La Cotidiana

It's 11:30 at night, and I just caught my first whiff of rain in Puebla and in 6 hours I must wake up so that I can get to my internship in time to be able to sit/stand-in on a hysterectomy. This is exciting.

Puebla is at around 6,000 or 7,000 ft. elevation, and I have largely avoided any adverse altitude effects, aside from slightly swollen feet and a decreased appetite. Both of these are subsiding notably. In the mornings when the sky is clearer (like in the bus on the way to the internship) I can clearly see the volcanoes surrounding Puebla, but i have found that trying to take pictures over chaotic traffic and city buildings is not only often unsuccessful, but makes me look very much like a touristy white girl in a not very tourist-friendly bus. Days are hot, dry, and brutally sunny, hence the welcome scent of rain.

This is the dormitory for the university, only a very small percentage of students seem to live here. Boys are in the closer half, girls in the farther one. Over the weekend I moved down to the first floor so that I could have a roommate (usually the opposite of what I would hope for), but I figured that as an exchange student I am obligated to be considerably more social than I usually am. For better or worse, I recently learned that the girl I moved in with is going home after the semester is over in 1 week anyways.

I have to leave the dorms around 8am to get to work by 9ish, although as I found out this morning, the buses can sometimes just decide not to come for a while which is very prohibitive to getting to the hospital on time. The bus comes right by the dorm, but then once I get to the downtown area I have about 6 more blocks to walk.

This is one of the blocks I sometimes walk down to get to work; it is also one of the nicer ones. There is a great mix of official buildings, hotels, nice restaurants, hole in the wall lunch spots, carpentry shops, old-school printing shops, cobblers, little parks, and convents, to name some of the things I see depending on which streets I take.

This is one of the convent/churches that I believe is also open to the public. I really enjoy how cheery it lucks, except for that menacing gray front door.

The cathedral that is smack dab in the middle of the historic downtown area. The two tall towers in front are visible from most of the area, which is really handy if you happen to get lost. It is also topped by a really pretty dome that is hidden behind one of the towers in this picture.

The hospital was originally founded (125 years ago, as many employees are anxious to remind me) as a maternity hospital. I took this picture because I thought you would be able to see the "Case de Maternidad" above the door and below that big red cross window, but it doesn't actually look that clear. At any rate, this is the main entrance to the hospital and most of the building has remained relatively unchanged exteriorly due to historical protection, although at the east end they have added on a wing that is mostly the ER. I also learned today that where they keep old patient files is in this awesome little side building that is very Rapunzel-reminiscent. Its a little tower with a spiral staircase up through the middle with a pointy top. I was also informed that it used to be the crematory. Interesting conversion.

The hospital is basically designed as a square with the middle being an open-air garden area. This is looking down one of the hallways on the second floor.

The cashiers' domain.

The "minareta" that Roberto took me up in on my first day. There is a spectacular view of the whole city from there, but I had forgotten to put the memory card back in my camera so I will have to go up again sometime before I leave.

This is the best picture I could get of the inside part of the hospital, I think it is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. Roberto and Maru (the rocks of the "mercadotecnia" department where I have been placed) were explaining that one of the biggest obstacles to attracting patients is that patients who are able to pay to go to a private hospital would rather go to one that is considered more modern and advanced, and that the appearance of this hospital tends to deter some patients because it isn't shiny and new. I tend to think that if I had the option of looking out my window and seeing this, I would far prefer it to most of the hospitals I have been in before.

In general, my days have felt very full, between working 7-8 hours, 1.5-2 hrs worth of commuting time, and coming home in the evenings, and having to read and do the homework for my Comparative Politics class that I'm taking online. I'm hoping that as I get more into the groove of things I will have more time to explore and wander aimlessly, but I am not quite there yet. However, I have definitely been realizing that I am pretty fortunate to have been placed is such a beautiful and central location for an internship, and to be working with really fun, young people who go out of their way daily to help me better understand different aspects of the Mexican health care system.