

I was very nervous about the trip, because I had never traveled out of the country before, plus I had never been in an airplane for more than an hour. After almost 2 days of traveling (by car, airplane and bus), I finally made it to Trujillo. Since Peru is on the opposite side of the equator, it was summer there while it was winter in Arizona. However, they did still celebrate Christmas with Santa hats and hot chocolate, even in 90¬o weather.
In my brief 3 weeks there, I shadowed pediatricians, lab technicians and gynecologists, observed a surgery, gave injections and even enjoyed ceviche with a dentist! To learn more about medical techniques, such as suturing and taking blood pressure, we had an evening class with one of the doctors. It is amazing how young their doctors are. In Peru, med school starts right out of high school.
One of the most valuable components of this trip was the bonds I made with the other volunteers. They were from all over the United States; there were others from UA, some from ASU and the rest were from Boston, Reno, Berkeley, Texas and New Jersey. Even though we had just met each other for the first time, we were all instant friends and went on many adventures together. On our weekends, we explored ancient ruins, toured botanical gardens, hiked the roads of rural Otuzsco where we met llamas and tried Cuy (Guinea Pig), celebrated New Year’s Eve on beach in Pacasmayo, tried several bakeries at the Plaza del Armas, and we all figured out how to use the bus/taxi system together. We also celebrated several birthdays and even got to see the new Star Wars movie while we were there!

Being in Peru was an unforgettable experience. We all missed our families very much during Christmas, but I wouldn’t change a single minute of my experience there.
