I spent some time yesterday reading over the materials that Rotary International gave me at my Outbound Scholar Orientation back in April. It was a great opportunity to reflect on what my purpose is here and how lucky I am to actually be here, right now. I decided to write down three major goals of what I would like to accomplish during my time here. They are:

1) To serve as an ambassador of goodwill by building relationships, sharing my experiences, and connecting people in the US, Peru, and other parts of South America.

2) To learn more about medicine and public health through study, research and service projects.

3) To really live in Peru, learning the language, customs, culture, and diversity of this exciting country.

Parque del Amor, Miraflores

Surveying the patients about dental hygiene

I went to my first “campana medica” this week. Rotary clubs put on medical campaigns fairly often, recruiting doctors or dentists, raising money, and going into different communities to provide medical care.  This campaign was put on by Rotary Club Lima Sunrise, the only English-speaking club in Lima, made up mostly of expats and a few English-speaking Peruvians. Along with a team of dentists, we traveled 2.5 hours north of Lima to a small farming village in a mountainous area.

We brought all of the necessary supplies with us and set up shop at the local primary school. The dental campaign was mostly for the children of the community, although we did serve some of the parents as well. My job was to complete a survey for every patient. I asked the patients questions about how and when they brush their teeth, what kind of foods they eat, and their knowledge of dental hygiene. This was a difficult job at first because I didn’t know all of the words on the survey, and it was hard to understand the young kids who didn’t speak very clearly. But after a bit of practice, I really enjoyed the work.

Presentation on dental care

After the survey, the patients went into one of the classrooms and saw a dentist to get their teeth cleaned and have cavities removed if necessary.  Sadly, many of the kids had untreated cavities, partly due to lack of education about dental care and partly because they water they drink apparently worsens the condition.

The kids then attended a presentation about dental care, learning the basics of how to care for their teeth. After the presentation, we gave them all a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste and showed them how to brush properly.

This day was a great way to learn more about public health and interact with people from the community. I was impressed by how organized the medical campaign was, and by how all the Rotarians and dentists dedicated their whole Sunday to the project. I could immediately see the impact that the dental care had on the children, and hopefully our work will continue to impact the community in the future. The Rotary Club did not just provide free dental care; they provided useful education that can be used to prevent dental problems in the future.

Brushing teeth

Rotaract Club Andes del Peru

Encuentro Rotaractiano Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador y Chile–ERBOPECH! My first Rotaract* conference was absolutely awesome.  Eight members of my Rotaract club, along with 200 others from all over South America, traveled to Arequipa, Peru for the four-day conference. This weekend was something like a turning point in my Peruvian experience; it made me realize how lucky I am to be connected to Rotary and got me very excited for the rest of my year here. I loved meeting people from all over, and I now have a better grasp of how extensive the Rotary network is.

We stayed in a lovely “resort” in a small town outside of Arequipa, complete with llamas and alpacas in the courtyard. We visited the Canon del Colca, which is apparently deeper than the Grand Canyon (which I still haven’t visited…oops), saw some condors, and went to the hot springs. We went to the town square to meet the mayor, and then had a giant dance party as the high school band played for us. We circled up, all 200 of us, and danced around for quite a while.  It was seriously THE MOST FUN I have had in a long time. Who doesn’t love dancing around in circles with a bunch of people you just met from all over the world?

The Cusco booth at the International Fair

One of the main focuses of the conference was cultural exchange. Though most people came from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, there were also some from Mexico, Argentina, Germany, and the US.  We had a talent show night, and members from each country dressed up in traditional clothing and performed traditional dances, songs, etc. It was wonderful. I was there with 3 other Becarios (scholars) from the US; for a while we contemplated getting up onstage and performing a line dance, but ultimately we decided not to.  The dancers from the jungle were just too good. When the talent show finished, we of course had another giant dance party onstage. Poco a poco I am learning to dance salsa, but I’ve still got a long ways to go!

We also had an International Fair, and everyone set up booths to display typical foods, drink, and clothing from their country.  A huge tradition within Rotary and Rotaract is trading pins, so of course each Rotaract club brought their own. I spent a few hours eating sweets, trying drinks, and trading pins with everyone. I’m going to have to get a lot more pins if I want to keep up with all the other Rotaractianos who have vests full of them (note the guy in the picture).

