elephants. Jerry packed up some fruit so we could have a free snack during the movie. The theaters here offer assigned seats. It is an EXCELLENT film and of course, I cried throughout the whole thing – typical for me. We walked back, switching to Spanish just so people would not think us tourists, but it was early and there were a lot of people walking around.

They live in a GREAT neighborhood, La Macarena, with restaurants, shops, movie theater, etc. all within walking distance.

Sunday morning was my last morning. I set my alarm so I could spend some time with Robin before she went to Ultimate Frisbee practice. She enjoyed the last of the Cheerios I had brought her (take note if you are planning to visit Jerry and Robin – bring her a box of plain Cheerios). Jerry took me to the Sunday Flea Market only 5 minutes away. In the U.S., you want to get to the flea market early, before the good stuff is gone. We got there about 8:30 and people were still setting up. Jerry bought me a cup of jugo de guanabana which is one of the most delicious fruit juices!

There was everything at this market from clothes, to typewriters and old sewing machines, jewelry, etc. I found an awesome hand painted shirt for Mitchell and a hat for Pat – he usually wears a cap or hat when he walks the dogs.

All too soon it was time to catch a cab for the airport.

One final Colombian culture thing for my blog entry before I leave. When I checked in, they informed me that I had been “chosen” to have my bag searched. Fortunately, he did not seem to mind the big bag of cinnamon sticks and did not find the jar of homemade blackberry jam I am bringing back with me.

Now, back to the U.S. Hope you have enjoyed my guest post!

El Cocuy, Part I: Journalings

Returned to Bogotá this morning on an overnight bus. We weren't sure that we would be able to make it back from Güicán, the town where the trail ends. There is horrible flooding all over Colombia right now and many major roads have been damaged. Let's hope that the rainy season, or winter (invierno) as it is called here, is quieter than predicted.

While Jerry uploads our photos, I thought I'd give a preview of our trip in the form of some of my writings from the trip.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

We arrived yesterday to El Cocuy and registered with the National Parks Service, bought some last-minute supplies, and were on our way. We caught a ride to the farm of Miguel Herrera. He possibly has the best mustache I've ever seen. He also fits the stereotype of a Boyacense (note: Boyacá is the department, or state, that the park is located in) campesino - brownish/black hat, ruana, and extremely nice and polite. Andrés negotiated with Don Miguel for he and two horses to pick up our packs the following day and carry them to our next destination. After leaving Don Miguel's place, we walked about an hour and a half to the first campsite. It proceeded to rain while Jerry and I napped.

It rained the entire night - and, as it turns out - our tent is no longer really waterproof. Luckily, even though the entire tent was wet, our sleeping bags stayed (mostly) dry. Jerry is the best husband in the world - he let me have the best sleeping pad and sleeping bag. I guess we'll see if that continues (editor's note: he ended up with the good sleeping pad, I took the good sleeping bag. He's still the best husband in the world.)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Today I heard a plane pass by overhead, and it seemed so out-of-place. Over the past two days, the only sounds that I've heard are the running streams, rain dropping on our tent, the occasional bird, and the voices of Jerry, Andrés, and Paula. Plus the sounds of zippers, the gas stove, waterfalls, footsteps, and most of all, my own breathing. This is hands-down the hardest thing I've done in my life. And the best part is that I've loved it - despite the fact that our tent isn't really waterproof, that my body aches (though not as much as I thought it would), that every time we go uphill I have to concentrate more than I ever have on breathing. Being able to see views that few have seen - these views are literally breathtaking. In one direction there is a steep, red canyon wall, in another a steep, green valley leading to the end of the world, and I am standing on a practically vertically cliff made of gray shale. My brain begins to doubt my eyes. You have to look quickly and stop to admire it while you can, because you can see the fog creeping in. But that, too, is amazing in itself - even though I curse the clouds for stealing my view - to watch the water take shape and gather together and climb towards us. We are so high, we have beaten the clouds, we are above them, they have to catch up (and they do).

This mornign we woke up to a clear, dawn view of a recent snow drift on the mountain next to our campsite. As the sun rose over the eastern mountains, this mountain northwest of us changed colors and seemed to change shape. We couldn't feel our toes. I asked Paula if this was the coldest she'd ever been in her life and she said yes.

