Busiest week yet! 9 hour volunteer days

This week we got an email that there would be another medical campaign like the one that we did the first week so we of course jumped at the opportunity to help out, but we also still had to help around our clinic, so in the mornings from 8-1 we would do the campaign and then in the afternoon from 1-5 we worked in our clinic. we have been exhausted but its been completely worth it. The first day we saw 120 patients in the morning alone, and we did abdominal checkups. Ash and I caught a few causes of digestive parasites that cause kids stomachs to look bloated because the parasites thins the intestinal walls allow water to flow out of the intestines and collect in the abdominal area. A woman also came through and had pain in her super pelvic area so I asked her if she has been have problems urinating and from my experience at the clinic I was able to inform her that her anti contraceptive injection was causing these problems and because of it she had developed a vaginal infection. The next day we took respiratory rate, temperature, and heart rate and man did that get interesting. One of the first kids to come through though the thermometer was a vaccination so he started screaming and crying and once one kid cries it becomes a ripple affect. For the next 2 hours every single darn kid that came to us saw the other kids crying so they started to cry. Michelle and Robby we now feel your pain. That was brutal! Luckily the next day was a lot more interesting.

Thursday we met at 7 am and hopped on a bus for 2 hours to a small town called Urubamba where we did checkups for people that haven't been able to see a doctor in years. Ashlee and I did Blood Pressure and a few head checkups. We spotted tons of cases of Infected tonsils, and inflamed lymph nodes, and I had one man come through who was hit in the head with a rocked and his frontal bone was dented, he had a lazy eye because of it, and he was loosing vision in his left eye. We checked for nerve damage and luckily he didn't have any, but sadly there was nothing we could do for him cause he needed to see a surgeon. I also caught a few kids with lice. We didn't see quite as many patients this day but it was still amazing to be able to help these people. The last day we went to a school close by our clinic in Independencia and Ashlee did extremity check ups with I did check ups on the lungs and heart. The first kid that came through, I was listening to his heart, not expecting to hear anything abnormal. Lub-Dub are the korotkoff sounds that you should hear; anything else is abnormal, but when I was listen I heard Lub Dub Lub Dub Lub Lub dub... a double contraction. I showed the doctor and she said it wasn't normal but (this was what I at least understood from her spanish) that some kids hearts contract twice when they are young because their is a problem between their two ventricles and that there wasn't anything that we could do. Ill have to do some more research on it. Luckily we didn't find anymore heart problems that day, but periodically I did catch a case of bronchitis, and my parter caught a case of Pneumonia. One of the last kids that we checked and  a heavy wheeze which is a sign of bronchitis, but also had a raspy sound. When I showed the doctor she diagnosed the boy with a parasite that causes problems all throughout the body, and that being one of them. The woman that brought him told me that his family lives in a house with dirt floors which is really bad because dirt floors are a breeding ground for bacteria. This was our last day of the campaign and conveniently the first day of the olympics so we went and relaxed and watched the olympics after. Every other day we had been spending the afternoons in the clinic because they were understaffed and needed us but we gave ourselves a break because we were absolutely exhausted. This week was definitely the most rewarding week of the trip and we learned so much. I wish that everyone studying pre medicine could have this experience.

Lake Titicaca

Uros Floating Islands

Mike, Ash, Ali, and Chris on the boat dock

Our trip to Lake Titicaca was our last big weekend trip. We left Cusco Friday night with two friends Chris and Ali on another freezing bus, and got to Puno at 6:30 in the morning where we waited briefly to board our boat. The small white boat had 15-20 bus like seats inside of it and also a small roof with benches which is where we spent most of our time. Our first stop in the lake was at floating Islands called Uros. When we docked and hopped off the boat I was pretty shocked. The island was made completely of Reeds and because of this, the ground felt as though walking on a pile of hay. Long ago, locals built the islands originally out of rafts to get away from civilization, but as time passed they started building on top of the small rafts and now there are tons of small islands that they constantly have to work on so that they don't sink. After the floating islands we hopped back on the boat and went to Amantani island where we met a family that we would be staying with. First thing we did when we got there was walk down to the water where Chris decided to take a dip in the freezing water. I would have jumped in but I didn't have a swimsuit.. and It was freezing.

