Our schedule began with a lecture at the University of Antonio Ruiz de Montoya about Public Health by Maria Elena Planas. Unfortunately she was unable to make it this morning so we had some well-earned free time after such an active second day. We passed our time outside the cafeteria. I very much enjoyed being able to see how the students interact with each other and how they pass their free time. Much like in the United States, the Peruvian students chat with friends, eat and drink items bought in the cafeteria or brought from home, work on homework or other projects (many are writing in small notebooks), and playing volleyball in the small court across the courtyard.
Three students are joining Dr. Garcia to meet with a child's day care center that the UNO Peru Groups have before assisted. The purpose of the visit is to see how the center and its moms who run it are fairing, as well as to ask what additional services they need help with. Some are concerned with their approach to the hyperactivity One concern has been how to expand their approach to the hyperactivity of some children.
The lecture that was substituted in place of Maria's lecture was given to us by Javier Ponce, a physician from Peru and the director of Incaas, or the International Center for Advanced research and Applied Science. His lecture was a basic overview of health and healthcare in Peru. The most interesting concern with health care in Peru to me that Dr. Ponce talked about was how different cultures approach health processes. For example, a child who is restless and crying is said to have a "mal de ojo" or "bad look" and is esesentially cursed, however in some cultures the cure is rub an egg on the head of the baby to "absorb" the badness. Current health care professionals are carefully trying to expand their ways to approach these different cultures ideas. This is interesting to me because of the great biodiversity and isolated communities in Peru, which leads to many different health practices, with most indigenous communities having a shaman as their primary care.
After the lecture, we were led into the auditorium at the University to watch a Peruvian movie called "Tinta roja" about a journalist. It showed the alarming reality of the inconsideration of the "prensa" or press in Peru. They would exaggerate the stories and emotionally abuse the interviewees to create a more "interesting" story.
The next lecture was given to us by Carmen Ilizarbe and it focused on social policies and it's current views as well as some challenges the country faces. First, she mentioned that Peru has such a diverse culture, with 67 languages and 71 ethnic groups, many living in isolation. This creates problems with the economic distribution. She then talked about the current "Peruvian miracle" which is the 73% economic growth that has occurred over the last ten years, which again is not properly distributed causing even greater inequality throughout the country. The challenges in the structural forms in society, again credited to the diversity of cultures, create greater problems, with racism and exclusion abundant in the society.
Afterwards, we were led into the auditorium again to begin our salsa class. Although only a few students were expected to participate with us, the other students in the university were drawn because of the music, and within ten minutes the small auditorium was alive with students dancing and others crowding around to take pictures and witness the fun we were having. Our class was interrupted by a small earthquake that although not everyone felt, was large enough to have us evacuate to the safe zones outside. We returned and finished our lesion, preparing us for the fun night we were about to have.
We returned to the hostel and during dinner had our first debriefing. Our conversation focused on what we have noticed so far in the trip and what has impacted us the most. One of the points we talked about the most was how inviting the students from the university made us feel and how comfortable we felt in the city with them. Even the days before during volleyball and soccer, they invited us in with open arms and had such a positive attitude that it was contagious. We felt comfortable enough to try new things without the fear of failure or embarrassment. We also touched on how different the social and health systems that we have experienced thus far in Lima work.
When dinner was finished we had some free time to go to the store, update blogs and family and friends back home, and get ready. We dressed up and left with the students for the salsa club called Sargento. The bus ride itself was even beautiful, winding down the mountains towards the coast. When we got the club it was almost empty, but within forty five minutes it was packed with people of all salsa dancing skill levels. When we weren't dancing and just sitting at our table it was great to watch the other dancers and how amazing they were. It was also a mixture of cultures within our group! We practiced our Spanish with the students while they would practice their English, sharing our cultures and activities of daily life with each other throughout the night.
After dancing the night away we returned home to rest for the next adventure.
Picture of a few of us girls at the Hostel before leaving for Sargento
Kira, Bina, Kali, Brittney, Kourtney
written by Kali
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