Doctor Carl

Less than a month and a half to go. I just spent the last week on medical missions in a town called Ayaviri. Ayaviri is a small mountain town located at just under 13,000 feet. Although the town itself is somewhat unattractive looking, the surrounding area is beautiful.

I wish this picture did justice to the beauty of Ayaviri.

I took a 20 hour bus trip to meet up with around forty-five volunteers to help provide medical care to the citizens. The majority of volunteers were medical professionals in various fields such as OB/GYN, family medicine, and dentistry. Although I had no experience, I became a dental assistant for a day, helping clean tools and watching the dentist pull teeth. Witnessing the doctor pull teeth and put gaping holes in peoples mouths made me not want to be a dentist. Either way, I wish I had taken a picture of doctor Carl. All I can say is, I looked legit. The rest of the days I either escorted people to doctors or guarded the entrance so we didn't become overcrowded with people.

We also didn't want the alpacas getting inside.

The trip itself was very tiring to me but was also extremely rewarding. Over the course of four days we helped 1,300 patients with various illnesses and problems. We also gave out rice, beans, and vitamins to the citizens. The volunteers were extremely generous and giving. Everyone worked hard and did a great job. I had a wonderful time getting to know many of them and am looking forward to seeing them when I get back to the States.

One of the sadder situations that the doctors dealt with is the physical abuse that goes on in the town. Many men treat their wives like property rather than giving them the love that a wife deserves. In towns like Ayaviri, most women are dependent on the men for things like food, shelter, and money. I wish I could see an easy way out of their situations but they often have nowhere else to go.

We went to Mass one of the days and a drunk guy followed us in. He kept talking to two members of our group which was kind of awkward, both because they didn't speak Spanish and because the church was having a funeral. He kept talking really loudly and since he was in the middle of our group everyone kept looking at us. As luck would have it he passed out pretty quickly and didn't wake up until we were leaving.

This church is a great place to party.

After the missions ended some of the volunteers and I had lunch at the Sodalite community and visited the Sodalite farm. They own a number of cows and have a cheese making operation that apparently just became profitable this year. I had some cheese and lunch before taking a six hour bus trip to a town called Arequipa.

Arequipa: A view from my bedroom

Arequipa is also beautiful, located at the bottom of three huge mountains, at least one of which is an active volcano. It made me miss Colorado whose beauty I took for granted. The people of Lima are great, but the weather is ugly and I will be glad to live somewhere else. I spent the night at the apartment of two Sodalite brothers and toured Arequipa in a double-decker bus. That night I went to the theater. When we got home I fell asleep early because I was exhausted from the missions. The next morning one of the brothers and I visited his university as well as a church in the center of town. We had lunch and I got on a bus to come home.

I wanted the volcano to erupt so I could get a better picture.

The church we visited.

Tiny bridge we drove across. Sketch? Only during earthquakes.

 Can't wait to see you all in America. Hope everyone is doing well!

Going home.

 

Children

As always, I haven't wrote in a while. The last few weeks have been filled with many wonderful things. A week ago I went camping with some of the guys from the Church here. We took a five hour bus ride out of Lima into the mountains. Rumor had it that we could find waterfalls near a town called Matucana.

Apparently, the rumors were true

After arriving to town we went to a small shop for lunch. I was immensely grateful that the soup with chicken feet went to David and not myself. Immediately after lunch, we hiked into the mountains to search for the waterfalls. Before making it to the waterfalls I met a really cute foreign girl, pictured below.

Seriously, she's pretty cute.

Davids delicious soup.

After an hour long hike we made it to the waterfall. After deciding that we didn't want to camp around other people, we hiked farther into the woods looking for a more isolated area. The best area we could find was a rocky beach next to a stream and ten foot waterfall.

The stars were absolutely beautiful. I had forgotten how much I missed staring at the stars. Everything about camping reminded me how small we are and how beautiful the Earth can be. I was so happy to be there sharing it with a bunch of great guys. The mountains also reminded me of how much I have missed/how much I'm looking forward to going snowboarding.

We spent the night talking and cooking chorizos. I didn't sleep much that night due to the uncomfortable nature of sharp rocks. The next morning we went hiking before heading back to Lima. 

Notice the extremely comfortable ground.

Fast forward to the next Friday. The school I work at took a trip to the beach. It was hard to push around the wheelchairs because they immediately became stuck in the sand. Still, the students had a great day which is what matters most.

Immediately after coming back from the beach, I left for a town called San Bartolo for a three day retreat. I wish I had pictures from San Bartolo because the sunset over the water was breathtaking. This weekend was spent with a focus of understanding my vocation in life. Trying to understand what God is calling me to do with my life. I can feel myself becoming more accepting of my religious views, which will likely come across to others as being extreme since I don't see a point in hiding who I am anymore. There was a great goodness in spending so much time in prayer and thought this weekend and although I am not aware of my path in life, I feel like the fog is lifting.

This Sunday we woke up and went to Mass and then went to the beach. After winning a game of ultimate frisbee due to some teammates who were far superior to me, I went swimming in the ocean. Last year in Costa Rica, I almost drowned trying to surf in some huge waves. I'd forgotten how powerful the ocean can be. Mother nature decided to reteach my a life lesson by dragging me across the bottom of the ocean with a giant wave. After what seemed like forever, I surfaced only to face another huge wave crashing over me. This one pushed me towards the beach where I was happy to stay closer to the shore. Although it wasn't as bad as Costa Rica, just the thought of those memories upset me enough to quit swimming. It was a great reminder that I'm not invincible.

In the coming week I'm leaving for a small town called Ayaviri where I will be going on medical missions with a bunch of Americans, including a family I know from Boulder. I'm really excited! Now I'm going to finish listening to this Taylor Swift song and hopefully Skype my parents.

Miss everyone!