Yesterday was our excursion day and boy, did the adventures continue!! We got on buses at 5 in the morning to drive to the peninsula of Paracas where we took a boat out into the ocean. Did you know there were wild penguin living in Peru? Neither did I until yesterday. We got to see them along with some really big (and loud) sea lions that all live along these really cool and intricate rock structures out in the middle of the ocean. While that was fun and all, our next spot on the journey was a little hostel where we got lunch and hung out for a bit. Then we left and got to do one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced: sand boarding!!! We took a dune buggy out in the bumpy dessert terrain and got to get bounced around at really high speeds, while buckled in of course. Then we went to three different sand mountains where we got to sand board. At first we all went down on our boards on our stomachs, but that was not enough adventure. For all of us who were brave enough, we took the next two hills by storm. We rode down these steep, sandy hills standing up. It may not seem as adventurous as it sounds, but too see how tall these hills were, look down to the bottom, see our friends completely eat sand, then willingly decide to go down standing up was truly an experience.
After all of that, we had a wine tasting. Sort of. We got to try two different wines, pisco (a Peruvian specialty brandy), and a pisco cream, which our wine guide compared to Bailey's. That was pretty fun! All and all, a really incredible day full of a lot of new experiences that I'm so grateful for.
As I sit here reflecting on my week in Peru, I cannot help but have almost no desire to go home. That has nothing at all to do with anything except the fact that all I want to do is stay here and help. One week was not enough. I texted my family in our group message and told them I wasn't coming home. It got a few laughs, but I was so serious. If I could stay and help here for a couple more weeks or something, I would in a heartbeat. My travel visa doesn't expire for another 22 days...
Anyway, this trip really did put a lot into perspective for me. As I have never experienced anything like it at all, it really opened my eyes. I got to see a community that is virtually ignored by their government and help out in ways that I never imagined I would be helping. Though it is the communities who said they were grateful, I feel more blessed to have had the privilege to help. I feel so grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to offer them assistance that truly is life changing for them, and to know that I am so privileged that I am able to offer some sort of help really does impact the way I see things.
It was the experience of a lifetime, and something I cannot wait to participate in again. I have already started planning my next trip, which will hopefully be to Moshi, Tanzania. Yes, Africa. I already brought up the idea to my parents; now I just need to start saving up!!
Thank you all for following along as I made my little journey in Peru. I hope you all enjoyed it and were kept entertained. Until next time when I make my next crazy venture out into the world, adios!!!
P.S. For any of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I will be posting an entire album full of amazing photos that have been taken throughout the week!! :)
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for the past few days. I've been much busier than I ever expected. So I'll fill you in on the past couple days and today.
On Wednesday I spent the morning in the pharmacy and later in the afternoon I was in the education tent, which is more or less a waiting area for all the patients. The pharmacy was really cool because I got to put together prescriptions for the patients. Of course we needed help from the local Peruvian pharmacist, but it was still an interesting experience. It's truly amazing how much I take the mini pharmacy my mom has in our kitchen cabinet for granted. People were getting prescribed ibuprofen and aspirin and vitamins. How basic is all of that stuff? Basic enough that I can say with certainty that everyone reading this right now has at least one or two, if not all, of those simple items at home right now. Really, really eye opening. The education tent was fun because of MEDLIFE's belief in not just giving out handouts. They believe in giving something to the community and getting something in return. The patients here get basic medical care and attention, and in return, they give us their time to be educated. They are given pamphlets and information sessions on various medical topics to improve their knowledge, and hopefully help them in becoming more aware of how to maintain their health. Both of these experiences, the pharmacy and the education tent, were real life embodiments of the first two letters in MEDLIFE's acronym: medicine and education. I think that was my favorite part about Wednesday. Except maybe it was way more fun playing soccer with the kids, carrying them around on my shoulders until I physically couldn't anymore, or just laughing and getting dirty with them. Who knows. Regardless, Wednesday was beyond memorable.
