This week marks the one month mark of our stay here in Peru and we are finally able to feel like we actually live here and are not just visiting. We have really taken advantage of the ability to walk everywhere and use it to add exercise to our day. We feel like we know our way around, can converse with most people and kind of blend in....as much as 2 white people do in this place...not to mention, I am at least a foot taller than most women here and 6 inches taller than most men...haha!
Sunday, my translator, Stephanie, was dying to take us to her favorite ceviche restaurant, Cebillano, so Vince, Stephanie, Carl (her boyfriend), and I went and had a feast of raw fish. I know it doesn't sound that appetizing but let me tell you, it was SO good. Vince and I shared a dish they call the Americano—most likely because it is a huge portion....I think they are trying to tell us something! It had a variety of ways to prepare ceviche...raw octopus in an olive sauce, tilapia in this orange sauce (my favorite), another fish in an onion and vinegar sauce, and then fried fish. The rice had squid and other types of fish in it as well. We washed it all down with a cold beer and were so stuffed we didn't eat for the rest of the day. Side-note on the beer here….it’s terrible! They have one company here in the country, Cusquena, that makes the beer and there are 3 different levels of “quality”—Premium (resembles Busch Lt.), Pilsner (resembles Keystone Lt.) and Crystal (resembles PBR). Now, I don’t want to go offending anyone on their beer of choice, but seriously, we need something else to drink here! Unfortunately, Peruvians are very loyal so I don’t think it’s going to change much before we leave but I still have hope that we might walk into a bar some night and be able to order a good ale or lager.
After our food coma on Sunday, we decided we needed a good walk on Monday. We’d been planning to see the new Harry Potter movie and now that I was done watching all six that I’d missed (thanks to Vince’s great downloading skills) we decided to walk to the theatre it was playing at. We had such a great experience. First of all, movies here are SOOOO cheap. It cost us $7 for 2 movie tickets. We, of course, needed popcorn and soda so we ordered the only combo that had 2 drinks and popcorn. We were so surprised with what we got for another $7…the drinks were pretty normal in size but the popcorn tub was AT LEAST 3 gallons, possibly 4! I don’t know how anyone could ever eat that much popcorn in one sitting but apparently they thought we could! Vince and I made about a 1-2 inch dent in it and couldn’t stomach another piece. The movie was good and we had a nice night together. On Tuesdays here they offer even cheaper movies…who knew they could get cheaper!...so we decided to walk to the other movie theatre and see something else. It is really far away and we didn’t know exactly how to get there, just the general direction to head, but we were determined to make it on foot. After stopping at this outdoor market to get hangers, we finally made it. It took us about an hour but it was nice seeing that part of the city. We saw a movie that has been out in the U.S. for about a year called The Jones. However, it was called something totally different here, For Love or Contract???? It was an alright movie…good concept we thought.
Wednesday, we were able to watch Arsenal win another game…now if only they can win tomorrow against Manchester United! Thursday and Friday were long days. I had to work both shifts at the office since by boss had to leave town for the weekend. It was great because I was able to see double the patients and continue connecting with those patients who can’t always come to my morning hours. Wednesday Vince and I went to the main square and handed out a ton of fliers for the office. It’s really funny here because TONS of people just go to the square and sit all day. Plus, they ALL wanted to have a flier no matter what was on it. Most didn’t know why this white girl was handing them something but there were a few that inquired about what we were doing. In the final group of people I passed them out to was this man who just kept saying to me “My love! My love!” I told him I was Dr. Andrea and to come to the clinic…I have a feeling he might just come but probably not for the purpose of healthcare…lol!
Yesterday was quite the day for Vince. My translator’s boyfriend had invited him to come play soccer with him and his friends so we of course, took him up on his offer. They play 5 vs. 5 on courts that resemble basketball courts minus the hoops, add goals. They have 3 teams playing together. Two teams start, whoever scores first, stays on and plays the third team until someone scores…and it keeps going until one team wins 5 times. Whoever wins, wins the pot which was 2 soles per player (about $.80 per player). Vince had a ball and looked great. He was nervous about what the competition would be like and how he would fit in but it ended up being not terrible. He had a bunch of goals…of course…and even more assists. After less than a minute into the first game…maybe 34 seconds in he tells me…he scored the first goal (8 seconds longer than it took him to score against UCLA setting the record for 2nd fastest goal scored in Creighton history…but who’s keeping tract ;)) The other guys on his team were pleasantly surprised and from then on, he had their respect. They ended up playing for 2.5 hours and by the end of it, they all walked away with 4 Soles each. They won every game except 2…one was a fluke goal, the other they had a sub come in for goalie and he just sucked! He was really tired for the rest of the night and today is complaining of sore muscles but he had a blast. I think it’s a mixture of the lack of oxygen from the high altitude and him being a tad bit out of shape since he hadn’t played a game in 10 months…hehe…but a few more Saturdays of this and he’ll be back to normal.