I love that Jerry and I continually push each others' limits, we support each other to become better versions of ourselves.

But, at the end of the day, only I can put one foot i front of the other and get to the top of that pass. I am focused on that next step, that next breath, survival. No one can do that for me.

I love this feeling of accomplishment, unlike any I've felt before. I am my own refrigerator, my own transportation. I am my own mule (OK, Jerry carries the tent). I am seeing things that can only be seen by foot. No horse can go up 200 meters in altitude over gigantic boulders left behind by glaciers. No bike can traverse miles of going up and down cliffs. No car can cross a waterfall barefoot.

Yesterday, we saw the edge of the world. We saw where Laguna La Plaza funnels into a short waterfall and then empties down into a vast nothingness. And beyond the nothingness are more mountains and mist.

We collect our water from the streams, rivers, and waterfalls that form in the mountains, that melt from the glaciers and are fed by rain. I've never tasted fresher water (and no, we didn't use any water purification tablets). Every time we see a different glacier, my heart aches for our children who will probably never see one.

Jerry and I recall the geology we learned that first summer together, also in this tent. We point out the glacially-carved U-shaped valleys and the river-created V-shaped ones. We pass over granite and shale and see sandstone cliffs. Or so we think, and who is here to tell us otherwise?

The days are beginning to become routine. Wake up at 4:00am, pack up and eat, leave camp by 5:30 or so. Hike. Drink water. Hike. Eat trail mix. Hike. Take photos along the way. Feel like you can't continue. Continue anyway. Arrive at campsite by 12:00 or 1:00pm. Eat lunch. Rain. Nap. Talk with Jerry for hours. Rain. Asleep by 7:00pm. Repeat.

El Cocuy, the preview

A few months ago, our friends Andrés and Paula mentioned the idea of doing a 9-day hike through El Cocuy, a national park located about 12 hours from Bogotá high in the eastern range of the Andes (in Colombia, the Andes mountain range divides into 3 "fingers"). The last time I backpacked was almost 5 years ago in Peru for three or four days. Jerry has never backpacked. We will be carrying all of our food and camping gear for the whole trip. And we'll be hiking at over 4,000m (roughly 14,000 feet) the entire time. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous, but seeing the photos convinces me that this is an adventure worth doing. I'm looking forward to some quiet, beautiful vistas, and spending time with my husband and good friends. Not to mention, I'm excited about the challenge itself and the hot springs we'll reach at the end. And if I don't do something like this now, when will I?

We'll report back when we get back to Bogotá.

WANTED

Last seen on a bus to El Cocuy.

Mercy Corps debrief

Hey y'all,

Sorry it's been almost a month since our last post. I was busy with finally working a 9 to 5, Alice came to visit, Robin went to the U.S. for Carlyn's wedding, etc., etc. So, enough with the apologies, time to start with the updates.

The consulting gig with Mercy Corps went really well. It was interesting to work for an NGO after so much time with a defense contractor. Some differences: no worrying about classified material, actual field research before writing a proposal, much less of a focus on monitoring and evaluation, no psycho boss. Though I was expecting, it the thing that really struck me was the similarities. At the end of the day, it's the same 9 to 5 grind as any other job, with coworkers, bosses, a little kitchen, and, best of all, the commute. Fortunately, the work was interesting, and I got to learn a lot about a region of Colombia that we visited with Evan but barely explored, La Guajira. We'll definitely make it back before we leave Colombia, whenever that ends up happening.

At the end of the three weeks, I turned in a damn good proposal, turned in my computer, and said goodbye. It was fun while it lasted, but I won't lie and say that it wasn't nice to go back home, bake some bread, and make some dried mango and beef jerky in preparation of our trip to El Cocuy. Who knows, maybe they'll need some proposal writing support again soon and I'll be conscripted back into their ranks. Until then, it's back to teaching English.

P.S. Whoops, almost forgot. Haven't spent any of the money yet (haven't actually received it yet, either), but I think we're going to blow it on Lasik, the flights back to the U.S. in August, and a new computer.