Now yesterday was also incredible. We got to our clinic site and waited on the bus for our awesome group leader, Christian, to survey the area we'd be working with. To our surprise, we had no flat ground to set up on as we are supposed to. We shut off the road we drove up, and set up the clinic! Keep in mind the road was steeply slanted downwards and completely uneven. The set up was something in itself. I shadowed the obstetrician that day, which was very interesting because I've never seen anything like that. That only lasted a little bit though because I soon got distracted by all of the cute kids and the local women saying four of the boys look like male strippers. Anyway, it's amazing to see how grateful these people are. A little girl walked up to me and handed me this pretty, yet very small, blue tile and told me it was "un regalo". These people don't have much to give to show their gratitude, but when they have anything at all, they want to give it. The women and moms kept telling me that they wanted all of us to come back soon, and hopefully we will be able to.
Today I got the privilege of seeing the "D" in MEDLIFE in action. We finished the project that everyone has been working on for the past week. We built two staircases for the people in Pamplona Alta (the poorest region in Lima). The people were so grateful and so happy, and as I painted the MEDLIFE logo on the side of the steps, the people followed us around, all smiles and full of thanks.
After we finished painting, we had an amazing celebration where we "inaugurated" the stairs. We broke a bottle of champagne on each staircase and then we had a celebration. The people were so grateful and showed it by cooking for us, giving us water, and even showing us these amazing and elaborate dances, which ended with them bringing us onto the dance floor.
All in all, it was an amazing day, but I know tomorrow has more adventures in store!! To be continued...
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Day One of Hands On Care
When was the last time you went to the dentist and you were actually excited to go? Never I'm guessing. Weird people like me absolutely love going to the dentist, but everyone else typically dreads their yearly appointment. Some people go even far less often than that. Did you ever think about what it would be like to not understand the need for basic dental care? Did you ever think that maybe when your dentist told you to drink less soda, s/he had a point? If you haven't thought about these questions than I'm sure you haven't asked yourself what it would be like to lack dental care at all; I know I never did. I also know for a fact that I absolutely have always taken my dentist and all of my dental care for granted. Today, I was hit with the devastating reality of what exactly could happen when an entire community not only lacks proper dental care, but also the adequate education to understand why basic dental care is so important in the first place.
I had the privilege of working with the children of the community we were stationed at today. I helped teach them how to brush their teeth and was actually in charge of administering their fluoride. Now if you don't know exactly how fluoride is applied, I can explain. We had those long wooden q-tips soaking in a pink jelly-like fluoride and when the children were done brushing their teeth, I asked them to "abre la boca," and I basically painted the fluoride on all of their teeth. As I heard the head intern talking to someone about how much these children's teeth were rotted, I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it until I put fluoride on the teeth of my first child. Wow. It was shocking to see just how bad their dental care was. It's a combination of that and the sad fact that sugary drinks such as sodas are far less expensive for parents to buy for their children. It's not the healthy alternative, but it's the more affordable one for these low income families. Their teeth were black and rotting, and some of them were even missing many teeth due to this poor care.
Through all of the sad parts today, I did have so much fun with the kids. My favorite part about today was how excited the children were to come see us and get their teeth cleaned. When was the last time you felt that way about the dentist? These kids were so carefree and had no idea that something might be wrong. All they wanted was a toothbrush and a chance to show off their tooth brushing skills!
I was not expecting to love being with these kids as much as I did. Though it was hard and sad to do what I was doing today, I know how much of a difference it made on the lives and dental care of these children. I know that despite the sun (that was much stronger than expected), everything we did today was worth it. When I put fluoride on a young girl's teeth and her mother came up to me, kissed me on the cheek and profusely thanked me, I knew that being mildly dehydrated and very sunburnt was worth it.
I'd like to thank my dentist, Dr. Gryzbicki, for her generous donation of toothbrushes. The children absolutely loved them!! Also, I'll have you know that I will never take for granted coming into your office again.
Hope everyone is great back home, and trust me when I say that I understand it is a blessing to be sunburnt because it means that it's hot and sunny here! As always, thanks for following and goodnight!!