Well, that was basically our week. We are looking forward to Christmas here. By the sounds of the weather reports from Omaha, we’ll be missing a white Christmas. As sad as that is, we aren’t complaining about the lack of snow here. It’s different but I think we’ll survive! We are sitting today at Starbucks, a new addition to their newest mall. As I reflect on this past week, I can't help but say how thankful I am that I get to share this experience with someone who is as amazing as Vince. Its been pretty great. We hope you all stay warm and safe…until next post!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Happy December
Hello Everyone. This is my first crack at this so I apologize in advance for my poor writing skills. I should have paid better attention in school. Either way, here we go.....So I guess we have been here almost and month and it seems much shorter than that. Time is flying by. A lot has happened since our last post so I will try to remember everything. Mafe had her baby, a baby boy named Marek. It is combination of her name and her husbands name Eric. They were thinking of Godric as they LOVE "True Blood" but decided against it. I like both of the names. Andrea and I left the house around 6:00pm to go on a run. We returned and Eric joked that we had left at a bad time. We asked what happened and he said, "the baby is here!" Whhhhhaaaaaaat??? We went on a 45 minute run....I guess he was ready to come out. It was an exciting night for their family and us as we transition into our move to Peru. The arrival of the baby meant the arrival of Mafe's family. First her dad arrived on Thursday and then her Mother and her friend arrived on Saturday evening. They will be here.....well we are not quite sure, it could be a week or two, or three....the house will be festive nonetheless.
Andrea is dying to get into the Christmas spirit as it is quite strange to be celebrating in 72 degree weather. She decorated our Holiday Tree a week or so ago, as well as our windows with sticky snowflakes (courtesy Erica Burke Peterson :)) On top of the windows and tree, Michael sent her some Mannheim Steamroller via Skype and I found a few holiday tunes on the internet from Amy Grant. I am sure my sister Elizabeth remembers "Emmanuel" as she belt it out three months before and after Christmas one year as she was privileged enough to sing it for a school christmas concert. Almost as annoying as "Intrepid"....drive in, drive in..........
We had our first Spanish test from Jose, our teacher. It was pretty easy but long. We had previously had 3 lessons and went over the alphabet, 3 or 4 verbs, and some vocabulary. In all, there were probably 200+ note cards and 4 posters with letters and their pronunciation. So for our test, he literally spent 20 minutes, Andrea first, and went through the note-cards one by one. We hadn't really studied and we both probably missed 7 or 8 note-cards, but not too bad for not studying. I struggle with some verbs and Andrea struggles with the alphabet. Jose favors her when we are doing lessons and gives her the easy note-cards....Either way we seem to be very competitive when it comes to the lesson and who is better at learning spanish.
Yesterday was a great day, Arsenal went top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Fulham. Arsenal is not playing too well so I'm surprised to see them at the top of the table, albeit, Manchester United have a game in hand. Either way, the EPL race this year is the tightest it has ever been. I think it is harder to win the EPL than any other league in the World, including Champions League. I am happy for at least a week as we play Manchester on Monday, December 13.
We decided to walk around the city, something we do usually everyday, and explore new streets. After we walked for about an hour we were really hungry. We went into a little restaurant and order "el menu". Basically when you order this, some places are different, you get an app, a main course, and desert, for a very low price, usually $4 US. We didnt look at the special for the day so we had no idea what we they were actually going to bring out. For our appetizer it was a beef soup with rice and veggies. Very good. It also had a baked potato in the broth and it was very filling. For the main course, they must have run out of the chicken, rice and cheese sauce, because that is what they brought Andrea, and they brough me a Peruvian stir-fry dish. It was excellent and we both shared the meals with one another because we werent sure why they were different. The two men sitting behind us order "el menu" as well and they were served the stir-fry dish as well. Our food and a liter of Coca-Cola was 20 Peruvian Soles or $7.07 US Dollars.....I wish I didnt have any bills to pay in the states because I would never go hungry!
