Hello hello! Things have been super busy the past couple of weeks. Our PI came down for a week so we had several meetings and presentations with clinics, doctors, NGOs, etc. We have developed an advisory board for the longitudinal study and it is comprised of 3 pediatricians from Bolivia who are responsible for reviewing our study and protecting the rights of study participants. When I told her about my interest in pediatrics, one of the pediatricians informed me of a program comprised of American medical students completing rotations at a nearby pediatric hospital and gave me the contact information to get in touch with them. Turns out they're not medical students, but pre-med students from all over the US gaining shadowing experience in pediatric hospitals all around La Paz! So I joined them for a lecture on tuberculosis last Tuesday night and then shadowed for a few hours on Wednesday morning. It was an awesome experience and the doctors at Hospital del Nino are really passionate about teaching, so I'm hoping to return whenever I have down time!

Hospital Corea, one of the health centers we have been working with

Entrance to another health center, Centro de Salud Los Andes

Project wise, we are working on our educational materials for the clinics. Last week we visited the clinics and spoke with the nurses, doctors, nutritionists, and mothers about what could be improved as far as nutrition and vitamin counseling. Lack of time and educational materials are huge barriers to getting mothers to understand the importance of proper nutrition and micronutrient supplementation. We are taking all of this information and using it to develop a culturally appropriate curriculum to be used by clinics, hospitals, NGOs, etc. I can't believe we only have 3 weeks left of our work here, but I'm also excited for all that we have left to do.

Coroico!

This weekend we escaped to Coroico for warm weather and I got to wear shorts for the first time this summer. (That alone was worth the 3 hour bus ride) We visited the Afro-Bolivian village of Tocana, walked through coca fields, and ate mandarins off of trees as mosquitoes and gnats fed on us. The bus ride there was pretty scary as the road was one lane, unpaved, and I had to close my eyes whenever we passed a car coming from the opposite direction. 

Best soccer field ever

Our tour guide walking us through coca fields

It's crazy to think now I only have two weekends left in Bolivia- but I have to admit, visiting Coroico reminded me how much I miss warm weather/Atlanta...I'm even thankful for the bug bites.

Lauren