Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
El Olivo Day 1: Clinics
I’m going to use as an example a day at El Olivo (our first day there) as a way to explain a little more in depth about clinics, and how they are run.
6:00-7:00 AM: Wake up, shower, get dressed, get ready for the day (and for some: scratch bug bites accumulated during the night)
7:00-7:20 AM: Group breakfast—which usually includes bread, some kind of meat, fruit, juices, and cereal with yoghurt.
7:20-7:45 AM: Morning devotion—Sing a song or two and then a morning devotional by one of the group. Topics range from personal testimony to the application of biblical passages to one’s daily life.
7:45-8:00 AM: Fill water bottles, get everything together and loaded into the bus (van) to go to the clinic site.
8:00-8:30 AM: The bus leaves the hotel for the clinic site—we usually leave at least 10 minutes after we’re supposed to, due to the bus being late, people being slow, things needing to be done, etc.
8:30-9:00 AM: Arrive at the clinic site and start setting up. Dependant on where the clinic site is, the ride takes 30 minutes to an hour.
8:30-9:30 AM: Set up the clinic site, figure out where the various doctors are going to be. In the case of El Olivo, we were in a primary school with six classrooms at our disposal. The dentists were forced to move twice times because the outlets in various rooms either didn’t work or burned out during use.
9:00-9:30 AM: Introduction and singing.
9:30 AM: Clinic starts.
They were very prepared for us the first day we arrived at El Olivo, there were already 120 patients queued up before we even got in the front door. They were given small slips of paper with the medical assistance they sought and a number. This mission we were very lucky to be able to offer three types of medicine: optical, dental, and general medical (which includes basic pediatrics, geriatrics, among other things).
The first week we had three general practitioners: Javier, Dr. John, and Luzmila; three dentists: Dr. Fredy, Yelina, and Christian; and one optometrist: Yves. Yves was the most busy by far, since most places had basic health and dental care, but no eye doctor for miles around, and the added bonus of the eyeglasses we had on hand for sale brought in extra people.
9:30 AM-1:30 PM: Clinic, Clinic, Clinic! People running everywhere in a semi-haphazard way, doctors trying to keep up with demand (there were huge surges and lulls in patients and kept doctors very busy or waiting around), runners were bringing people from place to place, pharmacy was filling prescriptions, and intake was doing its best to manage the surges. Tania often was running around like a chicken with its head cut off keeping everything in order.
1:30-2:15 PM: LUNCH! Mmmm, never is a break more appreciated in the history of the world than a delicious home-made lunch. Domi sure takes care of us, the food alone is a good enough reason to go on missions. We sit around, talk, relax, take a nap if we can, and eat our nummy food.
2:15-4:00 PM: Clinic again, but a much shorter time, much more reasonable as it were. It’s still very, very hot. It’s probably around 85 right before/after/during lunch—which is quite a shock for those of us coming from the winter months of the US.
After that we go home, have about an hour before dinner in which we shower again/swim in the pool to cool off, nap, read, write, talk. Dinner, around 6:30, is delicious always.
The pictures from each clinic day have captions, which are probably worth reading to give a little more of an idea about what happened each day. I’m sure this wall of text is enough for one post.
6:00-7:00 AM: Wake up, shower, get dressed, get ready for the day (and for some: scratch bug bites accumulated during the night)
7:00-7:20 AM: Group breakfast—which usually includes bread, some kind of meat, fruit, juices, and cereal with yoghurt.
7:20-7:45 AM: Morning devotion—Sing a song or two and then a morning devotional by one of the group. Topics range from personal testimony to the application of biblical passages to one’s daily life.
7:45-8:00 AM: Fill water bottles, get everything together and loaded into the bus (van) to go to the clinic site.
8:00-8:30 AM: The bus leaves the hotel for the clinic site—we usually leave at least 10 minutes after we’re supposed to, due to the bus being late, people being slow, things needing to be done, etc.
8:30-9:00 AM: Arrive at the clinic site and start setting up. Dependant on where the clinic site is, the ride takes 30 minutes to an hour.
8:30-9:30 AM: Set up the clinic site, figure out where the various doctors are going to be. In the case of El Olivo, we were in a primary school with six classrooms at our disposal. The dentists were forced to move twice times because the outlets in various rooms either didn’t work or burned out during use.
9:00-9:30 AM: Introduction and singing.
9:30 AM: Clinic starts.
They were very prepared for us the first day we arrived at El Olivo, there were already 120 patients queued up before we even got in the front door. They were given small slips of paper with the medical assistance they sought and a number. This mission we were very lucky to be able to offer three types of medicine: optical, dental, and general medical (which includes basic pediatrics, geriatrics, among other things).