Andrea and I tried to watch the Big 12 Championship on ESPN 3 last night. We werent able to get a good stream until the 2nd quarter and we were winning at that point. However, we must be bad luck because I am not sure we saw Nebraska score after that. We definitely saw them turn it over however. Nebraska is not that good offensively. With or without a healthy Martinez. I felt like I watched the same play 100 times. Between the score in the game, the bad internet stream, the fact that we had not eaten anything for dinner, and the Peruvian man blowing his cigarette smoke in our faces, it made for a very long night.
We were going to take a cab home but decided to walk instead. I am glad we did because we saw a Peruvian Santa on the way home. It brought a smile to both of our faces. 70 degrees, Arequipa, Peru, Peruvian man dressed as Santa but more resembles the Burger King Man.
Adios
Andrea is dying to get into the Christmas spirit as it is quite strange to be celebrating in 72 degree weather. She decorated our Holiday Tree a week or so ago, as well as our windows with sticky snowflakes (courtesy Erica Burke Peterson :)) On top of the windows and tree, Michael sent her some Mannheim Steamroller via Skype and I found a few holiday tunes on the internet from Amy Grant. I am sure my sister Elizabeth remembers "Emmanuel" as she belt it out three months before and after Christmas one year as she was privileged enough to sing it for a school christmas concert. Almost as annoying as "Intrepid"....drive in, drive in..........
We had our first Spanish test from Jose, our teacher. It was pretty easy but long. We had previously had 3 lessons and went over the alphabet, 3 or 4 verbs, and some vocabulary. In all, there were probably 200+ note cards and 4 posters with letters and their pronunciation. So for our test, he literally spent 20 minutes, Andrea first, and went through the note-cards one by one. We hadn't really studied and we both probably missed 7 or 8 note-cards, but not too bad for not studying. I struggle with some verbs and Andrea struggles with the alphabet. Jose favors her when we are doing lessons and gives her the easy note-cards....Either way we seem to be very competitive when it comes to the lesson and who is better at learning spanish.
Yesterday was a great day, Arsenal went top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Fulham. Arsenal is not playing too well so I'm surprised to see them at the top of the table, albeit, Manchester United have a game in hand. Either way, the EPL race this year is the tightest it has ever been. I think it is harder to win the EPL than any other league in the World, including Champions League. I am happy for at least a week as we play Manchester on Monday, December 13.
We decided to walk around the city, something we do usually everyday, and explore new streets. After we walked for about an hour we were really hungry. We went into a little restaurant and order "el menu". Basically when you order this, some places are different, you get an app, a main course, and desert, for a very low price, usually $4 US. We didnt look at the special for the day so we had no idea what we they were actually going to bring out. For our appetizer it was a beef soup with rice and veggies. Very good. It also had a baked potato in the broth and it was very filling. For the main course, they must have run out of the chicken, rice and cheese sauce, because that is what they brought Andrea, and they brough me a Peruvian stir-fry dish. It was excellent and we both shared the meals with one another because we werent sure why they were different. The two men sitting behind us order "el menu" as well and they were served the stir-fry dish as well. Our food and a liter of Coca-Cola was 20 Peruvian Soles or $7.07 US Dollars.....I wish I didnt have any bills to pay in the states because I would never go hungry!
Andrea and I tried to watch the Big 12 Championship on ESPN 3 last night. We werent able to get a good stream until the 2nd quarter and we were winning at that point. However, we must be bad luck because I am not sure we saw Nebraska score after that. We definitely saw them turn it over however. Nebraska is not that good offensively. With or without a healthy Martinez. I felt like I watched the same play 100 times. Between the score in the game, the bad internet stream, the fact that we had not eaten anything for dinner, and the Peruvian man blowing his cigarette smoke in our faces, it made for a very long night.
We were going to take a cab home but decided to walk instead. I am glad we did because we saw a Peruvian Santa on the way home. It brought a smile to both of our faces. 70 degrees, Arequipa, Peru, Peruvian man dressed as Santa but more resembles the Burger King Man.
