Wednesday there was no consultorio because the clinic was holding a health fair. Annie, Sophie, and I prepared a poster and an explanation on breastfeeding (preparation, how to breastfeed, and what to do if breastfeeding becomes painful). I told you I am learning a lot. We worked on the poster most of Tuesday afternoon. The health fair itself was composed of 3 tents and held right outside the clinic, on the street. We were not welcomed by all the busses and micros that had to pass through a throng of people without running someone over. In true Bolivian fashion, at 9am when the fair was supposed to start, we were only beginning to set up the tents. It took about 30 minutes with a few failures where a tent actually collapses (luckily no one got hurt) but eventually, we managed to make ourselves look presentable. The 1st tent focused on the health risks involved with pregnancy, the 2nd tent measured weight, height, BP, and blood sugar, and the 3rd tent was composed of the posters of the Young Leaders on HIV/AIDS, violence, and contraception, and us 3, with our poster on breastfeeding. Annie was the artist and drew some very nice boobs. In order to keep it classy, we kept the drawings in black and white. Throughout the day, curious cholitas would stop by on their way and ask someone what this was all about. I might be feeling sentimental, but it gave the entire fair a very neighborhood feel. Lots of young women and couples came out (almost all were of indigenous descent whether they wore the traditional clothing or not) and I think it was truly educational for many. One girl learned about the IUD option at the fair and came by the clinic the next day to talk to the doctor about it. I noticed that a few mothers who came by our poster were actually grateful for our presentation, and it felt empowering when a young mother asked why her baby cries in the middle of breastfeeding and we were actually able to give her an answer and what she could do about it.
There was also another couple that came by and after we gave the speech to the expecting mother, the guy wanted a picture with us. I don’t particularly like it when men want their pictures taken with other women in front of their wife or girlfriend, so after the photo I asked him the take a picture of us with the expecting mother. The guy (and the girl) were both surprised, but he obliged.
Around noon, the fair was supposed to finish but there was still ton of people there, so a doctor came by to ask us if we wanted her to get us sandwiches. We were starving so we said yes. Yup, I am at the point of eating egg sandwiches with tomatoes off the streets now. Later, the same woman came by with a 2L bottle of Coca-cola and a small, used, clear plastic cup. “Do you want some to drink?” the doctor asked us. Annie: “I don’t have a cup though”. The doctor looked at her with a weird look and held out the used cup “Here, I have one”, as if it was obvious. We shared the cup of Coke between the three of us and then she moved on to the next group to offer them some Coke from the same cup. I think my immune defenses are getting stronger each day.
At the end of the day, when all the tents were packed up, the only trace of the health fair were the numerous opened condom wrappers and “used” condoms that littered a 3 meter long portion of the sidewalk. Imagine what a passerby might think if they walked past the sidewalk in the afternoon…
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