Watching religion work in the hospital

If you've read my previous posts you know that I have been volunteering in a hospital here, mostly in the maternity wards. One day we also visited people in the "burned victims section"

As I am a religion major and am interested in the role religion plays in the lives of people around the world, I have been trying to find a way to incorporate religion into my study abroad experience. I am not taking and religion classes here, because it is not normal to study "religion" especially religion in general in Argentina. And my host-family is not religious, so I don't really get to experience and first-hand accounts of religion and culture in Argentina.

However, last thursday while I was volunteering at the hospital, and we were making our rounds offering amenities and hopeful words to patients, I realized that I am seeing religion work right in front of me.

As I explained in an earlier post, the volunteer group I am a part of is religious - evangelical I believe- and a lot of our time is spent simply talking to patients. It is difficult for me to talk for several reasons. First of all there is the language barrier; although my spanish has improved immensely, I don't know medical terms and have a hard time starting a conversation with a depressed patient. Second of all, although I was brought up Christian and study religion academically, this doesn't mean I am necessarily going to go around preaching to patients. So, most of the time when I am not offering something like shampoo, soap, or yerba mate, I am observing and listening.

I watch as Anita (the elderly lady who seems to be in charge and volunteers at the same time I do) gets the patient to open up, maybe explain why they are their or what problems they're having. Almost always these patients, whom are mostly women because we spend our time in maternity, are not able to smile and are obviously in need of any fraction of hope they can get. Anita begins preaching and explaining that whatever suffering they are going through, as hard as it may be, is part of their life plan created by God. I remember distinctly of her talking with a woman who had lost 2 babies and was told she was about to lose the 3rd. I can't always follow exactly what she is talking about, however I watched the patient's expression as it changed from a nearly crying one, to a more relaxed one with eyes that looked understanding and possibly even hopefully. I have seen this transformation with many patients from a simple reminder about God and that suffering does not last for ever. I feel as if I can see these women putting their situation in perspective inside their heads as Anita helps soothe them.

Anita is speaking from her love of God and, in turn, she is able to help these women, if even a little bit, through their seamlessly hopeless situations. This is exactly what religion can do for people. It gives them something to live for, insight as to why things happen to them, and hope that things will get better. Religion is what drives Anita to serve other people and attempt to share with them what she has found in her life; in turn, religion and faith in God serves to put patients' suffering in perspective and give them something to believe in when they have nothing else.

Nicole's Random Facts and Observations about Mendoza

Hello all! I realize it has been quite awhile since I last blogged. I was busy on a second "spring break" in Peru, but now I am back in Mendoza where I have now been for over two months - about half of my study abroad experience. Already! As I sometimes feel overwhelmed with observations and thoughts and how to communicate them to people who are not living here with me, I decided to write a list of my own personal observations so that you all can get a better sense of what I experience or observe on a day to day basis. Also, stay tuned to hear about my Peruvian adventures. 

• High fashion is not the source of inspiration for the attire of the majority of the Mendocinian people.
• jeans and sportswear are favorites for everyday wear
• skirts, dresses and shorts are rare except for going out attire
• there is a peculiar trend between the girls of Mendoza - they love wearing bright, solid-colored platform shoes in suede or leather 
• It is completely acceptable for men to make cat calls to girls and women. 
• whistling, honking, making kissing noises and yelling various objectifying, gross comments are common among all ages of men here in Mendoza (trust me I know and cannot seem to understand the objective behind these actions as they only turn females off)
• Meals, in general, are very relaxed/casual.
• it is okay to use/talk on cell phones during meals
• napkins are not ordinarily put in laps
• often serving spoons are not used and instead one uses his/her own silverware to serve themselves
• It is okay to be picky and/or say you don't like something at meals (even at someone else's house).
• our housekeeper cooks lunch everyday and often makes one or two separate entrees for people's various likes/dislikes
• it is common to hear someone expressing their disgust/dislike of something at the dinner table
• Families are very tight and large family gatherings happen on a routine basis.
• almost every sunday we have a big "asado" or BBQ with my host-mother's brother and sister and their entire families as well as their parents. Whoever can come comes and often boyfriends and girlfriends come as well
• my host-sister and two of her cousins are in the same "group" of friends, as they call it, and go out together every weekend. 
• for one of my host-mother's brother's birthdays, who lives in Córdoba - about 10 hours from Mendoza - their whole family came to Mendoza and every meal of the weekend was a huge 30-50 person ordeal plus a special birthday party for him on Saturday night with tons of food and desserts. 
• Punctuality does not exist. Argentinos like to joke about what they call "Argentine time". 
• it is common and completely acceptable for students to arrive 10-30 minutes late to class. They greet the professor, the professor greets them back, and class continues as normal. 
• at meals it is also acceptable to arrive late
• when one picks a time to meet or get together this usually implies they will arrive sometime within the 30 minutes after the scheduled date
• often there are strikes causing class to be canceled or sometimes professors just simply cancel or don't show up to class without reason
• Mendocinians kiss each other all the time - that is to greet each other. 
• whenever you greet or meet someone you know or someone you are meeting for the first time you must give them a kiss on the right cheek (this excludes professors)
• this can get extremely tedious when you walk into a dinner or "asado" late - which is typical as I already described- you have to walk around, maneuvering around chairs and tables to kiss everyone. 
• Meals are eaten much later.
• dinner is typically eaten around 9:30-11:00
• lunch is eaten between 1:30 and 2:30
• Staring is completely acceptable. 
• this includes full turn arounds, scowls, obvious staring, full up-and-downs, and any other type of intrusive, uncomfortable and conspicuous looks from one person to another.