We are really excited here at Awamaki Health as one of our volunteers has just secured us funding for a year! Kelsey has been here for nearly two months and her mother works in a high school in New Jersey. Each year, the high school sponsors a project/organization. Kelsey put together a power point about us and we are now sponsored by this school for the next year! All of the fund raising they do next year will be to the benefit of Ollantaytambo and the surrounding communities! I am just so psyched about this. We will be able to fund a full-time janitor, get our resource room for women organized and started as well as buy some much needed supplies and equipment!
I don't know how much money will come in throughout the year, but every little bit helps!
Another funny thing happened at the clinic yesterday. Yesterday and today were slow days at the clinic due to the Inti Raymi festivals in Cusco. So we decided to take advantage of the quiet and lack of patients to do some major cleaning. I don't think anyone had cleaned some of the rooms since we did in March. Anyway, this time we actually had some of the Posta staff helping us clean. We all were cleaning and chatting. I was talking to Eloy, a medical assistant who has worked at the Posta for years and years. We were commiserating together on my quickly approaching departure date. Talk turned to children and he was asking how old I was and when I wanted to have kids. So I told him I hope to have at least one biological child and then adopt after that, most likely.
He asked if I would like to adopt a child from Peru, and I said, sure, I would love to. He then asked if I wanted a boy or a girl. I said I would probably prefer a boy. He made sure I would need all the papers so the child could live with me wherever I am and not just as a sponsor here in Peru. I was like, of course I want the child with me. So then he proceeds to say he will start looking for a little boy for me for when I return next year!!! Can you imagine if I come home next summer with a little Peruvian baby! It would make nursing school a bit more complicated, that is for sure. But truthfully, after watching everyone here go about their lives with their babies strapped on their backs, I realize how ridiculous we are with all our toys and strollers and "stuff" for our babies. These kids have great childhoods without the newest and best baby things. Really puts life into perspective when you live in a culture that lives simply but extremely happily.
Anyway, I have only 2 days left in the clinic! We will run the chocolatada breakfast like normal and then I will work on Monday. Tuesday is a festival here: Ollanta Raymi. There is a big drama that acts out the history of Ollantaytambo against the Spaniards in Quechua near the big ruins. Then Wednesday is a packing and goodbye day for me. Thursday, I am off to Cusco, to Lima and finally arrive in Indy at 1pm on Friday.
We are going to do an appetizer and cocktail party tomorrow night at the rooftop bar at KBs. Then we are having a joint going away party for Dr. Arnaldo, Emma and myself with everyone from the Posta and the health volunteers. Saturday will be the last pizza party I have to attend here (thank God, so ready for good pizza when I get home). Will probably party at Porfi's on Saturday night and then Pisac markets on Sunday. Busy last week!
I have to do my going away lunch at my old host family's house as well as at Hallie's old host family's house. They have kind of adopted me too!
It will be a great last week!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I have a Namesake in Ollanta!
A funny thing happened in the clinic on Monday. I was introducing two new volunteers to one of the doctors and the obstetrics nurse came in with a man and a chart. Well, the man was the proud father of a newborn baby girl and the chart was not completed yet as the little girl had no name. So the doctor started going around the room asking the new volunteers their names and then said "Emma" (the nurse) and then they all looked at me and Dr. Arnaldo was like, "Alison, that is a pretty name and look, she is really pretty too". So this poor man looks at me with this big smile on his face, and I was like, "no, you don't have to name your daughter Alison" Which, by the way, is not pronounced the way we do but more like Ali and then Son. So the man nods his head in agreement and next thing you know, his new daughter is named Alison. So the jokes start up about how I will now have to be the Godmother! I was very amused yet also touched that I now have a namesake here. We'll see how the man's wife feels about his naming his daughter after a gringa!
Anyway, things are getting a little stressful with trying to wrap things up and train the new coordinator and deal with the influx of volunteers. We are getting about 3 health volunteers a week right now. We definitely need to put a cap on this for the future. We are just saturated. Plus, the majority do not have good Spanish skills so it makes it difficult in that they are only here for 6 weeks to 2 months and need Spanish to really get a good experience in the clinic. I am just getting a little frustrated at times. But overall, the volunteers are great and really enthusiastic. I think there are about 25-30 total Awamaki volunteers here at the moment. We are huge!!!
