Perú no ha sido nada brevemente de atontamiento hasta el momento…sorry: ‘Peru has been nothing short of stunning so far’. Having volunteered in Honduras three times prior to this trip, the biggest difference between Peru and Honduras is the general population here is considerably better off and not nearly as disconnected with the rest of the world. I came down here expecting no internet, no gym, and no basketball. However, all 3 are readily available in the city where we are staying! This is not to say Peru is like America. While some people are relatively well-to-do, the majority is certainly very impoverished and has access to very few amenities. We’re in Trujillo; it's in northern Peru with a population of about 1 million. Not exactly a tourist hotspot, we Americans tend to receive quite a few stares and attention. Even though it's winter down here, I can usually comfortably wear summer clothes, but if there is any sun, it's only around from 11-6 or so. Rain is essentially non-existent in this country as well.
This first week had just been orienting ourselves with the country and visiting tourist attractions, but we started work this past Monday! We spent the first day in Lima, their largest city with almost 10 million people. One of the most striking aspects of Peru is their way of driving. Even though Honduras was pretty nuts because of the highly treacherous mountain roads, the larger Peruvian population makes driving a relatively crazy experience for foreigners. There aren't any speed limits, and street lights or stop signs are few and far between. Driving in the lane is also pretty much up to the driver. So at intersections, cars will basically just nudge forward through the turn lane, even if there is incoming traffic. The same goes for switching lanes. They just honk at each other to let people know they are budging through and they aren't going to stop. Pedestrians don't have the right of way either. Cars do not slow down (just honk, haha) even if you are in the middle of the street. Completely unregulated, Americans would have a tough time adapting to the Peruvian driving style I think.
As far as politeness, I'd say Peruvians are not as 'bullrushed' to get through the day like many Americans. When 5-6 of us were buying some waters at a grocery store, a woman in front of us with multiple items invited us to go ahead of her since we had fewer products. I can't recall a time I've ever seen that in the States. Also, when we were touring an old mansion in Trujillo, a local woman offered to give us a tour (and she did) even though she didn't work there nor was she looking to be paid. When I’ve been working at one of the hospitals, doctors will sometimes just leave a room where they are treating a patient to go converse with someone else, even if it’s likely not a pressing matter. The medical patients do not seem to mind; I think it could be generalized that Peruvians are a more patient people than Americans.
In Honduras, a lot of the prices were adjusted for American dollars, so it wasn't much cheaper for things, if at all. In Peru, almost everything is considerably cheaper. Maybe 50 cents for a big bottle of water, 8 dollars per night at a hostel (in the nice part of Lima), etc.
When we went to Trujillo, we split up into groups of 2 or so to live at our home stays with host families. 10 of us total, 4 from Illinois, and the others from Arizona. All of the families are pretty well-off and have nice houses in the middle of the city. In mine, there is an older husband, his wife, and their three kids (2 daughters ages 24 and 22, and a son that's 19). The parents and daughters work in the medical field. All but two of the host families are related to each other in some way. The oldest daughter in my home stay speaks decent English, otherwise my roommate and I are forced to work on Español fluency. My family has a servant as well that cooks and cleans for them. They are very engaging in conversation, and we often sit around the dining table talking about whatever comes to mind. Many Peruvians, including my host family, are well-versed in world affairs and [American] pop culture, such as knowing aspects of American politics and listening to Lady Gaga, haha. In Honduras, many people basically only knew things that concerned their immediate community.
Eating is a significant, and often elongated, affair in Peru. They prepare everyone's dish the same down to almost every detail and use natural ingredients for most everything. Breakfast is the smallest meal (generally bread with a couple of other side dishes), lunch is *massive,* starting out with a large bowl of soup many times, followed by a big entree generally consisting of rice, potatoes, and some kind of meat as a base (sometimes a dessert as well). Just today, there was an initial plate served with many pieces of fish, a husk of corn, and a small potato. While eating it, I thought it would be the entirety of lunch. Then I remembered, ‘I am in Peru’. After eating that portion, a larger plate was served to each of us with heaps of rice, yuka, and a large serving of even more fish! Dinner is smaller than lunch, but still a decently sized meal. I find the Peruvian meals to be tastier in general compared to Honduras, perhaps because there is so much effort put into preparing the richest (my host father always says, ‘Es rico, no?’), most savory and delectable dishes around. There are also siestas here, and most shops are closed from 1-4 due to it.