Another focus of Rotaract, aside from cultural exchange, is participating in service.  On the last day, we visited a small village near where we were staying, and put on a party for the children there. We spent the morning dancing and singing and playing games. Barney, that “lovable” purple dinosaur, even showed up!  At the end of the day, we gave stuffed animals and treats to all of the kids.  I think Barney was actually having a better time than the children (again, note the picture).

Barney and the kids

While an INCREDIBLE experience, the weekend was also utterly exhausting; I again had to practice patience as we followed “Peruvian time,” which meant we were at least two hours behind the written schedule. Most nights we didn’t eat dinner until 11:00. The last night we ate dinner at midnight, followed by the closing ceremonies, which ended at 2:00am. Then we started the dance party, which lasted until 7:00am. Needless to say, I spend the next week recovering from a severe lack of sleep. But now that I have friends all over South America, I can’t wait to do some more traveling to visit them.

*Rotaract is Rotary for people between the ages of 18 and 30.

Peruvian potatoes

When I arrived in Peru, my host family told me that Peru has over 400 types of potatoes. I was pretty impressed. Then, in Arequipa, someone told me Peru actually has over 600 variates. I spoke as a guest at a Rotary Club in Lima the other night, and the president informed me that there are actually over 2,000 types. According to Wikipedia, there are over 3,000. The number just keeps getting bigger.

I may never know how many different types of potatoes exist in Peru. But I do know that there are a lot, and they taste much better than the baked potatoes we have in the US that only taste good after they’ve been loaded with bacon, cheese and sour cream. And if I ever need to express how very Peruvian someone is acting, I can simply say: “You’re are as Peruvian as a potato!”

If you have been reading my blog, you are probably wondering why I haven’t posted anything about my studies, which is one of the main reasons I am here. The truth is I have been waiting to figure out exactly what classes I will take this semester. Though it is past mid November, I only finalized my schedule yesterday. Here are the classes I am officially taking:

San Marcos Logo

Epidemiology

History of Public Health

Leadership in Public Health

Bioethics

This MPH program is totally and completely different from what I expected.  On the first day of class (which finally happened month later than originally planned), the professor did not show up, so my classmates and I went out to drink Pisco Sours instead. It was a good way to meet everyone.  There are only eleven students in the program, all of whom are at least seven years older than me. Most are doctors, though there are a few nurses and one veterinarian. There is a 60 year old doctor in the program who uses a Hotwheels notebook to take notes in. I am the only anthropologist (and foreign student) in the class so at least I have an interesting perspective to contribute.

Celebrating a classmate's birthday with cake and Inka Cola

We have class Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:00-9:00 in the evening. I arrive at 6:15, and am always the first person there. We tend to start class around 6:30 but some students do not show up until 7:00 or 8:00. On at least three occasions, the professor did not come to class, so I have learned to be patient and adjust to the schedule as necessary.

I have enjoyed all of my classes and have learned a lot about public health and Spanish. Several of my classmates have invited me to go to work with them so I can see how different types of health systems work in Peru. It’s certainly a great experience!

Oh yes, one more thing. I still haven’t actually paid for the classes, because I can’t get the administrators to tell me what I need to do. I have called them so many times that they recognize my voice at “hola.” Hopefully I can pay before classes end this semester so I can receive my grades.

Halloween is celebrated by some people in Peru; grocery stores put out Halloween candy (though most of it is different than what we have in the States…mostly sugary candy and NOT chocolate), and decorate the candy isle with spider webs, witches and bats and other “spooky” things.  On Halloween night you can hear a few children shouting “HAL-oween!” instead of “trick or treat” as they go door to door asking for candy.

Women of R.C. San Martiniano

In Peru, October 31st is also Dia de la Cancion Criolla, which is all about celebrating Criolla music–a fusion of Andean, Spanish and African flavors.  My Rotary Club, San Martiniano, had a fiesta to celebrate the day. We drank pisco sours, sweet wine, danced to Criolla music and listened to a mini-concert put on my one of our members. It was a lot of fun. These Peruvians really know how to dance!