June seems to be the month of festivals in this area as Cusco is just one big party all the time. The clinic is only open for emergencies tomorrow and Thursday due to Inti Raymi in Cusco. I was in Cusco on Saturday for a night out with some of the clinic staff and it was craziness in the Plaza. There was a concert and then a great fireworks show. I am now prepared for the 4th of July. The only problem is that the festivities start again at 7am so sleep is very difficult. We had a really fun night out. Abby and Sydney and I were the only non-Peruvians. I was so happy because the old Intern, Elio, met us out and I just love that guy. I hadn't seen him since he left the clinic to start his rotations at the Cusco hospital.
We attempted to see the Winter Solstice sunrise light show on Monday morning, but the clouds thwarted that attempt. We all met up at 4am to hike up towards the Canteras and sit in a field for a good view of what was supposed to happen. So, what is supposed to happen is the sun comes up over the mountains and the rays come through the mountains and form this pyramid of sunlight on some fields in the valley. Well, with all the clouds, the rays had nowhere to go. So we had all been waiting around from about 5am until 7:30 when we realized it wasn't happening. Luckily, we got a second chance this morning. Marjo and I got up and out of the house a little before 6 and made it up to the spot by 6:40ish. It was a clear day and the sunrise was amazing. The pyramid of light was a bit anti-climatic though. One side of the pyramid was a bit wonky. It was still really nice.
I went with my host parents and baby Fabricio (who is bigger and bigger and cuter and cuter each day) to Shura's high school for their Father's Day celebration. The different classes either put on a skit or a traditional dance for the celebration. I was just sitting there thinking how you wouldn't catch most U.S. high school juniors and seniors out in traditional dress doing traditional dances if their lives depended on it. These kids were great though. I just love how old some of their cultures and traditions are here. Then Ana and I had dinner together and I am catching up on this.
I made some quinua and vegetable soup today. I used the chicken carcass from our baked chicken last night to make the broth. I think it turned out pretty bland but Betsy and Marjo really liked it. So I guess it wasn't all that bad. I will continue to work on that recipe at home though. I just love quinua!
Okay, I have to run to the pub quiz to coordinate where everyone is working tomorrow since the clinic in Ollanta will be bare bones. After two days of waking up before sunrise, I am beat and ready to go to bed!
I am home in my house in 10 days! Seems so strange! So much to do here before I go!
Anyway, things are getting a little stressful with trying to wrap things up and train the new coordinator and deal with the influx of volunteers. We are getting about 3 health volunteers a week right now. We definitely need to put a cap on this for the future. We are just saturated. Plus, the majority do not have good Spanish skills so it makes it difficult in that they are only here for 6 weeks to 2 months and need Spanish to really get a good experience in the clinic. I am just getting a little frustrated at times. But overall, the volunteers are great and really enthusiastic. I think there are about 25-30 total Awamaki volunteers here at the moment. We are huge!!!
June seems to be the month of festivals in this area as Cusco is just one big party all the time. The clinic is only open for emergencies tomorrow and Thursday due to Inti Raymi in Cusco. I was in Cusco on Saturday for a night out with some of the clinic staff and it was craziness in the Plaza. There was a concert and then a great fireworks show. I am now prepared for the 4th of July. The only problem is that the festivities start again at 7am so sleep is very difficult. We had a really fun night out. Abby and Sydney and I were the only non-Peruvians. I was so happy because the old Intern, Elio, met us out and I just love that guy. I hadn't seen him since he left the clinic to start his rotations at the Cusco hospital.
We attempted to see the Winter Solstice sunrise light show on Monday morning, but the clouds thwarted that attempt. We all met up at 4am to hike up towards the Canteras and sit in a field for a good view of what was supposed to happen. So, what is supposed to happen is the sun comes up over the mountains and the rays come through the mountains and form this pyramid of sunlight on some fields in the valley. Well, with all the clouds, the rays had nowhere to go. So we had all been waiting around from about 5am until 7:30 when we realized it wasn't happening. Luckily, we got a second chance this morning. Marjo and I got up and out of the house a little before 6 and made it up to the spot by 6:40ish. It was a clear day and the sunrise was amazing. The pyramid of light was a bit anti-climatic though. One side of the pyramid was a bit wonky. It was still really nice.
