Slow Down

Sábado, 05-Julio-2014

I feel like we've been going nonstop since we got here and so today is such a blessing to have. It's only our 6th day in the country and yet I feel like I've been here for weeks. 

There's no better way to start your day than with a hike to a waterfall. We woke up a little too early considering we were out dancing till 2am but it was so worth it! The 14 of us grabbed mototaxis at 8am and headed to the trail head for Catarata Las Reinas. We crossed the river and were off!

The first part of the trail took us through the countryside towards the thick of the jungle. It was a great warmup for the second half of the trail. There also were lots of butterflies and pretty flowers that Lauren was able to take awesome pictures with using her macro lens. 

Soon we reached a check point and payed our 2 soles to enter the trail to the waterfall. Before heading on though, we took a short break to play on the rope swing and enjoy the hammocks. One of the guys named George could finally be George of the Jungle! 

The next portion of our hike consisted of rock climbing, crossing strong-current rivers, and climbing makeshift wooden ladders. It was a very technical hike but I loved how challenging it was! My quads were actually a little sore by the end of the 3 hour hike. 

The waterfall we found at the end was beautiful! The water had cut through the rocks in a very cool shape and the walls around it were all inverted. The water was pretty chilly but definitely manageable seeing as we all got it. I guess we truly have acclimated to the whole cold shower thing... However we should've brought our shampoo bc it was the best water pressure I've seen here so far! How I miss taking a nice hot pressurized shower... That'll be the first thing I do when I get back!!

Our hike back to the entrance was actually a little harder since it was climbing down wet rocks and doing controlled slides through mud. I did manage to bust my pinky toe up pretty bad but it was after the water portions so hopefully it'll be okay. Good thing I'm surrounded by medical professional right? Everyone had some bumps and bruises by the end but thank goodness there weren't too many bug bites!!

As we were on our way out, we passed 50+ people headed up the trail to the waterfall and all I can say is thank goodness we went before them!! It took us a solid 3 hours to hike there and back and that was without anyone slowing us down. It's gonna take them a lonnngggg time with that many people. 

Once back at home, we ate lunch and it was interesting to say the least... Yaniña made a local dish which called for cow stomach as the meat. As you know, I can literally try anything once. Well this was my one and ONLY time trying cow stomach. Just thinking about it is making me queasy. It looked like unfried calamari and had about the same texture. Never again :(

After a late night, early morning, long hike, and questionable lunch it was definitely time for a siesta. We all took about an hour nap and then went with Yaniña to the Highland Coffee plantation tour. So a little history on Yaniña and her family. They own the land that Highland Coffee grows coffee beans on and therefore gets a portion of the profit without actually owning the coffee company. The plantation tour is located right next to the house so we could walk down there easily. Also we have delicious coffee anytime of day :)

The coffee tour consisted of many samples of coffee, chocolate, jam, honey, juice, coffee liquor, and more. This plantation actually won "best coffee" award by a top French magazine last year and I can tell why!! Mmhh so good!! And yes Mom, I will be bringing some home for you. 

They also produce a type of coffee been that is completely unique to La Merced and it is known around the world. It's unique because of the way the bean is processed. A misha is a small anteater/raccoon type animal that will eat the coffee bean fruit and poop out the coffee bean seeds. Some enzyme in its stomach does something to the coffee bean and makes it the most delicious coffee in the whole wide world! The misha is only found in the Chanchamayo egion and are under protection so people can't take them. But anyways at Highland Coffee plantation, they have employees who collect and sort through miso poop to get the coffee beans. Apparently it's worth the effort since it's world renown. Oh and btw the coffee retails for $75 USD a cup!! 

On a side note, I've confirmed that my two favorite Peruvian fruits are the chitimoya and guanabanana, both have a green scaly outside that covers a sweet white fruit. Highland Coffee had juice and jam made from these fruits and it was my favorite out of all the regular flavors. 

Our tour inspired us to find a Peruvian coffee maker (they make espresso and add it to boiling water) so we headed into town to find the Saturday market. Sadly we aren't sure where the Saturday market is because the only one we could find was the everyday market which sells fruits, veggies, spices, and meats. So after about an hour of wandering we finally gave up and attempted to head home.

Attempt is the key word because we happen to get caught in the middle of a political parade! There's a big election coming up and tons of campaign paintings around the city. Well this one campaign decided to shut down the main square area and hold a huge parade with mototaxis, cars, bands, and banners. Our mototaxi tried to get around it but couldn't so we just jumped in and started cheering for this rando politician. I think he was running for governor but I'm not exactly sure...

