Tag: Traditional Medicine

By rmattiola

It’s time to talk about this. I am perpetually congested here in the beautiful south. I returned from Puerto Saavedra to Temuco on Thursday to play field hockey. Once I arrived, I received a text telling me practice was cancelled due to “environmental emergency”. I asked, what does that mean? My friend explained that all the wood burning stoves and heaters in the towns and city produce so much smoke which gets trapped and can dangerously effect their health if they were to vigorously exercise outdoors for 2 hours. On the bus rides back during the evening, I noticed flumes of smoke hovering over the semi-suburban villages outside the city. I couldn’t help but think about Chile’s carbon footprint. Let’s start with excessive wood burning. Toss in acres and acres of cows—happy cows. Recall the constant tacos (traffic jams) throughout all the cities. Wrap it all up with the fact that recycling is essentially non-existent. Loads of plastic and glass get thrown in with food scraps. It’s infuriating. But remind yourself of the 20 or so wind turbines you saw in the desert to Atacama. And remind yourself that the people are just living the system put in place for them by their government. All this though is especially confusing when I listen to my indigenous interviewees teaching me about their strong connection to naturaleza, and how we are all born from mother earth. What’s even weirder is that plenty of people talk about climate change. Not only do they believe it, but they’re experiencing it. And yet they sit, subversive to their government that’s not mandating clean energy and providing extensive recycling services. I vowed to go back to the U.S. and live as environmentally clean as I can. I plan to go completely vegetarian again… nearly vegan due to my lactose intolerance. I plan to learn more than I already do about recycling and sorting. I’ll ride my bike around Coopersburg, like I did when I was a tween. I’ll eat local crops from my dad’s Co-op and the town farmer’s market. I’ll go out to all those rallies back in DC on the national mall, in front of the white house and congress building, and demand a transition to clean energy. If you know me, you’ve heard this before, so I’ll move on.

...continue reading "Wood Burning Stoves and Anthropological Woes"

By rmattiola

When I came back to Arica 2 weeks ago, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time, free of judgment, with eyes wide open. When I left over a month ago, I was tired of the depressed desert, eager to escape the sand and wind. But now, I’m beginning to feel like I don’t want to leave. Of course, at the end of the journey I am finally comfortable. Today I attended the last group meeting before we travel off to our independent investigation locations. Some of my friends are leaving today to hike the W in Patagonia before starting their project. I’m incredibly surprised they pulled it off. I’ll be even more surprised to hear their stories when we return together. I’m heading out tomorrow on a night bus to the town of San Pedro de Atacama, a desert oasis and geological haven. Also home to some of the largest telescopes/ satellites in the world called ALMA. I expect the sights in both the day and the night to be spectacular.

Today, and only today, did I realize that I made some incredible friends on this journey—without trying. I did not seek out friends; rather I allowed relationships to form organically, almost accidentally. Of course I am going to miss everyone over the next month, but I will be eagerly awaiting my reunion with Catherine, Madeline, Rosie and Minerva. Yes, the Rosie/ Rosie issue developed quite early on, so I decided to go exclusively by Rosalie during my time in Chile. Madeline and Rosie are funny Midwestern runners. Catherine is an upstate New York sweetheart with witty, dry sarcasm. Minerva is a sassy, tranquil, Mexican partier. All are great company one on one or together.

The trip to San Pedro was the most relaxing and exciting trip thus far. Well worth the time and money. I took in spectacular sights with 4 other girls, learned a surprisingly large amount of geographical and cultural information, and met tourists from all over the world. On our second day trip, we formed lovely and all too brief friendships with our tour guide, a 22 year old girl named Andrea from Santiago, and the other 5 tourists.

...continue reading "Vacationing but still Learning"

By rmattiola

Our trip to Santiago seemed a bit like an obligatory stop at a tourist destination. Nonetheless, we acquired more important information regarding public health and traditional cultures. The two most educational aspects of this week were our visit to the Panamerican World Health Organization and a community ruka (traditional hut) in a highly indigenous section of Santiago called La Pintana. Our group was fortunate enough to have been the first of SIT to have this small conference with the Panamerican World Health Organization.

The information was pertinent and well organized, but I’d like to focus this blog on the observations and information gained from our visit to the urban ruka. Unfortunately, for some reason I struggled to understand a large part of the lectures in the ruka. I felt frustrated and disappointed to know that I was missing out on very important material. Regardless, I feel responsible to share the little information I gathered. It is necessary to share these experiences in order to help make the Mapuche voice heard.

There is an obvious clash between the Mapuche and the government. It seems some are even resistant to the laws and organizations put in place to improve their situation. Our director in Makewe (a community outside Temuco) seemed disguisted with PESPI, the government organization that focuses on the health of indigenous people. This well-spoken, intelligent, calm, professional Mapuche leader crinkled his nose and crossed his pointer fingers in the form of an X when he heard we would be lectured from a PESPI leader.