What a view!

Enjoying the Sunset

After lunch, we met in the main plaza of the island and started a short hike up to the highest point of the island where there were ruins made to Mother and Father earth. We waited up there to watch the sunset, and when it finally happened, it was breathtaking. The lit Sky sitting above all the mountains and the deep blue water was incredible. We didn't want it to end, but eventually we had to head back down to the town where there is no lighting. Because of this, we could see every star in the sky. We headed back to the house where we were staying and ate in a tiny adobe kitchen with dirt floor and a clay oven to cook in. After dinner we were all exhausted and ready for bed and all went to our room. Shortly after though, Mary Luz one of our hosts came in with traditional Peruvian attire and told us to dress up. Turns out we were going to a party where a band played local music and everyone danced. It was a ton of fun and really was an awesome experience because we were integrated into the local culture. After the dance we all were really exhausted and We all crashed.

Dancing it up, Peruvian style

One of the incredible arches on Taquille Island

In the morning we woke up to our host family bringing us breakfast in bed. We were all so grateful and shocked that they did it for us, plus the pancakes they made for us were amazing. Afterwards we headed down to the lake and hopped on the boat that took us to a nearby island called Tequile. We docked on the back of the island and Hiked around to the other side to a small town. The whole island was terraced and the town, like the other island, didn't have any lighting. We waited in the plaza for a while and then explored on our own, away from our tour guide. first we hiked up to an arch that we saw and found out that it was an outdoor chapel. The side walls were about 4 feet tall and there was no rough. Afterwards I headed back to the plaza because it was time for lunch, but Chris and Ashlee hiked up a little further. At lunch we had trout from the lake which might have been some of the best trout I have ever had, and they explained to us that the local men where red and white hats that show that they are single and depending on how they wear it, it shows their age, and when they get married they get a new fully red hat that they wear. After lunch we hiked back to the boat where we took a 3 or 4 hour boat ride back to Puno. on the ride back we sat on the top and enjoyed the blue skys and incredible view.

The Yavari

Upon arrival to Puno we decided to go visit an old ship called the Yavari that has been fixed up. Peru bought the boat from england and when it finally arrived in peru, it took 4 years for men to carry all the pieces through the andes mountains up to Lake Titicaca. The ship ran on Llama dung because fuel was too expensive and at one point the ship was used by the military. After our visit to the Yavari we burned some time at a local restaurant playing cards until our fancy bus was ready to go. Lake Titicaca was an incredible experience. If I had more time to explore the lake I would. In some part of the lake, it is so big that you can't see the other side. Truly a natural wonder.

Don't worry, we're alive.

Well that was an interesting weekend trip. We traveled to Arequipa, Peru which is 10 hours from Cusco, in a bus that we initially thought was amazing. When we got on the bus, we found that our seats were front row on the 2nd floor of the bus which meant that we had an incredible view, and the seats even reclined a little! After the bus started to take off though, things begin to change. It began with a woman singing to us in spanish and she had the highest an nasaliest voice I have ever heard. She sounded like the chipmunk version of Britney Spears. After her song ended 15 minutes later, we began to rest, but they turned on some violent foreign film which started with 100s of people trying to climb a tree and fighting eachother. I had no idea what was going on! After we were finally so tired that it couldnt keep us up anylonger we fell asleep... to wake up to a 1/4 inch thick layer of ice covering all the windows on the bus. It was insane! We pushed through it though, and when we got to the bus station, we made sure to book a nicer bus (which ended up being amazing).