I went with my host parents and baby Fabricio (who is bigger and bigger and cuter and cuter each day) to Shura's high school for their Father's Day celebration. The different classes either put on a skit or a traditional dance for the celebration. I was just sitting there thinking how you wouldn't catch most U.S. high school juniors and seniors out in traditional dress doing traditional dances if their lives depended on it. These kids were great though. I just love how old some of their cultures and traditions are here. Then Ana and I had dinner together and I am catching up on this.
I made some quinua and vegetable soup today. I used the chicken carcass from our baked chicken last night to make the broth. I think it turned out pretty bland but Betsy and Marjo really liked it. So I guess it wasn't all that bad. I will continue to work on that recipe at home though. I just love quinua!
Okay, I have to run to the pub quiz to coordinate where everyone is working tomorrow since the clinic in Ollanta will be bare bones. After two days of waking up before sunrise, I am beat and ready to go to bed!
I am home in my house in 10 days! Seems so strange! So much to do here before I go!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Time is flying
Luckily, Mare recovered to her old self by Saturday morning. We went up to Patacancha with a group of volunteers to get a tour and learn about the weaving project. Although I have been to Patacancha multiple times, this was the first time that I actually learned so much about the weaving project. We were able to buy some goods from the weavers and also enjoyed a watia. A watia is potatoes cooked in an earth oven. I bought myself a pretty bracelet and also claimed a belt "chumpi" being made by one of the weavers. Emma had to return to Patacancha for a tour on Monday so she said she would pick it up for me. -- Later I find out that the weaver sold it and is now making me a new one to be picked up on Saturday!
Anyway, Patacancha was beautiful and Mare and Betsy really enjoyed themselves. Betsy bought a tiny little hat for Max (they have decided on a name) and I bought a really cute, soft, baby alpaca hat for Elliot. Hopefully he will like it! After Patacancha, we came home and packed our overnight bags for a night out in Cusco.
Phil, Betsy's husband, was flying in on Sunday morning so we made a night out of the trip to Cusco. We got into town and were starving so we dropped our stuff at our hostel on the Plaza de Armas and headed to get some appetizers and a beer at an Irish pub nearby. Unfortunately, the pub was pretty crowded and we had to sit at the bar near this lone gentleman. Of course he started talking to us, and within ten minutes, we wished we could have been anywhere else. He was that stereotypical, ignorant American tourist that makes us cringe when we hear them speak. He had only flown in that day and was well on his way to being drunk. He kept getting louder and louder and saying annoying things like "let's show them how we do it in America!!". He was yelling for the bartenders and then decided to start saying "England sucks" really loudly to annoy the English girls sitting near us (because England and U.S. tied in their world cup game). Then he started railing on how bad English food was -- we were a little perplexed as it isn't like American food is known for its culinary genius!! -- needless to say, we finished our food and drinks and hightailed it out of there. At one point, he said, I was supposed to be meeting my friends here but they haven't shown up. We were not surprised!
So we headed back to shower and although the water pressure was minimal, at least the water was warm for the first time in two weeks for me! Yes, our shower is still broken. I have gotten used to the cold showers though. Anyway, we then went to dinner at this great little restaurant that Hallie introduced us to. The woman who owns it is French. The food is great. From there, we had some cocktails at a bar while waiting for the dance clubs to get going. We wanted to go to Mama Afrika but there was a reggae band playing, so we went in search of Roots. That was closed due to renovations, so we ended up at Mythologie. Betsy had gone home to bed so it was Mare and I dancing the night away just like old times. Yes, we did end up on the bar for at least three songs. At one point, Mare turned to me and said "are we too old to dance on the bar?" We both quickly smiled and shook our heads, "NO!" so up we went. I ran into one of the doctors and a nurse from the clinic!
we had a great time dancing. We left when the DJ started playing songs for a second time. Unfortunately, with our hostel on the Plaza, we were awoken at 7am to the sound of marching bands and fireworks. We walked down to the big open market so Mare could buy some gifts and then we went to get Phil at the airport. His flight was a bit delayed. We made it back to Ollanta around 2pm, ate some lunch and then Mare and I went home to relax and rest while Phil and Betsy got situated in their hostel.
