Winter, Rain and Screwed Up Priorities

I can finally say that the winter has come, Sadly...The last 5 days Sicchez has been drenched with rain forcing most people to stay in doors or on their porches. This has forced me to change my plans of doing house visits in Las Vegas, the farthest Caserio from Sicchez, because the thought of walking back in the rain 2 and a half hours doesnt seem to appealing. Although I had planned to do house visits in Las Vegas before the rain had come, my socio told me that he would not be able to accompany me due to his profound amount of work he still had to do before leaving for Christmas vacation...Little did I know his overwhelming amount of work included a trip in the ambulance (supposedly only for emergencies...at least thats what he told me 3 days earlier) to a forested area an hour away from Sicchez to cut/pick out a christmas tree...I guess our work in the health center finding out what is wrong in the different caserios (towns) had to wait...

Well it seems that this week I am just going to have to do the house visits in the nearest caserio with a different socio from that town due to the rain and my socios early trip to Ica...hopefully it goes well...

Piura City, Health Clinic and La Bicicleta!

After writing in my blog about two weeks ago I had the chance to travel back to Piura City to meet other volunteers and feel like an adult once again! For the first time since arriving in Peru I had the opportunity to choose where and when I wanted to eat. What a concept! I never thought I would be so content to watch tv and go on the internet...wow the things that make me happy now! Following my rendeavous in Piura I returned to Sicchez for what would turn out to be quite an interesting couple of weeks. While my first couple of days consisted of giving charlas (informational sessions on health-in spanish of course) and teaching english to the secondary school kids, the upcoming sunday would really show me how funny Peru can truly be...That sunday at a free health clinic in town, orthodontists who had arrived from Trujillo in order to inform the public on dental health and make free teeth cleanings (also extracted some teeth from some unlucky Peruvians), decided to hand out vast quantities of candy. While the orthodontists handed out candies, I couldnt stop thinking, this is why 99% of all adults in my town have cavities. Moreover, I just couldnt stop laughing at the fact that no one in my health post thought this was ironic. I guess they are just used to the irony and seemingly senseless promotions that occur in Peru!

Following the health promotion clinic I got my first call from my parents, which was amazing and quite entertaining. While talking to my parents really brightened my day, the fact that I had to dodge falling drunk guys like heat seeking red turtle shells in a game of battle mode in mario cart racing made the conversation truly noteworthy. As I was talking to my parents I had the privilege to watch one old guy fall straight to the ground and another guy come up to me with a druken stupor, begging me to drink with him....Sadly this is something I am going to have to get used to due my towns insistence on getting completely hammered basically every sunday. Its so bad that after lunch I dont want to leave the house because I fear/know I will have to consume large quantities of cuñaso with 40/50 year old Peruvian (slurring) men.

Following the escapades of Sunday I was once again struck by the diarrhea bug. Although it lasted only one day and wasnt too painful, I did have to stay in the house most of the day in order to regain back my energy. Lets just say that I went to the bathroom twice in the morning and stayed in their for 30 minute durations while every liquid and solid mass flew out of my body like its freedom relied on the velocity it came out...Sadly I was almost impressed how much left my body! I apologize to those with weak stomachs and vivid imaginations, however i believe that these bowel problems of mine are quite funny after the fact...