ProWorld Peru Internship

July 25/07 Lost files

2007-07-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

It's another absolutely beautiful day here in Uruamba. It is terribly cold in the mornings and nights, but the sun is so strong and hot during the day - it's like experiencing two seasons in one day.

Today after being told our whole plan for a week with the health project, we discovered shortly afterwords that none of it would be possible. This was because the follow-up visits that we had planned were cotingent on all of the records that we had on the diagnosis and corresponding treatments of people visited in the past few months; and these files were "accidently" deleted from the computer. VERY disappointing. so, we started creating a new database working form handwritten materials and medical documents that just so happen to be in no particular order at all. Lots of organizing.

July 24/07

2007-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a plesant and full day. In the morning, the health project prepared medicine to send to the people of a jungle community where medical test, the results, and treatments had been determined.

In the afternoon, I studied Spanish in a splash of sunlight in my family's court yard before going to class - my class was great. I think I had a mini break through with my spanish, as I was able to remember quite a few words that I had previously studied, and I was able to make use of some simple gramatical rules.

As Lindsay, Rudy, two other girls and I walked from class to Pizza Wasi for our group dinner, something worth recording happended. A motor taxi (which can normally only hold a max of about 3 people) passed by us carrying a family of about 6-7. Due to the excess weight of so many people, the motor taxi started to decend down the hill it was on, so we decided to push it up the hill so that it could function independently. One of the woman in the family got out and started to pusing, too, and had to make the rest of the way to her destination by foot, as the taxi continued on without her.

We had to wait forever for dinner at Pizza Wasi, and I wasn't feeling well while waiting or after I ate my meal. I did however, go to the Green House afterwards and my stomach was a bit more manageable. I stayed out pretty late listening and speaking in a combination of English. One of our Spanish teachers who came out with us had some interesting stories to tell us.

July 23/07 Hablo espanol solo un poco

2007-07-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

I got pretty sick last night and I haven't been feeling good for the past few days. I did however, go to the Green house - a gringo resturant and bar here in Urubamba. I met a few new people there and enjoyed good company and hot chocolate! I also had my first ral conversation with my host dad. I found out that he actually has five kids and not just the two that I thought. So we talked about his kids, school, Canada and places we have been. It was quite satisfying to speak to a peruvian in Spanish - no matter how small a conversation it was.

July 22, 07

2007-07-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

We had another great day out at the isac markets and ruins. We had another mountain to climb which was quite a thrill, and I got to walk through my first cave ever. It´s amazing to think about how these ancient Incan Cities and fortresses were built, whith the special consideration that the wheel was not yet known to man. It no doubt took the cooperation of thousands, with the lost of many lives.

In the Pisac market, I was able to buy some small gifts as well as some jewelry parts which was really hard to find.

July 21,07

2007-07-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Ollantaytambo with our wonderful guide Daisy who told us so much about the Inca city ruins.Terraces were built at the foothills, as well as in front of the city for farming and eremonial purposes. At the time of the Icas, the city was home to 3000, and today many people live in the very same homes built by the Incas. Ollantaytambo was primarily an administrative center, and held possilbe the worlds first global aboriginal meeting.

We also went to Sacsayhuaman (sounds like sexy woman)which was also quite extrodinary. I also learned from our guide that the christ de blanco that overlooks the city of Cusco was a gift from Palistinian Immigrants who lived there about a decade ago as a measure of their appreciation and thanks for being welcomed.

July 21, 07 First Charla

2007-07-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I observed my first charla in Accha Alta, a small mountain community just outside of Calca. Because it was an unplanned trip and my spanish is terrible, all I really did was hold up posters and play with kids. All of us volunters fell in love with this one particular baby named Lydia. She was adorable. Strangely enough as I was holding a poster up during the presentation, a dog peed on my leg, and I picked up a child who´d made a pee puddle near the weight scale!

July 18,07

2007-07-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day working at Casa de Materna for the next few weeks or so. I was shown by Lilly how to make adobe paste (which is just a mixture of mud and grass). We used this to mould a mirror on the outside wall of the house. We also did more planting and cleaning up. Before I left, I got a yellow fever shot at the Calca Central Hospital, as we will be going into the jungle to carry out the health testing and education project. Yellow fever is a free vaccination here. It is, however, just about the only thing that I would have done medically at that hospital, considering the lack of sanitation.

The washrooms don´t have toilet paper, and there is no soap for handwashing. I have heard from another volunteer that the nurses themselves don´t always have access to soap for handwashing, which is so important for preventing secondary infections and illnesses in patients. At this particular hospital, the infant mortality rate as well as the mortality of woman while giving birth is very high.

On the way home, I rode to Urubamba in my first combie. They are white vans that follow the same route as the buses, carrying you from town to town, but will fit anywhere from 12-20 people! Getting off at your stop requires speed and a pointed shove or two, calling bajamos!