Monday was a regular day. I worked in the clinic, worked on administrative stuff and then had a couple meetings. I have a really good group of volunteers right now. They are all very enthusiastic. My replacement arrives tomorrow. I have been sick since this afternoon, so I will probably just have to meet with her and give her an orientation on Thursday since I am still pretty weak and tired. I think I will need another day in bed. I am pretty positive I have the flu. Fever, chills, achy all over and horrible headache. The majority of patients coming through the Posta these past two weeks have had the flu. I am sure I picked it up there.
We've been having transportation strikes lately and so because there are most likely going to be strikes on Thursday and Friday (the road to Urubamba and Cusco will be closed) and Phil's flight is on Friday, he and Betsy are going to have to go to Cusco tomorrow to be safe. Phil, Bets and Mare went to Macchu Picchu today. I am anxious to hear how it was.
So now I am going back to bed. This is the longest I've been up since 12pm. The problem with being sick here is that there are no comfy couches to lounge on and watch tv. Heck, there are no televisions. So I was just bored hanging in my bed, dozing on and off. I just want to be healthy for when I come home.
Anyway, Patacancha was beautiful and Mare and Betsy really enjoyed themselves. Betsy bought a tiny little hat for Max (they have decided on a name) and I bought a really cute, soft, baby alpaca hat for Elliot. Hopefully he will like it! After Patacancha, we came home and packed our overnight bags for a night out in Cusco.
Phil, Betsy's husband, was flying in on Sunday morning so we made a night out of the trip to Cusco. We got into town and were starving so we dropped our stuff at our hostel on the Plaza de Armas and headed to get some appetizers and a beer at an Irish pub nearby. Unfortunately, the pub was pretty crowded and we had to sit at the bar near this lone gentleman. Of course he started talking to us, and within ten minutes, we wished we could have been anywhere else. He was that stereotypical, ignorant American tourist that makes us cringe when we hear them speak. He had only flown in that day and was well on his way to being drunk. He kept getting louder and louder and saying annoying things like "let's show them how we do it in America!!". He was yelling for the bartenders and then decided to start saying "England sucks" really loudly to annoy the English girls sitting near us (because England and U.S. tied in their world cup game). Then he started railing on how bad English food was -- we were a little perplexed as it isn't like American food is known for its culinary genius!! -- needless to say, we finished our food and drinks and hightailed it out of there. At one point, he said, I was supposed to be meeting my friends here but they haven't shown up. We were not surprised!
So we headed back to shower and although the water pressure was minimal, at least the water was warm for the first time in two weeks for me! Yes, our shower is still broken. I have gotten used to the cold showers though. Anyway, we then went to dinner at this great little restaurant that Hallie introduced us to. The woman who owns it is French. The food is great. From there, we had some cocktails at a bar while waiting for the dance clubs to get going. We wanted to go to Mama Afrika but there was a reggae band playing, so we went in search of Roots. That was closed due to renovations, so we ended up at Mythologie. Betsy had gone home to bed so it was Mare and I dancing the night away just like old times. Yes, we did end up on the bar for at least three songs. At one point, Mare turned to me and said "are we too old to dance on the bar?" We both quickly smiled and shook our heads, "NO!" so up we went. I ran into one of the doctors and a nurse from the clinic!
we had a great time dancing. We left when the DJ started playing songs for a second time. Unfortunately, with our hostel on the Plaza, we were awoken at 7am to the sound of marching bands and fireworks. We walked down to the big open market so Mare could buy some gifts and then we went to get Phil at the airport. His flight was a bit delayed. We made it back to Ollanta around 2pm, ate some lunch and then Mare and I went home to relax and rest while Phil and Betsy got situated in their hostel.
Monday was a regular day. I worked in the clinic, worked on administrative stuff and then had a couple meetings. I have a really good group of volunteers right now. They are all very enthusiastic. My replacement arrives tomorrow. I have been sick since this afternoon, so I will probably just have to meet with her and give her an orientation on Thursday since I am still pretty weak and tired. I think I will need another day in bed. I am pretty positive I have the flu. Fever, chills, achy all over and horrible headache. The majority of patients coming through the Posta these past two weeks have had the flu. I am sure I picked it up there.
