The Experience

The experience was amazing. My first trip abroad 14 hours away from home and 11,000 feet above sea level was one I will always cherish. As a lone traveler, I was very nervous and held a pretty tough guard during my time there. I learned that people are very friendly in Cusco and they are very trusting. I was not treated like a tourist, I was treated like family. I learned Spanish during my time there earning a certificate acknowledging that I could speak at a high basic level. I also learned a lot about the healthcare in Peru. I was very interested in how things were done compared to the US and I can testify that things are definitely different and I am very thankful for the technologies and people that we have that strive to exceed our healthcare. It was a fun and memorable experience for me. 

Will I do it again? Of course! I want to take all of my friends with me next time because this is an experience that everyone should get. Thank you Peru, thank you Maximo Nivel, thank you International Volunteer HQ and thank you Jesus for protecting me and allowing me to have such a wonderful time!

Sightseeing

As a lone traveler pressed for time, I was not sure if I would get a chance to see all of the sites in Cusco. I was hesitant about which tour company to trust and the price of tours were not really in budget. However, I was under the impression that you must travel with a licensed agency to the ruins in Cusco. That may be true for some but for the ruins in Sacred Valley that I visited, that was not the case. You have to buy a tourist ticket in the city or at the site that you visit in order to gain entrance into the ruins.  For a partial 2-day ticket, the cost is $25 US dollars. For a week long all-inclusive ticket, the cost is about $50 US dollars.   

How did I get there?
Good question. I toyed around with many options. I could take a cab with would cost about $15 US dollars each way or I could take a bus which would only cost like $1 US dollar each way. Just be sure if you decide to take the bus, you find out in advance where the bus stop is that travels to your destination. Also, this route stops for anyone who wants a ride so if you are limited on time, DO NOT TAKE THE BUS.  Another option which is the one I pursued was a called a collective taxi. It only cost me $3 US dollars each way. It is not as fast as having your own private cab but it will get you there a little quicker than the bus. You ride along with 10 other people in a van. The stops are more directed to specific stops so your trip will only  be delayed by the number of stops in the route. I traveled to Ollantaytambo and it took me 1.5 hours to get there and 2 hours to get back to the city.

The Ruins

Beautiful! I will not say more, check it out for yourself. It is beautiful!

Night Life

Cusco is a very sleek, sophisticated and romantic city to travel around at night. My friends and I would often travel to the Plaza De Aramas and visit the restaurants and shops in the area.  We found a nice bar known as Paddy’s. It is the highest Irish pub in the nation with regards to altitude.  We also went to Mama Africa. This was a club and it reminded me of the clubs in America. It was a very nice place, with awesome lights, and great music. Everyone must visit Mama Africa if you travel to Cusco. There was another club/bar known as the Mushroom Club and it offered a very relaxing environment. The lighting and decorations gave it a nightlife feel but it was not too crowded. There was also a place to dance if you wanted to. I really liked this place. Now that I am older, I gravitate to the places where there is not a big crowd but it is nice enough that you can enjoy yourself.  Walking through the city at night was amazing. Most stores and markets are open. The streets are filled with people, locals and tourists. Everyone I encountered was very nice and helpful in Cusco. 

Gastronomy in Cusco

During my time in Peru, I lived with a host family. My host mom loved to cook Peruvian dishes and I loved to eat them.  In Peru, I noticed that lunch was the generally the biggest of the three meals of the day. It would consist of a meat, rice, salad and bread. Breakfast generally consisted of a very seasoned and tasty egg, fruit, and bread. They make a lot of juices in the morning. Mango and papaya juice were my favorites. Between 6 and 7 in the evening, we would be served dinner. Dinner was usually light. We had rice and beef, rice and chicken, chicken soup, taquenos (probably spelled wrong), guacamole, and many other interesting dishes. One night, I ate a piece of an alpaca. It was really good, taste just like steak. Our host mom took our family out for lunch and we had what is known in Peru as Cuy (Pronounced: coowee). Here in America, we call it a guinea pig. It was hard to bring my mind to the reality that I was going to eat an animal that is a popular domesticated animal in my country. I did, and it was good. The flavor is hard to describe with a few distinct tastes. It was good and you will have to try it. Water was everywhere in Peru. I am soda person so I was disappointed not to have my soda. However, this trip helped me curve my soda addiction and now I loooovvvvveeee water. I really enjoyed the food and after learning how to make taquenos, I hope I can make some pretty delicious ones at home. 

The Medical Mission

There are clinics and hospitals throughout the city of Cusco but much like here, healthcare is not always affordable or accessible. There are nurses who serve as the primary provider in some areas. In other areas, the doctors do everything from taking taking vitals, gathering the history, to performing the exam. At my placement site, I worked primarily with the obstetrician. The first thing that I noticed was the large amount of paperwork required to be completed. They have a program similar to our government health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid. They are not financially capable of processing information through electronic means so the paperwork to be filled out for their government program and their medical documentation system is extensive. While the doctor filled out paperwork, she requested that I get the vitals for her patients. Most patients were expecting a child but others were not. I measured their height and weight and calculated their pulse and blood pressure. The doctor would feel certain areas of the mother's stomach with her hand and ask me to do the same. She would explain to me where the anatomical parts of the baby were inside of the patient's stomach. I think emergency medicine and surgery are cool but this experience with the obstetrician opened up a new interest I never knew I had. We would find the baby's heart beat with the fetal Doppler. However the equipment was very basic and you could only detect a heart beat. The mothers generally are not aware of the sex of the baby until the baby is born. I learned after my experience with the obstetrician that medicine is probably much more vast than what I can ever imagine and at many different levels, one can most definitely have a strong contribution to medicine.