The first week we had three general practitioners: Javier, Dr. John, and Luzmila; three dentists: Dr. Fredy, Yelina, and Christian; and one optometrist: Yves. Yves was the most busy by far, since most places had basic health and dental care, but no eye doctor for miles around, and the added bonus of the eyeglasses we had on hand for sale brought in extra people.
9:30 AM-1:30 PM: Clinic, Clinic, Clinic! People running everywhere in a semi-haphazard way, doctors trying to keep up with demand (there were huge surges and lulls in patients and kept doctors very busy or waiting around), runners were bringing people from place to place, pharmacy was filling prescriptions, and intake was doing its best to manage the surges. Tania often was running around like a chicken with its head cut off keeping everything in order.
1:30-2:15 PM: LUNCH! Mmmm, never is a break more appreciated in the history of the world than a delicious home-made lunch. Domi sure takes care of us, the food alone is a good enough reason to go on missions. We sit around, talk, relax, take a nap if we can, and eat our nummy food.
2:15-4:00 PM: Clinic again, but a much shorter time, much more reasonable as it were. It’s still very, very hot. It’s probably around 85 right before/after/during lunch—which is quite a shock for those of us coming from the winter months of the US.
After that we go home, have about an hour before dinner in which we shower again/swim in the pool to cool off, nap, read, write, talk. Dinner, around 6:30, is delicious always.
The pictures from each clinic day have captions, which are probably worth reading to give a little more of an idea about what happened each day. I’m sure this wall of text is enough for one post.
Bus Ride Between Lima and Ica
We’ve finally arrived to Ica, Peru, our first destination for the next two weeks. We checked into our hotel last night after midnight and we caught our bus around 10:30 this morning for Ica. The change in temperature has been a little rough, especially since we came wearing winter clothes. In New Jersey it was 14 degrees, in Lima it was 75 and humid. It was definitely uncomfortable last night, and even today with our “summer” clothes. We had a 5 hour bus ride which was sweaty and uncomfortable, but now we’re here resting. Our hostel is nice. I have a room to myself (for now) and Will is sharing with 7 other people from the mission. We need to buy some things for our room, mainly shampoo, soap and a towel since we haven’t been able to take a shower in awhile. We’re going downtown tonight with people from the mission, so we get to change our currency into soles, and go to an internet café, and eat! We haven’t eaten since last night around 9 pm, and it’s now around 5pm (Peru is on Eastcoast time by the way). Anyways, here are some of Will’s pictures from our bus ride to Ica.
-Catherine
Bus Ride Lima-Ica
-Catherine
Bus Ride Lima-Ica
Monday, January 26, 2009
Arrivals and Power Outages
Well, we made it to Peru, despite our 7 hour layover in Newark—which was actually very nice since we got to go get breakfast with Tom, Catherine’s dad. We got out of the airport, had a chance to stretch our legs a little, and relaxed a little more. Then we started our long flight to Lima, which we slept about half of and talked/watched movies for the other half. We were originally on opposite ends of the plane, but I managed to get us both moved into the exit row at the gate, for which, like the plane from Seattle to Newark, we had the entire row to ourselves.
We then took an almost-hour-long trip to the hotel that we’re staying at. One of Willy’s—a very active member of MMI—family, I think it was his brother in law, picked us up at the airport and drove us down here, where we now sit in darkness. The cause of the darkness is unknown however. Just after we finished changing into our pajamas the lights went out and an alarm type buzzer sounded outside our door. This was coupled with sirens down the street, and when I looked out the window, all the lights in this part of the city were out. I can see the lights still on in downtown Lima, but everything for about four blocks around, dark as dark can be. Rolling brownouts? Blown transformer? Who knows, I’ll ask tomorrow morning.
In the morning we have to be outside the front of the hotel at 10, ready to head to the bus station, where we will purchase our tickets to Ica. I was told that the countryside is very beautiful between here in Ica, so hopefully by my next post I’ll be able to throw up some photos as well!
No problems in customs, no problems in immigration, no plane delays, so besides this only slightly annoying power outage, our trip has gone really well so far. As well as one can hope for two overnight plane trips in a row at least. Now, I’m very tired, and I have to get up in a little over seven hours. I’ll update again soon!
-Will
(P.S. Catherine says hi too, but she’s already in bed trying to sleep).