We spent the whole next day in Arequipa. We visited some incredible spanish churches as well as a Famous Monestary in which nuns hosted parties and had slaves, which the pope was not happy about when he found out what was going on there. For lunch we went to a little resturaunt called Crepisimo which had 100s of different Crepe sandwiches and was delicious. We will definitely be learning how to make these crepe sandwiches when we get back.

the next morning, we woke up at 2:30 am and got on our van to head to Colca Canyon. Lucky us, Ash and I got the back seats that dont recline even though the seats in front of us did. It was crammed but we were tired so it didnt even matter. Our first stop was in Chevay for breakfast. In this town there is a Tourist tax that you have to pay to enter. Its about $30 and is only for people from outside of the country, which is pretty ridiculous but I guess it doubles as the entry cost to Colca Canyon. after Chivay we stopped at the Condor Lookout where you can see these huge majestic birds in flight in the canyon. They have a wing span of 3.5 feet! They were really cool to see and it got us even more excited to visit the canyon. When we finally arrived at Colca canyon we met our guide Omar who explained to us that we would be hiking down 3,000 feet to a small town for lunch, then up the other side of the canyon an finally we woul descend again to the oasis at which we would be staying. the side of the canyon that we went down was fully of cliffs and everything was dead (looked alot like new mexico) but the other side was full of vegetation and was an incredible view. It took us about 2 and a half hours to reach Colca river which sits at the base of the canyon, and then we hiked for another 40 minutes up to the first town. Alpaca stir fry was included in the hike cost and our hose picked some really spicey yellow peppers off of a tree nearby for us to try. It was Spicy! haha. after our lunch break, we began our hike up the other side of the canyon. on one side of the trail was a 4 foot terrace and on the other was a 4 foot rock wall as well. the Peruvians love building rock walls whenever they can. next to our small trail was a man made irrigation ditch that was only about a foot deep, but the water was moving extremely fast. As we climbed we passed through a few villages an Omar introduced to some of the natural wildlife. there is a very common tree there with very thin windy branches that, if broken, the inside of the branch is full of acid and will burn you on contact. They use these to mark their mules and many tourist accidently get burned by them. luckily, we did not. He also introduced us to a bush that cures stomach aches, one that cures headaches, and a fruit that is in the same family as the kiwi except is much much more sour. Ashlee was a big fan and we ended up getting some more later and putting sugar on it. Its really good!

When we finally began to descend into the oasis we were in awe by its beauty. Surrounded by dead plants, the green vedgetation all grows around a 100 ft water fall that crashes into the colcoa river right by the bridge to get in. When we arrived we felt like we were at a resort. There were 6 pools, and tons of little cabanas. We made sure to take a dip in the pool but it was so cold that we didnt stay in long. The cabana that we stayed at was made of stucko and had a thatch roof with no electricity. It was amazing. Unfortionately this is about when I began to feel a little sick so I made sure to go to bed early. We woke up at 4:30 the next morning to begin the 3 hour hike up the 3,000 ft canyon side. I had a pretty epic hike up. for the first hour I threw up about 4 times about every 15 minutes. It was painful but I took some medicine after that and it made me feel alot better. When we we finally climbed out of the canyon, we hiked for about 30 minutes to the nearby town Cabanaconde where they were celebrating a virgin? I dunno, Peruvians are always celebrating something. After that we hopped in a BRAND NEW VAN that the driver covered in confetti and beer and headed to some hot springs in Chevay. It was so relaxing and felt amazing! after that we made a few stops to see some incan terraces, some mountains, and some endagered species of Llama and Alpaca. Once we got back to Arequipa we played some card games at the Crepisimo place and then hopped on our amazing bus that had foot rests and dinner and dessert and arrived back in Cusco monday morning at 6:30 am. Unfortionately I was sick the whole next day so I spent it in bed but Im doing great now and Ash no longer has to deal with me being sick so im sure she is pretty happy. Time for week 4!