I had the privilege of working with the children of the community we were stationed at today. I helped teach them how to brush their teeth and was actually in charge of administering their fluoride. Now if you don't know exactly how fluoride is applied, I can explain. We had those long wooden q-tips soaking in a pink jelly-like fluoride and when the children were done brushing their teeth, I asked them to "abre la boca," and I basically painted the fluoride on all of their teeth. As I heard the head intern talking to someone about how much these children's teeth were rotted, I couldn't believe it. I didn't believe it until I put fluoride on the teeth of my first child. Wow. It was shocking to see just how bad their dental care was. It's a combination of that and the sad fact that sugary drinks such as sodas are far less expensive for parents to buy for their children. It's not the healthy alternative, but it's the more affordable one for these low income families. Their teeth were black and rotting, and some of them were even missing many teeth due to this poor care.
Through all of the sad parts today, I did have so much fun with the kids. My favorite part about today was how excited the children were to come see us and get their teeth cleaned. When was the last time you felt that way about the dentist? These kids were so carefree and had no idea that something might be wrong. All they wanted was a toothbrush and a chance to show off their tooth brushing skills!
I was not expecting to love being with these kids as much as I did. Though it was hard and sad to do what I was doing today, I know how much of a difference it made on the lives and dental care of these children. I know that despite the sun (that was much stronger than expected), everything we did today was worth it. When I put fluoride on a young girl's teeth and her mother came up to me, kissed me on the cheek and profusely thanked me, I knew that being mildly dehydrated and very sunburnt was worth it.
I'd like to thank my dentist, Dr. Gryzbicki, for her generous donation of toothbrushes. The children absolutely loved them!! Also, I'll have you know that I will never take for granted coming into your office again.
Hope everyone is great back home, and trust me when I say that I understand it is a blessing to be sunburnt because it means that it's hot and sunny here! As always, thanks for following and goodnight!!
Monday, January 13, 2014
A List
So since getting here, I've realized that being in Peru is very similar to being on campus at Temple. I'm sure that I'll find a lot more reasons later on, but this is what I've come up with so far:
That's why we're here to help. Hopefully these people and especially their children will realize that there's more to life than the vicious circle that is poverty. Hopefully they can begin to overcome it for themselves and their families. Most importantly of all, it is our hope that the people of these communities realize that they do not deserve to be treated the way that they are. They deserve a good, secure life and happiness just like everyone else.
My last comparison cannot really be added to the list because there is no Wegmans at Temple, but since we have one back in Malvern I will tell you that here they have a grocery store called Wong. The saying goes "You can't go wrong at Wong!" I haven't been there yet, but I'm going to assume it's nothing like Weg. We'll see!
A little later today I'll be telling all of you how touring the various sites and communities went today. Stay tuned!
- The people really enjoy having a good time. There was a discoteca/rave going on until after 6am our first night here.
- Everyone from back home keeps telling me to be safe.
- There is no need for this comment, however, because just like at Temple, there are cops... everywhere. In our town Miraflores that is. Other towns and regions aren't so lucky.
- I'm not allowed to venture out alone (nor would I want to really).
- There is an extreme abundance of stray cats. The only difference is that here the cats are very friendly.
- You're not supposed to walk around with your phone out because someone might steal it. It's even to the extreme that you probably shouldn't have watches or nice jewelry on.
- We hear sirens a lot.
- Just like in Philadelphia, there are many people here who are poor. These people might have done nothing but be born into an impoverished family, so that they too end up in poverty.
That's why we're here to help. Hopefully these people and especially their children will realize that there's more to life than the vicious circle that is poverty. Hopefully they can begin to overcome it for themselves and their families. Most importantly of all, it is our hope that the people of these communities realize that they do not deserve to be treated the way that they are. They deserve a good, secure life and happiness just like everyone else.
My last comparison cannot really be added to the list because there is no Wegmans at Temple, but since we have one back in Malvern I will tell you that here they have a grocery store called Wong. The saying goes "You can't go wrong at Wong!" I haven't been there yet, but I'm going to assume it's nothing like Weg. We'll see!
