Back to Otuzco

Today I traveled back up to Otuzco in hopes of experiencing some more great clinical cases. I left at about 7:30 am, solo. I had to take a taxi to the “paladero” where I immediately jumped into a station wagon that would take me up to Otuzco. The paladero is a bit hectic because as soon as you show up, 3-4 people approach you trying to persuade you to choose there vehicle because it is the cheapest and fastest (there is no difference). Along the way, we had to stop for about 10 min before we could pass the construction site, which provided me with an opportunity to take a few photos of the mountains and sugar cane fields. During the stop, the drivers of all of the vehicles tend to get out and stand in the middle of the street to chat while they wait. Then, as soon as there is an opening, there is a bum-rush as everyone runs back to their cars and tries to beat everyone else to the front of the line, creating a huge bottleneck. This happened again on my returning trip home, and I was lucky not to be left because the sudden bum-rush occurred as I was “relieving” myself roadside.

The drive up to Otuzco, besides being an adrenaline rush due to the high speeds and chaotic driving, is a beautiful site. I enjoy the short trip there because it is a chance for me to get a look at the Peruvian countryside. Also, I feel as though I am actually in Peru while in Otuzco because they lack the modern amenities you find almost everywhere, like wireless internet, television, even hot water is difficult to find.

            I spent the late morning volunteering at the Centro de Medicina, which is the only other medical clinic besides the hospital in Otuzco. The two doctors I met there were very nice and receptive. One of the doctors, Dr. Bruce, allowed me and two other volunteers to assess many patients throughout the morning. We did plenty of spine/back and leg/knee assessments, as well a blood pressure. Overall, it was another good day in Otuzco.

El Progresso Re-visited and the New Year in Pacasmayo!

So last Thursday all of us went back to El Progresso to hand out flyers to the community informing them of the upcoming free medical campaign. You can see on the flier that the medical campaign will take place on the 6^th of January. This is essentially what all of our medical training has been preparing us for. We will be recording history and basically triaging patients for the doctor(s) we bring. As we were handing out flyers, we got a better look at the neighborhood. It is difficult for me to imagine living as these people do. They really have the definition of a “hard” life.  For this reason, I am all the more excited to have the opportunity to provide medical care to this community. This is most definitely a service that they otherwise would not have access to. I simply hope that we can make a significant positive impact.

After handing out the flyers, a few of us went to Apiat. It is a large store that is surrounded by an outdoor marketplace. There were tons of people there that congested the streets, with venders selling practically anything you could imagine. Lots of the merchandise was related to the New Year celebration, including fireworks and yellow underwear. The yellow clothing is a tradition in Peru that claims one will have good luck if one wears yellow during the New Year. Once we entered Apiat, we suddenly became dizzy from all of the shoes. I have never seen this many high quality shoes in such a small area. The smell of leather almost made us nauseous. It should go without saying that street food was definitely had during this occasion: the best churros ever! (wish I had a pic)

We left for Pacasmayo on Friday the 31^st to celebrate the New Year. Luckily at the last minute, we got a hotel that housed all 30 something of us and it was one block from the beach. That night we went to a beach party that had plenty of loud music, dancing, and drinks. We made it just in time for the count down and it was crazy, unfortunately I forgot my camera so you will have to use your imagination. After the long night, our plan for waking up early in the morning for surfing was quickly forgotten. Instead we lazily got up and spent the day hangin’ out on the beach where we all proceeded to get badly burned. HAHA, oh well, it was totally worth it. Finished our 2 night trip by getting sum beautiful pics of the sunset at Pacasmayo beach. Had a great New Year

Surfing at Huanchaco Beach

            Yesterday I visited Huanchaco for the first time with my host family. It is a nice beach only about 30 minutes outside of Trujillo. We went on Christmas day and the beach was packed. Today a large group of the volunteers went to Huanchaco to take surfing lessons.  It was a ton of fun. Apparently we learned from these to brothers who were champion surfers. They had a guarantee where if a customer didn’t ride a single wave they would get their money back. I am happy to say that I didn’t get my S./40 back. After the short 10 min lesson we hit the water. They gave me a push on the first wave and I stood up and rode it. It was pretty fun but I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied until I rode a wave all by myself. So after that we started to separate from the group and after multiple failed attempts I finally rode a wave independently which gave me a great sense of accomplishment. Now I'm only hungry for more surfing!

            After surfing, about half of us went to eat ceviche at a beach-front cevicheria. I was excited because I had never had ceviche before and I had desired some since the trip began. I ordered the ceviche con langostinos and calamar, which is essentially langoustines (small shrimp-like lobsters) and squid that is cooked only using the acidity of lime juice. It was spicy and very good.

