Finally, a post

Greetings from sunny Cusco,

Hello to everyone who graciously takes the time to check and read this blog. I must apologize for being out of touch for the past few weeks...I'm not really sure what happened, except that I got REALLY BUSY! That isn't much of an excuse, I know, but it is the reason that I have at the moment. But finally, I have found some time and space to fill all of you in on what I have been up to since the last post and what my next few weeks will look like. Enjoy the update, and I will post pics as soon as I can.

I can start by describing why I have gotten myself so busy over the past few weeks. On top of working at a local health post, La Posta Belen Pampa, I have also started working at a local NGO that works with poor kids after school. Please see the following link to find out more about the project...it is pretty amazing.

http://yanapay.facipub.com/index.php?fp_plantilla_seleccionada_temporal=72

Because I can speak spanish, I have been given the responsibility of the 7-8 year old class. I have between 10-15 kids a day, and this month we are teaching them about world religions, specifically Hinduism. It is quite funny for me, because I don't actually know that much about world religions, but have been learning as I am teaching. The other role I have taken on at the project is as the doctor. None of the kids have consistent health care, even though it is supposed to be free for all children in Peru. The trouble is that access depends on the parents to take the time and energy to hook their kids into the health system, which doesn't happen with this population. Another interesting thing about Peru is that you can buy whatever medication, including antibiotics, at any pharmacy without a prescription. So the kids have been getting treated for bronchitis, strep throat, impetigo, etc. We actually had a TB scare this past week, which luckily was found to be negative. I have been trying to instill a bit more basic preventative medicine, but the challenge is high with this population, as you can imagine. I am doing what I can...

Work at the health post has also been quite busy recently. All doctors in Peru are on an indefinite ¨huelga¨, aka strike. It is an interesting catch for me, considering I come from a country where that would never happen. The problem is that the government pays all doctors salaries here in Peru, and they are pretty unfair (as low as 600 soles a month...that is $200 US). The strike is about wages and job security, which of course I believe in strongly. It is just tough to know that there are so many people who need basic health care who aren't getting what they need because of the strike. It has made me very busy, as the health professionals in the post aren't plentiful right now. I can share a story from Friday (please forgive the medical description). A 50 year-old woman arrived in the health post from the campo (countryside). She had gotten into a fight with her neighbor (not really sure about the entire story...) and had somehow gotten a large gash on her lower right shin. A family member had then proceded to ¨stitch¨up the gaping wound with thread. One does not have to be in medicine to imagine how infected her leg was 2 weeks after this incident, which is when I saw her. Needlesstosay, we needed to do some work...she had extensive cellulitis down to her foot and up to her thigh and an intense local infection. I won't go into details about what we did, but I will say that it was all without any sort of anesthetic, as it isn't available at the health post and the woman didn't have the money to buy any for herself. Thankfully, once we were finished, it did look a lot better, and hopefully we have helped to save her limb.

The weekends that I have had in between these posts have also been full. I went with a friend, Seppe, on a hilarious weekend to Calca and Lares, 2 towns a few hours north of Cusco in the Sacred Valley. There, we met a family from Lima, missed our bus to get to some hotsprings, ended up at some better, more local hotsprings, took a ride on the back of an open truck, played frisbee with local kids, ate nothing but open-market food, stayed at a hostel for 5 soles (less than $2.00) a night where the beds broke while we were sleeping and there were no keys for the rooms, found a local party, where a cute 15 year-old and her 22 year-old brother entertained us with their dancing and antics, finally got to the hotsprings after a 2 1/2 hour beautiful van ride through the mtns, and returned to Cusco refreshed after an adventurous weekend (pics to come soon)! Another weekend, I helped out with the health fair my post was hosting, went to the local football match with Alex and Seppe, and got caught up with my book. Such is my life of Cusco...

This weekend has also been relaxing, though somehow I manage to get myself busy anyway. I will be leaving Cusco on Tues to fly to Lima, where I will meet Lib and Benj for our Thanksgiving get-away. We fly to Tarapoto (a little town on the edge of the jungle in Northern Peru) Tues night, where we will spend until Sat exploring the area, celebrating El Dia Accion de Graçias (turkey day), hiking, yoga-ing, birding, and enjoying our time together. It will be wonderful, and a much needed break for yours-truly.

That is the update from here. I hope this finds each of you well...thank you for keeping up with my travels and adventures. As I head into this week, just know that I am thankful for all of the love and support that I receive from each of you, regardless of where each of us are in the world.

Happy Thanksgiving to all,

Laurita