Today has been a well needed day to slow down, reorganize my things, and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me in the wonderful jungle town. Now I'm getting super excited to visit the Orito Bajo community near Pichanaki tomorrow and can't wait to get started with our medical mission!! 

La Merced

Viernes, 04-Julio-2014

So a little background first...

La Merced is a town located on the edge of the Amazon jungle. It's one of two key Chanchamayo settlements and is much bigger than any of us expected (~20,000 people). There is a beautiful town square and lots of small restaurants and shops. All I can say is we all thought we'd be roughing it in small shacks in rural nowhere so this is a HUGE sigh of relief. 

We are staying here since it's safe and has working plumbing; it also is the largest town near where the Asháninka tribe communities are located (more on them later). The host family I'm living with has a beautiful house located on the local coffee plantation. The weather here is fantastic (80-90s) and the showers actually have hot water. I still cannot get over the fact that we are able to have the best of both worlds - a nice living arrangement and close contact with tribal communities who need our help. 

The trip to get here began at 5:45am and was a 5-hr bus ride from Huancayo to La Merced. The bus ride took us from 3200m to 800m and was basically all hairpin turns down the mountains. But it was absolutely gorgeous and we got to watch the sunrise as we drove!

My favorite part of the ride is the fact that it was a local bus. This made traveling so much more exciting bc we saw lots of traditionally dressed men and women get on and off as we drove. It also was interesting to see where the bus chose to stop. I did not see a single bus stop. You literally just have to know to go stand by a certain banana tree on the side of the road and that's where the bus will pick you up or drop you off!

We decided to leave so early so that we could make it for the World Cup game at 11am. I've learned that plans revolve around fútbol since Dr Franćois and Danel are huge fútbol fanatics. We arrived in La Merced, dropped our luggage off with the host families, and headed straight to Restaurant Shambari Campa to watch Germany and France play. This is the best restaurant in La Merced so I had a veal dish prepared with local spices: Seco de Chanchamayina con plantanos frittas y arroz. 

After the game, Danel took some of us on a quick walking tour of La Merced. We went to the top of the municipal building in the town square and had an amazing view of the entire town! 

Danel also showed us where the grocery store was and the local market. Lastly he introduced us to the mototaxis. These 3-wheeled motorbike taxis are how you get around town and they are so fun!! 

Finally after a long day we went back to the Highland Coffee plantation and relaxed. We met more of the host family and got settled in for the next 5 days. Our host family is Yaniña (mom), Omar (dad) and three sons: Sebastian (15 y/o), Ramses (4 y/o), and Enso (2 y/o). They also have a lady named Christina come help with our meals. Best part about this family... No one speaks English so it's been great to practice our Spanglish since there's no other option!

Also they have 3 dogs who are adorable!! Two are puppies and one is an old dog named Borris who looks like a koala. 

Right before dinner, the whole group met at our host family house (bc it's the best) to discuss our plans for the next few days. It just so happens that our day off is tomorrow and we start visiting communities, clinics, and hospitals on Sunday. We will be visiting Pichanaski, Marankiari, and San Rámon during our stay in the jungle. 

So to kick start our day off, we decided to go to the discoteca, Kametsa Cafe Rocks. It was a jungle themed 2-story bar that played awesome music and had a huge dance floor. I'm glad Paula taught us how to salsa on Wednesday since those moves definitely came in handy. The fun times continued as we successfully fit 7 girls in 1 mototaxi when we left the bar to come home... The driver was pretty amused by it all haha

July 3rd: 'Merica

Independence Day Celebration (1 day early)

Since we won't be together as a group on the actual 4th of July we decided to celebrate today instead by doing American things and making American food for our host families. 

We started the afternoon by grocery shopping at Plaza Real. Our house is basically the social committee and so it was a group effort to get all the supplies and make it home in time. The first American activity of the day was to go to the local "country club" to play basketball, volleyball, soccer, frisbee, etc. the "country club" is actually just a rec center but that's what it's called here! But it sure had the view of a traditional country club...

We played volleyball and soccer from 4pm to 6:30pm and it was beyond fun!! I've never had some much fun playing a disorganized 12 v 12 game of volleyball. This group of fellows I'm with are just awesome! 

Carlos's house hosted everyone for our American BBQ which was a modified BBQ since the grill was not happening. The grill / fire pit on the roof was a very good attempt but the charcoal just would not light. So instead we cooked burgers on the stove and I can't even tell you how delicious that burger was!! We made guac and fruit salad from delicious fresh produce. The fruit salad had a local fruit, chitimoya, which has a green scaly peel and sweet white inside. There were also lots of grilled veggies and sangria. 