All About the Meat

Its been a busy third week in Cusco! Mike and I switched places in the clinic so he is working in admissions and I work in Triage and Topico. While it isn't the most exciting job, Mike is already joking around with all of the nurses and giving them nicknames. The more we work with a paper filing system, the more we learn to appreciate computers at home. I spend most of my time taking height, weight, and blood pressure, which definitely gives me a chance to interact with a lot of patients. We see about 60 to 70 people a day, so we are  getting pretty comfortable in our departments. I also got to give about 5 penicillin injections so far (probably not qualified for that, but it was really cool) and help the doctor drain a baseball sized abscess on someones neck. You know you want to be a doctor when both Mike and I dropped everything to see it.
It takes us about a twenty minute bus ride or an hour walk to get to work every day but we have really enjoyed it because we get to see all the different aspects of Cusco. When we walk through the main plaza, we are bombarded with tourists and street vendors and the prices are much more expensive, but as we move farther away, it is like entering a third world country. Houses stop having any sort of infrastructure, and they only speak Spanish or Quechua, but that is where Mike has found his new favorite food stop. We get hamburgers for 1 sole and 50 centimos (which is about 50 cents in the US), and she has started calling us by name we go there so often.
We have met some amazing people from all over the world on this trip! Unfortunately a lot of them are only in Cusco for two weeks so a lot of them are leaving this weekend. We all went out for a going away dinner, and yes we tried both Guinea Pig and Alpaca. Two months ago I didn't eat meat and now I'm eating pet rodents.
This weekend, we are going to Arequipa, Peru for a few days to see Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world! Its actually twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and it is going to be a great experience! Still loving every minute we spend here and cannot believe our adventure is already half way over. Thank you to all of our friends and family for the love and support!

Guinea Pig for dinner

Not enough time to post today, but we are eating guinea pig tonight. YES! Ill let you know how it goes

Machu Picchu: Time to check it off the bucket list

I dont even know where to start. Machu Picchu was incredible. It was better than I could have ever imagined. But trip there was a different story.

Friday morning we work up at bright and early and snagged some breakfast at Mcdonalds (in our defence it was the only place open). afterwards we headed to the travel agency and waited for what we thought was going to be a bus. An hour lately a small white van with a cracked windshield rolled up and puttered to a stop. Yep, that was our ride. We got into this grapped little van with 9 other people and headed off. The start of the trip wasnt too bad. We drove through some plains and then decended down towards a valley through the cloud line, which was incredible. as we went down we saw some white capped mountains peaking out of the ocean of clouds like icebergs. At that moment we realized that the scenery for this troup was going to be breathtaking. But while the scenery was breathtaking, the road was nauseating... as we decended we started winding back and forth through the mountains. This road was the epìdemy of a ¨"Long and Winding Road." It go to the point where it felt weird to go straight for more than a second. Ashlee was struggling to say the least. She had a bitter look on her face and thought she was gonna throw up for about 6 hours, but she pulled through.

When we finally got to the drop off point, we stepped out of the car into a light drizzle of rain of and a chilled breeze that felt refreshing in comparison to the van that didnt have working windows. From where we were standing we could look up and there were mountains that towered all around us and nearby we could hear the roar of a river. As we began our 3 hour hike to the base of Machu Picchu we passed the backside of Machu Picchu Mountain and Wynapichu Mountain which stand at 9,000 and 11,000 feet above sea level. These mountains literally had a cliff on the backside similar to the sandia mountains. Because of this, I can understand why the Incas built where they did.

It was starting to get dark when we finally got into Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. As we walked in I started seeing little flickers of white light in my vision, but when I looked at them they went away, so I began to think I was getting light headed from the altitude.But, turns out their is a species of firefly there that flickers with a florescent white light that looks like a star. It was breathtaking to see them light up all around us. I had never seen anything like it before. As we walked into the small town we quickly realized how much money was going into this little economy. There were incredible hotels rising all around us and the resturaunts were all top dollar. As we passed through it all we finally got to our hostal. It wasnt nearly as nice as many of the buildings around it, but it had hot water and a real shower, so we still felt like we were living like kings.We ate some dinner at the hostal and then crashed early so that we could be ready for the next day.

Machu Picchu at sunrise!

