Off to Peru

After nearly a year of planning, it's hard to believe that this trip to Peru is finally happening. We've hit so many snags in the planning for this trip that I have barely let myself get excited about the fact that in a day and a half I'll be in South America again!!

Tomorrow I catch a bus to New York at 1 PM and meet the rest of my group at the airport at 7:30 for an 11:30 flight. Yes, that's four hours early. In those four hours, my job will be to become best friends with the staff of LAN Chile airlines and try to sweet-talk them out of charging us fees for our overweight luggage. We'll be carrying all kinds of medical equipment, machines and supplies, and even with the ample luggage allowance we'll be significantly overweight. I haven't yet finished my own packing, but I'm reaching back into my memory to recreate my backpacker wardrobe of approximately two pairs of pants and three shirts for my two-week trip. Average daytime temperature at this time of year in Cusco is 70 degrees F, but at 12,000 feet, there's potential for some bone-chilling nights, so I'm packing a fleece and my winter jacket, too.

For the first week, though, I'll mainly be wearing scrubs. (Words can barely express how excited I am about that--scrubs are the most comfortable articles of clothing in the world). For the first 6 days of the trip, we'll be working at the Hospital Regional de Cusco, and I'll be doing my best to keep track of the patients and translate medical terms for foot deformities and treatments. Since we're the first surgical team to visit this hospital, we'll be paving new ground, and I am trying to prepare myself for the likelihood that it's going to be a week full of challenges. I have spoken with the hospital director several times by phone, but her constant reassurances of "don't worry, we're ready for you, no problem, everything will be fine" and noticeable lack of concrete details leave me a little bit concerned. There may be some cloudy details at this point, but I am finally convinced that the doors will indeed be open to us when we arrive on Saturday, and there will be children awaiting treatment on Sunday morning.

After the week-long medical trip, I'm staying for another week, and will be joined by my two EF friends Marco and Edward. This will be a totally different travel experience for me. I'll be traveling with two male friends, an Italian and a Frenchman (who will blend in much better in Peru than light-haired little me) and one of them is completely fluent in Spanish. We have absolutely no specific plans yet, and that suits me just fine. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal.

I should have frequent internet access in Peru, so hopefully I'll get the chance to post a few times and let you know how the trip is going. At any rate, when I get back I'll have lots of photos and stories to tell.

Thanks to all of you who have sent your good wishes and support for my trip!