At 3,399 Meters: June 9: TORTA=DESAYUNO! (Cake for breakfast!)

I am sure you have seen some article, advertisement, or cartoon about serving chocolate cake for breakfast because it is "healthy." Let me just say, I am living evidence that cake for breakfast is a GREAT way to start the day. Yesterday my breakfast consisted of torta, palta, pan, yogur, cereal, y café (cake, avocado, bread, yogurt, cereal, and coffee). Yesterday was a great day.

Front of the elementary school

Inside the elementary school

To my pleasant surprise, 8 nursing students joined me yesterday (and today) to assist the pediatrician at the clinic. We went to the school to take more weight and height measurements (we are only able to do 2 classes per day because we can only do it during their PE period). Between the first class and the second, we took a bus to a local barrio (neighborhood). The bus got us very close to the neighborhood, that is, horizontally close. We had to climb up some steep paths and stairs to get to the top (about 24 stories), where the neighborhood is.

With this neighborhood, the nursing students will be doing a project to educate the families on good health for their children and themselves. Both yesterday and today, we have been discussing the crisis that is malnutrition of kids and poor health of pregnant women. It was sad to hear about women who don´t realize they are pregnant until the 4th month of pregnancy and others who try to hide it by compressing their abdomens with tight clothing (potentially harming the baby). The doctor explained the lack of information mothers experience when it comes to raising kids, particularly in terms of feeding them adequately. Many kids don´t like to eat, or can´t eat enough in the time they´re given. Thus, her advice to a lot of the mothers is explaining what nutrients the kid needs to eat, and how they can eat several small portions during the day rather than a couple of large meals. To me, a lot of this seems common sense, but some of these mothers have never had the opportunity to learn these things. It is crazy how quick the city changes from middle-class families to those with very little.

The other thing that changes as you go from tourist-heavy, middle-class areas to impoverished areas is the dogs. There are stray dogs everywhere in all parts of Cusco. For the most part, these dogs are friendly and dirty, but not sick or mean. In the main part of the city, the dogs are used to people and generally mind their own business. Many of the dogs have "owners" who give them food and attention. Some people have dogs that live in their houses. Away from the main city, however, there are many dogs who are not taken care of and not used to people. These dogs can be dangerous because they can be more aggressive and may carry dangerous illnesses. Very few people here recognize that unhealthy dogs can be just as dangerous, if not more, than unhealthy people, and there are no regulations in terms of maintaining the population of dogs.

This post is becoming a real downer! That is not what I meant for it to be. Yesterday really was a great day because I saw the hope for these neighborhoods. There will always be problems, but there are capable people willing and working to help. In addition to working, yesterday, I also met with a tandem partner. A tandem partner is a local who is working to learn English at Maximo Nivel. I met with a guy, Kevin, who is 21 and just finished college, and is now working as a tour guide. It was really interesting to be able to compare our backgrounds and cultures.

Among other news, I found this sign in a bus. This is what the protest was for on Tuesday--basically it was a campaign for all drivers to turn off their car for 10 minutes to save the environment. Apparently, Tuesday was like their Earth Day.

And of course, I have included more pictures of food. I found a really great lunch place today! It was cute, clean, cheap, and muy rico!