Buenos Noches! It is hard to believe that the first week of the PT project is complete. In the previous blog, Allie and Heidi mentioned us breaking into 2 groups and visiting 2 other cities. Sara, Brittany and myself went with 4 others from our team and an extra translator to the city of Juliaca. Juliaca is a 5 hr bus ride from Arequipa. To save a few extra bucks, the buses we took did not have any bathrooms. For some, aka Sara, a 5 hr drive is no problem. But, for others, not so much. The bus ride there wasn't too bad and fairly uneventful, unless you can speak spanish and follow along with the soap opera on the tv.
Juliaca is 12,549 ft above sea level; Arequipa lies at 7,661 ft. The changes in elevation causes headaches and higher heart rates, among other things. Climbing up the stairs to get into the apartment where we stayed was a chore.. like we just ran a mile. We arrived after dark so we weren't able to get a good perspective of the city. I initially said "I feel like we dropped into a remote tribe in the middle of Alaska". It was cold, slightly colder than Arequipa, everyone was dressed in multiple layers, and many of the roads are not paved. We will never again complain about the roads in PA or OH. We were picked up at the bus station from Luis, the priest, who was the pastor at the church where we would distribute the wheelchairs. We were surprised to hear Shania Twain playing in the car, in English! It was a little taste of home! Dinner was prepared for us from the host family we stayed with, friends of Jodee's. 8 of us crammed into a 2 bedroom apartment with 5 other inhabitants: 3 on a bunk bed, 1 on the couch, 4 on "air mattresses" (that had holes) and the last 5 of the family in the main bedroom. It was quite the slumber party. Unfortunately, the hot water or heat did not come to the party. Showers became kind of sparse and blankets became a necessity.
Thursday began with us arriving to the church to distribute wheelchairs. Most of the chairs were already assigned to patients through previous evaluations, so it was a matter of finding the chair, unwrapping it, adjusting it to the patient, and completing several paperwork forms. The day went fairly smooth. Some of the highlights included the awesome lunch prepared by Luis (who called his mom for the recipes and cooked for an army!). Some patients already had "wheelchairs". This consisted of either a white lawn chair attached to bicycle wheels or a series of metal bars attached to bicycle wheels that involved using a hand crank to move. These patients were very happy to have chairs that they could function much better in. We also had some arrive who were in need of a chair that didn't have one. For instance, we had one gentlemen who was an amputee and arrived using 2 crutches, or another lady who came in walking on the outsides of her bare feet. It was so great to see the expression on there faces after they got their wheelchairs. The best story came from a lady who donated a child's stroller earlier in the day. Well, another lady with a little girl in need of something for her daughter came in. We didn't bring any kids chairs with us because we weren't expecting children. So, the stroller that was donated earlier in the day ended up as the perfect fit for this little girl. It was so cool watching how God provides at the exact moments. Unfortunately, towards the end of the day, we had run out of wheelchairs and assistive devices and had to turn a few away. However, Luis runs a disability program at the church and was able to speak with them on coming back at another time when more chairs could be brought over. At the end of the day, as if we weren't tired enough or the altitude affecting us :), Jodee took us to see a statue of Jesus at the peak of the city. We climbed a small "mountain" (about 20 min or so to the top). Needless to say, we were lacking on O2! We arrived as the sun was setting so we enjoyed a beautiful sunset overlooking Juliaca and the surrounding mountains. Afterwards, we enjoyed pizza at the only mall in Juliaca and checked out Peru's version of WalMart, PlazaVea. Before heading to bed after arriving back at the apartment, we played spoons with our host family (for those unfamiliar with spoons, it is a card game using spoons). That was quite the event and included lots of laughter!
Then it was Friday and time for the 5 hrs back to Arequipa. This became a very long bus ride. One of the other girls in our group became very sick... and with no bathrooms and the driver speaking only spanish, it was a unique situation. Tip: when traveling in Peru, travel with disposable wipes and toilet paper when one becomes sick and you need to clean up the bus. Sara was also under the weather since Thursday, probably from the altitude, but not sure. So, none of us were up to eating lunch on the bus, except Brittany. We were all too happy to be back in Arequipa and the hotel for hot showers. Also, tip: Peruvians are late to everything, except when getting off buses or airplanes. We weren't even at the bus station yet and people were already walking to the front of the bus to get off. When we did park, there was already a line and no one waited for us in the front to get off. I had a Peruvian rider in the seat next to me by the window. He was much too eager to get off the bus as he almost landed in my lap trying to get his stuff.
Well, that is the recap of the last 3 days in Juliaca. Allie, Heidi and Mandy will blog about their time in Mollendo later. Right now, we are relaxing and playing some games. Tomorrow, we are scheduled for an overnight tour of the Colca canyons and other places. Stay tuned for our recap of those events!
Please pray for our health for the rest of the trip and the others on our team. Several of us, probably half of the team, has come down with some sort of illness. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!
Angela and Sara (for moral support and added comments :)
*We are sorry for the inconvenience but we are experiencing technical difficulties and are unable to upload pictures at this time.