Later on that evening after going for a nice run through the city, a friend and I decided to shoot some hoops. Some local kids came by and started talking to us and we ended up playing a soccer game against them. BAD IDEA. These little kids tore us up, it was pretty embarrassing and I wouldn’t recommend trying this at home. Although we got schooled, it was a lot of fun and a great chance to practice my Spanish and teach a little English at the same time. Monday is tomorrow and it’s back to work at Hospital Lazarte. Nos Vemos!

Merry Christmas!

Last night we had a traditional Peruvian meal at about 11:00pm with the entire family. We exchanged gifts and just hung out. Christmas day today has been a nice, lazy day. We finally got to sleep in for the first time this trip. I went for a nice run along buenos aires beach, not the most clean or beautiful beach in the world, but it sufficed. We just had lunch which consisted of a delicious chicken with rice, onion, cilantro, and peppers and now we are going to check out Huanchaco beach. It is about 30 minutes away and should be much nicer according to what our host family says. In this photo from left to right is: Ashley, Juhyung, Aida and her mother whom is also named Aida, Javier along with his son also named Javier, their sister Lucia and myself.

Visit to Local Clinic in Otuzco

Today I traveled from Trujillo to Otuzco to see the other volunteers in the program. Otuzco is about 1hr 15min outside of Trujillo and is located in the Andes Mountains. The town is 6000ft above sea level so you can imagine the decreased temperature and oxygen levels. The drive itself was an adventure because even though we asked him to drive slowly he flew the whole time, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, but he eventually got us there safely. When we arrived it became apparent that this was indeed a very rural, poverty-stricken community. Although there is a strong lack of modernization, I think the town and its surroundings are quite beautiful.

My clinical experience today blew my first two days at Hospital Lazarte in Trujillo out of the water! I began volunteering at the maternity hospital in Otuzco, Elpidio Berovides Perez, with three other volunteers, Mirtha, Ian, and Ryan at about 10:00am and finished at about 12:15pm. These two hours were jam-packed with interesting patients. After a couple of common cold symptomatic patients, a 17 year-old patient came in with some type of infectious growth in her ear canal. After cleaning it with iodine and administering Novocain locally, Ryan was given permission to cut it open using a scalpel in order to remove any pus. No stitches were necessary. Mirtha and I then proceeded to clean the hand of another patient whom had nearly completely severed off his thumb and pinky fingers three days before in a work-related accident. A different female patient was then prescribed rabies medication after she entered the clinic covered in cat bites all along her arms and legs. The most interesting part of the morning was when we got to witness a live birth. We were led into a small room where we witnessed a mother give birth to her 5^th child. She was only in labor for about 10 minutes and gave birth to a healthy 4Kg boy on Christmas Eve. It was amazing. During my amazement I was shocked when the doctor told me to take out my camera so that I could take pictures as she went into labor. I have posted pics of the baby but the more graphic pictures will be for only close friends and family since they may be inappropriate to post in this blog. Needless to say, this was the hands-on type of experience I was looking for in Peru.

Free Alarm Clocks!!!

One great thing about Trujillo is you don't need an alarm clock because there are plenty of roosters...

El Progresso and El Centro

I had a ton of fun today. This morning we went to a cooking lesson at the Blue Ribbon International and learned how to make three traditional Peruvian dishes. The first was Papa a la Huancaina, which is a plate of thick-cut potatoes in a yellow chili sauce. The second was Lomo Saltado, which is Peruvian stir-fried beef using beef tenderloin, fresh tomato, onion, garlic, chilies, vinegar and soy sauce. Both of these dishes are delicious. We also learned how to make a very traditional drink known as a Pisco Sour. It has 2.5 oz Pisco with simple syrup, lemon juice, egg white, and bitter angostura.

Later on in the afternoon we went to El Progresso.  This is a part of Trujillo that suffers from extreme poverty. We handed out gifts, food, and hot chocolate. As you can see in the photos, the kids were thrilled to see us. Man, they were relentless but a ton of fun. My buddy Efren dressed up as Santa and you just knew he was gonna get eaten ALIVE, which he did...it was hilarious...like I said, those kids were brutal and relentless. I learned that El Progresso was designed to be an open market when it was constructed a few years ago but the locales whom had no place to live took over. Eventually, the government had no choice but to grant land entitlements to them; when this happens they call it “invacion” which obviously translates into “invasion”. The way these people live is striking, to say the least, and really puts things in perspective. I got a huge dose of gratitude today.

 We just got back from downtown where a few of us ate dinner and checked out the decorations in La Plaza de Armas. All of the Christmas trees are sponsored and decorated by local companies. The Peruvian culture is very interesting and beautiful. Gotta get to bed because tomorrow is our first day of work at our clinics, should be fun and interesting!