July 15, 07

2007-07-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today we had an early start, as we went to casa De Materna in Calca to start weeding, planting, painting and cleaning the ins and outs of the house. I painted a butterfly on the wall of the house, but most ofmy time was spent pulling p weeds and picking up garbage. It was rether tiring work. With such a hearty bunch of volunteers we got a lot done, however, the health porject volunteers will be going there once again tomorrow and on Tuesday to continue our efforts to improve the transitional house and grounds.

In the afternoon, we took a gut-wrenching ride up the narrow roads of a mountain near Calca. Uor final destination were some ruins at the top of the mountain. Following our ride, the trek ahead was quite enduring, however after yeaterday´s climb, this one was much more relaxed, with rivers to cross and ruins to walk around and in. The view was absolutely breathtaking. And somehow, people manage to live up there in the mountains. They are able to irrigate, terrace - farm the land. I also saw my first lama up there - an altogether elegant, comical and cute animal . A small family with their livestock passed by us through the ruins, and we also passed two children transporting their flock of sheep - they looked at us with weary eyes as we passed them in the van.

Ain´t no mountain high enough

2007-07-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

July 14, 07

Today was such a great day. I was feelin a bit better and I was abe to put in a full day.In the morning I went to Chicubamba which is a little town nearby that you can wak to in 15 mins. There, we had a pottery workshop where we got to finish up some pottery pieces that we would get to take home with us. I also brought a couple of pieces from thier store to take home as suevenirs.

In the afternoon, a group of us made the long trek up to the cross at the top of the mountain just behind Casa ProPeru. We had an amaxing 360 view of at least three towns cradled by the valley including Urubamba. Although the trek up there was absolutely exhausting and I thought I may die, the view was all worth the effort! Coming down the mountain was much easier of course, and getting the intense cardio and endurance building excersize felt so good!

Casa Materna

2007-07-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

July 13,07

This morning I went to the market to buy plants for Casa Materna. It´s a two room house with three beds for Quechewan woman who come down from the mountains to give birth in the hospital in Calca. The house itself sits behind the hospital in a small field of overgrowth. It´s got drt floors, and a small stone stove in the corner of the room, an outdoor sink for washing and a bathroom which is a whole in the ground.

On the weekend we will do some gardening and paint the house to make it more welcoming. Our clean stove project builders will aslo replace the old stove with a new one in time.

Our ride to Calca on the combie was mezmorizing - the mountains hear are absolutely beautiful. I did however start to feel eally sick on the ride back, and had to as the little boy sitting between myself and the window to swithc seats. When I got home, I ate lunch with my family and slept for most of the day, as I think I have a flu, which is better than many other possible illnesses. Lindsay, a lady that is a volunteer on the same project has lost 25 pounds over the course of 2 months, and discovered that she has a paracite caled Giardia (spelled incorrectly) - ad on the paracite scale, it´s a bad one. The absorb all of the fats fom your food, and fats of course, is a staple for our bodies. This paracite is however very easily treatable. So, all things considered, i am quite happy with my flu. In any case, I am taking it easy for the rest of the day and will be going to another town tomorrow for a ceramics workshop where I will have the opotunity to learn from the local artisans.

The Project, the strike

2007-07-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

Origionally when I wascomming here I was told that I would probably be spending most of my time preparing materials and doing statistical work for a public health education project. In fact, although I will be spending some time doing that, most of my time will be preparing stool samples for lab tests (which 98% of the cases show evidence of one of many types of paracites) and testing children for anemia. I was pretty excited today to meet the nurse that works with us on the pojects (who´s name has escaped me - I have met so many people in such a short period of time). She is patient and sweet and so talented at what she does. Her mother tongue is spanish, I believe, but she also speaks quechua and some english. She demonstrated how to do a papsmere (called a papanicalao in spanish) which looks very painful, but the way. This is something that we may o may no be doing later on. She also taught us about STD´S, sexual and woman´s health. The poject itself focuses on the health of woman and children, and hopes to empower and educate woman to make their own independent decisions ( in particular surrounding sexual health) and to take charge of their own and thier childrens health care needs. This of course, is a long term goal and will take perhaps take a decade or more to come to fruition.

Later in the day I had my first spanish class - sooo refreshing as it was at my curent level of spanish - very basic. My spanish maestro is Chris - a lady who has been teaching for 11 years and is Brazilian.

I also got some really good information on the political situation here from Havier, who spoke to all of the different teams rom ProPeu after we ated dinner together. He also hlped me break into my really stupid locked gate so that I could go home and sleep in my bed! At the moment there is a teacher´s strike, which is affecting the entire country, and has even gotten the Venezuelan Presdent involved. It is all pretty complicated, and is roted in a lack of regulations for teacher qualfications as well as party politics and factions, regonal indepndence, ect. What has resulted is a stop in the the transpotation system as well as in education. The protesters have blockaded not just one road, but practically every road, a least in the povence of Cuzco so you cannot safely go from one town or city to another. There has been a concerted effort among people from various groups to suppot this. Me Jefe (my boss) Edy left Urubamba last nignt at about 10 pm and did not get home to neighbouring Calca (it´s normally about a half hour drive away) until 1:30am, and had to go home on a potato truck.

