Today was my first day working at Maternidade Nascer Cidadao. I arrived there at 7 am armed with only a few phrases in Portuguese: where is the doctor, I am an American student, my name is Katherine, etc. When I arrived, I did not know if anyone would speak English because yesterday, when my host sister and I visited the hospital, no one spoke English. The doctor with whom I was supposed to work was not at the hospital when I visited either so I did not know if he even spoke English! By the end of the day though, after saying "please repeat" many times, a lot of hand signals, and more than a few laughs, I am very happy to be able to experience Brazil in this way. I did find that the interns at the hospital speak a little English and are very willing to translate. Also, I would bet that the doctor, whom the interns refer to as "this man, the best in Goiania," knows much more English than he lets on. However, he is determined that I learn Portuguese, even making a rule (thankfully one the interns love to break when he is not in ear shot) that no one is allowed to say anything to me in English.
Once I settled in, I was able to do many things at the hospital. First I watched two cesarean sections and a tubal ligation. It was nerve wracking at first, but overall I enjoyed my time in the operating room. Time seemed to go very quickly there! It was interesting to see the interactions between the doctors and the interns during the surgeries as well. After that I spent some time with the interns and learned my way around a little. Lunch in the hospital kitchen was rice and beans (as it almost always is in Brazil). This left me time to speak to some of the doctors in Dr. Sebastiao's office and get to know them as well. I am so thankful everyone is so welcoming and helpful! It is very nice that the doctors and nurses do not mind showing me what they are doing and trying to communicate even with my limited language skills. Finally, I made my way to the nursery to see if I would be allowed to hold any of the babies. That was definitely a great ending!