Carlos is also known for his Pisco Sours and so he taught us the secret recipe. The trick is 3-2-1. 3 units of pisco, 1.5-2 units of Goma (sugar liquor), and 1 unit of lime juice. Then add 1 egg white and ice before blending! "Units" literally mean whatever you decide to use as your measuring device... Could be a shot glass, a cup, a vase, etc. 

After dinner we went out to the park for some fireworks and sparklers to celebrate the 4th!

And then came the BIG SURPRISE!!! In Peru they like to build "burning towers". We had no idea what this meant until we saw Danel and Lauren carrying a plastic llama towards us that was rigged with fireworks...

It's also customary for someone to pick up the burning tower and run around with it... Carlos did this without hesitation and scared us all to death bc he came running right at us and we had no idea what he was doing!!!

The llama was pretty awesome and so we were not expecting what came next... Danel and Lauren led us around the corner to another area of the park where we found the GIANT BURNING TOWER!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY from Peru!!

July 3rd: FIMRC

Jueves, 03-Julio-2014

El Carmen Maternity Hospital

We visited three wards: Maternity, Parto (Birthing) and Pediatrics. 

Women in the Maternity ward were there for various reasons. The first area we went to was the post-birth area where 25 women who had babies 0-2 days ago went before being discharged. The youngest mom we met was 14 years old and the oldest was 42 years old. The doctors choose to discharge everyone quickly to decrease the baby's chance of getting sick while in this large shared hospital room. Sadly women who had both successful and unsuccessful (aka still-born or miscarriage) were all placed in the same room so some people were happy and others were very sad. The other area we went to had women who had pregnancy problems. Several women we made rounds to had miscarried their baby due to manual labor to help support their family. 

The next ward we visited was Parto (or birthing) where women are literally having their babies. We weren't able to see anyone go into labor bc there were no caesarian sections or natural births occurring that morning. However, based on the equipment I saw, I would be slightly concerned to have a baby there. I also learned there are two ways to have a baby, horizontal (regular) or verticle (standing up). The native Peruvian women prefer verticle which apparently is less painful, but you have the added stress of who is gonna catch my baby?! No thanks!

Lastly we visited the Pediatric unit and saw children from age 3 months to 15 years old. One little boy Davíd (7 months old) was recovering from neumonia and was the cutest little nugget ever! His mom wore traditional clothing which makes me thing they're from outside the city. Another little boy (8 years old) was rough housing with friends at school and fell. He ruptured his intestine but his family couldn't afford a doctor so it went untreated. The rupture poisoned his body and he went into septic shock. Finally he came to the hospital but not after significant damage occurred to his brain stem and brain. His paralysis reminded me of some patients back at Shepherd and how far this boy could come with proper treatment. 

Erin, Paula, Lauren and I with our med student who took us to each ward to meet the doctors. Hopefully next time we come here I'll be able to see a live birth!!

El Rosario Orphanage 

In the late morning we went to an orphanage close to the host family called El Rosario. The kids here have either been abandoned or taken from abusinve situations and need some love and attention. We were there for about an hour and met kids ranging from 2-15 years old . During this time we collected health information from them like hand washing and brushing teeth as well as taught some easy hand washing techniques. Once the official stuff was done we were able to play fútbol with them and those little kids were SO good! 

We only worked a half day today so that we could have the afternoon off to celebrate the 4th of July! See the next post on our Peruvian attempt at USA's Independce Day. 

Exploring Huancayo

Miércoles, 02-Julio-2014

Doctors on strike

So every June/July the doctors go on strike to try to get better wages and benefits. It especially hits hard on the hospitals who treat low-income patients. Lucky for us we work in a low-income hospital and one of the huge strikes was organized for today so we couldn't exactly go to the hospital since no one was working. The healthcare system in Peru is about 15 years behind the USA and quality of treatment is decided based on income level. The poorest people get the worst treatment and therefore they are sick more often. The healthcare system is in the process of reforming but there is much work to be done. 

Scavenger hunt

Instead of going to the hospital, Danel and Natalia organized a scavenger hunt to help us learn the city. It took us all over and definitely helped!! There are so many different plazas and markets scattered about as and everyone we talked to was beyond nice. Some of the things we had to do were: take a group pic with one of the host families, find the underground bathrooms at central plaza, buy fruit at the market that cannot be purchase in the USA, and answer a bunch of Peruvian trivia which required us to talk to a lot of locals. It was lots of fun and I can't wait to explore more of the city in the weeks to come! 

