Stories from Cusco

Finishing my first program and going into week four in Peru!

I can't believe it has been three weeks, I have been so immersed the time has flown faster than I would have ever expected. On Friday I finished my program with International Medical Aid, an incredible experience where I learned so much about medicine, had incredible adventures, and made amazing friends. It was hard to say goodbye to the group of people I had grown so close with. On Saturday I arrived at my homestay where I will live for 3 weeks during my next program through Maximo Nivel. In this program I am taking Spanish classes and volunteering at an after school program for primary school children.

In this blog post I am sharing some stories from my past three weeks and while these moments can't capture all of my experiences, these are some that have stood out and impacted me.

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Adventure to the Ausangate Glacier Lakes

As it turns out, an Uber in Peru will drive you to the base of a remote glacier at five in the morning if you're really in a pinch.

As we sat down the night before the adventure to plan, we received an unfortunate update that the tour we had booked only had room for two of us - and that it was too late for the two of us who made it on to cancel with a refund. The remaining three boys, who had booked their tour a few minutes after me and my roommate, were left stumped. We all wanted to go on this trek but as it was now less than 12 hours before the pickup time it was too late to hope for another tour. Sarcastically, I suggested we just call an them Uber and have them try to find us on the mountain. The notion was ridiculous, the glacier was over three hours away, the trailhead in a remote village 15,000 ft above sea level with no more than 100 residents. Besides, our luck with Ubers hadn't been great, more rides had cancelled on us than actually shown up. The next day, that joke turned into an adventure and a funny story we will all remember.

It was an immense sight. The bus weaved through the countryside and began to climb the mountains, the jagged peaks revealing themselves towering above the hills. Eucalyptus trees covered the landscape growing immensely tall and sweeping dark green branches low to the ground. The further we went the more my jaw dropped in awe. In the cold darkness of the morning when the bus came to collect us I wondered if it would be worth it - driving through this scenery I already knew it would be. I was thrilled by the adventure and the ridiculousness of our plan. A few miles behind us our friends rode in an Uber, chasing us to the mountain where we would try to find each other and climb to the lakes together. After some debate, long pondering, and a hasty sandwich the Uber driver had decided to take them. While we ate breakfast in the tiny village we continued checking their location, watching them inch closer and closer. During the drive they were delayed by closed roads and the driver reconsidering his decision to bring them - we began to believe they weren't going to make it and we couldn't wait long or we'd lose our guide. When we told him about our friends he gave us extra breakfasts to carry on the trail for them and promised that if they could find us they would be welcome to join our tour. When we began to hike they were still more than 30 minutes away and had lost service.

The hike was beautiful, we were at the base of two glaciers and surrounded by wild aplacas and cara cara birds flying above. The further we went the more we were convinced they wouldn't make it, we had gone too far and we didn't even know if the Uber had arrived in the village. Just when we decided they weren't coming and committed to making it a girls trip, we turned around to see them sprinting up the mountain behind us! It was an incredible reunion - the struggle, uncertainty, and effort had paid off to create an unforgettable adventure. They inhaled the breakfasts I had carried - having not eaten since 5am and sprinting for far longer than I could have at 16,000 ft. We hiked the rest of the trail together, admiring the immensity of the Ausangate glacier (over 21,000 ft) and the stunning colors of the lakes. When we returned to the village we found the Uber driver waiting for them, taking a nap in his car It was truly a blessing he stayed as I don't know how they would have gotten back without him. As it happened, me and my roommate rode back in the Uber as well in a fun impromptu road trip! After over 14 hours of travel, we made it back to Cusco safe, happy, tired, and eternally grateful for our adventure (and Uber driver).

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Community Care Clinic in Yucay

As a part of my program with IMA, we hosted a community health clinic in a rural area of the Sacred Valley called Yucay. During this clinic we set up stations for general medicine, psychology, dentistry, and gynecology -- I spent the day working in the general medicine and gynecology departments.