Adios
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Peru's version of Thanksgiving!
Well, just wanted to post a little about our Thanksgiving feast yesterday. It was definitely worth waiting for. After seeing patients yesterday morning, I had quite the appetite for dinner! There are some new pictures of the food...so delicious! We started our dinner with these appetizers that Matias helped make. It was cheese and ham wrapped in a wonton-type thing. We dipped them in fresh avocado/onion/tomato dip that I actually made....yes, that was the extent of my cooking yesterday but I'm learning!!! The combination of flavors was awesome. Then the main meal was ready and wow! We had turkey that was stuffed with ham and something??? topped with a mango salsa, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with a spicy rocota sauce, fresh green bean casserole with homemade onions on top, stuffing, rolls, and green salad with avocados and tomatoes. Everything we ate was made fresh from scratch bought from the local market, even the salsa and other sauces. The turkey was pretty different but tasted great. I don't think its common to sell whole turkeys like we are used to in the states. The mashed potatoes were quite different too....a very yellow color and different consistency but still really good. For dessert, we had the traditional pumpkin and apple pies....so good! Tandy's cousin had just visited from the states and brought 3 cans of Libby's pure pumpkin so she made that pie with a shortbread cookie crust. The apple pie was actually bought from a place here called Cafe au Lait and it was amazing. I guess you could say we were stuffed last night and didn't do much of anything for a few hours after as our food comas set in!
Today has been a good day. We finished watching all of the Harry Potter movies so that we can go to the new theater in town and see the newest one. It’s very popular here so we were hopefully going to take Matias to see it. Mafe was supposed to have the baby again today but the nurse couldn't come to the house. That is a huge difference here....you really are on Peruvian time no matter how important what you have planned is. But, everything happens for a reason and there must be one that keeps getting in the way of her induction. Maybe she will have it naturally after all!
Well, tomorrow starts another week...our third full week here. I can't believe we've almost been here a whole month and already experienced a holiday without being surrounded by family and friends. We truly missed spending time with everyone back in the states and know that it would have been so much fun. But we also had a blast here experiencing some new traditions with an awesome group of new people!
Today has been a good day. We finished watching all of the Harry Potter movies so that we can go to the new theater in town and see the newest one. It’s very popular here so we were hopefully going to take Matias to see it. Mafe was supposed to have the baby again today but the nurse couldn't come to the house. That is a huge difference here....you really are on Peruvian time no matter how important what you have planned is. But, everything happens for a reason and there must be one that keeps getting in the way of her induction. Maybe she will have it naturally after all!
Well, tomorrow starts another week...our third full week here. I can't believe we've almost been here a whole month and already experienced a holiday without being surrounded by family and friends. We truly missed spending time with everyone back in the states and know that it would have been so much fun. But we also had a blast here experiencing some new traditions with an awesome group of new people!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Well, I know it’s a couple days late, but today is our Thanksgiving celebration so I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope the turkey, stuffing and pies were good. I'm not really sure what our meal is going to entail but based on the food here so far, I don't think we'll be complaining. We are celebrating with Eric, Mafe and Matias, Tandy (another American Chiro practicing here) and Andrew (an American Chiro practicing in Tacna--5 hrs away), so this should be fun! On Thanksgiving night here, I worked until about 8 so Vince and I went out for a nice meal together to celebrate. We went to a place called Zig Zag...voted the #1 restaurant in Arequipa! It definitely was worth it. Vince ordered ostrich with mashed potatoes and I ordered alpaca with creamed quinoa. Before the meals came out, they brought us these big bibs for us to wear. We were a little confused as to why and felt a little funny wearing a bib. But once the meals were brought to the table, we understood why! The meats had been cooked on stone tablets and were still sizzling on the stones at the table. If it hadn't been for the bibs, we would have been covered in grease! Let's just say that we both were pleasantly surprised with each meal. Ostrich and alpaca meat are one of the best types of meat we have ever tasted! They are both served medium...very tender with small differences in taste between the two. Let's just say that we definitely gorged ourselves on Thanksgiving....just not with turkey!
