Blogs from Junin, Peru, South America - page 5

This morning was awesome. In the hospital I was in the surgery unit for rounds and then watched some procedures such as getting a history, cleaning an open surgical wound, re-stitching up a surgical wound, and the cleaning of lots of intestinal incisions due to blocked bowels and in one case a stabbing wound. The knife had punctured his intestines and so he had to go into surgery on Saturday to clean and repair the holes. Another man had just been admitted at 4am, completely drunk and combative with contusions all over him including one on his head which they were able to stitch up. He had refused all tests and care due to his drunken state. The medical students were more than helpful with translating and explaining the diagnosis and treatment plan for the patients ... read more

I have arrived here in Lima after a very long delay in Miami. I unfortunately lost my luggage along the way, but so did one other member of our group so we should be okay. I am very excited to be here. My group consists of three of us: Anna a MPH student at Tulane and Derrick a senior at Notre Dame. Love you all and will write soon. I am happy to be here and excited for it all to begin. I just hope my bag gets here before we head to Huancayo. ... read more

We set off from Lima on Thursday for our 6 hour drive into the mountains. Our destination? Chupaca. The mountains are really beautiful and constantly change colour and texture with the different vegetation and rocks and a river follows you for the majority of the trip. While the scenery was great along the way, it wasn´t the most relaxing of journeys!! The road twists and turns along the mountains and is shared by semi trailers and double decker buses. That combined with the crazy Peruvian driving meant Rob and I had to cover our eyes a few times!! Chupaca is a cute little town in the mountains (2 200 above sea level!) where Maga´s grandparents live. Another lifestyle again compared to Lima. Definitely rural living. Lots of farms about and animals everywhere! Each Saturday Chupaca holds ... read more

Huancayo was great, we arrived to Chupaca a town 10 minutes from the city where my grand parents have a big beautiful house on top of a hill . the place was amazing a different atmosphere from the city more peaceful. As soon as we arrived there we also started eating a lot maybe because of the cold and because there was all the time a big meal in the kitchen. We went to different places around the towns because the city huancayo wasn't that different from a regular city but it have some attractive parks that we went. Kari got sick in the middle of the journey with a weird stomachache that coulnd let her enjoy that much of everything. we went out once to a bar to see a live band that was in ... read more

I left Cusco after my trip to Machu Picchu for a city called Andahuaylas enroute to Ayacucho. Arriving at 5:30 in the morning I waited a bit for the sun to rise then wandered out into the town. Once again I found myself tired (from the bumpy busride) disoriented in an unfamiliar place. There were no tourists in sight and I couldn't find a hotel to rest in because I was headed to Ayacucho the next night. Eventually I found my bearings and bought a bus ticket to Ayacucho, leaving my backpack at the bus station. I took a combi (minibus) to a lake called Pacucha and my driver told me he'd take me to these Chaki ruins and back to Andahuaylas for ten soles (about $3), or so I thought. When we got to the ... read more