Sitting next to the desk of my favorite doctor Dr. Fabricio, we saw patient after patient suffering from extreme hypertension and arthrosis. My hand had become attuned to feeling the signature grind of bone on bond from the physical examinations finding arthrosis in every knee we saw. This pattern remained until the the oldest patient of the day arrived at our station. At 94 years old, this man still works everyday in the field and lives only with his 93 year old wife. He approached the desk easily and lowered himself into the chair without a wince and groan like each patient that had preceded him. He told, smiling, that he had no problems whatsoever and that his health has never been better. Curious, we reviewed his history to find that he was the only patient of the day who had not come to us with hypertension or diabetes. During the physical examination we were shocked by the incredible health we found - continually searching further to see if there was anything we had missed. This man had the health of a 30 year old - joints smoother than that of the doctor, lungs in perfect health, a powerfully beating heart, hearing as good as could be, and a perfectly in-tact memory. It was truly astounding. No matter how hard we looked we couldn't find anything wrong with him, despite his old age and hard work he continues to do. He told us his secret was that he cooks homemade meals for himself everyday and hasn't drank alcohol in over 60 years. This patient was abnormality, in a day marked with struggling patients his health was a shock and a memory that has stuck out to me. The day at the community clinic was an important highlight of my experience. We saw a group of patients all receiving treatment for hypertension that was not working correctly as they were all only given half a dose. All the patients had received the treatment from the same clinic, informing us that the health center did not have enough resources to accurately treat the volume of patients it was dealing with. These cases are hard to deal with as the necessary next steps include resources they don't have. We provided what we could but the root problem remains - the reason we do these clinics is evident.

Hygiene Education Sessions

As a part of my program with International Medical Aid, we went to local schools to run hygiene education sessions about hand washing, teeth brushing, and menstruation. These days were my some favorite from the whole experience, working with the kids brought me so much joy. Each time we went they would greet us with so much energy and enthusiasm it was adorable. When teaching hand washing the kids would rush to the front of the class eager to show us how well they knew the steps and would fight for a spot in line to practice. I was expecting a much more subdued crowd for the menstruation session - what with the girls being early teens and the subject matter objectively less comfortable - but I was entirely wrong. Girls were jumping in their seats to answer our questions about menstruation and so happy to explain to us how much they already knew. When we handed out pads to the class the girls made a fun game of catch trying to get a pack and lined up for hugs and photos with us when we were leaving. I remember one girl running up to me at the end to whisper to me, smiling, that she had already gotten her period. I was surprised and happy with how comfortable she was with it and with the openness all the girls showed when discussing it. It made me so happy to see all the little girls embracing it, showing excitement, curiosity, and togetherness about being girls. Working with these kids has made me so excited for my new volunteering position in the after school program with Maximo Nivel.

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Other Highlights

A big highlight on this trip has been exploring the cuisine of Cusco! A new favorite food of mine is trout ceviche, a surprise to me as I don't generally enjoy fish that much. I am excited to continue trying new things and finding amazing food that brings me joy.

During International Medical Aid, my favorite department I shadowed in the clinic was called tópico, a station ran by nurses for injections and wound care. In this rotation I learned so much about the fundamentals of medicine and connected with the kindest nurses who brought me so much joy.

Watching all the festivities in Cusco has been such a fun part of my experience. The month of June is "Cusco Month" and July is "Peru Month" so there has hardly been a day where I don't see some sort of parade, dance festival, or music in the streets. There was one week in June where in the span of five days they celebrated Corpus Christi, the summer solstice, and Inti Raymi festival of the sun. Inti Raymi was by far the biggest, a festival that brings people from all over the world and where dancers/actors begin preparing and auditioning a year in advance. While in Cusco there is always something to celebrate and people celebrating in all manor of colorful, artistic, musical, and occasionally hectic ways. While this does make for occasionally horrendous traffic due to closed roads and hordes of onlookers, I couldn't have picked a better time to be here.

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The past three weeks have been the adventure of a lifetime and I wouldn't trade these experience I am having for anything. My time here so far has shown me that it was absolutely the best choice for me to take a gap year - I know this year will shape the person I become, what I chose to do with my life, how I exist in the world, and give me friendships and connections that will last forever.