Other than that outing, this week we watched our first soccer game here. Matias' school team had their last game on Monday so we joined Mafe to watch it. Was it different than what we are used to!!! I won't even go into it because I'm sure Vince can analyze it much better than I so I'll leave that to him whenever he gets around to posting. But it was funny and quite an interesting experience to say the least. We have some video that we'll try to post here that was pretty hilarious!
The house has been a pretty busy place this week as well. Mafe is due with her second child any minute now so she and Eric have been working to get the nursery ready. She was going to be induced yesterday but it just didn't work out so the big day is now tomorrow! We are hoping for a smooth labor and delivery and a very healthy little boy.
Well, work is almost done for me today. I had a couple of breaks in between patients where I was able to write. Work has been good this week, picking up a few new patients each day and having success with the old. I feel like I am getting better with each adjustment I make which is an exciting feeling. Vince finally got a win out of Arsenal this morning....it was a rough week for them losing 2 matches. Let's just say he wasn't in the best of moods this week..haha! He vowed to never watch them again, took the Arsenal flag that he brought down here down from the wall of our bedroom, and stuffed it and his Arsenal Christmas stocking away in a deep pocket of his luggage....we all know his anger towards Arsenal won't last past today but it’s pretty comical to me who gets to witness it :)~
Anyways, we both miss everyone a lot and LOVE hearing from you all. Keep the emails coming because it’s something we both look forward to each day. Being so far from home, even an email saying how boring Omaha is makes us feel a little closer! Oh, and Vince wanted to make sure our address was on here...just in case anyone wanted to send him some pumpkin covered pretzels...haha...or anything else American (I was craving strawberry pop-tarts, which I never even eat, and he was craving tootsie rolls....so weird!)
So here it is: 412 Av. Salaverry, Vallecito
Vallecito, Arequipa, Peru
Have a great weekend and enjoy time with family. Miss you all!!!
Other than that outing, this week we watched our first soccer game here. Matias' school team had their last game on Monday so we joined Mafe to watch it. Was it different than what we are used to!!! I won't even go into it because I'm sure Vince can analyze it much better than I so I'll leave that to him whenever he gets around to posting. But it was funny and quite an interesting experience to say the least. We have some video that we'll try to post here that was pretty hilarious!
The house has been a pretty busy place this week as well. Mafe is due with her second child any minute now so she and Eric have been working to get the nursery ready. She was going to be induced yesterday but it just didn't work out so the big day is now tomorrow! We are hoping for a smooth labor and delivery and a very healthy little boy.
Well, work is almost done for me today. I had a couple of breaks in between patients where I was able to write. Work has been good this week, picking up a few new patients each day and having success with the old. I feel like I am getting better with each adjustment I make which is an exciting feeling. Vince finally got a win out of Arsenal this morning....it was a rough week for them losing 2 matches. Let's just say he wasn't in the best of moods this week..haha! He vowed to never watch them again, took the Arsenal flag that he brought down here down from the wall of our bedroom, and stuffed it and his Arsenal Christmas stocking away in a deep pocket of his luggage....we all know his anger towards Arsenal won't last past today but it’s pretty comical to me who gets to witness it :)~
Anyways, we both miss everyone a lot and LOVE hearing from you all. Keep the emails coming because it’s something we both look forward to each day. Being so far from home, even an email saying how boring Omaha is makes us feel a little closer! Oh, and Vince wanted to make sure our address was on here...just in case anyone wanted to send him some pumpkin covered pretzels...haha...or anything else American (I was craving strawberry pop-tarts, which I never even eat, and he was craving tootsie rolls....so weird!)
So here it is: 412 Av. Salaverry, Vallecito
Vallecito, Arequipa, Peru
Have a great weekend and enjoy time with family. Miss you all!!!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Yo no se...
Well its the weekend and we are happy for some time to relax. Yesterday we ventured out on the town in our first taxi ride without anyone with us to translate! We successfully made it to the Plaza Real...which is their version of a mall. Vince did most of the talking...basically saying "Plaza Real por favor!" and somehow they knew exactly what we meant...he's getting good :)~ We went looking for a dresser/drawers of some sorts because at the moment, we are living out of our luggage. But we ended up buying 2 more pillows, cheese, and 2 pairs of shoes that were too good of a deal to pass up! All in all, it was a good shopping trip. We also tried there version of gelato, which is not quite like in the states, and chinese food from the food court, which was exactly like in the states--always smelling way better than it actually tastes! Anyways, after the long day we were happy to find another cab that understood us enough to take us back home...I really think we're getting the hang of this whole place!