The alarm clock started ringing at 3:50 am. Breakfast was at 4, and the gates for Machu Picchu opened at 5. We were on a schedule. I was dragging my feet cause I was a little tired but as soon as we got to the gate, I felt like a little kid waiting to get into disneyland. The tropical plants sprinkled around this large gate blocking a bridge crossing a huge raging river. It reminded me of the entrance into Jurasic Park. As soon as 5 hit, the gaurds opened it up, and believe it or not, we were some of the first people to enter. As soon as we crossed the bridge, the trail turned into a stone staircase that was fully of switchbacks straight up the mountain. The mountain, as I said earlier was extremely steep and this was no cakewalk. We had to stop a few times to catch our breath, but an hour later we finally made it to the top. The sun was just now lighting up the sky, but since we were surrounded by huge mountains, it wouldnt peak into the sky until 9am. It was truly incredible to be waiting at the gaits to enter into machu picchu. everyone up there was breathing hard but we all felt like we accomplished something great...until the buses full of people started showing up. The common nickname for the busses was the lazy bus because instead of hiking people could pay 9 dollars to get a quick ride up. Its good that they have this option for the elderly and younger people, but it still takes a little bit away from Machu Picchu. It would be like is they made a bus that went to the bottom of the grand canyon, or one that went to the top of Mount Everist. Anyways, as soon as the gates opened, we were again some of the first people in and as soon as I saw the city my mouth dropped. This place was incredible.

We spent 30 minutes sitting on a wall that looked over the city just in awe. There was a chill in the air and the dim lighting puts you in a trance that really makes you realize how incredible this place was. not only was the city amazing, but the mountains all around made for the best view that I have every seen in my entire life. After time passed, we started our tour and went around to all the structures. I had read a book on it previously so it was interesting to hear the tour guides theories on how some of the buildings were made. after the tour, we went around on our own and revisted some of the architecture. I wish that I could right pages and pages about every single temple and every single building, but I wont bore you. Instead Ill just mention a few of my favorite parts. at the highest point in the city, there was a rock called the Intiwatana which was used as a sun dial for the Incas to determine when to harvest their crops. It is also believed that this sacred rock gave off good energy to anybody that touched it. A few local people were standing around it with their arms stretched out and their eyes closed hoping to get some of the energy. unfortionately it is blocked off and had 3 gaurds standing nearby, so you arent supposed to touch it, but that didnt stop us. As soon as they werent looking we reached in and put our palms on it for about a second. We heard a few laughs from some of the older women that were meditating, and immediately after they all touched it as well. They got yelled at, but Im sure it was worth it for them.

Inca architecture is natourious for its perfect stone masonry. The bricks literally fit together so well like puzzle peices that you couldnt fit a peice of paper between this. And this is even after multiple earthquakes that have shaken the city. The walls are build at a 5 degree angle so that they would stay standing, and sure enough they are still there today. I imagine the architect that designed these walls would be so stoked if he saw his walls were still standing 500 years later. One rock in the walls is specifically famous because it was carved to have 12 sides. The perfection that went into putting this stone is place is incredible.

My final favorite part of machu picchu was a rock called the funerary rock. It sat up above the city, and it is believed that this is were funerals were done for those who passed away. Around this rock are tons and tons of little rocks laying on the ground. At first it was believed that these rocks were naturally just laying there, but it was soon discovered that all these rocks originate from all over Peru. Turns out, when pilgrims visited machu picchu, they would bring a stone from their homeland and leave it by the funerary rock. It truly is incredible that a collection of rocks from all different Incan cities and towns were sitting around. It goes to show how important machu picchu was to the Incan people. Sadly when the spanish invaded peru in 1532 Machu Picchu had to be abandoned so that it could be saved for future generations. The Incans were in the middle of working on building more and more of Machu Picchu when they left, so it really would have been interesting to see how much bigger the city would have been if they didnt have to abandon it so early. There are buiildings there that are only about a foot tall that had to be stopped.

Machu Picchu was truly amazing and I am glad that I was old enough to appreciate not only its beauty and its architecture, but its mystery as well. there are so many things about it that they are still trying to learn, and I hope to someday revisit to see it again before I grow old.