Helpful Tips Before You Go- I Wish I Would Have Done Things Differently

I decided to travel abroad about 6 months in advance. However, I spent more time in my excitement about the day to come than preparing.

Below are about 5 things that I probably will do differently the next time I travel abroad.

• Pack at least a week in advance.

I literally packed the day before my departure and it was pure stress. Gratefully, I think I brought everything that I could possibly need but at the same time I probably brought way to much stuff. However, I did not have time to repack and inventory my bag so that was quite a bummer. My personal bag and suitcase were both rollers which helped me get from place to place in the airport very fast. Also, my personal bag was also a backpack so that helped when travelling up and down stairs. 

• Download travel apps before I leave the Country.

This is key if you need information about the area that you are in. Wi-fi is not always present, so it is important that you download city maps, city guides, language apps, and airport apps before you arrive or you will feel lost. Some of the apps that I downloaded were: Converter, SpanishDict, GateGuru, PeruTravel, Polyglot Med Spanish, and Candy Crush (can be played in the absence of wi-fi). 

• Understand how connection flights operate abroad.

I ended up paying extra fees because of this. Understand before hand how your connection will be handled. Ask the following questions, will they transport your bags to you next flight?

(Even though I had a connecting flight, it was expected of me to recheck my bags.)

Is your entire flight with the same carrier? (Although I booked with LAN because they are partnered with American Airlines, part of my flight took place with American.)

• Have a more developed knowledge of the language for the place that I am travelling to.

In some places, your native language may not be spoken by in anyone at all. When I was in Bogota, Colombia, no one seemed to speak English. I did not have my travel apps downloaded at this time, so I struggled just to order food from restaurants. If I traveled to Latin America again, I would definitely take a few basic Spanish classes before the trip.

• Understand Currency Exchange in the new Country.

This can be confusing at first but once you understand how it works, you will be okay.

Helpful Tips Before you Go-Communication

WI-FI was not as prevalent as I thought it would be in Peru, but it was around and it has very good advantages for someone wanting to communicate home without the outrageous associated fees.

-First, if you are with T-Mobile, calling and texting globally does not cost a fortune. I think texts are like 50 cents each. I am not aware of the calling rates but my friend who used T-Mobile on the trip informed me that it was not bad and was pretty similar to the regular rate.

-If you have an iPhone and the people that you are communicating with have one as well, as long as you have wi-fi you can communicate with that person via Facetime or iMessage for FREE.

-There are apps that you can download to communicate with your non-iPhone users as long as you have wi-fi. (For example, WhatsApp and textPlus were very popular between me and my friends and family).

-Facebook, of course is an awesome site to share photos, videos and your everyday thoughts of your adventure.

Be sure to send a copy of all of your travel itinerary items to a person that you trust in case you lose any documentation. This information should include where you will be staying abroad and how should one get in contact with you.

On the Embassy site for the US, there is a lot of helpful information on how one can get in contact with you if everything else fails. Be sure to make your family and friends aware of the site. I think there is even a place in which you can register as a traveler.

If you have any questions about the information below, please leave a comment. If you have anything to add to my communication list, I encourage you to leave a comment as well.

Decisions, Decisions

I've always wanted an opportunity to study abroad in my major. However, I was not financially able to do so as an undergraduate in college. After graduation, I searched many sites to find out if post-baccalaureate study abroad opportunities existed. I was able to find many but they too were costly. After some creativity, I decided that maybe I could volunteer abroad in my field of interest. This route would allow me to secure all of my flight details and accommodations to fit within my budget. It would also allow me to culturally engage in another country while giving back to the communities in need. Considering that I would be a solo traveler, the idea above seemed nice. I would essentially be on a working vacation. As a solo traveler, it was important to me to be on a trip that would keep me busy.

As a little girl, I have always looked up to doctors. They are patient, kind (especially the ones that gave me lollipops and colorful bandages during my visit), extremely smart (they face many difficult decisions), they use really cool tools and wear really cool uniforms, and they do a great job turning scary situations into more pleasant ones. It never got old for me. I went to school and received a degree in Criminal Justice and Biology with a specialization in Cellular and Molecular Biology. My heart is torn by those who do not have access to healthcare and by people who are just mistreated in general. I want to make a difference and aid in those situations  in which help is needed.

So, my volunteer abroad trip would surround health and medicine. I started looking for volunteer agencies that could help with my placement and I found IVHQ (International Volunteer HQ). I did some research and their fees were very low and they gave a discount for each additional week that you planned to stay. My heart was sold on the idea of travelling abroad and the hope that I would visit a new place and be able to help people in need.