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| This is a newer section of Goiania where Marina and Bruno live. |
At almost halfway through my experience, I am really enjoying my time here. I am learning so many invaluable things and I can only imagine how much more I will learn in the second half.
I had a very interesting experience at mass this morning. Since I planned to attend the Cha do Alvaro (Alvaro's baby shower) in the evening and we normally attend mass at 7:00 PM, I had to go mass in the morning. Thaynara told me that mass began at 11:00 AM. So, at 10:55 Thaynara dropped me off at the church and I went inside to find a seat. It was very crowded just as it normally is but the priest was at the front already. Thinking I was just a few minutes late, I sat down and tried to look at the flier and figure out what was going on. Then, the cantor stood up and led the congregation in a round of Happy Birthday, just as usually happens at the END of mass. At that moment, I began to get a little suspicious. Once the singing was done, the priest gave the final blessing and everyone started leaving...oh dear. Finally I figured out that the mass began at 10:00 AM....
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| Marina (and Alvaro) and I at the baby shower. Everyone is eager to meet baby Alvaro sometime soon! |
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| Mara, Marina, and I at the party |
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| Lovely deserts and beautiful decorations |
This evening, I attended the Cha do Alvaro. Some of the friends, Marina and Bruno, I have here from last year are having a baby and I was invited to the baby shower. It was really nice to see my friends and celebrate Alvaro's upcoming birth. Just as expected, the party was great and attended by only women, just as is traditional in the United States. It was nice to think of babies again after not working at Maternidade Nascer Cidadao for one week already! I definitely miss it. Though I am really enjoying learning other things and getting to know how medical school here works, I really appreciated the hands on learning I was afforded at Maternidade Nascer Cidadao. However, I have been able to think about what I have learned and compare it to what I have heard about other maternity hospitals as well. If I did not already explain, Maternidade Nascer Cidadao is probably one of the most poor hospitals in Goiania. It is a public hospital so all patients there are served for free. Brazil's health care system provides free public health care for all citizens. If a person is not satisfied with the public health care that is available, he or she can pay to have private health care which is usually of better quality. Usually doctors here are part of both systems; they work in a public environment and are paid a meager salary by the government while also working in a private hospital or having their own private practice. Therefore, there is a public-private divide in the system that is readily apparent and which affects both the doctors and the patients. Marina plans to have Alvaro at a private hospital where how much you pay determines the room you are in and the amenities the room has. It sounds like a hotel! Also, I have heard that private maternity hospitals like this are much more willing to give women pain medication. This is because they are able to pay for it, while at hospitals like Maternidade Nascer Cidadao, pain medication for women in labor is seen as a luxury that almost never can be afforded. There, the patients even have to bring their own pillows, paper towel, and toilet paper.
