Thursday, April 5, 2012

working in Urubamba

These little guys were on top of all of the buildings.  These ceramic bulls are placed on the roofs for protection.  I LOVED it!!  I really wanted to buy two and put them on my roof, but then I remembered I don't have a tile roof and they could be hard to attach, so I got one and put him in my office :-)

This was the home neighboring our hotel room.  Notice their security fence (cacti on top of brick)  These homes were fairly typical of the homes in the area.  It is a stark contrast to the central court of our hotel, but don't let it fool you ... the showers didn't really work, there was no heat, and you couldn't flush toilet paper because it would clog the toilet.
This big guy was hanging out at our hotel.  Praise the Lord above that I wasn't the one that was taken by surprise by him.  I was able to see him in a fairly controlled situation.  I might have died otherwise!!!!  It creeps me out enough that I probably walked right over top of him without knowing it.
another typical house.  No windows ... but a bright shiny satellite dish!!!
Their priorities are a bit different than mine.
The traditional women of the area FASCINATED me!!!!  Their dress and demeanor was quite feminine and then they would sit with their legs spread as wide as they could go.
These women with the tall white hats are direct descendants of the spanish and the Inca's.  They are believed to feel superior to the rest because they have the spanish blood in them.  It was really interesting to see how they made their presence known when they arrived and butted their way in front of others who had been waiting hours longer than them.

This is how we got to and from most places while we were working.

This is the school that we were working at




 The woman that Brian is looking at is wearing hair extensions in her braids.  It is black yarn!!!  There were several women over the 4 days that sported this style.
 Kelley teaching the 6th graders oral hygiene.
 the operative room
My sexy man doing triage.  I loved hearing him speak spanish for four days straight.  It was so HOT!!!

My partner in crime.  I worked with Ken most of the time.  He is the spouse of one of the hygienists that came along.

The children were my favorite.  Amanda and I appointed ourselves the official baby holders.  I LOVED the children.  This little girl on the right is the Ketchewan girl that I washed her hair.
In case you hadn't noticed yet these pictures show my ridiculous head burn and purple chest.  I told you I wasn't exaggerating and there was a reason why all these beautiful brown people kept laughing at my burn. :-D

This is the first time I got to assist my sweet hubby!!!  This is the little girl who didn't lose a tooth, but got a new one!!  Still such a precious moment for me to witness.
 painting flouride on a little girl.
This is the second tooth that I got to pull.  I can't tell you how much fun I had working with Justin.  I'm really lucky that I genuinely like being with my hubby.  I just love him and this time with him was so fun!!
 WHAT US NON-DOCS DID WHEN WE WEREN"T WORKING
I worked on evening out my head.
We played with more children
and we took advantage of the GORGEOUS weather!!!
 this is probably my favorite little girl that came around.  She stayed with us a LONG time and even helped sort the supplies.  She was so proud of her dress and her "painted" teeth.

This was the schools final presentation thanking us for all of our hard work and concern for their health.  I may or might not have cried.
This is the whole group on the last day.
 This is the courtyard to the ceramics place, and my video with the monkey.
Can you guess what this meal is??  Yes there is still a tooth in the head, and no ... I didn't eat the head.
 I love this handsome guy!!!!!
These are our translators and cook
 Brian was REALLY excited when he found out that he got a counterfeit bill from the Canadian bank.
 
 Can you see where Justin gets it from???  They had to do their family dance at our final party.


cusco: in pictures

On our VERY early flight out of Calgary.  Yes folks, it is our first trip sans kids!!!!  At this point it is a good thing that I was medicated because I had already cried lots and we hadn't even been gone very long yet.

Following a wonderful nights sleep in Lima we are ready to board another flight into Cusco


 This is the main square in Cusco.  From this main square you can see 16 Cathedrals, all built by the Spanish who came to convert the Inca nation.  The rainbow flag is the flag of Cusco.

 One of the great Incan leaders.  I used to know his name, and could probably look it up, but I don't feel like it right now.  He is the king who succeeded in the expansion of the Incan empire.
 Many of the buildings in Cusco are built on partial Incan walls like this one.  Some of the building were very distinct European style (the spanish) built on top of an Incan wall. 
 Me and My lover!
 This is a fountain built in honor of the Incan God, water.
 yeah, we didn't look like tourists or anything did we?
 I love the idea of Pacha Mama.  The Incans had several Gods that they worshipped, but one of the most important Gods was Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).
 My man has an iron clad stomach!!!!  He was trying everything left and right.  We aren't really sure what this is, but he bought it from a girl on the street.  I do have to admit that it was good, even if it was unidentifiable to us north americans.
 The corn in Peru ROCKS!!!  This picture does not do it justice at all!  The kernels are easily the size of the top portion of my thumb.  Every meal I had in Peru had corn and potatoes ... everyone.  Seriously I loved this corn!
 Peru grows over 3,000 kinds of potatoes.  I love that these ones look like carrots.
 The middle bad is another kind of corn.  Peruvians make this corn into everything.  While in Peru I had this corn in pudding form, juice form, syrup form, and they even make it into beer (which I did not have). I do think it is odd that not once did I hear of anyone eating it straight off the cob.  I wonder why?  Eric do you know??
 From Cusco we took a bus into the sacred valley to work.  
This place is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!