We then took an almost-hour-long trip to the hotel that we’re staying at. One of Willy’s—a very active member of MMI—family, I think it was his brother in law, picked us up at the airport and drove us down here, where we now sit in darkness. The cause of the darkness is unknown however. Just after we finished changing into our pajamas the lights went out and an alarm type buzzer sounded outside our door. This was coupled with sirens down the street, and when I looked out the window, all the lights in this part of the city were out. I can see the lights still on in downtown Lima, but everything for about four blocks around, dark as dark can be. Rolling brownouts? Blown transformer? Who knows, I’ll ask tomorrow morning.
In the morning we have to be outside the front of the hotel at 10, ready to head to the bus station, where we will purchase our tickets to Ica. I was told that the countryside is very beautiful between here in Ica, so hopefully by my next post I’ll be able to throw up some photos as well!
No problems in customs, no problems in immigration, no plane delays, so besides this only slightly annoying power outage, our trip has gone really well so far. As well as one can hope for two overnight plane trips in a row at least. Now, I’m very tired, and I have to get up in a little over seven hours. I’ll update again soon!
-Will
(P.S. Catherine says hi too, but she’s already in bed trying to sleep).
Saturday, January 24, 2009
It's 3pm already!
Well, we leave in 7 hours--our final family dinner is in 3 hours. We're packed (well almost, almost, almost) and loading up various vehicles. I'm ready... sure. I guess we're both a little nervous to be starting our new lives in another country--in another world almost. Llamas, now that's something to look forward to! Bailey said I should bring her back one. Mira did too. We'll see how well they fit into suitcases--does anyone else want one while we're planning space? My cell phone gets suspended on Monday, so if you want to call me, you'll have to do it before 12 pm PST tomorrow, when my final flight leaves. I'll keep in touch! 24 hours in transit here we go...
-Will
-Will
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Packing Lists
Well it's about time to make a packing list and then start putting things into a suitcase and crossing them off said list. We received a somewhat humorous email from Tania yesterday about certain items we should bring. Here's part of what she said:
We're trying to limit what we bring with us down to the space of a roll-on carry on item and a single suitcase each. That's a little more than what we took to Vermont, and a little less than what we brought back. I suppose if necessary we could go up to three suitcases total, but that is an insane amount of items to try to cart around. Two rolling suitcases and a backpack each would be just enough to be annoying without being impossible.
We now know what is going on when we arrive as well, we are to be met by a friend of Tania's at the airport to be taken to a local hotel where we'll spend the night. The next day, that same friend (I think) is going to take us to the bus station where we'll catch a bus to Ica to meet up with Tania--who will be in contact with her friend the whole time to make sure we're surviving! So we're going to sleep one night on the plane, another night in a "simple hotel" in Lima then wherever we're staying in Ica. I'm glad we're taking the bus during the day so I can take pictures, it's very exciting!
Here's what I'm thinking about bringing:
No te preocupes y como dije, alisten ropa para el calor (playa), el frio y la lluvia tambien (habra mucha lluvia en Arequipa en febrero). Tambien sugiero que traygan mucha mantequilla de mani (si les gusta) porque eso no es facil de conseguir y es medio caro por aca, tambien otros snacks que les gusten.So, we have to bring clothes for warm weather (beach), cold weather, and rain too! And of course, we can't forget peanut butter. Well, Catherine and I had a talk about it yesterday, and we both decided that we can live without pb&j for seven months. That will give us a few more ounces of suitcase space to play with for clothes.
We're trying to limit what we bring with us down to the space of a roll-on carry on item and a single suitcase each. That's a little more than what we took to Vermont, and a little less than what we brought back. I suppose if necessary we could go up to three suitcases total, but that is an insane amount of items to try to cart around. Two rolling suitcases and a backpack each would be just enough to be annoying without being impossible.
We now know what is going on when we arrive as well, we are to be met by a friend of Tania's at the airport to be taken to a local hotel where we'll spend the night. The next day, that same friend (I think) is going to take us to the bus station where we'll catch a bus to Ica to meet up with Tania--who will be in contact with her friend the whole time to make sure we're surviving! So we're going to sleep one night on the plane, another night in a "simple hotel" in Lima then wherever we're staying in Ica. I'm glad we're taking the bus during the day so I can take pictures, it's very exciting!
