A 'normal' week in Peru

After the culture week in the first week, I (Carole) started my Spanish lessons this week. Actually, I had booked group lessons in the morning and individual lessons in the afternoon. But since there are currently no other students taking group lessons, I also had individual lessons in the morning. That was great because I could learn exactly what I wanted and needed. However, I quickly realized that I am not used to going to school so much anymore, and it was quite tiring ;-) So it was a welcome change when I could accompany some volunteers to their project spontaneously on Wednesday afternoon. Besides language lessons, my language school also organizes various charitable projects. We went to a school in a very poor neighborhood of the city to support the teacher in teaching English. The classroom was not really a classroom. There was no floor, or rather it was just compacted earth, so the tables and benches wobbled every time someone stood up. But it was all the more amazing to see how motivated and warm-hearted the children were. As soon as we ran to the school, a child ran towards us to hug us, and when we entered the classroom, all the other children hugged us too. It was a great experience to see how much they enjoyed learning from us. That's why I will do it a few more times in the next few weeks and take less Spanish lessons for myself.

Since the first week, I have also been taking surfing lessons. From a complete beginner, I have already progressed enough in two weeks to be able to stand up and stay on the board for a long time. It's really fun, and with each lesson, I improve a bit. Let's see how far I can go in the next two weeks.

Finally, this week I also got to experience Peruvian work ethic up close. In Spanish class, my teacher showed me a Spanish TV series. Since there is only one computer in the office, we watched it there. Another employee was also working in the office. Suddenly, there were problems with the internet. They tried to restore the connection, but it didn't work immediately. The other employee simply closed his laptop, put his head on it, and took a nap. After about 30 minutes, he woke up again. His colleague had meanwhile restored the internet connection, so he could (or had to?) continue working. I think I now know why my approximately 5 emails and 20 phone calls to confirm my booking before arrival were not answered ;-)

On Sunday morning, I was woken up by a small earthquake that caused my room to sway back and forth twice. But by the time I realized what was happening, it was already over. At first, I wasn't sure if it really was an earthquake until my host mother asked me later if I had also felt it. On the internet, I found out that it had a strength of 5.0 and the epicenter was about 40 km away from us in the Pacific. There were no damages or injuries, and it didn't seem to bother the locals either. They are probably used to it from time to time.

Julia has almost established a routine since the first week because the program is actually the same every week. But it's not boring because there are always new unexpected things happening. Wednesday is surgery day for Julia's doctor. Since the anesthesiologist is responsible for two tables at the same time, Julia was appointed as his assistant. About halfway through the surgery, the patient woke up, started moving and talking. Of course, she immediately called the anesthesiologist, who then used too much anesthesia. For the rest of the surgery, Julia had to assist the young girl with an oxygen bag. Fortunately, everything turned out fine, and the girl woke up from anesthesia. On Thursday, she participated in the night shift. The events escalated already upon arrival at the hospital. A siren wailed, and an unintelligible announcement was made through a loudspeaker. A bunch of people rushed into the courtyard, and with difficulty, she found out that it was an earthquake evacuation drill. Then one ambulance after another arrived, and the emergency room was so overcrowded that patients were treated in the hallway or transferred to other hospitals. There was a lot to see and wonder about.

On the weekend, there was a health campaign organized by the police in Guadalupe, and the organization Medical Electives from Trujillo provided some 'doctors', including Julia. They took the police bus to Guadalupe. There were tents with tables and a stage set up. People came to the tables where the doctors were waiting and were interviewed, examined, diagnosed, and treated as best as possible. Despite the lack of language skills and training, Julia had her own patients, and they trusted her opinion more than the actual doctors just because she is a foreigner. It was a challenging situation because the music was so loud that it was difficult to communicate, let alone hear anything during auscultation. But it was a huge experience, good language practice, and the first real patient contact. On Sunday, relaxation and surfing were on the agenda in Huanchaco.