Luckily, we start Spanish lessons Monday. We found someone here that will come to the house 3 days a week and teach us for 15 Soles and hour...basically for 5 dollars. Its a steal for both of us and we're thankful. I hope it works and we can learn fast because then I will feel much more comfortable!
Today was a very busy day in the office. Dr. Eric did a health talk to a bunch of new patients at 9. Its interesting because even with him speaking Spanish, I understood exactly what he was communicating to the patients. It was a neat experience. Then once all their x-rays were explained to them one by one, they were escorted into my room where I adjusted them all. I was packed from 10 until 1 when we closed! it was a busy morning. While that was going on, Vince was watching the Arsenal-Tottenham soccer game. He wasn't very happy after the loss so lunch was interesting. He cooled off enough to eat 2 plates of spaghetti though! After that, us girls were off to the spa for a day of relaxation. Mafe, Dr. Eric's wife, Tandy, another American chiropractor in town, and I went for pedicures, manicures, and massages. It is so cheap down here that you just can't pass it up!
After the spa, we met up with the boys--Dr. Eric, Vince, and Matias, Mafe's son, for some dinner downtown at this place called Capricio's. We planned on dessert but after drinking this strawberry drink...YUM!...and eating a mozarella de pollo sandwich, we couldn't stomach it. But plans were made to go back for the chocolate cake!
Tonight we are just hanging out....we plan on watching the Nebraska game online if it streams well enough.
Hope all is well in the states!
Andrea & Vince
Luckily, we start Spanish lessons Monday. We found someone here that will come to the house 3 days a week and teach us for 15 Soles and hour...basically for 5 dollars. Its a steal for both of us and we're thankful. I hope it works and we can learn fast because then I will feel much more comfortable!
Today was a very busy day in the office. Dr. Eric did a health talk to a bunch of new patients at 9. Its interesting because even with him speaking Spanish, I understood exactly what he was communicating to the patients. It was a neat experience. Then once all their x-rays were explained to them one by one, they were escorted into my room where I adjusted them all. I was packed from 10 until 1 when we closed! it was a busy morning. While that was going on, Vince was watching the Arsenal-Tottenham soccer game. He wasn't very happy after the loss so lunch was interesting. He cooled off enough to eat 2 plates of spaghetti though! After that, us girls were off to the spa for a day of relaxation. Mafe, Dr. Eric's wife, Tandy, another American chiropractor in town, and I went for pedicures, manicures, and massages. It is so cheap down here that you just can't pass it up!
After the spa, we met up with the boys--Dr. Eric, Vince, and Matias, Mafe's son, for some dinner downtown at this place called Capricio's. We planned on dessert but after drinking this strawberry drink...YUM!...and eating a mozarella de pollo sandwich, we couldn't stomach it. But plans were made to go back for the chocolate cake!
Tonight we are just hanging out....we plan on watching the Nebraska game online if it streams well enough.
Hope all is well in the states!
Andrea & Vince
Thursday, November 18, 2010
One week in....
Well, we have been gone from the U.S. exactly one week. We arrived in Arequipa, Peru last Friday morning and have been acclimating well. We left Omaha around noon on Thursday, stopped in Chicago with enough time to run to our next gate and board our flight to Miami. There we had about a 6 hour layover which gave us time navigate through the Miami airport...(its huge!)...to check in for our next flight, grab some food, and hang out in the "first class" lounge since we scored some cheap first class tickets from Miami to Lima. Neither Vince or I had ever actually flown first class so we were pleasantly surprised by all the extra bells & whistles! The flight went smoothly and in Lima, we caught our final flight to Arequipa and arrived here around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning. We were greeted by the family who is so generous to let us live with them. Dr. Eric Schade (my boss) and his wife, Mafe Schade, helped us load our luggage into a taxi and we were off. Friday was such a blur since we were running low on energy but we managed to move into the "maid's quarters" off the main house/clinic. The house is super-cute...big and typical for South American living. It sits behind 10-12 foot walls on all sides of the yard with traditional architecture. Vince and I have settled into our room and unpacked for the most part.
