Research et al.

As I prepare for a new adventure, I can't help but put an end to my old one. My last blog entry is about Brazil, which I can't believe was almost a year ago. I never updated about Argentina, the Salkantay trail, or my research wrap up, so I'll take this opportunity now that I'm done with residency interviews and reflecting on upcoming decisions to fill you in with a few blog entries. My last few months in Peru were a whirlwind of hard work and problem solving in Puente Piedra while I attempted to capitalize on my remaining time there. I didn't realize it then, but I was slowly prepared for my return home with various visits from some of my best friends at home, which I'll tell you about in another entry.

Training

A week after my return from Brazil, Tripper and I had a mass event at our school where we informed parents about our study, and completed enrollment, consent, and questionnaire. Because there are many single mothers and most of the fathers are gone working in the city from Mon-Sat, we had this crazy event on a Sunday. I remember working "todo full" into the wee hours organizing the event and double checking my list to make sure everything was ready. In fact, I was so tired I slept through the alarm and owe waking up at all to Ericka.

The event didn't go off without a few glitches, but it was a success! We couldn't have done it without Lauren managing the event as well as our fellow Fogarty volunteers, ex-pat friends, and the presence and support of our Peruvian friends. After launching our studies, Tripper, Coco, and I moved to the Famesa bus stop in Puente Piedra, just a few stops away from our school. I knew I was lonely living alone in my swanky apartment overlooking the ocean in Miraflores, but until I moved in to our new place in the shantytown and loved it (except for dribbley ice cold showers), I don't think I realized how much I love living with people. After that, I didn't return to my apartment in Lima, but spent weekends traveling or at my friend Nila's house (la mejor amiga y familia Peruana ;).

Makeshift Meals

I wish my study had been approved earlier in the year, so that I could've spent more time at the school. My time in the shantytown working with the parents and the kids my favorite. There are so many memories that put a smile on my face. My crazy spiel to teach the kids spirometry, from the teeniest 6 year olds who don't want to blow air out for more than 1 second to the giggly teenage girls who were to weak, shy, or busy trying to catch Tripper's attention, to do the spirometry. The kids were wild and if I didn't have enough patience going into this, I definitely picked some up. During recess we had our regular visitors, who knew I was quick to shoo them away (otherwise my kids were even more embarrassed to do the spirometry), so they found other ways to get my attention, making me think that our makeshift room would fall down any second. I'd get a daily visit from my lovely troublemaker in her perfect pigtails, who wasn't enrolled in my study, but whose name I memorized early on when her classmates would come to me to tell on her. I loved getting up for "work" every morning and alternating between buying some "soya" or mixed apple and quinoa concoction from the street vendor and waving the sardine packed kombis down to make our trek up the dry sandy dessert to be stopped by various mothers along the way with different concerns about their children or themselves. I can't forget to mention Sandra, a nurse who helped me with all the kids and who is pictured below making ridiculous faces with me in an attempt to teach the kids spirometry.

I finished my data collection, enrolling about 370 kids, and all that entailed including tracking down parents who didn't finish questionnaires, patiently teaching spirometry, a massive PPD campaign, and figuring out how to get the PPD+ kids chest x rays and sputum samples. Working at the school put my itty bitty project into perspective, and forced me to think about my future goals. While I still have an interest in global health research, my newfound passion is for basic health education. Taking it further than that, access to education. After all, many of children's parents migrated down from the Andes seeking a better life in Lima. At least most of the shantytowns have some kind of education, as opposed to the remote villages where some of them came from.

 

In speaking to the graduating high school students I realized that many of them had been working for a while and had plans to work full time after high school to help support their families. For most of them, college was beyond their dreams. In addition to a bunch of entry exams, going to college is expensive and competitive. The private schools are the easy ones to get to, because those are the ones anyone with the means can pay for. Getting into a public college is a highly competitive process--you have to be intelligent and have money. For most of my kids, school was a side thing you did. If you finished high school you were lucky. The reality of their futures hit me. 

It surprised me that there is even a fee for primary and secondary school. Though it's nominal, when you take into account a family who has 4 kids and has to buy uniforms (I found out they were around 70 soles at the local bodega, which is ridiculous considering the poverty they face), it sounded awful to me. I spoke to the principal about it and he said they do this because they don't get enough funding, and that the parents need to be invested in their child's education. I'd love to go back and do something beyond my asthma/tb project. Something that would make a lasting impact on their futures...

I want to take this opportunity to thank the people who made Peru a home away from home for me. Nila y el resto de la familia Cirineo, gracias por hacerme parte de su familia. De verdad, no puedo decirles y repagar todo lo que hicieron por mi!! Jessenia y Lilia gracias por una linda amistad, espero verlos pronto por California! Coco, mi amigo mas loco con quien disfrute la mejor comida de Peru. Eri y Ale, mis amigas regias siempre listas para la fiesta, el cine, un cafe y buenas recomendaciones de shopping y musica ;) Nati, Carlos y Marra, me la pase mostro disfrutando las playas y fiestas del verano en Peru y enterandome de las diferencias entre la escuela de medicina aya y aqui. Y no puedo olvidar a mis vecinos de la Calle Ocharan--David, Omar y Mara. Siempre alli para un buen Pisco Sour o una buena cena!

More to come about Argentina and my last few adventures in Peru. For now, I'll get back to my research write up :)