Wednesday, November 4, 2009

'Unfriendly' neighborhood reminder

I was chased by two dogs in my neighborhood today. It was kind of scary. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to panic and run, but they were at my heels, very vicious and barking their hearts out. So yes, I ran uphill, was breathless and probably a sight to see once I was safely behind my door. And needless to say, I won't be taking the shortcut down the hill EVER AGAIN.

Aside from that, I had a pretty busy day today. Went in to the Cayon Health Center this morning to conduct some Barrier Analysis interviews. I'm working with George, Chris and Kelsey on finding out what prevents diabetics on the island from taking care of themselves. I only got to conduct 5 interviews (note to self: get there by 8.00 a.m next time) but none of them were able to check their sugar levels regularly (only two even had meters but were out of test strips!) and no one knew what the HbA1c test was. Most of them only tested once a month during the monthly diabetic clinic at the health center.

Then I had a productive meeting with two of the founders of SOS about issues we have with the organization and how to go about those issues. After that I had the weekly Diabetes Association meeting which was a little intense since we have the Diabetes Awareness Week coming up from the 8th-14th. I'll be updating on the particular Diabetes Association activities in one go after the week is over. After wards there was the general SOS meeting, which was actually surprisingly productive. I see a lot of promise for the organization, especially with some of the plans we have for capacity building.

I have had a couple of people tell me that I am looking 'bigger' and 'chubby'. Apparently it is a part of the culture to say things like 'girl you got fat' as a compliment, meaning you look good and healthy. But in my culture, saying you look 'healthy' is a diplomatic way of saying you got fat. But my clothes fit the same, so I'm not sure how to take it...

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