...continue reading "Urban resistance"

By rmattiola

"We are all children of mother earth"

In Chile, there are about 10 recognized indigenous groups, although many others exist. The largest two are the Aymara (or Aimara) of the extreme north (aka the region of Arica and Parinacota) and the Mapuche of the Central- South (Arancunia Region).

During class, we received small details about each group, and we occasionally can pick up on personal opinions, but it seems like the program is encouraging us learn directly from the indigenous, rather than from a secondary source from an outsider’s perspective. We quickly learned the significance of Pacha mama (Mother earth) and Inti (Sun) from various artisans and educators in Arica, but I was craving more information.

I was fascinated by a brief lesson taught in a Spanish class about the Andian Cosmovisión (roughly translates to “world view”). The surviving Andian communities are the Quechua and Aymara who share many aspects of their world beliefs. This ancient group is thought to have migrated from Lake Titicaca in Tiwanhaku, Bolivia to the coast of Chile and Peru well before the conquistadors arrived in Latin America. We learned of the strong community connection rooted in familiar ties between the inhabitants of Aymara towns. Apparently, the hardest and most important work is often shared. The whole community will come together to dig a canal, or plant seeds, or harvest potatoes, and then feast together afterwards. We learned of the belief in 3 worlds:

Uku or Alak pacha: the world below the earth; the roots; where the dead live—but not to be mistaken for “underworld”—uku pacha has a lighter connotation. It is a respectful resting place, rather than a punishment. In fact, apparently the Aymara will pour out a little wine or milk or liquor on the ground for their ancestors (called antepasados) before drinking the beverage themselves.

...continue reading "Putre: “Somos todos hijos de la madre tierra”"

By rmattiola

Thus far, I’ve toured and observed 6 health centers with in the public sector: Two CESFAM (centro de salud familiar: Family Health Center) one CESCOF (centro comunitario de salud familiar: Community Family Health Center) one Posta Rural (rural post), UNACESS (la unidad de atención y control en salud sexual:a sexual health center) and Teleton (a center for children with motor disabilities).

A brief explanation of the private and public system before I begin with my observations and opinions:

The public system is entirely government run. In fact, the level of government involvement in health care is surprising. It is easy to classify their system of health care as “socialized” although it is not universal. However, there is still an obvious connection to social medicine (which studies the social determinants of health). Between 80 and 90% of Chileans have public insurance called FONASA (Fondo Nacional de Salud) which has 4 levels, A, B,C, and D. Those with A and B receive free health care. Those with C and D pay a percentage of their fees to the government for their health care (10% and 30%, respectively). The public sector adequately covers primary care, although the region of Arica and Parincota is seriously lacking in emergency care centers, and specialists. In fact, there is only one SAPU (urgent care center) and one hospital where specialists are difficult to utilize. Apparently, all the specialists are concentrated in Santiago.

Regarding the private system, I only know that insurance is much more expensive, there are more specialists, and wait times are supposedly shorter (there is plenty of justified complaining from locals about wait times in both sectors). As far as I know, the government only regulates the private industry and has no other involvement.

...continue reading "Chilean Health Care 101"

By rmattiola

I am almost bothered by how constantly I am noting cultural variations. I need to actively tell myself to turn off—stop thinking—just enjoy. Here are some of those never ending cultural observations:

• Besos (kisses): Here in Chile, and in most of Latin/ Central America, the greetings are more intimate. Handshakes are reserved for men. I made this mistake early on based on instinct, and felt the discomfort from the other person and those watching. Friends of friends and family of friends are automatically qualified for cheek kisses. I’ve even seen doctors give besos to their patients after the appointment. I was nervous about this new greeting style since my family and friends at home are much more casual with greetings, and I had little to no practice with cheek kisses. But I’ve found it’s much less stressful than I thought--the kiss is merely putting your right cheeks together and making a kissing noise while you half hug or place your hand on the other’s shoulder. The Chileans are smoother than I am, and I sometimes feel like I’m crashing into the other’s cheek rather than gently meeting them. The angle of the kiss changes on the intimacy between the couple. For example, family members and close friends will often turn to actually plant a kiss on the other’s cheek. We were warned to be cautious of how close our “kiss” lands to the other person’s mouth, because if you even remotely get close to a kiss on the lips, you are understood to be making an advance towards the other person.

• Dogs: dogs are everywhere! Most people have one or more dogs, and there is a surplus of street dogs. I hear dog “fights” frequently. Usually these “fights” are more or less playful, and people are unconcerned, but they are very noisy, and last all night.

• Doorbells: When the doorbell rings, it’s not commonplace to get up and answer it right away. They wait, almost ignore it, talk about who it might be, and after a few minutes will get it.

• Time: many of the girls in the group are having a hard time adjusting to Chilean time. I however, am thriving in it. It’s normal--and expected--for locals to arrive 30 minutes to 1 hour late to any event that is not class. I believe that this lateness is actually respectful, because if you arrive on time or early to a party, the host might not be fully prepared.

...continue reading "Field Notes"