We've been having transportation strikes lately and so because there are most likely going to be strikes on Thursday and Friday (the road to Urubamba and Cusco will be closed) and Phil's flight is on Friday, he and Betsy are going to have to go to Cusco tomorrow to be safe. Phil, Bets and Mare went to Macchu Picchu today. I am anxious to hear how it was.
So now I am going back to bed. This is the longest I've been up since 12pm. The problem with being sick here is that there are no comfy couches to lounge on and watch tv. Heck, there are no televisions. So I was just bored hanging in my bed, dozing on and off. I just want to be healthy for when I come home.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Mare and Bets are here!
Hello again, everyone. Sorry I have been a bit lax about writing lately. I see that I left off last Tuesday so I will pick up from there. The pub quiz went well. There was a group of students from the University of Wisconsin in town so they joined in for the quiz and we all had a good time. Wednesday night's bonfire was probably our best one yet. The weather was perfect for a fire. We all just sat around and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and drank mulled wine or spiked hot chocolate. Thursday was a sad day because we had to say goodbye to Hallie, but luckily she had to leave in a rush from lunch to get to the airport so we did not have time for lingering goodbyes. I know I will see her again soon, so I am not dwelling on how much I miss having her around.
I had another meeting with Ariana, the woman who runs the nonprofit, Threads of Peru. We met to discuss our next steps for working on the nutrition project up in two extremely rural communities. As Ariana is over 8 months pregnant and I am leaving in less than a month, we are just going to try to get the planning in place and then move forward when I return next year. It actually was so hard to sit there and talk about this project as it is exactly what I had always wanted to work on when I was working on my MPH. It needs epidemiology, program planning, implementation, program evaluation, everything! I would love to just take this project and run with it, but I have to come home and earn some money as I am quickly running out!
I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday not feeling well (typical stomach issues) so was dragging a bit at the clinic in the morning while serving breakfast and working triage. I left and spent most of Friday in bed trying to sleep off the stomach pains. I tried to eat a bland dinner on Friday night and go to bed early, but spent most of the night making trips down to the bathroom. After sleeping in on Saturday, I felt much better and was able to hang out with some friends. I find that if I just stop eating as soon as the stomach troubles start, they pass pretty quickly. So I nibbled on crackers and gatorade all day and was able to eat some quinoa soup on Saturday night. By Sunday, I was right as rain!
On Sunday, I was invited to Ana's sister's 20th birthday lunch at Ana's parents' house. (wow, there were a lot of apostrophes in that sentence!) I went expecting to have cuy as that is the typical birthday and special occasion food. Ana's mom is known in town for her good chicha. I do not like chicha, but it always cracks me up to walk around town or to be driving through towns and see these big long sticks with red plastic wrapped around the top so that it looks like a flower. That signals to outsiders that this is a house where chicha is sold.
Anyway, instead of cuy, I was in for a treat...a pachamanca! A pachamanca is basically food cooked in an earth oven. They heat all these rocks and dig a big hole in the ground. they then put the meat, chicken, pork or whatever on the rocks along with potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, and other goodies. It is covered in the rocks and paper and then with dirt. It cooks in its little mound for about an hour. Then you dig it all up and eat it. It is soooo tasty. We all sat around the table just digging into our chicken, beef and pork with our hands. It was a vegetarian's nightmare! The potatoes here are just so good.
So then, there was the finals of the bull fights from last week because it got too dark to finish them last Sunday. I had a pretty chill night and went to bed all excited because I was going to pick Betsy and Mary Ellen up at the airport in Cusco in the morning!
I had to take two new volunteers down the clinic on Monday morning and then I was off to Cusco. Their flight from Lima was on time and they were waiting for me when I got there. We had a typical loud and boisterous reunion before heading back to the collectivo area to catch a combi back to Ollanta.
Mare and Betsy are in constant awe of the beauty here. They also just love how peaceful and laid back it is. This is good for Mare as sometimes she needs to be reminded to slow down! In her first two days here, she has already hiked to all of the ruins in the local area and walked to the neighboring town. The girl is a ball of energy. Unfortunately, she is lying in her bed in her hostel right now stricken with stomach problems. Hopefully they will pass by tomorrow and she will be ready to keep exploring.
