Blogs from Ayacucho, Ayacucho, Peru, South America - page 5

so i remember telling people that working 4.5 hours a day was not much. um, its more than it would seem. work has been great, though. i am working in a small clinic, containing an exam room for the doctor, a nurse´s examination room for children, an emergency room, a pharmacy, a laboratory, a dentist room, and an obstetric unit. everything i just listed should be understood to be in "air quotes." the clinic is so small and every room is smaller than most dorm rooms in a student´s worst nightmare. but, despite the size, there is a steady stream of patients from 745 to 1215. the first day, i got my bearing, observing the nurses and the ONE doctor. it was slightly boring but, nevertheless, tiring. the second day, i got to work in obstetrics. ... read more

Hey, everyone! This is the first of many entries to be made here. My goal is that I'll write a little bit about what's going on in my time in Peru every week, and I hope some of you will email me and stay in touch. I'll likely only check a computer once or twice a week, but I would love to hear from you. Thanks for checking it out. This week, I'm packing and mentally preparing for this 10 week trip that always seemed like such a far-off thing. Now it's in a few days! Speaking of packing, the airline I will fly from Lima to Ayacucho allows you to carry a 33-lb bag, and an 11-lb carry-on. Returning to Lima, I can only take 22-lbs and 11-lbs! Odd, I know! And 22 pounds is ... read more

This trip took place way back in December 10, 2007. Veerle, another Belgian volunteer, and I took a day trip to the town of Huanta, an hour away from Ayacucho. From Huanta we took a taxi to the village of Luricocha to see the Luricocha canyon. We spent the afternoon walking around Huanta, a very modest town with a lot of vegetable production. Best known for its palta production, Huanta’s avocadoes go all the way to Lima. Unlike hilly Ayacucho, Huanta has a lot of plains where palta grows well. As previously mentioned, I am absolutely in love with palta. Huanta’s Plaza de Armas was a very nice place to have an helado as we saw a traditional mamita also eating an helado, very cute. * Spanish Word of the Day: helado = ice-cream ... read more

This trip took place way back in November 23, 2007. On our day off Delphine and I decided to go visit Quinua and the Wari (also spelled ‘Huari’) ruins. Early in the morning we boarded a small minivan to Quinua and we got off at the Wari ruins, halfway to Quinua. The old city of Wari, located 25km northwest of Ayacucho. As the first complex urban center in the Andean area, Wari shows a natural, spontaneous growing process as a city resulting from demographic growth. Once densely populated, it is estimated that the city of Wari had 100,000 inhabitants. Some buildings were made of stone united by mud, whereas others were made from stones finely shaped. The difference was due to the difference in function of the buildings. Wari was the political, religious, and military center ... read more

Only one week until we fly back home in time for the glorious Maple Syrup Festival and here we are celebrating the holy and sacred "Semana Santa" or Holy Week with all the faithful Peruvians :) Last night, the central sqaure as well as several surrounding streets, were covered in dyed sawdust and dried flower pedals, creating various images of llamas, indigenous women, children, crosses, flowers, doves and corporate sponsered logos :P It was impressive to see it all laid out in front of us and then this morning seeing it all gone, as the night rain washed it away only to leave the streets slightly dyed with reds, whites, blues, greens, and yellows. There will be lots of processions, visiting of churches, morning vigils, firecrackers, eating of yummy Easter pastries, and more to come during ... read more