Paperwork, Shots, and America



Mike working in Triaje

It´s been a few days since we have posted on here. We are done with our medical campaign and have been working in a clinic for the past few days. This week Ashlee has been working in Admission which is strictly filing and paperwork. The system here is so much different than in the States because they dont have computers so Everyone´s medical history is in a little folder and the folder has to be found in admission, then sent to triaje, then to the doctor or wherever the patient needs to go. This can become a big problem is the folders get sent out of order because people get frustrated that they have been waiting longer than other patients, also if one of them gets forgotten at some point then a patient can end up waiting for hours. It really makes you appreciate what technology has done for our country. While Ash is working in Admission, I am in Triaje and Topico (we will be swapping jobs next week) where I check height, weight, and blood pressure, and then send the patients to the next step. Yesterday was insane because the lady that I work with wasnt there for a while, and the lady ashlee works with wasnt there so she ran Admission all by her self while I ran Triaje and had to figure out how to record all the patients that went through triaje as well as make sure that they make it to the doctor upstairs. Working in Topico has been an awesome experience. The nurse that I work with had me research how to do intermuscular Penicillin injections, and on Tuesday, I did one! It was very nerve racking but It really was amazing to be given the opportunity.

 

Celebrating the 4th!



Yesterday was 4th of July and we were as obnoxious as we could be. Ashlee and I threw on our America shirts and hats and I even bought a small flag in the States to bring just for the occasion. We marched the flag in the plaza singing the national anthem, and were the perfect obnoxious American Tourists. Even the people we were with had america gear! It was awesome. We didnt have any fireworks, but Id say we had a very memorable 4th. The flag that I brought is now hanging in a bar in the plaza. We officially have left a mark on Cusco.

Tomorrow we are headed to MACHU PICCHU!!!! We leave at 7:30 am in and its a 7 hour bus ride. We got a 3 day trip there that includes food and stay for a very very cheap price which is unbelieve! I just bought a book on anything and everything at Machu Picchu and will be studying it all before we get there so it can be that much better (Dad you can have the book when I get back!). We can´t wait to be able to share our experience there! That is gonna be one reallly long blog post. Wish us luck!

And really? Steve Nash is a Laker now!? Ashlee is freaking out haha.





The Puma, Condor and Snake

This weekend we decided to stay in Peru and learn more about the local history. On Saturday, we woke up and headed up one of the surounding mountains to the historical ruins of saxsaywaman (the ones that we keep mentioning). On one side of the mountain is part of the city of cusco and then on the backside are the ruins. Unfortionately when we got there tickets were too expensive, but we were offered to do a horseback tour of the surounding ruins which was awesome because I have never been on a horse before. We got an incredible deal as well! Anyways, we walked up past the ruins of saxsaywaman to a ranch where we got on the horses and headed on a 2 hour adventure. During the tour, we visited mount equis which used to be a small little Incan village. The ruins were destroyed because the Spanish used the stones for their cathedrals in the 16th century, but a few small caves were found so we explored those. The large stones were lightly covered with this dark green moss that made for and incredible sight that is very rare in New Mexico. Next, we travled to two temples called Templo de los monos and Templo de la Luna which are Temple of the Monkeys and Temple of the Moon. Inside the temple of the moon were three very beaten up carvings of a Condor, Snake and Puma. It is believed in Incan religion that these three animals symbolize the three worlds. The Condor represents the link between the Gods and Mankind, The Puma Symbolizes the Human state of Living, and the Snake symbolizes the afterlife where souls go to prepare for their rebirth. These three symbols are integrated into every historical Incan Ruin, and Cusco was actually originally shaped like a Puma, and Machu Pichu a Condor. As we went into the cave that was the Temple of the Moon we saw a large flat rock below a whole in the ceiling. Here was where Sacrifices were made when the Moon shown through the hole in the top of the cave. Now there is a sign out front that saws "Please no open fires or offerings"...intense.

After our horseback tour we went home and cleaned up for dinner and had a pretty laid back night. In the morning we woke up to find that 6 new girls had moved in along with 2 guys. Us guys are extremely outnumbered, but everyone that moved in is really nice. We have a few people from Canada, a few from Australia and a few more Americans now. That night we went and played Soccer and Volleyball with our host family and their friends and it was EXHAUSTING. It was the equivalent of hiking up to the top of the Sandia Mountains and then playing Soccer. It was still a ton of fun. Oh! and we also watched the Spain, Italy game (of course). Spain really didnt need those 2 goals at the end, but Torres did have something to prove since we wasnt getting much play time. Nonetheless it was a fun game to watch. I think that was about the sum of our weekend. It was a ton of fun staying in Cusco, but next weeekend we are going to Machu Pichu and I cant wait!