It has been a long hard week. Between working on two papers with my professor back in ATL, to learning SPSS, to crunching number, and then having some sort of permanent allergy…I’m tired. I don’t know if it’s because I’m in the ‘City of Eternal Spring’ that I am having eternal allergies…or perhaps it’s because the pollution is so awful here. Who knows, but benedryl doesn’t cut it. To top it off, my underwear is hanging out the window for the whole world to see…
Anyway, on to the good stuff. Aside from working my @ss off, my mentor and I have had a very productive week. Thursday we met with psychiatrists and psychologists working in a local mental health clinic to chat with them about my research, get their feedback, and their help. They were very interested in some of the data we had provided them as well as the qualitative component of my research. At the end of the day they helped me narrow down my recruitment criteria as well as identify schools that we can recruit teens from for the interviews. Next week they are going to assist me with the development of an interview guide (help me with the local Spanish slang). One or two of them will also be doing the interviews with me, which is super helpful. I’m happy that my interviews are going to happen and that I have such great support for my project. I think at the end of the day they really want to establish a closer relationship with the university here –and it helped that I was the first international student showing interest in collaborating with them ;-) One of the psychologists there was really neat. He wrote is doctoral thesis on music therapy; he designed a waiting room area that was filled with things that made natural sounds that were supposed to be calming, like a water fountain, chimes, there was a breeze because the room was open, a mini-harp, etc…I also liked him because he wore a bow tie. You have to respect a man that wears a bow tie.
On Wednesday the University had arranged a tour for me and one of the other exchange students (Darlene). The guide took us to the center of Medellín, a place which is ‘okay’ during the day, but that I would never go to at night. He showed us where the mayor’s office is and where the government buildings are. Then he gave us a little historical background of Medellín and explained the meaning of several of the statues. It’s not really surprising that there are several statues and museums that are dedicated to men that have tried to make peace in Medellín, but have been killed in the process.
Next, we went to Parque Cisneros, a park that according to the guide is ugly and serves no real purpose…which is why no one hangs out there. The park, the plaza, and the street around it was originally constructed by a rich man (Sr. Cisneros) who also happened to be the first man to bring a car to Medellín (hence the street). The city is in the process of trying to restore the surrounding area because many of the houses around it are in the original Spanish style. Unfortunately, those once beautiful buildings are now housing little stores selling contraband merchandise or local pool halls. While we were there our guide Jorge took us to one of the pool halls/bar to drink un ‘Tinto’ (Tinto=black coffee with some water and sugar). The bar was filled with people drinking coffee (who knows what else was in it) and slot machines.
I had been told that gambling was a major problem in Medellín by the researchers at U. CES; so here I was at 9:00 am in the morning watching old men gamble with their cup of coffee. I also thought it was interesting that they had Aguardiente on tap…
Next, we walked though a shopping area. I got to see another two malls; I really don’t know why they think that’s what Americans want to see. Next we went to Parque San Antonio to see one of the original Catholic churches. It was actually full of people and one of the first churches I’ve ever seen to be made completely of brick. I didn’t take any pictures of it though because people were there praying and singing, so it didn’t feel right. Although this park was very pretty, Jorge told us that it wasn’t a very safe place and you could see it…there was a lot of poverty in this area. Then we walked to el Palacio de la Cultura “Rafael Uribe Uribe” which not only told the life and history of Uribe (another man who was murdered), but also held various art exhibits. Right outside of the palacio was Plaza Botero, with many “big-boneded” statues J
One thing I really appreciated about Jorge was that he didn’t mind telling us about the good, the bad, and the ugly. We had seen some of the good and bad, but I was about to see the ugly. He decided that we were going to take the metro to the metrocable. The metrocable basically looks like a ski lift, but it goes up the mountain and through the comunas. This of course is meant to be a form of transportation, but there are many people like us who just get on it to see the comunas from a safe distance…keeping in mind of course that people from the comunas also use it to get into the cit, I was a little scared to get into an enclosed space with random Colombians that I didn’t know, but security managed to keep all the women together.
The comunas of Medellín are all located on the sides of mountains and the nicer neighborhoods more in the center of the city (with the exception of one side of mountains that has rich people living on it apparently). From a distance, when you’re looking at the comunas, it actually is very pretty to see the little brick buildings on the side of a green lush mountain. However, as the metro takes you closer to these neighborhoods everything changes; the river that runs along the metro starts to change color and is littered with trash. There are very unpleasant smells and you see people burning trash alongside the metro. When you get into the metrocable you can actually see these neighborhoods up close—sometimes into their houses and their backyards. The poverty is shocking and probably more so because of its contrast with the wealthy areas of Medellín where I have been exposed to over the past week. Two hours prior to getting on the metrocable I was looking at a woman talking on her i-phone that had blonde highlights, a French manicure, and breast implants…and now I’m watching kids run around without shoes in houses that are falling apart all around them. There’s trash and rubble every where and in my mind all I can think is ‘of course there’s a high prevalence of adolescent suicide and depression; if I had to live here…’ Is there really a need for us to study this? Shouldn’t we just fix the problem? Do we really need to prove that there’s an association between this level of poverty and suicide? It’s depressing to look at, I can’t imagine having to live there with the expectation that one day you will raise your children there. One woman at the mental health center told me that some of the kids she talks to don’t actually expect to live past their 20’s…how can kids who live there find hope? It’s infuriating that we as ‘human beings’ let other human beings living like that. It’s not just that they’re poor. When I was in Oriental Mexico, I saw poor neighborhoods, but they had a little bit of land, they could have gardens, the neighborhoods were clean. What I saw in the metrocable were straight up slums.
After that enlightening experience, Jorge took us to Pueblito Pais, which is basically a tourist spot that is a replicate of how little pueblos used to be in Medellín. Nonetheless, it was cute and quaint and I was able to see the entire city from the top of the mountain. I guess he wanted to end our tour on a happy note.
Anyway, those are the highlights of my week. This weekend we’re going to take the metrocable to the top of the mountain to go to Parque Arví, which is supposed to be amazing. Also, I’ve been invited to go to a bar to watch the final fútbol match between Bogotá and Medellín…fun times!
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