Tuesday in Piura and Finally Connecting With the Team

Tuesday June 14

 

I woke at 7am.  I felt well rested. Lindsey and I both got ready for the day. By the time we were ready, Olivia had woken up and was ready as well. We decided to find a bank to exchange our American dollars. We only had to walk a few blocks to find the bank. More stares and whistles. Lindsey hated this. We found a bank and showed the guard our passports. We went inside and waited in line to be called. While we waited, we searched our cash for any bills without tears or marks. No one in South America will take dollars with markings or tears. I wish I would have remembered this from Guatemala. Central America was the same way. Several of mine and Lindsey's bills were marked or torn and the bank wouldn't exchange them. Olivia was smart and had crisp new $100 bills. 

We left the bank and found another cafe. It was another El Chalán. I wonder if it's a chain restaurant. We ate the same eggs, ham, and cheese as yesterday. Lindsey's egg was over easy which I think gave her a little stomach upset a few hours later. 

Room at the Hotel

Olivia, Lisa, and Lindsey

Streets in Piura City, Peru

Church in Piura

While we were eating we received a text from our group that they had arrived at the airport. We finished our breakfast and I hastily left a tip for the waiter. A block away I realized that I didn't give him a very big tip. I meant to give him $2 but instead gave him 2 soles. This equals less than 75 cents. I felt awful and made a note to go back there when we went back to Piura. I would have turned around then but I wanted to get back to hotel so as not to make our group wait. We headed back to the hotel. By the time we got there, our group had been waiting 5 minutes. Charlie, Deb, Miranda, Emily, and Catherine greeted us. We checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus along with our luggage and set off on the 40 mile ride to Paita. Along the way we saw the landscape surrounding Paita which was basically desert. It looked like Arizona Deb said. There were some small shacks that were people's homes. Very poor. Charlie recounted how she and Deb originally began this mission three years ago. I'm amazed that they were able to organize such a huge project. 

 

Standing in Front of Hotel

  



Checking Out of Hotel

 We entered Paita and drove past some small market places before arriving at the school. There were some men at the school that unloaded our donation bags and now we were free from the cumbersome task of transporting them. We went in the school and met the sisters. We walked around and saw where we would set up the clinic. Charlie told us we could go settle into the hostel and come back at 4 pm to help bag the medicine. 

Olivia, Lindsey, Dr Roberto, and I walked a block to the Hostel Jesimer. It was gated but they saw us coming and opened the gate. We were given our room key and we climbed the stairs to our room to rest. Our room had three twin beds and its own bathroom!  We also had a small TV that played all Spanish stations. I am so grateful for Olivia for packing me a pillow cover!  We had one window. I made a kite to remember two very important things that I had trouble remembering. One, don't throw toilet paper in the toilet!!  Wipe and throw it in the garbage. Everywhere in Central and South America this is the rule. Their sewer systems can't handle all the paper. It was very warm. And two, keep your mouth shut in the shower!!  Don't let any water in your mouth or you chance getting sick from the water. Even brushing our teeth we had to use bottled water. 

We rested until 2pm and returned to the make shift clinic and began helping Charlie set it up. After an hour it was really coming together. Dr Roberto and Catherine and Emily came at 4pmr and helped us finish the clinic. Deb left to pick up Linda at the airport. Linda was on the same flight as Cathy and Elena. When their flight was delayed Linda ended up commenting in New York!  It sounded like a nightmare. Linda was pretty shook up but started to calm down. She is a wonderful and funny lady who we came to really enjoy on this mission.

Linda, Sr. Monica, Sr. Maribel



Linda Made it to Piura

 

Those of us who were there took part in counting pills for the pharmacy. We were actually only counting vitamins and putting them into baggies. When the process seemed too slow, I suggested we use a measuring cup instead of counting out the vitamins. Dr Roberto thought this was a great idea. I found a measuring spoon with help from the sisters and this made the process much faster. Finally we were finished and we said our good nights and walked back to the hostel. 

We set our alarms for 6:15 the next morning. We were to meet the group at 6:50 for breakfast and to go over last minute details. Breakfast was poached, fruit, and toast. Deb is a wonderful cook and she took great care of us with meals. She also had pear juice, peach juice, orange juice, and yogurt you could drink. It was a delicious breakfast. We finished up and headed upstairs to the clinic which was about to open in 5 minutes. Opening day... No one knew what to expect. We were still short one health care provider - Cathy Valentyn had not yet arrived with her daughter Elena. 

Submitted by Lisa W.