She speaks “the language of food, we all speak it,” says Nicole Klem, who works in the nutrition office at Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo.

And that language of food has “truth and understanding,” maintains Klem, who recently returned from a trip to Argentina, with fellow D’Youville College student Danielle Pacella. In South America for a month, the two participated in an extended clinical rotation at Ramos Mejia Hospital in Buenos Aires.

They learned first-hand that “remarkably similar concerns about food security, hunger and poverty, and nutrition-related diseases are shared by many around the world,” Klem says. “Because of the Westernization of Argentina, they have comparably growing rates of obesity leading to heart disease and diabetes.”

The two students also spent days at the hospital’s satellite community health center where a pediatrician and nutritionist work together to assess poorer families in the area.

The Ramos Mejia public city hospital is “like ECMC,” maintains Klem, who holds an undergraduate degree in sociology.

“They see a wide range of patients and provide free service to anyone who is in need. They have about 250 beds, and are presently conducting important research on epilepsy and seizures,” she said.

Argentines’ diet “consists of a large amount of red meat, stuffed pastries called empanadas and wine. They eat very little fast, or processed, food. The average Argentine diet consists of 140 pounds of red meat a year—almost double that of the American diet,” Klem observed.

In South America, it wasn’t all work for the two students.

“We spent the first week in Peru. We hiked through the Incan jungle for three days, up and over mountains, only to arrive at the breathtaking view of Machu Picchu, a centuries old Incan settlement, hidden away high in the mountains,” Klem recalls. “We took Spanish language lessons and explored the old city of Cusco.”

With improved Spanish skills and cultural sensitivity, Klem and Pacella, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, feel they now have more to offer.

“Buffalo has a high number of Spanish-speaking residents, and I’ll likely live and work in Buffalo for many years to come,” Klem says. “Effective communication from nutrition professionals may go a long way in reducing the rates of nutrition-related diseases.

“We hope to inspire and encourage others to take steps to study abroad, foster their passions and critically observe differences and similarities, minimizing the idea of ‘the other’ many people have.”

Have an idea about a local person whose life would make a good profile or a neighborhood issue worth exploring? E-mail lcontinelli@buffnews.com

Or write to: Louise Continelli, Sunday Profile, The Buffalo News, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240