So, this is affecting the projects being carried out at ProPeru just ´cause we can´t work with the schools or go out to other communities.

2007-07-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so mom, to speak to your comment, I have not seen a donkey yet, but lots of cows which often frequent the area outside the Pro Peru gates and little lamb which walked outside of someone´s house. Ok, so, I went from Cuzco to Urubamba( which despite all of my practice, I may have just learned how to say) today, it about an hour drive away, is quite close to Machu Pichu, but is at a lower altitude that cuzco. In theory, it´s warmer here, but I am ever the chilly-willy.

Urubamba is quite small, in fact you can wal from one end to anohter in well under an hour. It´s quite different from Cuzco, as Cuzco is near swarming with tourists and gringos (a nickname for North Americans or white people) . The streets are very narrow and always full of activity with children approaching you to sell hand woven finger puppets, cigarettes, post cards, native woman (presumably quechua k-ch-wha) selling clothes the have woven; merchandise and markets everywhere as well as dogs that belong to the streets, mainly.

Cuzco does however have a beautiful square the al Paco (lama) is delicious. Couldn´t tlee you about the guinea pig dish, though. My favorite food so far here is the quinoa soup - the creme of pumpkin is pretty good, too, it´s a shame (que lastima) that we don´t make it with our ample pumpkin crop in Canada. And, I cannot tell you how muc the Mate de Coca saved my life. I have been aclimatizing really well.

Today, one of my several fears where amplified and thenquickly dissapated as a solution presented itself. I hadn´t had a shower in three days because I was experiencing nothing but cold water comming out of the shower heads. But I thought that my home stay would be a good start. I was shown very quickly how to use the shower, howver my spanish is very limited, and so when I attempted my first shower, I once again experienced water that chilled me to the bone. When I tried to adjust the temprature (which is not posssibe anyway) I got a shock. Not a little static shock, but quite a bit more of a sizzling experience on my wet skin. Of course, confused as I was, I got shocked 2 more times before I surrendered to the fact that trying to turn the knob would not be a successful solution. My hands were tingling for the better part of an hour. I did get some help From Elena, though, the woman who works in the household ( she is also quite a good artist and weaves a slew of things) and was shown how to ensure nice, hot water comes out of the shower. That makes me happy. I will eventually post pictures, but esta todos por ahora.

hasta luego and take care,

The night before Peru...

2007-07-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

I hope I get a good sleep, although I am aware that it may not happen that way! Either way, I am excited! I have sooo much stuff with me, yet so little (or, it feels that way) I am however, hoping to leave quite a bit of what I am taking with me there - most of it will be quite despensibe once it's been put to good use there! I just hope that I forget absolutely nothing! I am not sure what I am going to do with myself over the course of my 7 hour lay over in Miami - I don't think I can leave the airport - I may get bored! But then again, I do have lots of spanish to learn and I have a really good book with me, too, and I am contemplating bringing an Oprah mag with me. Maybe I can take pics of the airport and blog them? Or is that a security risk? Hum. I am also excited to get my gluten free meal - I wonder what they will give me? Hopefully more that a rice cracker, but a really nice hot rice meal! I will miss Toronto and family and friends, but I will be seeing everyone soon enough. After I rest my arms from the long flight (haha!) and once I have aclimatized, I will write once again!

departure - near, desitnation - far

2007-07-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for Peru in two days, and I wanted to say to everyone how greatful I am for all of your help as well as moral support! I would not have been able to go at all if I did not recieve help from friends and family, so thank you! I hope to blog a few times every week about what all is going down with the project, happenings in Peru and at my homestay, as well as as Spanish blurbs and mess-ups; there will be plenty, I am sure! So far, I have pretty much finished packing, and I have learned two things from this: one is that you NEVER have enought space in your luggage for everything, and two is that the whole packing process really can take upwards of a week! Anyways, tomorrow I start on a medication that will help my body aclimatize to the high altituted of Cuzo, Peru. It helps the kidneys produce more bicarbonate (a part of Carbon dioxide) and this makes your blood more acitic, and this stimulates more ventilation - which is what I need in a place that's so high that the air is so thin that it can make your body freak out on you! I'm not so hot on the freak outs, so that's why I am so happy to have a medication available to me that will help my body cope! There is also a local remedy that also works very well - coca tea (and no, it's not Peruvian hot chocolate, as I originally thought!). So, I am gonna take good advantage of that as well. In fact, I am gonna make a point of learing how to ask for it before I leave, because I don't want soroche to bog me down! I think it's roughly darme tea de coca, por favor, me soroche is malo!