Home and Reflections

Well I can't believe that I am already home after what seemed like only a moment in Peru. Those 5 weeks were simply the greatest experience I could have hoped for. I am very behind in writing so I guess I'm not a very good blogger, but I wanted to contribute a final post about Peru.

A few of the kids at the school

A big project that I got to work on was teaching first aid classes. The best way to organize a community event in these small rural communities is to go through the schools, so teachers at 2 different schools asked us to come and teach classes and the teachers got a hold of all the mothers whose children were at the schools and invited them to come. One volunteer taught the children English classes, another taught food safety to the moms, and I taught first aid. Again, I got to practice my Spanish skills while teaching. I loved teaching first aid since I have taken first aid classes for school as well as for training as a First Responder.

All of the moms

My favorite thing when I'm teaching is when someone asks me a question. That way, I know they're paying attention (or rather, know they can understand my Spanish) and are interested enough that they want to learn more. I had mothers ask about concussions, tell me their own experiences with burns, and ask about infant CPR. I'm so glad I have been trained in first aid, and hopefully can help prevent injuries for these mothers and their children in the future. This was probably one of my favorite projects.

Cleaning in the heat!

We started a new project painting a school in a community called Santa Sara. The first day we spent cleaning up the outside of the school and leveling out the sand so that we can build a garden there later. We were there in the afternoon when the kids were out of school and it was so hot!! It still wasn't completely done before I left, but it will look so great when it is all painted!

I did a lot of work in schools the past few weeks. I also got to go with another volunteer to a school in a community called La Mariposa. The school has 2 classrooms so there are 3 grades per classroom and the teachers have to be the best multitaskers I've ever seen. We worked in one of the classrooms and helped with 2 boys who have special needs. They require a lot of one-on-one time which the teacher can't give. Sometimes we just had to go play outside with them because they couldn't sit still any longer. But they were really sweet. As soon as we got there, one boy just came up and hugged our legs. They also loved my camera, and insisted on taking pictures themselves. The pictures didn't really turn out, but at least they had fun!

Finishing up the mural

I also helped teach the boys at the orphanage English again and helped some of the other volunteers paint a mural on the orphanage wall. It took a lot of work to get the mural done. Some volunteers were there for days on end, 10 hours a day. I'm no artist, and I had other projects going on as well, so mostly, I got to spend time with the boys. Some of the them are just so eager to learn. They always ask us questions about words in English, they try to speak to us in English, or want us to sing songs in English.

Really I learned that people are so similar no matter where you are in the world. There are cute boys everywhere who just want to play and just want to be loved. My last night at the orphanage was very emotional. Another volunteer and I were both flying out the next day and had come to really love these boys. They didn't want us to leave and we didn't want to go either.

Me getting beat at arm-wrestling

If I learned anything in Peru, it's that there is always  more that can be done. Classes can be taught, kids can be loved, schools can be painted. Sometimes it was frustrating when I couldn't express myself fully because I couldn't speak the language. But we discovered that smiles and hugs are universal. Sometimes I would get down and feel useless because my contribution was so small. But even then, I would get a hug and a thank you and that made it all worthwhile. Everyone knew we were there to help and they were really accepting and appreciative.

Me and Victor (8)

But if anything, this has only increased my drive to improve and develop skills that will contribute more to these communities. My internship and volunteer experience is finished now, but I am looking at Master's programs in global health as well as nursing programs. Specific skill sets like giving vaccinations are things that are always needed in places like the rural deserts of Peru. And I definitely want to keep improving my Spanish and teach more health classes. More can be done for these communities, and many of the communities like these around the world, and if I develop my skills, I can give more to the people who were so willing to love me.

Goodbye Peru, until next time!

Part of the mural

Busy week and lots of Spanish practice!

Hello everyone! I'm a little late posting this week, but we have been non-stop busy here in Peru! The weeks are just flying by now and I can't believe that this one is almost over now too.

Last week we had our workshop in Monsefu and it was awesome! It was basically a huge celebration of water. The mayor of the town spoke and people danced the Marinera, a traditional Peruvian dance. The people were so grateful that we were there. I have never been hugged and kissed by so many people before. And I successfully taught handwashing in Spanish. We taught them a song they can sing while washing their hands and everyone sang along. It was just so fun. I love the people in Peru!

We also worked in the medical posts again and helped the medical students plan for their upcoming health

The boys at the river showing me their fish

fair. Funny story from our time with the medical students: After they got done with class they told us we needed to come with them because we were going swimming. So we followed the med students down the dusty road, trying to figure out where where in the world we'd find water in this desert, and then walked through a small village and low and behold, found a river on the other side. One of the med students jumped in. We just dipped our feet. They keep telling us we need to go back and bring our swimsuits but me and the other volunteer are a little wary, haha!

Teaching in Chulucanas

This week I taught at a school in a town called Chulucanas. The students are between the ages of 16-19 and they are training to educate families about health in small communities in the mountains. They have lessons in disease prevention and treatment, nutrition, etc. I gave 2 lessons this week on the prevention of acute respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases. Good news is, I'm much more comfortable teaching in Spanish now. And the students help me with my pronunciation when I struggle with a word. They're really sweet. We're hoping to go with them sometime to the communities to teach the families, so we we'll have to see when that will work out. But it's 5-6 hours away so we have to plan it on a weekend. I'm
running out of weekends here!

English class at the orphanage

I also have been teaching English at an orphanage here in Piura. It's an all boys orphanage and there's about 15 boys total. I go on Wednesdays and help teach the younger boys They are so hyper!!
They want to learn English, but they also just love to play so we try to make up games. Last week we taught introductions and numbers and then played hide and seek, but everyone had to count in English. This week we taught fruits and vegetable and then played fruit basket. I think their favorite words are "coconut" and "good morning". These boys are just hilarious!

A woman in Ejidos carrying water on her donkey

I've found that it takes a lot of time to prep and plan for lessons and to prepare projects. I've been working on starting a new project here. We're going to build homemade mosquito traps and give them to families in Las Frias, where there have been several recent outbreaks of Dengue virus. It's been really cool for me to do because I'm getting real experience in finding a health need, planning an intervention, and pretty soon, carrying out that intervention. This is exactly what I wanted to do here and I am so excited that my project is coming together. This is truly an amazing experience and I am so happy to be here. I have awesome directors who help me translate and practice my lessons and encourage me to accomplish my goals, and I have made amazing friends among the other volunteers.
Peru is the best.