Hola Peru!

(by Kit) I can't even express how excited I am to be writing to you from Peru! The past few of days have been some of the most incredible of my life. NOTHING could have prepared me for the culture shock of arriving in Cusco, or for the breathtaking beauty and hospitality I have already witnessed. I feel like I may explode trying to tell about it all so be prepared to sort through some pretty disjointed and charred descriptions. The group we are traveling with is a-maz-ing! They are all some of the best people you will ever meet, the kind you almost instantly feel true friendship with. Different docs will be coming and going through the weeks but the core group of med students is: Basil, (Wow this guy is so smart and seriously hot!), Jackie, Alida, Satoko, Anna, Rachel, (All 4th years from the Case Med Cleveland Clinic program. They were the main organizers of the trip. Rachel has already been here a month in Lima and Cuzco so she met up with us at the airport in Cuzco.) Elizabeth ( 1st year student from case) Matt and Kuba (1st years from Dartmouth and Stonybrook in New York respectively). Also with us are Dr. James Tarbox, Dr. Marissa Tungsirapat, Dr. Bill Fike and his wife Maureen. Maureen is going to be doing an optometry project at the clinic which I will be helping with.

We met up at 7:oo Sunday morning and piled in to drive to Pittsburg. It took about three hours and was actually one of the worst parts of the trip for Rhodie but we did it because it was $500 cheaper to fly out of Pittsburg than Cleveland. We had a couple hours wait at the airport and it seemed such a waste to be in Pittsburg without Em and James. Rhoda slept most of the flight to Atlanta, where we had a long layover for her to explore the international terminal. The flight from there to Lima was about seven hours. We had a pretty good arsenal of toys to keep Rho busy but eventually she was too tired for anything including sleep. She finally gave in and slept for the last couple hours of the trip while Basil and I got to witness a totally amazing light show as we flew through a lightning storm. It was so incredible to watch as the lightning seemed to glow rather than streak, lighting up one layer of cloud then the next in a totally black sky. This was the one and only time on the trip we weren’t wishing mom and dad Anderson were with us since Doc is afraid of flying.

We got in to Lima somewhat cranky and tired and all made it through customs quickly except Matt who got pulled aside because he had his medical supplies packed in a box rather than a bag. They took a long time checking everything against the list and letter we provided but everything came out ok. We rechecked our bags, changed our money and got something to eat, then dragged ourselves to the terminal to get a couple hours of sleep on the benches there. We zonked out hard again once we boarded the plane. I woke up to a stunning sunrise and one of the most incredible views on this entire earth. The Andes outside Cusco are so stark and huge and rough. It was literally breathtaking. They are almost black brown with nothing on them but absolutely pure white snow. Flying above, you can see how steep and high they are; it is truly amazing. I will try to remember to have my camera unpacked when we go back. Right up against the mountains sits Cuzco. As it came in to view I instantly switched from one state of amazement to one completely different. Having the whole city laid out, packed with unfinished adobe homes with tarps for roofs was so overwhelming I couldn’t help but cry. Seeing so many people living in such extreme poverty and knowing this is one of the richest cities in Peru was not entirely unexpected but so startling when seen as a whole, real panorama.

Everyone at the airport was so friendly. We quickly got our bags and were rushed into cabs that had been prearranged. Basil, Rhodie and I got to ride with Gustavo, a very friendly, friend of a friend of a friend. He speaks English (though Basil insisted on keeping me out of the loop by practicing Spanish with him for most of the ride) and was very informative. This is also when I was finally able to get my camera out, though I didn’t get many good pictures from the car. This is a view of some of the farmland between Cuzco and Urubamba (about a two hour drive). Gustavo said they mostly dry farm here, potatoes, beans, and grain. We saw lots of cows, pigs, piglets and donkeys. No llamas yet as they are mostly used high up in the mountains. There were plenty of donkeys in Cuzco itself and the city seemed to have as many dogs as people.Once we reached Urubamba one of the first things we noticed was an LDS chapel; from the church website it looked like the closest one was in Cuzco but we are excited to go to church on Sunday right here in town. Urubamba is small (about 15,000 people). A couple of the main streets have been recently paved and there are flowers blooming in little spaces throughout the busier parts of town. The streets, whether paved or not vary from wide to quite narrow and all are crowded with homes and businesses without any breaks. Sometimes there are courtyards but even these have a wall facing the street. Everything is built with adobe bricks with tin or terracotta tiles for roofs. Sometimes the brick is pastured and painted bright colors. This is a typical house. I don’t know what those fuzzy, twiggy balls on the power lines are but they are on all the lines. Gustavo explained about the ornaments that are on all the rooftops; When a house is built they take two terracotta bulls, a cross, and a couple little bottles of chicha (alcohol) to the church and have it blessed. Then they place all this on the roof to bless the house.

This is the street our hotel is on. There is a little stream running along it in which we have seen people wash both cloths and vegetables for market . . . we do not eat fresh vegetables. Driving through the gate to our hotel is literally like driving into an oasis in the desert. It is lush and grassy, with plants and trees everywhere. Everything is well built and well maintained, with lots of authentic Peruvian touches. The owner, Edwin, works with Peruvian Hearts (a charitable organization that we are associated with). He is giving us a good deal on our rooms as a donation to the program. He inherited the land from his father and has spent the last twelve years building the hotel little by little. It has been open for two years and is just perfect. Edwin has included a restaurant, covered pool, and maintains a farm and orchard on the lands. Here bricks are drying for the next project, a small church. After being out in the city, it feels so clean and safe to come home to the hotel. Like Jackie says, “it is a little piece of heaven.” For more pictures check out their website, http://www.laquintaecohotel.com/ (It is not associated with the American La Quinta, but is named after the Quechua word for the pregnant Virgin Mary).

This is where I am writing from (Or was when I started this post two days ago)—the balcony of our hotel room. Pretty perfect, huh? Well, I guess that is enough for one post. I will try to get the pictures from some of our exploits up as soon as possible. We love and miss you all.