Una Probadita...

At some point during school, I decided to apply for the Fogarty International Clinical Research Fellowship.  I now find myself in Lima, Peru embarking on my journey.  I won’t get into the details of the fellowship but if you're interested ask.

I wanted to be in Perú because my future global health work will involve Spanish-speaking countries and also because I’ve never been in South America and am curious to experience the rich culture here.  Spending this time abroad means that I’ll be graduating a year later, but if I hadn’t done this, I would’ve regretted it.

Now let me catch you up on what’s been going on in my life.  I completed my first clinical year and after 2 sub-internships I continue to be torn between Internal Medicine and Pediatrics (thankfully, I now have a few more months to mull this over).  I moved out of my apartment in Palo Alto, which was no easy feat after 8 years.  I then spent 2 weeks at the NIH for our Fogarty orientation in Bethesda, MD.  Next, our research group (there are 3 other American scholars and 5 Peruvian ones) went to UW in Seattle to meet our PI, Dr. Zunt, who has been working in Peru for almost a decade.  I then returned to Palo Alto to study for and take Step 2 before arriving in Lima on August 16.

I’ve been warned time and again by locals about the precautions I should take, especially related to taxis, theft, and violence.  However, I know these can happen anywhere, especially in a city with large disparities between the rich and poor, but I'm trying my best to stay out of trouble.

Esta es la vista de mi casa al mar. Me encanta!

My impressions thus far are that people are generous, welcoming, and kind.  The other American and Peruvian scholars are awesome, and it’s been great to have people to explore the city with.  Language wise, I’m doing well, but my Spanish vocab has always been a limited.  In addition, some words, especially those related to food, are completely different in Mexican Spanish, so I’m challenging myself to learn the local lingo plus improve and expand what I already know.  Food wise, it’s a culinary revolution.  I’ve tried at least one new item each day. So far the list includes chicha morada, anticuchos (beef heart skewers), ceviche, pollo a la brasa, and a bunch of other  flavors.  Regarding activities, I’ve taken a salsa class (I’m determined to learn), found a gym for yoga and spinning as well as a route along the malecon (boardwalk) to run, and I’m going to try surfing as soon as I get over how cold the water is going to be (it’s Winter here so temperature wise it’s similar to San Francisco’s Sunset district—ok maybe not that cold…).  Research wise, which is my primary reason for being here, I’ll  tell you about in my next blog...