A little later today I'll be telling all of you how touring the various sites and communities went today. Stay tuned!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
¡Estamos en Lima!
We made it!! We are finally in Lima. It's been a long day traveling, but of course it's totally worth it. As I'm typing this, we're patiently awaiting our ride to come get us at the airport. Unfortunately we got in around 9:30, and our ride won't be here until 12:30. So as of right now, we have a solid hour and a half to kill and absolutely nothing to do.*
Good news! Between this paragraph and the last, we managed to find wifi at a Starbucks. Hooray! So we are sitting here waiting for our ride to take us to to the hostel where we will hopefully have wifi (supposedly we do; fingers crossed). I won't be posting this until we get there.
The flight wasn't too bad. It was a little cramped and there was no vegetarian meal so I kind of starved a little on the plane, but hey, it is what it is! The thing I feared most when preparing to leave for Peru was actually the flight there. I was already nervous about who I'd be sitting next to, and when I went to check myself in, I only got more nervous. The screen told me that my flight was not direct and that I had a layover in Texas. Noooo!! Needless to say, I panicked, but it all worked out and I ended up on the right flight. It seems pretty silly I guess to worry about your neighbors on the plane, especially after my layover scare, but with an almost eight hour flight, the people in my row could really affect the trip there. Luckily I picked out a window seat when booking my flight (phew) and Alex and Sydney were sitting right in front of me. I got even luckier when a girl came and sat down next to me, asked if I was also going on the MEDLIFE trip, and proceeded to introduce herself. She was coming to Peru with a bunch of kids from UDel, where she goes to school. Her one friend was in our row and three of her other girl friends sat in the row behind us. Overall, not a bad flight; it actually went by pretty fast.
We are currently on our way to the hostel. It's 2am! The windows are open on the bus and I can smell the beach. The weather is beautiful here, but I guess that's to be expected since it is summer and all. I can't see much of the scenery since its dark out, but it all seems pretty nice. It's really mountainous in case you didn't know and were wondering.
With that I'm going to end this post, and hopefully I will be able to update you on what Peru is really like tomorrow! Thank you for your support and very many well wishes; it is all very appreciated. Good night everyone!
Good news! Between this paragraph and the last, we managed to find wifi at a Starbucks. Hooray! So we are sitting here waiting for our ride to take us to to the hostel where we will hopefully have wifi (supposedly we do; fingers crossed). I won't be posting this until we get there.
The flight wasn't too bad. It was a little cramped and there was no vegetarian meal so I kind of starved a little on the plane, but hey, it is what it is! The thing I feared most when preparing to leave for Peru was actually the flight there. I was already nervous about who I'd be sitting next to, and when I went to check myself in, I only got more nervous. The screen told me that my flight was not direct and that I had a layover in Texas. Noooo!! Needless to say, I panicked, but it all worked out and I ended up on the right flight. It seems pretty silly I guess to worry about your neighbors on the plane, especially after my layover scare, but with an almost eight hour flight, the people in my row could really affect the trip there. Luckily I picked out a window seat when booking my flight (phew) and Alex and Sydney were sitting right in front of me. I got even luckier when a girl came and sat down next to me, asked if I was also going on the MEDLIFE trip, and proceeded to introduce herself. She was coming to Peru with a bunch of kids from UDel, where she goes to school. Her one friend was in our row and three of her other girl friends sat in the row behind us. Overall, not a bad flight; it actually went by pretty fast.
We are currently on our way to the hostel. It's 2am! The windows are open on the bus and I can smell the beach. The weather is beautiful here, but I guess that's to be expected since it is summer and all. I can't see much of the scenery since its dark out, but it all seems pretty nice. It's really mountainous in case you didn't know and were wondering.
This is a pretty bumpy bus ride, and I honestly cannot wait to just hop into a real bed and sleep. We have no definite plans tomorrow except some tourist-y explorations of the town we're staying in and rest to rejuvenate from all this travel. A 7 and a half hour flight in combination with a solid 3+ hour wait at the airport really can tucker a kid out!
