Ok, so I couldn´t find an appropriate song title for today´s post, because seriously we are on strike today. We didn´t go to our volunteer placements and there are no cars driving on the street. It is a national strike because of either a) the issues the native people in the North of Peru have been having with the government or b) a workers strike. I have been explained the reasons several times, but I am still not 100% sure. Maybe you can google it or look at cnn.com and let me know for sure.
While the strike and protests were way less climatic than I was hoping, we have still had a eventful day.
This morning I went on a hike with some of the other volunteers to a mountain over-looking Ayacucho. We climbed up an incredibly steep road and took many pictures at the top.
After lunch at the house where we enjoyed papas fritas (thin potato slices fried), we went to a potato festival in the main plaza. There were more kinds of potatoes there than I ever imagined--big ones, little ones, red ones, purple ones, white ones, skinny ones, fat ones, and all kinds in between. I even bought a bag of Lay´s Andina potato chips (similar to regular Lay´s, but are have purple and red in the center of the chip because of the type of potato used). We returned to the house after the festival and tried to calm ourselves down from the pure excitement that comes from a potato exhibition.
At about 3:30 we had a professor of traditional medicine from the nursing school here speak to us about the different types of traditional medicine and cures. She said that about 60% of people here will go to a healer before they go to a medical clinic. Then, if the healer can´t help they will go see a doctor. But she also said it also works in reverse. If a doctor thinks that a patient needs traditional healer, the doctor will send them to one. All of the traditional preventions and cures come from nature including plants, herbs, and rocks/minerals. One example of a treatment that she told us about was rubbing a fresh chicken egg all over the inflicted person´s body. The thinking being that the egg will absorb all of the bad energy. Then, they will crack the egg in a glass and observe what happens. Next week we plan to visit the traditional medicine garden in the nursing school, so let me know if you need me to pick anything up for you.
Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strike. Show all posts
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Elderly Woman
Because my school is closed this week and there is a local strike today we can only walk to placements. No driving allowed. The nursing home is within walking distance, so about 8 of us decided to head down there.
When we arrive we have to split up between the side for the men and the side for the women. I quickly scoot over to the women's side. I was surprised by what a nice, clean facility it is. There is a big courtyard with a well kept garden and a small church. This place is run by nuns, so I see a few of them walking around. Me and three other girls go to the courtyard for the women and see all of the women sitting around. Most of the older women speak Quechua, so it makes it really difficult to communicate (that and the effects that come from old age). There is no one there telling us what to do so we just have to figure it out on our own. We help some women move to sit in the sun. We wheel some that don't object or really talk into the sun as well. Not really sure what to do next, I sit by one woman that looks eager to talk to me. Another one joins us. I try to speak to her in Spanish and understand bits and pieces. I am pretty sure she kept asking me if I like to cook. I kept telling her yes, but I don't really know how to very well. Then, I think she asks me again. I tell her again (you know how this goes).
Then, I decide I want to walk around, so I get one woman and start wheeling her around the facility. We go for a long ride and she shows me which direction to go by pointing. This was probably the highlight of her day and I felt bad when I had to return her to her starting position. A few of the other girls are painting the nails of various women. Finally, we sat by a happy woman and started taking pictures of her. She LOVED it when we showed her the pictures on the digital camera. She didn't really speak, but squealed with laughter after each shot. It was great!
After we left the nursing home, we headed to the main plaza to see if we could see any protesting or striking. Today's strike was (I think) called by the local workers union. We saw one group of about 100 mostly women carrying a banner and yelling things as they walked down the street. It was very tame. Deciding this was much less exciting than we were hoping for (and told by our program director. He warned us about tires burning..etc) we headed back to the house for lunch.
Elderly Woman, Pearl Jam
When we arrive we have to split up between the side for the men and the side for the women. I quickly scoot over to the women's side. I was surprised by what a nice, clean facility it is. There is a big courtyard with a well kept garden and a small church. This place is run by nuns, so I see a few of them walking around. Me and three other girls go to the courtyard for the women and see all of the women sitting around. Most of the older women speak Quechua, so it makes it really difficult to communicate (that and the effects that come from old age). There is no one there telling us what to do so we just have to figure it out on our own. We help some women move to sit in the sun. We wheel some that don't object or really talk into the sun as well. Not really sure what to do next, I sit by one woman that looks eager to talk to me. Another one joins us. I try to speak to her in Spanish and understand bits and pieces. I am pretty sure she kept asking me if I like to cook. I kept telling her yes, but I don't really know how to very well. Then, I think she asks me again. I tell her again (you know how this goes).
Then, I decide I want to walk around, so I get one woman and start wheeling her around the facility. We go for a long ride and she shows me which direction to go by pointing. This was probably the highlight of her day and I felt bad when I had to return her to her starting position. A few of the other girls are painting the nails of various women. Finally, we sat by a happy woman and started taking pictures of her. She LOVED it when we showed her the pictures on the digital camera. She didn't really speak, but squealed with laughter after each shot. It was great!
After we left the nursing home, we headed to the main plaza to see if we could see any protesting or striking. Today's strike was (I think) called by the local workers union. We saw one group of about 100 mostly women carrying a banner and yelling things as they walked down the street. It was very tame. Deciding this was much less exciting than we were hoping for (and told by our program director. He warned us about tires burning..etc) we headed back to the house for lunch.
Elderly Woman, Pearl Jam
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