They were in for a treat as Monday afternoon was the baptism of my host-nephew, Mauro. The tradition here is that little boys do not get their hair cut until their baptism. The godparents are the first to cut the hair and make a donation to the kid's future. Then everyone else is allowed to donate some money and cut some hair. The baptism itself was pretty typical of a Catholic baptism. Mauro looked adorable in his little suit (he is 5 years old). Then we all headed back to one of Ana's other sister's houses for the after party. This is the reason Mauro was 5 when he had his baptism. These parties are huge so the parents need to have saved a lot of money to fund it.
We all sat around while we were served small glasses of wine, pisco sour, chicha, and beers. Mare and Betsy were amazed at all of the alcohol they ply you with. Then the food arrived! The plates were massive! Such good food. We were actually going to leave because Betsy (who is 5 months pregnant) was tired, but we were convinced to stay just a bit longer as the hair cutting ceremony was about to start. So the godfather went first and donated 800 soles to Mauro's future and made the first cut. Mauro has very long hair as he hasn't had it cut since he was born. The godparents here are looked at in the traditional role of being the guardians of the godchild if anything were to happen to the parents. I had my turn and gave some money and cut his hair.
Betsy was besieged by children who wanted to take photos and see photos. After being given yet another beer, we were finally able to escape back home. It was neat that Bets and Mare were able to experience this on their first day here.
Mare has started walking in the mornings with me now that Hallie is gone. Although, with her being ill, we didn't walk today. I had to go to the clinic early yesterday and today for a vaccination campaign at the high school. However, this being Peru, we never ended up going yesterday (we were supposed to go at 8am and at 12pm, they finally told us it would be 8am tomorrow). 8am today came and went and finally at 10am, they left. I had to meet a new volunteer at 10am so I couldn't go. Supposedly we are going to do some sex education at the high school tomorrow. I will just see if it happens. Lord knows they need sex ed here with all these teenage pregnancies. Yesterday, Megan and I worked triage together. Megan and Kelly are sisters from Indianapolis so Megan and I were talking about all of our favorite restaurants. It made me excited to go home and eat good food!
I am three weeks away from my departure date. I can't believe my time here is coming to an end. It just doesn't seem real or right for that matter. I feel like I have a purpose here and I just worry about transitioning back home again. I am excited about seeing my family and friends again though.
I had another meeting with Ariana, the woman who runs the nonprofit, Threads of Peru. We met to discuss our next steps for working on the nutrition project up in two extremely rural communities. As Ariana is over 8 months pregnant and I am leaving in less than a month, we are just going to try to get the planning in place and then move forward when I return next year. It actually was so hard to sit there and talk about this project as it is exactly what I had always wanted to work on when I was working on my MPH. It needs epidemiology, program planning, implementation, program evaluation, everything! I would love to just take this project and run with it, but I have to come home and earn some money as I am quickly running out!
I woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday not feeling well (typical stomach issues) so was dragging a bit at the clinic in the morning while serving breakfast and working triage. I left and spent most of Friday in bed trying to sleep off the stomach pains. I tried to eat a bland dinner on Friday night and go to bed early, but spent most of the night making trips down to the bathroom. After sleeping in on Saturday, I felt much better and was able to hang out with some friends. I find that if I just stop eating as soon as the stomach troubles start, they pass pretty quickly. So I nibbled on crackers and gatorade all day and was able to eat some quinoa soup on Saturday night. By Sunday, I was right as rain!
On Sunday, I was invited to Ana's sister's 20th birthday lunch at Ana's parents' house. (wow, there were a lot of apostrophes in that sentence!) I went expecting to have cuy as that is the typical birthday and special occasion food. Ana's mom is known in town for her good chicha. I do not like chicha, but it always cracks me up to walk around town or to be driving through towns and see these big long sticks with red plastic wrapped around the top so that it looks like a flower. That signals to outsiders that this is a house where chicha is sold.
Anyway, instead of cuy, I was in for a treat...a pachamanca! A pachamanca is basically food cooked in an earth oven. They heat all these rocks and dig a big hole in the ground. they then put the meat, chicken, pork or whatever on the rocks along with potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, and other goodies. It is covered in the rocks and paper and then with dirt. It cooks in its little mound for about an hour. Then you dig it all up and eat it. It is soooo tasty. We all sat around the table just digging into our chicken, beef and pork with our hands. It was a vegetarian's nightmare! The potatoes here are just so good.