With that I'm going to end this post, and hopefully I will be able to update you on what Peru is really like tomorrow! Thank you for your support and very many well wishes; it is all very appreciated. Good night everyone!
*It ended up being way longer than an hour and a half.. it's okay. We made it here safely! Finally time for bed, and yes, yes it is 4am.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Twas the Night Before Peru...
Tomorrow at 2pm, my plane will take off from Newark, New Jersey to Lima, Peru. That is what I will mark as the beginning of my journey.
As a freshman nursing student at Temple University, I was interested in getting hands on experience as soon as possible. Little did I know the experience would begin so soon!
Sometime in late September or early October, my friend Alex told me about a flyer that he and his girlfriend had seen advertising this trip and a new, soon-to-be student organization called MEDLIFE. MEDLIFE is a worldwide organization that has chapters at colleges across the United States, which Temple is now proudly a part of, as well as in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Australia. These student run chapters allow college students to get involved whether or not they are pursuing a profession in the medical field. It allows these students to participate in fundraising activities or volunteer in the clinics that MEDLIFE runs in Peru, Ecuador, Tanzania, and India. MEDLIFE believes in assisting a community through the resources of medicine, education, and development. In fact, MEDLIFE stands for Medicine, Education and Development for Low Income Families Everywhere.
I support these same beliefs, and as a nursing major, I knew this experience would not only be an incredible one unlike anything I've ever been a part of, but I also knew it would be a valuable one. It is more than just a resumé booster; I finally have the chance to directly have an impact on people who need help. I will get a little taste of what I will be doing as a nurse with this new and exciting experience in my field. I will also be introduced to a lifestyle that is drastically different from my own, and I have every intention of gaining a new perspective on my own life and the world when I do so.
Though I will only be volunteering Monday through Friday, January 13th through the 17th, I am looking forward to seeing just what this MEDLIFE clinic can do. I am absolutely ecstatic to be making this venture with two of the closest friends that Temple has introduced me to as well, Alex and Sydney (who are dating and both pre-med students, but that's a different story).
This blog will be dedicated to everything I experience this week. The good, the bad, and everything in between. I know how excited I am, which is why I am putting up my first post at nearly 2am (almost 12 hours until take off!!), and I hope you are excited as well. Let's hope customs is a breeze because Peru, I'm coming for you!
As a freshman nursing student at Temple University, I was interested in getting hands on experience as soon as possible. Little did I know the experience would begin so soon!
Sometime in late September or early October, my friend Alex told me about a flyer that he and his girlfriend had seen advertising this trip and a new, soon-to-be student organization called MEDLIFE. MEDLIFE is a worldwide organization that has chapters at colleges across the United States, which Temple is now proudly a part of, as well as in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Australia. These student run chapters allow college students to get involved whether or not they are pursuing a profession in the medical field. It allows these students to participate in fundraising activities or volunteer in the clinics that MEDLIFE runs in Peru, Ecuador, Tanzania, and India. MEDLIFE believes in assisting a community through the resources of medicine, education, and development. In fact, MEDLIFE stands for Medicine, Education and Development for Low Income Families Everywhere.
I support these same beliefs, and as a nursing major, I knew this experience would not only be an incredible one unlike anything I've ever been a part of, but I also knew it would be a valuable one. It is more than just a resumé booster; I finally have the chance to directly have an impact on people who need help. I will get a little taste of what I will be doing as a nurse with this new and exciting experience in my field. I will also be introduced to a lifestyle that is drastically different from my own, and I have every intention of gaining a new perspective on my own life and the world when I do so.
Though I will only be volunteering Monday through Friday, January 13th through the 17th, I am looking forward to seeing just what this MEDLIFE clinic can do. I am absolutely ecstatic to be making this venture with two of the closest friends that Temple has introduced me to as well, Alex and Sydney (who are dating and both pre-med students, but that's a different story).
This blog will be dedicated to everything I experience this week. The good, the bad, and everything in between. I know how excited I am, which is why I am putting up my first post at nearly 2am (almost 12 hours until take off!!), and I hope you are excited as well. Let's hope customs is a breeze because Peru, I'm coming for you!
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