Day 4: What a difference a day makes!!

Wow. What a day!

For starters, I began en la clinica in a completely different department- pediatrics. There, I learned about how the babies and children in the area come in for exams every month or so to get vaccinations and for check-ups. We had about 30 patients between 8am and noon. Even though I kept telling the nurses that I was not yet a doctor (“Soy estudiante de medicina, no soy doctor!”), they referred to me as “el doctor.” Within about 10 minutes, they had me performing physical exams on all of the children, listening to their heart and lungs through the stethoscope and weighing and taking their height. Even though, as I have said, I have zero formal training in performing exams, I guess they figured that I would notice anything grossly abnormal and report it… which I did when I saw crazy rashes or enlarged lymph nodes, etc. Really a lot of fun, and a lot of work trying to communicate with los niños who were unsure who this giant gringo was trying to touch and examine them.

I have to say that it was truly a bit emotional for me to see some of the children. These are poor people. They have little and ask for even less, and it shows. Many of the children, as I have mentioned before, are malnourished and less than healthy. Many were dressed in dingy and odorous clothes that clearly hadn’t been changed or washed often. And still, despite these obvious negatives, there was a tangible sense of love and concern between the mothers, the fathers and their children. More than once today parents asked me if their child’s height and weight were okay for their age. A quick glance at the growth charts indicated that they weren’t… they weren’t receiving enough to eat… and yet I couldn’t bring myself, in broken Spanish, to explain this unfortunate fact to them. Still, their love for their children inspired and touched me, it was often both heart breaking and heartwarming all at once.

After the clinic, I returned to Máximo Nivel for Spanish lessons, which were great. I am conquering concepts and tenses that I remember but have forgotten. I really think this will help me immensely. After Spanish ended, I made a great decision. While I love the local food, which I eat 3 times a day thank you very much, I have yet to truly feel full and satisfied since I have arrived. I had heard a rumor about an Israeli restaurant in town that caters to the large Israeli tourist population. After about 20 minutes of searching the alleys around La Plaza de Armas… there it was. A beautiful Israeli flag hanging over the doorway. “El Sueño Azul,” as it was called was an amazing retreat. Inside it was 100% Hebrew, with many Israelis sitting in chatting in a language that I will always be able to recognize. I made conversation with a few of them while ordering- and then immensely enjoying- a falafel pita with hummus, Israeli salad and fries. It was so amazing. I left that restaurant happy, re-charged and ready to turn around and order another.

Now comes the great part of my day: as I alluded to yesterday, it has been tough for me to find my niche, and specifically a group of people to hang with. Through Spanish classes and Máximo Nivel, I became friendly with a nice group of people, and we all decided to travel together to Macchu Picchu this weekend! We booked tickets on a train which leaves from a town about 2 hours away. Saturday morning we are going to take Un Cómbi (a mini-bus) to the town and then ride the train to Aguas Calientes, the town closest to Macchu Picchu! I am so excited, I’m beyond words.

To celebrate, we met some other friends for drinks in the plaza, which was great for me because I had yet to convince any of my housemates to join me for drinks heretofore. So much fun out with everyone… and as I said from the beginning… it’s amazing what difference a day can make.


Funny note: I found myself weeping while sitting and eating lunch. Didn’t know what was wrong with me, turns out the cook was cooking a massive pot of onions.

Also, apologies to Dave and Steve, whom I had a skype date with. I blew them off the enjoy going out with my new friends. Forgive me!?

Goodnight everyone!

Greg