So then, there was the finals of the bull fights from last week because it got too dark to finish them last Sunday. I had a pretty chill night and went to bed all excited because I was going to pick Betsy and Mary Ellen up at the airport in Cusco in the morning!
I had to take two new volunteers down the clinic on Monday morning and then I was off to Cusco. Their flight from Lima was on time and they were waiting for me when I got there. We had a typical loud and boisterous reunion before heading back to the collectivo area to catch a combi back to Ollanta.
Mare and Betsy are in constant awe of the beauty here. They also just love how peaceful and laid back it is. This is good for Mare as sometimes she needs to be reminded to slow down! In her first two days here, she has already hiked to all of the ruins in the local area and walked to the neighboring town. The girl is a ball of energy. Unfortunately, she is lying in her bed in her hostel right now stricken with stomach problems. Hopefully they will pass by tomorrow and she will be ready to keep exploring.
They were in for a treat as Monday afternoon was the baptism of my host-nephew, Mauro. The tradition here is that little boys do not get their hair cut until their baptism. The godparents are the first to cut the hair and make a donation to the kid's future. Then everyone else is allowed to donate some money and cut some hair. The baptism itself was pretty typical of a Catholic baptism. Mauro looked adorable in his little suit (he is 5 years old). Then we all headed back to one of Ana's other sister's houses for the after party. This is the reason Mauro was 5 when he had his baptism. These parties are huge so the parents need to have saved a lot of money to fund it.
We all sat around while we were served small glasses of wine, pisco sour, chicha, and beers. Mare and Betsy were amazed at all of the alcohol they ply you with. Then the food arrived! The plates were massive! Such good food. We were actually going to leave because Betsy (who is 5 months pregnant) was tired, but we were convinced to stay just a bit longer as the hair cutting ceremony was about to start. So the godfather went first and donated 800 soles to Mauro's future and made the first cut. Mauro has very long hair as he hasn't had it cut since he was born. The godparents here are looked at in the traditional role of being the guardians of the godchild if anything were to happen to the parents. I had my turn and gave some money and cut his hair.
Betsy was besieged by children who wanted to take photos and see photos. After being given yet another beer, we were finally able to escape back home. It was neat that Bets and Mare were able to experience this on their first day here.
Mare has started walking in the mornings with me now that Hallie is gone. Although, with her being ill, we didn't walk today. I had to go to the clinic early yesterday and today for a vaccination campaign at the high school. However, this being Peru, we never ended up going yesterday (we were supposed to go at 8am and at 12pm, they finally told us it would be 8am tomorrow). 8am today came and went and finally at 10am, they left. I had to meet a new volunteer at 10am so I couldn't go. Supposedly we are going to do some sex education at the high school tomorrow. I will just see if it happens. Lord knows they need sex ed here with all these teenage pregnancies. Yesterday, Megan and I worked triage together. Megan and Kelly are sisters from Indianapolis so Megan and I were talking about all of our favorite restaurants. It made me excited to go home and eat good food!
I am three weeks away from my departure date. I can't believe my time here is coming to an end. It just doesn't seem real or right for that matter. I feel like I have a purpose here and I just worry about transitioning back home again. I am excited about seeing my family and friends again though.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I leave in exactly 1 month!! Sadness!
So I have hit my one month left mark. I can't believe these last 4 months have gone by so quickly. This next month is going to fly by since both Betsy and Mare will be here for most of it. I am soooo excited for their arrival. I have been figuring out fun but inexpensive things for us to do in the area. They arrive on Monday!!!
So Sunday marked "El Octavo" or the 8th and final day of the festival. Everything ended with the bull fights. I don't mean the kind of bull fight with matadors, either. These are literally bulls fighting bulls. There were about 20 gigantic bulls that would fight until one would run away. The only problem with this is that the townsfolk gather down on the field in a big circle around the fighting bulls, so that when one decides to run away, it runs right into the crowd. Then you have screaming and running people everywhere. From the safety of the ground above the field, I watched in amusement as people scattered. No one was hurt, don't worry. So it actually was pretty fun, watching the bulls and placing bets on who would win. I just stood around with Celestino and had a couple beers and cheered on the bulls that I liked.