The landmarks in Trujillo are pretty old compared to American standards with some buildings from around the 1500's or so. We also went to an ancient Moche temple (civilization from around 100 AD!) and it felt so eerie to be walking on the same ground where there were human sacrifices and priests drinking blood, from not so long ago in the grand scheme of things. After that, we went to a Chimor palace, from around 1000 AD. To me, seeing that palace made the trip worth it already. I took some pictures, but they really don't do it justice. Imagine a house 30 acres large! No roofs necessary, just massive adobe walls forming gigantic plazas and incredibly long hallways where armed guards would watch over the royalty in the past. Oh, and a big lake...inside of the palace, hahaha. I might not have enough money yet, but when I do, I'm going to buy one of the palaces (the biggest one is twice as large as the one open to tourists), refurbish it, and use it as one of the most amazing getaways of all time…or at least I can dream!
We also learned how to cook some Peruvian dishes at a culinary school, including the 'pisco sour' drink. It's basically Peru's national alcoholic beverage. It uses pisco (similar to tequila), lime/lemon juice, syrup, and egg whites. Made well, it's one of the best drinks I've ever had, almost like a margarita.
Last weekend we went to one of the home stay houses with all of the other families for a soirée basically. They all brought special (read: terrific drinks) dishes and we danced quite a bit. Definitely not the standard ‘bump-n-grind’ of America down here (for us younger folks I mean). I just salsa'ed and waltzed around with all the old matrons of each household, much to their delight to dance with such a gallant young stud...at least, I think, hahaha. One guy even brought his accordion and some of us (**Erica Lopata**) sang songs as well. Much different from the average American party...it was a lot of fun though. After that, bars...in which a number of them have live entertainment and home-brewed drinks as well.
Earlier this week, we went sandboarding, which is basically just snowboarding on sand dunes. It was a lot of fun, except there were no lifts to get up the dunes...such a tough leg and cardio workout...
We are all split up on which hospitals/clinics we are working/shadowing at. 4 of us (including me) work alone! Tons of first-hand clinical experience to be had. So far, I’ve worked in pediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics, and emergency medicine. The doctors here are very willing to allow us volunteers to jump right into the clinical aspect of medicine and often give us many examining responsibilities. The workdays are only 4 hours and in most afternoons we take medical school level classes, learn Spanish, and work on setting up a one or two day event at the end of the month almost exactly like one of the brigades I worked on in Honduras.
This first week had just been orienting ourselves with the country and visiting tourist attractions, but we started work this past Monday! We spent the first day in Lima, their largest city with almost 10 million people. One of the most striking aspects of Peru is their way of driving. Even though Honduras was pretty nuts because of the highly treacherous mountain roads, the larger Peruvian population makes driving a relatively crazy experience for foreigners. There aren't any speed limits, and street lights or stop signs are few and far between. Driving in the lane is also pretty much up to the driver. So at intersections, cars will basically just nudge forward through the turn lane, even if there is incoming traffic. The same goes for switching lanes. They just honk at each other to let people know they are budging through and they aren't going to stop. Pedestrians don't have the right of way either. Cars do not slow down (just honk, haha) even if you are in the middle of the street. Completely unregulated, Americans would have a tough time adapting to the Peruvian driving style I think.
As far as politeness, I'd say Peruvians are not as 'bullrushed' to get through the day like many Americans. When 5-6 of us were buying some waters at a grocery store, a woman in front of us with multiple items invited us to go ahead of her since we had fewer products. I can't recall a time I've ever seen that in the States. Also, when we were touring an old mansion in Trujillo, a local woman offered to give us a tour (and she did) even though she didn't work there nor was she looking to be paid. When I’ve been working at one of the hospitals, doctors will sometimes just leave a room where they are treating a patient to go converse with someone else, even if it’s likely not a pressing matter. The medical patients do not seem to mind; I think it could be generalized that Peruvians are a more patient people than Americans.
In Honduras, a lot of the prices were adjusted for American dollars, so it wasn't much cheaper for things, if at all. In Peru, almost everything is considerably cheaper. Maybe 50 cents for a big bottle of water, 8 dollars per night at a hostel (in the nice part of Lima), etc.
