Wednesday, August 31, 2011

¡Viva Peru!: My Summer Research Experience- Ashley Elsensohn






I spent this summer in Peru, dodging taxis in Lima, hiking the Andes Mountains, and finding out what the reality of healthcare is for people in this beautiful, developing country. It was an incredible experience, and an opportunity to work with amazing doctors and students from a different part of the world. Technically, I did research in neonatal infection, asphyxia, and congenital birth defects. Some of my travel highlights include going to Machu Picchu, hiking to a glacier lake in Huaraz, watching the sunset at a beach in Juanchaco, and eating quite a lot of tres leches cake (to which I think I developed a slight addiction). This is perhaps not what one thinks about when envisioning a typical summer medical research project. I think that’s what I loved so much about it. In addition to research (which contrary to popular belief and facebook pictures, I did actually spend quite some time doing), I was able to go to a spina bifida clinic, where I worked with a ten year old Peruvian boy. Our group also visited a public health project that had been started in a Lima ghetto, where they had put in running water for those who were living up on the hillside. I also got to work with Peruvian med students on their project involving a community cervical cancer follow-up. So I was able to see and experience a lot, but the greatest part of my summer was really just being able to see how the medical system worked, and discovering how I could improve it. It’s a daily challenge figuring out how to make things better in any resource limited setting, whether it be at home or abroad. I was uplifted to discover that progress is completely possibly, however. I believe that this is the challenge and the reward of doing global health. Spending time in Peru allowed meto see global health at work, and gave me a real perspective and appreciation for the realities and rewards of healthcare in another country. It was an eye-opening summer, and an experience that I would definitely opt to do again in a heartbeat.







Monday, August 22, 2011

Emily Rogers- Summer Abroad in Cambridge, England

I have just completed a summer term in Cambridge England, at the University of Cambridge. I dragged my husband along with me so any time you see that I refer to Us/ We, that is who I mean. I do not have multiple personalities, we would know if I did, right?

The school is amazing and the people unforgettable. Here is some info and pictures of the different parts of the day to day in the dorms and the city.

We rented bikes and have enjoyed having them soooooo much. I figure we are riding almost 10 miles a day!!!!! We rock! Here is a pic of me on my bike with my new suit case that I bought for all of my treasures that I want to buy. It was a bit of a struggle getting the case strapped on there but I got it.

Here is a pic of the train station here in Cambridge:

And here is a picture of one of the hallways in our dorms….. Very ominous and foreboding:

This is actually down a hallway that we found exploring. We don’t actually have to walk down this hall to get to our dorms. What we do have to do is: walk in the front door, show our student badges to the porter to gain access, then walk down an enormously long dark hallway through 5 doors and up 4 flights of stairs, then down another long hallway and 2 more doors, THEN my room. The shared baths are not exactly what I expected but they work. The only thing that just does not work for me is there is some hairy monster that showers before me every day and it is so gross sharing a shower with a stranger. But I wear my sandals and my life goes on.

Here is a shot of our building at Newnham from the back actually. We are standing in the gardens getting this shot:

Monday (August 8) we both went to our classes, and enjoyed them all.

My classes are:

Intro to Psychology (this class rocks, and my teacher is head of the Autism research centre here at Cambridge and is wonderful).

History of Mathematics (this class is so interesting. I enjoy the topics and the connecting of the classes is fun. My hope is that the info I have learned with provide a sort of why behind maths that will help me to be better in my maths classes in the future. Fingers crossed).

British Houses and Gardens (this class is awesome! My teacher is Caroline Holmes, and she is just wonderful. She really knows her stuff, and she teaches in a really accessible way. Our whole class went on a walking field trip to the gardens at Selwin Collegem that was an amazing way to get to experience the concepts we had been learning first hand. Caroline designs many gardens here in the UK, including a poison garden that we are hoping to visit at Alnick Castle on our way to Edinburgh on Sunday.