Afterwards, a group of us hung out at our friends' house. I am very lucky that such a large group of us arrived at the same time towards the end of Jan/early Feb. We have all just had such a great time over the last 4 months. I will really miss these people when I leave. I am happy to know that Emma and Annie will still be in Ollanta when I return, but everyone else will have gone on their own ways. Luckily, I can easily visit Hallie up in Ann Arbor while she is in law school. I think I will see Will and Jess in August when they are in Michigan for a wedding. Sorry, Mom, but the invitations to Thanksgiving at the Peaper's this fall are growing!!
Anyway, the town is finally back to normal after all of the festivities. Hallie and Hayden leave on Thursday. I actually have to go to Cusco for a meeting on Thursday so I will accompany them and we will grab some food before they head to the airport. It really doesn't seem real that Hallie is leaving. All good things must come to an end.
Tonight, Rachel and I are the quiz masters for the pub quiz. We have some good topics so hopefully everyone will enjoy themselves. We on purpose barely used a computer so at least one person on each team should know the answers to our questions. I always hate it when the questions are so out there that they make you feel extremely stupid!!
Okay, we have pub quiz tonight, bonfire at the house (this is when having an open floor plan and upstairs patio comes in handy) tomorrow night for Hallie and Hayden's going away, movie night Thursday, and pizza party on Saturday to welcome the 4 volunteers who arrive on Friday. We definitely keep ourselves a busy social calendar!
On a side note, our electric shower is broken so for the past three days I have had absolutely freezing cold showers. Please think of me as you stand under your warm, high pressure showers. My hands have still not warmed back up since my shower and washing my clothes this morning! There are definitely some things that I really look forward to having again upon my return to the States!
So Sunday marked "El Octavo" or the 8th and final day of the festival. Everything ended with the bull fights. I don't mean the kind of bull fight with matadors, either. These are literally bulls fighting bulls. There were about 20 gigantic bulls that would fight until one would run away. The only problem with this is that the townsfolk gather down on the field in a big circle around the fighting bulls, so that when one decides to run away, it runs right into the crowd. Then you have screaming and running people everywhere. From the safety of the ground above the field, I watched in amusement as people scattered. No one was hurt, don't worry. So it actually was pretty fun, watching the bulls and placing bets on who would win. I just stood around with Celestino and had a couple beers and cheered on the bulls that I liked.
Afterwards, a group of us hung out at our friends' house. I am very lucky that such a large group of us arrived at the same time towards the end of Jan/early Feb. We have all just had such a great time over the last 4 months. I will really miss these people when I leave. I am happy to know that Emma and Annie will still be in Ollanta when I return, but everyone else will have gone on their own ways. Luckily, I can easily visit Hallie up in Ann Arbor while she is in law school. I think I will see Will and Jess in August when they are in Michigan for a wedding. Sorry, Mom, but the invitations to Thanksgiving at the Peaper's this fall are growing!!
Anyway, the town is finally back to normal after all of the festivities. Hallie and Hayden leave on Thursday. I actually have to go to Cusco for a meeting on Thursday so I will accompany them and we will grab some food before they head to the airport. It really doesn't seem real that Hallie is leaving. All good things must come to an end.
Tonight, Rachel and I are the quiz masters for the pub quiz. We have some good topics so hopefully everyone will enjoy themselves. We on purpose barely used a computer so at least one person on each team should know the answers to our questions. I always hate it when the questions are so out there that they make you feel extremely stupid!!
Okay, we have pub quiz tonight, bonfire at the house (this is when having an open floor plan and upstairs patio comes in handy) tomorrow night for Hallie and Hayden's going away, movie night Thursday, and pizza party on Saturday to welcome the 4 volunteers who arrive on Friday. We definitely keep ourselves a busy social calendar!
On a side note, our electric shower is broken so for the past three days I have had absolutely freezing cold showers. Please think of me as you stand under your warm, high pressure showers. My hands have still not warmed back up since my shower and washing my clothes this morning! There are definitely some things that I really look forward to having again upon my return to the States!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