I’m finally figuring out the bus system! After many times of getting lost, I am beginning to understand how the combis work.  Small victory: I went to the grocery store with my host mom yesterday, and I was the one who told her which bus we should take.

Today I had the “privilege” of sitting in the front seat of one of the smaller buses. There I was, smushed in between the driver and another passenger, with a front row view of everything. I thought it would be my chance to see how fast we were driving (combis seem to go quite fast sometimes). But alas, the speedometer was broken. Perhaps I’ll never know.

Autumn leaves and snow in CO

On October 15, I embarked on a quick trip back to the US. I had a total of ten flights in ten days. Including layovers, I traveled to Lima, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City (both the Missouri and Kansas sides), Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, and back home to Lima.

I went to my good friend’s wedding in Kansas City (congratulations, Sean and Bethany!), which basically turned out to be a Northwestern InterVarsity reuinion. I had a med school interview at Boston University and stayed with my friend Alex, who was also my R.A. in the dorms freshman year. The next day, I flew to Cleveland for an interview at Case Western and spent an extra day there with my college roommate, Erin. We went rock climbing and made a trip to my favorite grocery store, Trader Joes. Finally I flew back to Colorado and had a blast catching up with my HFII girls and of course, we baked chocolate chip cookies (as usual, I did most of the baking, and forgot to follow the high altitude directions; my mom had to save the day by adding more flour to the dough). We’ve been baking/chatting for about fifteen years now, but I don’t think it will ever get old. And of course I loved breathing in the fall weather, drinking a few pumpkin spice lattes, and playing in the snow in Colorado.

Bethany and Sean's wedding

It was a CRAZY trip, but every step of the way, I got to visit with good friends and family. It was refreshing to get a taste of home, but I am also glad to be off the plane and back in Lima.

R.O.U.S: Rodents Of Unusual Size. Princess Bride, anyone?

Before I left for Peru, I was told by numerous sources that one of the Peruvian delicacies is “large rodent”. This of course made me think of Rodents of Unusual Size, from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride.  As it turns out, the R.O.U.S.s are actually guinea pigs, or “cuy.”

In Ayacucho, I ordered cuy the authentic way: whole, with head, teeth, legs, claws, everything. I can’t say I’m a huge fan. The taste was fine but I had a hard time figuring out exactly what to eat. I don’t like eating chicken wings because you have to work too hard to get any meat off the bones; cuy was even harder. But at least I tried it!

Ophelie and I are trying our first cuy entera.

If anyone comes to visit me, I will make sure you get to try some cuy…

La Pampa de la Quinua

I finally took my first trip outside of Lima! It was nice to get out of the busy city and experience the quiet, sunny town of Ayacucho, in the mountains of Peru. Ayacucho is known for it’s many churches and colonial Spanish architecture. Because the capital  is fairly small, we spent one day there and the other two days traveling to the north and south of the city in a very uncomfortable, hot, stuffy, dusty bus. It was not a very pleasant ride but at least I now appreciate Lima buses a little more.

We learned about the Wari, a pre-Inca culture, and visited Wari ruins from around 750 A.D. Unlike Machu Picchu, which is of course heavily protected, we were free to roam about the  ruins as we pleased. I even found a shard of an old ceramic pot and my guide told me to take it back with me.

We saw many interesting things: a huge halucinogenic herb named Patti; giant exotic plants called Puya Raymondi that take one hundred years to grow, blossom for three months, and then die; La Pampa de la Quinua, a monument that commemerates the battle that ended the South American war for independance. I paid one dollar for a horseback ride, saw my first Inka ruins (including Inka baths and a Temple of the Sun), and ate fried pork at the Quinua Festival de Chicharron.

Me and Harim, sitting on an Inka throne

I traveled with other international students from Mexico, France, and Korea. We had a fun time sharing stories from our lives back home. For some reason, we started talking about public schools in America. They were all surprised to hear that we actually do take big yellow schoolbuses to school every day and that we bring brown-bag lunches. “Just like in the movies!”

Puya Raymondi