Yes, the Eiffel Tower is still standing. Yes, the French often make fashion look like a breeze. And yes, it's near impossible to find a bad baguette. However, this is merely a smidgen of what Paris consists of. The other side of Paris I hope to show in this blog is what exists beyond the image portrayed at the tourist sites, the side we are never exposed to in our American recliners.
Allow me to help break this Parisian stereotype a bit.
(As a brief aside, I have seen only two people wearing berets since my arrival. Both were tourists.)
In regards to the real purpose of this blog, I want to introduce you to the side of Paris where I work that, though still old and quaintly beautiful like much of the city, boasts a different kind of life that more closely aligns with what I've seen in Africa and the Caribbean than in other metropolitan areas.
Welcome to Bobigny.
This northeastern suburb of Paris is not only the capital of the region of France with the highest population of recent immigrants; it is also one of the lowest-income suburbs of Paris and has the highest incidence of tuberculosis in France. Most immigrants have arrived from West Africa, with North Africa and Asia following quickly thereafter. They then fill at least half of the main hospital and form an even higher percentage (around 80%) of patients in the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department at Hôpital Avicenne, where I am currently doing my internship.
Over the five weeks that I am here, I will be working in three different sectors of the hospital: the inpatient unit, the outpatient unit (day hospital), and the travel clinic. Having completed my first "rotation" at the inpatient unit this past week, I hope to post a summary of sorts soon. Tomorrow begins my rotation in the travel clinic, where I will be assisting with giving immunizations and providing advice to travelers, many of whom are immigrants going back home for a visit. The following week I will be at the day hospital, which is also linked to La Plage, a nearby HIV+ community in which the nurses do health education outreach. My final two weeks here will be somewhat of a melange of the three sectors.
Even though I've only been here for just over a week, the cultural exchange I've already encountered is tremendous, and I hope that through this blog I can share pieces of this experience, both relating to healthcare and to daily Parisien life. And perhaps, just perhaps, these glimpses will help to break a few stereotypes and show the pounding reality that industrialized countries still have populations in need, both in relation to health and education as well as (to be discussed more fully in a later post) the gospel.
