We're BBAAACCCCKKK ... me, the team, and a few Peruvian bugs ...

SOOOOO ... after taking the redeye from Lima, we arrived back on hot, steamy US soil yesterday morning.  And since I also carried back a few choice Peruvian bugs that took up residence in my body Friday night (as if the altitude wasn't challenging enough ... the nausea, 102 fever, and headache topped it off!)  I'll gonna save the meaningful, thoughtful posts on the trip for later ... and just give you some of the highlights of life in Peru.

 

I started a list entitled "THIS is PERU" on day 1 ...

• Altitude matters!  We were about 12,800' most of the week.  And we were winded MOST of the time, especially climbing the HUGE hill back to town for lunch and at the end of the day.  That was always followed by our trek to the 4th and 5th floors at the hotel where we stayed.  When you add 15 pounds of alpaca blankets to already being winded, it doesn't make for the best sleep in the world.

• There are no restaurants open on Saturdays at lunch.  Sunday is market day and Saturdays are for resting and cleaning.  This was NOT good news after an all night flight into Lima and an early morning arrival in Moho.

• There are mariachis in baggage claim in Juliaca at 7:30 am.  Gotta love it!

• Yes, it is true that the closer you are to the sun, the more potent its effects.  You'll see this in the pics from the first day.

• Apparently, schoolwide parades take the places of pep aseemblies, sports, etc that we have in the US.  They abounded!  And apparently, all marching was learned from Nazi war films.
• Peru is probably the biggest herding country I've seen.  It was so much fun to see lots of sheep being herded through town (expect a post on this later) along with cows and llamas!  I LOVE, LOVE llamas ... it was so much fun to see them out grazing EVERYWHERE.  We weren't even spit at!

• EVERY meal includes potatoes, rice and chicken ... did I say EVERY???????  Pretty sure we didn't loose any weight.  Pretty sure that accounts for the GERD symptoms EVERYONE in Peru complains of.  We had LOTS of great comments in clinic.  One of my favorite was when a woman told me she was fat and asked "what causes that?"  "Well, eating more than we exercise."  I went on to explain that she should eat more fruits and vegetables and less rice and potatoes. To which she responded, "but we always eat rice and potatoes ..."  of course you do! 
• We could have built our own chicken out of soup parts one night ... I'll just leave it at that ...
• Lake Titicaca is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

• On our morning off, several of the team decided to hike a mountain with our missionary.  There were four of us who called ourselves Team S ... team sleep late, get a hot shower, stay behind ... we figured if we were still winded going up the stairs that hiking a mountain might just not be in our best interest ... and since there was only one hot shower among the 20+ of us (including translators) if the rest of them hiked ... we had the shower all to ourselves.  As we leisurely walked to the top of the city later, where we could see Lake Titicaca and the sights of Moho, we decided maybe we were just realistic about our desires and abilities.  There were no regrets at not hiking at 12,800'.

The team did a fabulous job!  The crowds could be overwhelming ... but still, even in trying to see patients ... they still took time to pray, to share, and to touch.  We saw 1000 patients in the first three days in Moho ... and then another 500 in the next few days in Patascachi where the effects of the spring flood were still evident.  There were families living in tents and tin roofs sitting on the ground where the adobe underneath had washed away.  The people were gracious and welcoming ... even if they were still human in nature at times. 

In answer to specific requests ...

• We did make it through customs with all of our supplies although it took 2 1/2 hours.
• God took the translators we had, blessed them and made it work.  
• Other than minor altitude sickness and GI bugs, my nurse-friend Kristen and I were the only ones who got really sick and we didn't start running a temp until the last night.  Praise God!  And being on a medical team is great when you can grab all the antibiotics, zofran, ibuprofen, etc. you need.
• We saw God work in and among us ... but that's another post for another day.