When we went to Trujillo, we split up into groups of 2 or so to live at our home stays with host families. 10 of us total, 4 from Illinois, and the others from Arizona. All of the families are pretty well-off and have nice houses in the middle of the city. In mine, there is an older husband, his wife, and their three kids (2 daughters ages 24 and 22, and a son that's 19). The parents and daughters work in the medical field. All but two of the host families are related to each other in some way. The oldest daughter in my home stay speaks decent English, otherwise my roommate and I are forced to work on Español fluency. My family has a servant as well that cooks and cleans for them. They are very engaging in conversation, and we often sit around the dining table talking about whatever comes to mind. Many Peruvians, including my host family, are well-versed in world affairs and [American] pop culture, such as knowing aspects of American politics and listening to Lady Gaga, haha. In Honduras, many people basically only knew things that concerned their immediate community.
Eating is a significant, and often elongated, affair in Peru. They prepare everyone's dish the same down to almost every detail and use natural ingredients for most everything. Breakfast is the smallest meal (generally bread with a couple of other side dishes), lunch is *massive,* starting out with a large bowl of soup many times, followed by a big entree generally consisting of rice, potatoes, and some kind of meat as a base (sometimes a dessert as well). Just today, there was an initial plate served with many pieces of fish, a husk of corn, and a small potato. While eating it, I thought it would be the entirety of lunch. Then I remembered, ‘I am in Peru’. After eating that portion, a larger plate was served to each of us with heaps of rice, yuka, and a large serving of even more fish! Dinner is smaller than lunch, but still a decently sized meal. I find the Peruvian meals to be tastier in general compared to Honduras, perhaps because there is so much effort put into preparing the richest (my host father always says, ‘Es rico, no?’), most savory and delectable dishes around. There are also siestas here, and most shops are closed from 1-4 due to it.
The landmarks in Trujillo are pretty old compared to American standards with some buildings from around the 1500's or so. We also went to an ancient Moche temple (civilization from around 100 AD!) and it felt so eerie to be walking on the same ground where there were human sacrifices and priests drinking blood, from not so long ago in the grand scheme of things. After that, we went to a Chimor palace, from around 1000 AD. To me, seeing that palace made the trip worth it already. I took some pictures, but they really don't do it justice. Imagine a house 30 acres large! No roofs necessary, just massive adobe walls forming gigantic plazas and incredibly long hallways where armed guards would watch over the royalty in the past. Oh, and a big lake...inside of the palace, hahaha. I might not have enough money yet, but when I do, I'm going to buy one of the palaces (the biggest one is twice as large as the one open to tourists), refurbish it, and use it as one of the most amazing getaways of all time…or at least I can dream!
We also learned how to cook some Peruvian dishes at a culinary school, including the 'pisco sour' drink. It's basically Peru's national alcoholic beverage. It uses pisco (similar to tequila), lime/lemon juice, syrup, and egg whites. Made well, it's one of the best drinks I've ever had, almost like a margarita.
Last weekend we went to one of the home stay houses with all of the other families for a soirée basically. They all brought special (read: terrific drinks) dishes and we danced quite a bit. Definitely not the standard ‘bump-n-grind’ of America down here (for us younger folks I mean). I just salsa'ed and waltzed around with all the old matrons of each household, much to their delight to dance with such a gallant young stud...at least, I think, hahaha. One guy even brought his accordion and some of us (**Erica Lopata**) sang songs as well. Much different from the average American party...it was a lot of fun though. After that, bars...in which a number of them have live entertainment and home-brewed drinks as well.
Earlier this week, we went sandboarding, which is basically just snowboarding on sand dunes. It was a lot of fun, except there were no lifts to get up the dunes...such a tough leg and cardio workout...
We are all split up on which hospitals/clinics we are working/shadowing at. 4 of us (including me) work alone! Tons of first-hand clinical experience to be had. So far, I’ve worked in pediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics, and emergency medicine. The doctors here are very willing to allow us volunteers to jump right into the clinical aspect of medicine and often give us many examining responsibilities. The workdays are only 4 hours and in most afternoons we take medical school level classes, learn Spanish, and work on setting up a one or two day event at the end of the month almost exactly like one of the brigades I worked on in Honduras.
Overall, this trip has been stupendous so far and further reaffirms my commitment to becoming a jack-of-all-trades doctor to treat people all over the world who need it most! One person, one village, one community at a time.
Hasta luego, americanos!
Chris Duff
Muy bien Cristobal! Tienes tiempo para jugar basketbol?
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