Which actually brings me to an interesting point about the University of Cambridge: the university is set up differently than any we have back home. There are 30 colleges within Cambridge and the students apply to the college they want to. Then once they are accepted and a matriculated student, they can apply to become a student of the university. Then they live on the ground of the college they belong to (for example Chris and I are staying at Newnham College [a college that only accepts girls normally I might add], so if we were “real” students here, we would belong to Newnham college, and after we had started school through Newnham, we would apply to become actual students of Cambridge university. Then we would go to all of our lectures and classes on our own college campus.) so all teachers and churches, and dorms, and butteries, and EVERYTHING are college specific. So if I am a Newnham student, I would not ever go to Corpus Christi college, or King’s college, or Jesus college, or any other college, for any reason.

Their academic system is set up quite differently too. So one would register for classes, and then all lectures are optional. Each week students have meetings with their fellows (teachers) which are called Supervisions. This is where they assign all of the work for you and discuss any questions you have about things you do not understand. These are strictly one on one. AND at the end of it all, you take these enormously hard tests, and then get a bachelors of Arts. And if you want, you can just request that they give you masters too. I do not quite understand how you can request to get an additional degree without going to more school (however, I heard this tid bit on a recording on a tour bus we took around town).

Here is a picture of the Newnham buttery.

The buttery is decorated most peculiarly; it has comfy couches and a vending machine so there I really no more to ask for.

Here is a pic of the library in Newnham College, that we are not allowed into, though we went in anyway to take this amazing picture:


These are some of the gardens and buildings within Newnham College:

Friday, August 12, 2011

Marianne Carpenter, Oviedo, Spain "yes, there is bowling is Spain!"


Before going to Spain, I had never been out of the United States—more specifically, I had never been East of Utah. Consequently, I was quite nervous to travel far away and live in a place where I don’t even speak the language, but I am muchisimo grateful that I did. I loved so much about Spain, but probably my favorite part was the people I met there. I absolutely loved my host family and I was lucky enough to make good friends there.

Living with a host family, I believe, is the only way to travel and fully experience a country. I learned so much from my host mom about how Spaniards eat, live, and think. In the morning I would eat an orange, tostadas (toasted slices of a baguette), and the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Whether it is a sweeter chocolate mix or the kind of milk they use in Spain, Spanish hot chocolate is a lot better than what we have stateside.

Lunch is the biggest and best meal in Spain. Almost all stores close down from 2 PM to 4 PM so that everyone can go home and eat lunch with their families. It was then that I was able to sit and talk with my host mom and my host sister who lived on the floor above me. She cooked a lot of interesting meals. The most typical of Asturias (the region in Spain where I lived) was called Fabada. It is a thick soup/stew made of beans and a piece of blood sausage. It was pretty good, but my favorite was pastel with rice. The pastel is made of tomatoes, mayonnaise, tuna, and eggs. After lunch is the postre, for this we would usually eat a piece of fruit or yogurt. On special occasions, like the day after my host cousin got married, we would eat really rich cakes. There were some types made of thick chocolate, some more jelly based, and some that tasted almost like pecan pie.

After lunch, I would usually go out and hang out with my friends or walk around town until dinner time. If I was hungry I would sometimes have chocolate con churros. The chocolate is thicker than regular hot chocolate, but a little thinner than fondue and tastes magical. Dinner was usually something small like rice and eggs with tomato sauce, but it was nice to get together with my host mom one more time for the night.

It was great to have my host mom around because I was able to see a different side of Spain with her. Spain is viewed really differently by the older and younger generations. With my host mom, I was able to learn about her concerns and expectations for the future of Spain. It was excellent to get to know someone with so much experience and passion for Spain.

I strongly believe that making friends in Spain and being forced to speak Spanish all day with them is the only way to learn the language. I was able to practice the Spanish I learned in class with them and learn new words that only come up in day to day conversation. I was also able to learn and do fun things that tourists don’t really get to do or see when I was with them.

I met my friends while I went to my church and to church sponsored events, having this commonality really helped to bring us together and give us things to talk about. We really became good friends when we hiked up Naranco Mountain and say the Christ statue. It is a beautiful short hike and we were able to really get to talk and joke around on it.