From our hunt, I've compiled a list of things I must do in the next month... 

[1] eat a picarones (donut)

[2] eat at a chifa restaurant (Chinese+Peruvian fashion created in the 1800s)

[3] locate fruit stand row behind the municipal building

[4] attend the Sunday Artisan Market (largest in Peru!)

[5] see one of the many kid parades around town

[6] EXPLORE CENTRAL MARKET

Parque de la Idenidad Huanca

David (aka Dad) took us to a park made entirely of rocks that depicts Huancayos history. There are many sculptures, statues, and designs that all tell part of the story. It was really fun to have David (pronounced da-veed) with us because he was explaining what we were looking at. There were also some doll manikins dressed in different eras of traditional clothing which was very interesting. 

When's Moms away, it's time to play

David's wife Aniña (aka mom) was not home tonight so David made dinner and decided to have some fun win us. We got on the subject of pisco (Peruvian liquor) and so David thought it'd be a great idea to have a liquor tasting as desert. He had all of us take a shot of pisco, Inca sugar cane liquor, rum, and my favorite... Mexican tequila! Well naturally this turned the night into a fiesta. David and the grandparents (Arturo & Oma) taught us a Peruvian drinking game called TODITO. T=tú (you drink), O=otra (pick another person to drink), D=dereche (person to right drinks), I=ischierda (person to left drinks). You use a 6-sided die and roll to find out your TODITO destiny!! 

The night continued with some salsa and merengue lessons taught by David, Artulo, and one of the fellows Paula from Puerto Rico. These people sure know how to dance!! I can't wait until we got to the clubs tomorrow night to try out our dance moves. 

Future Update

Tomorrow we are celebrating July 4th because on Friday we leave for THE JUNGLE! We have the afternoon off to make some traditional American food and hang out with the host families. At night we will have sparklers and some fireworks so I've heard. Then we leave at 6am on Friday to head to La Merced.  No clue what the internet situation is there but I'd assume it's little to none. We return to Huancayo on Weds so that might be my next chance to post anything! 

La Hospital de Daniel A. Carrion

Martes, 01-Julio-2014

Today we started our rotations at the general hospital in Huancayo. We will be helping out at several different ones around the city. 

This hospital sadly looks and feels like it belongs in the 1940s. The hospital is comprised of several buildings all connected by an open courtyard. So when a patient is done with surgery and needs to go to the Post-Op area, they are wheeled outside in the hospital bed to get to the next building. Also there is little to no security so anyone can enter the hospital which is kind of terrifying. 

We visited three different wards: Cirugia Varones (Men's Post-Op), Cirugia Mujeres (Women's Post-Op), and Traumatologia Varones (Men's Trauma). 

Some of the more notable things I noticed were that all charts were paper records only... Even graphs were hand drawn! The nurses and doctors have beautiful cursive handwriting so it was fun to read them. 

Second, they crammed 20-25 beds into a single room so that there was maybe 3 feet between patients. This probablydoesnt help reduce the high rate of infections we saw. 

And lastly, almost every post-op patient we talked to had surgery due to abdominal issues and now are facing infections. This is why preventative medicine is so important!! No one should face surgery over a stomach problem gone untreated for too long. 

Here are some of the other fellows I'm with. We are in the main courtyard waiting for our med student, Helen, to come take us to the trauma unit. 

The trauma patients all had pretty interesting stories: one man was there due to bullfighting and had his right leg amputated, another man jumped a fence to get away from a gang of stray dogs and broke his elbow, and a third man had a construction accident which is fairly common. 

After rotations, we had a 2 hour lunch break and I couldn't figure out why so long... Well I soon remembered that thing called a siesta! Lunch is the largest meal of the day and we had a delicious traditional meal! It was Papas a la Huancaina (spicy potatoes), Asparagus soup***SO GOOD, and Peruvian spaghetti. The meal was accompanied with Chicha Morada (blue corn drink that tastes like fireball). After that 3 course meal I was definitely ready for a siesta!

Our afternoon was filled with some quality orientation meet-and-greet which conviently took place on a rooftop. What a view! 

We then convinced Danel (our coordinator) to help us find a bar to watch the USA vs Belgium. Needless to say we definitely made a scene and many pictures were taken of us... But I don't care it was still fun to cheer for the good old red, white, and blue!