July 3: How'd It Get to Be July?

Time is speeding up, and the clock is counting down quickly! I've now been here for a little over four weeks, and I have less than four weeks before I am home. This week has flown by, and along the way, has had its own fair share of new experiences.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, I had relatively normal days. The clinic was very busy, and because of this, I had the chance to do and see a lot. I worked with the pediatric nurses, which involved holding children, listening to their hearts and lungs, and entertaining them. I worked with the obstetrician, helping to take weights and blood pressures and fill out paperwork. I worked with the main doctor, helping with paperwork and with the children who were the patients or related to the patient. I worked with the topical nurse, observing "operations" like cleaning infected wounds, removing stitches, etc. All of this was excellent exposure to the health situation here, for better or worse. It was sad to me because I've seen what it could be. I know there are better ways of doing things, of treating diseases, sharing information, and maintaining health, so it is hard not to be frustrated that they don't have that. It is difficult to watch a child suffering the pain of an operation on his finger to clean a minor cut, when I know the infection could easily have been prevented in the US and numbing medication would have been available if not. It's frustrating to see them prescribe antibiotics for EVERYTHING, and scary to think of the consequences of this. It's sad to meet a pregnant 17-year-old girl who is scared and alone and trying her best to care for herself and her child, but encouraging to see a doctor step above her role as a health professional and fill the position of a mom--some things don't change between hemispheres.

Children seem to be some of the most consistent things between cultures. On Monday night, Lexi and I went to an elementary school's show of an Incan ritual celebrating the god of nature. It was fun to feel the familiar atmosphere of proud parents, slightly anxious students, and anticipation. Though the dances and storyline were very different from anything I'd witnessed, there were still many similarities, and it was fun to take part in this.


On Thursday, Pope's Day, we had the day off of work and went to the fair which is in town for a week or two. I love fairs! And they are a great opportunity to witness different components of a larger community coming together. Similar to fairs in the US, there were sketchy rides, inflatables, and lots of fried food. There were exhibits of local artisan goods, animals, and governmental educational exhibits. My favorite section was the honey, chocolate, and coffee area--where there were lots of free samples. My lunch ended up consisting of ice cream, honey samples, coffee samples, chocolate samples, a roll of bread, and more ice cream...followed by vegetable soup a few hours later--it is all about balance, right? Most people enjoy a full meal at the fair, usually consisting of fried or grilled meat, fried potatoes, rice and soup.

Friday, I was very excited to welcome my friend Lauren, from the US, to Maximo and to Cusco. She will be here for the next three weeks working on a project involving children. She is staying at another house with another family and many other students (like 15!).

Friday night, Lexi, Henrietta and I accompanied Martha to her free "Crossfit" class. It was outside, in the 40F air, from 8-9pm and consisted of intense interval training. We had a good time with it, but I found some muscles in my legs that I apparently don't use regularly, and they spent all weekend reminding me what I did to them. ;-)

On Saturday, my day started early with helping the family prepare for the baby shower Martha was catering during the day. There was pink everywhere! Pink cake balls (which they call pot-cakes here), pink candy-covered apples, pink treat boxes filled with alfajores, cookies with pink bows, pink cupcakes, and of course a pink cake with a cute baby girl on it. And since there clearly were not enough sweets around the house, I made decadent chocolate cheesecake for them! That was a fun process--it is really hard to find chocolate here. In the grocery store, the only chocolate is for making hot chocolate, so it generally has some vitamin additives and some other weird things. Nevertheless, I'd say the cheesecake was a success, and Martha may be adding it to the list of things the can prepare for parties!

During the day Saturday, Lexi and I enjoyed a walking tour with Free Walking Tours Cusco to learn more about the Incan history in Cusco. Along the way, we also had the opportunity to sample alpaca meat, which tastes like steak, along with other free drinks and snacks! And our tour guide introduced us to the shop where many shopkeepers buy their items--aka, the cheapest place to buy things! And to make the day better and sweeter, Lauren joined Lexi and I for a chocolate workshop, "From Bean to Bar" at the Museo de Choco. I highly recommend the workshop, which is available at most Museos de Choco (which are all over South and Central America). We got to practice peeling, roasting and grinding cocoa beans which we used to make several traditional drinks, and then, we used their delicious, already-made chocolate and toppings to mold our own chocolate candies.

Then, on Sunday, Lexi and I traveled to Pisac, a city about 45 minutes away by colectivo (a full van of people, the easiest and cheapest way to travel).  On the way there, we stopped by the Ccochahuasi Animal Sanctuary to experience some really unique animals. We had up-close experiences with several types of monkeys, vicuñas, llamas, alpacas, osos antiojos (spectacled bear), condors, mountain cats, pumas, and guinea pigs. This was one of the coolest animal-encounters I have had, and it is a great organization, taking in abandoned or injured animals and caring for them and helping them recuperate. One of the saddest stories of the animals was of the puma family. The mom and dad puma were rescued from a discoteca where they had been drugged and maltreated as a spectacle for their customers!

In Pisac, we enjoyed the huge artisan market where we shopped for about 8 hours. We also found a delicious restaurant, Ulrike's Cafe, for lunch and refound it for dessert! I enjoyed a delicious salad, as well as chocolate lava cake with ice cream. No complaints. And the market was really cool, hosting many talented artists. While a lot of the items were the same, manufactured goods that are in every shop in Cusco, there were several artists with genuinely hand-made goods, and it was amazing to see the time and energy these artists put into their work. My favorite part was talking to the different artists and shopkeepers about why they do what they do, how they got started, what their favorite is, etc.  

In summary, I'm still loving it here, and I am excited for all that is to come! This upcoming weekend, we will be traveling to Machu Picchu and all the cities in between. Hopefully the weather will continue to be beautiful and the journey will be smooth! Thank you again for following along with me.