I started my first week of work on Monday. Dr. Eric basically asked that morning....are you ready? I said yes, and that was it...out walked Dr. Eric and in walked my first patient. I am lucky to have a translator. She is a very nice and sweet Peruvian girl, 22 years old, who loves languages. She doesn't know much about chiropractic but I'm teaching her day by day, patient by patient. I have a few American patients and she likes to listen even to those appointments because it helps her explain things to the Peruvian people. Dr. Eric said that I would encounter here what most chiropractors encounter in 10-15 years of practice in the states. He was right...the people here come to chiropractors after going to many different doctors and specialists that have no idea what is wrong with them. We are their last resort more often than not....which is a lot to handle but also awesome when we start seeing results. The patients are so grateful and excited to be adjusted/treated by a chiropractor. After being passed around from one doctor to the next, sometimes the fact that Dr. Eric and I just listen to them and actually hear what they are suffering from has such a positive effect for them that treating them is easy.
I work from 8-12 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10-1 on Saturdays so Vince and I have the whole afternoon and evening to explore the city, relax, and hang out with each other. We usually have a big lunch, as its the main meal of the day here, with Mafe and Eric. The food is amazing here so we definitely aren't going hungry! Then we either lay down for a siesta or hit the streets walking...most afternoons to the Plaza which is the center of town. It is soooooo beautiful. You really would never find anything like it in the states. We've found a few coffee shops that we like, a market that we've visited almost every day to get cookies, yogurt drinks, and various things we've discovered we forgot. Last night we were lucky to join Dr. Eric at his favorite coffee shop that we would have never found without him! It was tucked behind huge wooden doors and up a set of stone stairs. Its pretty much indescribable. Vince says it looks like its straight out of the Lord of the Rings....Minas Tirith?!?! I've never seen it so I describe it as the inside of the convent on the Sound of Music...lol! Either way, its our new favorite hangout. Its actually run by a French man and his Peruvian wife so its a little escape from the bustle of the city.
Well, we hope you enjoy all of our experiences through the blog, our emails, and Facebook. We miss all of you but are having a great time so far!
Ciao!
Andrea & Vince
I started my first week of work on Monday. Dr. Eric basically asked that morning....are you ready? I said yes, and that was it...out walked Dr. Eric and in walked my first patient. I am lucky to have a translator. She is a very nice and sweet Peruvian girl, 22 years old, who loves languages. She doesn't know much about chiropractic but I'm teaching her day by day, patient by patient. I have a few American patients and she likes to listen even to those appointments because it helps her explain things to the Peruvian people. Dr. Eric said that I would encounter here what most chiropractors encounter in 10-15 years of practice in the states. He was right...the people here come to chiropractors after going to many different doctors and specialists that have no idea what is wrong with them. We are their last resort more often than not....which is a lot to handle but also awesome when we start seeing results. The patients are so grateful and excited to be adjusted/treated by a chiropractor. After being passed around from one doctor to the next, sometimes the fact that Dr. Eric and I just listen to them and actually hear what they are suffering from has such a positive effect for them that treating them is easy.
I work from 8-12 a.m. Monday through Friday and 10-1 on Saturdays so Vince and I have the whole afternoon and evening to explore the city, relax, and hang out with each other. We usually have a big lunch, as its the main meal of the day here, with Mafe and Eric. The food is amazing here so we definitely aren't going hungry! Then we either lay down for a siesta or hit the streets walking...most afternoons to the Plaza which is the center of town. It is soooooo beautiful. You really would never find anything like it in the states. We've found a few coffee shops that we like, a market that we've visited almost every day to get cookies, yogurt drinks, and various things we've discovered we forgot. Last night we were lucky to join Dr. Eric at his favorite coffee shop that we would have never found without him! It was tucked behind huge wooden doors and up a set of stone stairs. Its pretty much indescribable. Vince says it looks like its straight out of the Lord of the Rings....Minas Tirith?!?! I've never seen it so I describe it as the inside of the convent on the Sound of Music...lol! Either way, its our new favorite hangout. Its actually run by a French man and his Peruvian wife so its a little escape from the bustle of the city.
Well, we hope you enjoy all of our experiences through the blog, our emails, and Facebook. We miss all of you but are having a great time so far!
Ciao!
Andrea & Vince
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