Probably one of my favorite experiences with my friends was when we went bowling—yes, there is bowling is Spain. I went with my friends Panky, Katy, and Welington. We were given just one lane and it was busy, so there were a group of around ten –year-olds. All the balls looked about the same but for some reason Panky knew that they were using our balls and not theirs. So, after a couple times of nicely asking them to not use our balls anymore, one boy had a ball in hand about to throw it down the lane. Well it happened to be Panky’s ball and so right before the kid could throw the ball she grabbed it from him and yelled at him for trying to use her ball. It was probably the most hilarious thing I have ever seen.


I have tons of crazy, random, fun memories with my friends like that though and ultimately, I think that was the best part about going abroad. Sure, I learned the language and that has helped me a ton even since I got back, but what I will remember the most is all the fun experiences I have had that couldn’t have happened anywhere or with anyone else. Going abroad made me friends and family that I will cherish forever. I encourage anyone who has the ability to travel abroad through the study abroad program.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Jeffery Greene, Tours France: How the French cuisine mesmerized my mouth



One of my favorite parts of the study abroad program in Tours, France was how the cuisine mesmerized my mouth. My French host family provided me with breakfast and dinner each day. For lunch I would stop by this amazing bakery not far from the Institut where we had classes and get a sandwich or hot dog (like the one in the picture) and often a pastry. Breakfast consisted of toast and hot chocolate each morning.

My hostess was completely shocked when I asked one evening if I could have leftover artichokes from the dinner we were finishing for breakfast the next morning. She said it was very strange and that she would not be able to eat such a thing for breakfast. I found it interesting how different that is from my habits at home, where I often have had leftover pizza or pasta to start my day.

Dinner was the biggest meal. I arrived at the home of my host family on a Sunday. My hostess Isabelle said that on Sundays her dinners are very simple, but as we began to set the table, I was surprised at how formal it was (the picture shows the table set almost all the way). “Simple” Sunday dinner was a five-course meal!


They were rather simple courses: 1- half a grapefruit, 2-a three-minute egg with bread and butter, 3-salad (romaine lettuce with home-made balsamic vinaigrette), 4-cheese and bread, and 5-a nectarine for dessert. It was delicious. Meals usually were much more formal than at my home here in the states, but they were fast, especially for French standards. While some of the other students spent a couple hours at the dinner table, my host family was usually done in 30-40 minutes.



All of us University of Utah students went together to a restaurant called “Au Lapin qui Fume” for our farewell dinner. There we were served three courses, of which I will share with you my two favorites. The first course included goat cheese fried in a honey batter, to be eaten with the dried fruit paste at the top of the picture, and a simple salad. For dessert we were treated to an amazing cake filled with hot caramel and served with a sweet milky sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Like I said, my lunch often included a pastry. These are not the everyday desserts you can find here in Utah. These are serious creations. Often two of my friends and I would get one pastry and share it among the three of us. Other times we gorged ourselves and we each ate our own, often leading to a dreadful unsettling in the stomach. I saw meringues as big as my head and éclairs the size of your foot, assuming you wear about a size 7 in men’s. One of the most impressive to the eye, but kind of disappointing to the taste was thegiant réligieuse (French for “nun”), a massive éclair filled with rich chocolate pudding and topped with a smaller, identically filled puff. When my friends and I found the largest nun in the city, I went for it and captured the moment in this picture.





Although the réligieuse was not my favorite, there were plenty others to try. Mille feuilles and tarts with various fruits (my favorite was white chocolate raspberry), cakes and macaroons, and waffles and crepes from street vendors were in a never-ending supply in bakeries and pastry shops scattered throughout the city like precious stones in a new bejeweled game.

Overall, I would say that I ate well in France. Upon returning home, I missed having fresh sandwiches on delicious baguettes each day. Dinner did not feel complete without a cheese course, and of course treats like Twinkies just did not cut it.


