Que Asco! (How Disgusting!)

So we attempted to clean the clinic yesterday, and while we made great progress, there is still so much to do! We were able to hit the main rooms that needed a thorough cleaning -- the treatment room, gyno room, triage room, 2 doctor's offices, the small kitchen and three of the bathrooms. If you could have seen the grime, dried blood, and dirt that came off of the equipment, you would have been revolted. I won't get into details but I think all of us were taken aback at really how bad it was. Who knows the last time someone just wiped down the bed used in the gyno room. We also did a quick clean of the bed that is used during labors. You could see dried fluids on it! So, we still need to scrub down more walls and rooms, but after working hard for about 6 hours yesterday (there were 10 of us), we just had to take a break.

It is one of those things that although we repeatedly changed out dirty water for clean, you probably would not even see the difference. the dirt had been caked on for so long. We still also need to move unused and broken equipment out of the clinic into a storage area. All of my former co-workers at the VA will appreciate the 5 S-ing that I am going to be implementing in their chart room as well as equipment and supply rooms. Thanks Heather!

So, we got some good photos and Ben is working hard on getting the Awamaki Health website up and running. You'll have to have a look when I send the link out.

Yesterday was actually a really fun day, even if it was long and tiring. We met the group at 8am to go walk around the huge Inca ruins in town. The ruins are called the Sun Temple and they became an Incan military post. We learned some really interesting facts and were just blown away by the intelligence and power of the Inca people. You should see these rocks that they cut so perfectly and carried hours down the mountains from las Canteras (quarries). They also created underground water canals to channel their water. Amazing!

Anyway, after the morning ruins tour, we headed to the clinic to begin cleaning. We were there until about 2:30 before breaking for lunch. Keri and I scarfed down our food at our house and then headed back to the clinic for two more hours of cleaning. We then had to rush home and take the quickest showers of our lives b/c Michelle's host sister was teaching those interested how to salsa dance at 6pm at the pub. We had about 10 people there dancing around. It was tons of fun. We learned the 4 basic steps and just did versions of that for the hour. I have no idea how these women are able to move their legs, hips, shoulders and arms so beautifully at the same time. Wow! After salsa lessons were over, we had a big dance party to old school hip-hop, pop and good old Michael Jackson. Everyone was having a great time.

Last week, Porfi, the owner of the bar, had said that he was worried that we weren't having fun here in Ollanta. Well, I think he definitely saw that we indeed can have a lot of fun after last night.

The Oscars started and we were all a little disappointed when the Spanish dubbing started. So we did our best to understand, but Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were just not as funny in Spanish. I only made it until about 10:30 before I was ready to go home. Keri stayed to chat with Ben and I read until late into the evening.

Unfortunately, I was extremely embarrassed last night when I got home from the pub. Unbeknownst to me, the water was off again and so I just did my usual nightly ritual which includes going to the bathroom before washing my face and brushing my teeth. Well, with no water, the toilet doesn't flush. So I tried to get some water from the canal outside our house but when the water is off, the canal is low so I couldn't even do the bucket flush thing. Horrible! I learned this morning that the water went off around 8pm and as of 9am this morning, it was still off. You don't realize how dependent you are on running water until you don't have it anymore! I am hoping it will be back on when I go home for lunch in the next half hour.

On a disappointing side note, Keri and I are beginning to accept the fact that we will most likely not be able to do our Machu Picchu trek at the end of the month. Word on the street is that Machu Picchu will not actually open on April 1st as planned. We are hoping that those of us who come into Machu Picchu from the Inca trail will still be able to do it, but train tickets are still not available for those who do not plan to hike in. I haven't heard anything from the tour company so we are still keeping our fingers crossed. We shall see. If we can't do the Inca Trail, we will probably spend more time in Northern Peru and maybe even Ecuador.

We have decided not to do the jungle trip as the agency we were trying to book with turned out to be extremely sketchy and to really do the jungle trip we want to do, it would be expensive and I don't have the money. Since we both plan on being back here next year for a short stint, we can always do both the jungle and Machu Picchu then if need be.

Okay, lunch time. I wonder what we will have...let me guess...white rice, potatoes and meat! Although, I weighed myself at the clinic and somehow I am managing to lose weight, even with all the starch. I'm down about 6 pounds. Only 15 more to go!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Talk soon!