Here's what I'm thinking about bringing:
- Computer + charger
- Camera + lenses + charger
- Books: School + Dictionaries
- 2 Pairs Jeans
- 1 Pair Khakis
- 1 Pair Slacks
- Swim Trunks
- 3 Collared long sleeve shirts
- As many t-shirts/short sleeve collared shirts as I can fit
- 4 Undershirts
- Underwear
- 2 pairs black socks
- 6 pairs white socks
- Boots
- Tennis Shoes
- Dress Shoes
- Semi Casual Shoes
- Knit Hat
- Sweatshirt
- Wool Coat
- Toiletries (I need to buy sunscreen)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Our Arrival
Right now the biggest thing on my mind is the exact plans for when we arrive in Peru--we get into Lima at around 11pm on Sunday the 25th. So, what do we do when we get there? We're expected at a mission in Ica, Peru as soon as we can get there... give or take a day. Well, Ica is 200KM (as close as I can measure on Google Maps) from Lima by highway--which while it is only 2 hours straight shot by car, it is closer to five or six--or more!--by bus. We will, during the trip, be blessed with the beautiful Peruvian desert, which will, depending on the bus, afford some wonderful photo ops along the way. Something to look forward to.
The weather in Ica today will be 75°F, so I'm assuming it'll be about the same in two weeks. Medium humidity, no wind. The city is supposed to be a very nice place to stay. But we have to work the minute (day?) we get there, so who knows if we'll have a lot of time to enjoy it. I'm sure Tania, our director, will be willing to show us around.
Anyway, the quandary is this: do we stay in Lima overnight, try to take a bus, rent a car, get picked up, or what? I emailed Tania today to ask her what she thinks we should do as far as getting to Ica, so hopefully I'll have my answer by the end of the day. Last time we were in Lima (2-3 years ago now), we stayed in a nice hostel called Hotel España--a little on the pricy (relative of course to the rest of Peru) side, something like $18 a night for two. I emailed them as well today, to see how much rooms are now. At least the exchange rate remains much the same as it was last time we were there: about three Peruvian Soles to the US Dollar.
Well, we shall know soon what the plans are for when we arrive. It might be nice to stay in a hotel the first night and not have to work immediately after spending 24 hours straight in transit. Then make a leisurely trip across the countryside to Ica, arriving sometime the night of the 26th (and starting work on the 27th).
We will see what happens. Our posts might be a little few and far between right now because not a lot is going on, and once again when we start work, depending on internet access. I hear there are some places in the world that don't have WiFi around every corner!!! I think some of the missions in the mountain are like that.
Anyway, enough for now. I'll try to post again when I know exactly what the plans are for our arrival in Ica.
-Will
The weather in Ica today will be 75°F, so I'm assuming it'll be about the same in two weeks. Medium humidity, no wind. The city is supposed to be a very nice place to stay. But we have to work the minute (day?) we get there, so who knows if we'll have a lot of time to enjoy it. I'm sure Tania, our director, will be willing to show us around.
Anyway, the quandary is this: do we stay in Lima overnight, try to take a bus, rent a car, get picked up, or what? I emailed Tania today to ask her what she thinks we should do as far as getting to Ica, so hopefully I'll have my answer by the end of the day. Last time we were in Lima (2-3 years ago now), we stayed in a nice hostel called Hotel España--a little on the pricy (relative of course to the rest of Peru) side, something like $18 a night for two. I emailed them as well today, to see how much rooms are now. At least the exchange rate remains much the same as it was last time we were there: about three Peruvian Soles to the US Dollar.
Well, we shall know soon what the plans are for when we arrive. It might be nice to stay in a hotel the first night and not have to work immediately after spending 24 hours straight in transit. Then make a leisurely trip across the countryside to Ica, arriving sometime the night of the 26th (and starting work on the 27th).
We will see what happens. Our posts might be a little few and far between right now because not a lot is going on, and once again when we start work, depending on internet access. I hear there are some places in the world that don't have WiFi around every corner!!! I think some of the missions in the mountain are like that.
Anyway, enough for now. I'll try to post again when I know exactly what the plans are for our arrival in Ica.
-Will
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Getting Ready
We're in the final stages of getting ready for our trip to Peru, various people have been contacted, we both have homes for when we arrive (although we aren't going directly home as I'll explain below), and it has finally sunk in that we're going! We leave on the 24th late at night, and will arrive in Lima late on the 25th (around 11pm local time).
We are, in fact, not going directly to Arequipa as we had originally planned--Tania informed us that there is a mission going on when we arrive in a city close to Lima. So we're going directly from the Airport to Ica, where we're going to be part of a 2-week long program there before we bus our way down to Arequipa. It's a LONG bus trip--12 hours if I remember correctly from the last time we were there.
Anyway, the blog has been started, and we hope to update it with both pictures and posts as our trip progresses. Lots, and lots of pictures I hope! The picture slide show at the top are my pictures from last time we were in Arequipa--so don't get too excited.
Anyway, we'll update soon!
-Will
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