Monday, August 1, 2011

Cami Healy: Ghana, the adventure of my lifetime


Cami Healy


Ghana was, to say the least, the adventure of my lifetime. I learned and saw more than I could have imagined. I spent one week doing my clinical rotations for nursing school and two weeks doing my research project. The one thing that was in stark contrast to rest of my experiences during all this time was the attitude of the Ghanaian people. They are a happy, friendly people despite their poverty and dire circumstances.

For my first two days in Ghana, I was placed in the hospital in Kumasi. From the outside, the old hospital looks like a run down apartment building. Picture the hospital in the TV show M.A.S.H. The old part of this hospital is worse than that one. This hospital mainly housed pediatric units, maternity units, and newborn/baby units. In some of the pediatric units, there were three children to a bed. As I was walking through the MBU (mother/baby unit) I saw three newborns on one tiny bed under the light. The rooms were literally stuffed with beds. There was hardly adequate walking space. Most children had their mothers with them but there weren’t enough chairs or stools for moms to sit down, so some were standing or sitting at the edge of the bed or sitting on the floor next to the bed. Partly as a result of the cramping and partly because of the weather, the rooms were hot and stuffy.



Fortunately, the newer hospital was much better equipped. This hospital mostly staffed adults and patients in intensive care. They had an emergency department as well. When I walked through this unit, patients were overflowing into the halls and waiting areas due to lack of space. In most rooms, there were two or three patients but at least each patient had their own bed. The ICU was one giant room with each patient in close proximity to allow the nurses rapid access to them. There was one section of the hospital called the “special floor” which was mostly empty. This area is for patients that have extra money and are willing to pay for their own room while they are ill.


During the next two days of clinical, I was placed at a community clinic called Barekese. This clinic was really nice compared to the old hospital in Kumasi. They had a maternity ward where mothers would get their checkups, give birth, and receive medical attention if they were sick. They had separate wards for men and women wards and each ward had four beds. If someone came to the clinic and was evaluated by the doctor and told they were too sick to return home, they were placed in this ward and given the medical attention that was needed. If a patient needed an IV placed and the needle/IV was somehow ruined in the process, the patient or the patients’ parents would be expected to pay for a new one. If this wasn’t possible, alternative methods for medication administration were decided.


The following two weeks in Ghana, I was part of a nutrition intervention project. Our job was to do focus groups with about ten women from different villages and determine the barriers to taking a daily multivitamin supplement. Walking around the villages was shocking to me, to say the least. I had heard about villages in the world where there is no electricity and mud houses, but this was the first time I had seen them. The houses were close together, some made out of mud, some made out of brick. The roofs were either tin or a bunch of sticks tied together (which was probably preferable since this allowed better ventilation). Some floors were cement, most were dirt. There were clothes lines everywhere – washers and dryers don’t exist in those villages. Fires are going underneath their roofs to boil water and children eat from small plastic sandwich bags. They just bite a hole in one of the corners and suck the food out. Most villages don’t even have electricity. They are limited to twelve hours each day to get their work done because their day is over when the sun sets at 7 pm.

Despite these lifestyles and lack of enough proper medical equipment, the majority of the people in Ghana are happy. They do the best job they can with the materials they have. Many haven’t had the opportunity to experience anything different though they are aware that better lifestyles exist. Walking in the villages changed my perspective on life. Seeing the people in their homes smiling, laughing, joking with each other was astonishing. One man even told us that life isn’t to focus on what you don’t have – it’s to make a life with what you do have and make the most of the time with your family and friends. People in the village are selfless; they know that their actions affect the entire village. If someone needs their help, they come running.


The biggest impact on me personally was that I realized I’m wasting time wishing for things I don’t have. We have so much here in the U.S. and yet we’re always so busy, going from one place to the next, trying to attain the next material item on our list. I believe that the Ghanaian’s have shown us that it’s time for us to slow down and make a life out of what we already have. Let’s enjoy time with friends and family –they are, after all, the most important things in life.