Memories of the Family

By Tina Lin – Guest blogger traveling in Peru.
The meals at my family have not been the same since Rolan (the spouse of the daughter of my host family) left to work in hydroelectric plant near Machu Pichu 2 Saturdays ago. I miss having so many people at the dinner table. Rolan and his friend Wili are really funny. They make very good jokes. The past week I have been talking more to Guisell (the daughter of the family) and learning more about the family. She showed me some family photos Sunday night. They gave me a better sense of the history and the value of the family.
My host parent has 2 daughters and both of them are married. Marisela is older than Guisell by 8 years. She is married with an 8-year-old daughter named Melissa and currently works in Spain. When both Guisell and Marisela were young, the family lived in the Sacred Valley (Urubamba). I saw pictures of the beautiful mountains I visited last Saturday. It was nice that I became familiar with the geography of the region. I got to see pictures of the kids growing up and my host parent becoming older. At the mean time, I was also struggling to remember my own childhood and wondering if I have the same degree of nostalgia for the past. I watched as Guisell smiled at the memory of her Sweet Sixteen party. I am glad that the family is so sharing and loving. I feel like I will be a part of their many stories to tell in the future.
Interesting things that happened today…I shadowed an amazing doctor in Intensive Care at Hospital Seguro Social. He is a very good teacher that probed how much we remembered about physical signs in unconscious patients, ranges of laboratory values, how to read radiographs and types of bacteria. He patiently explained whatever medication we do not recall and even tested to see if we can remember what he previously taught us.
A lot of the patients we saw were elderly that have severe shock or patients with fractures in skull or ribs. It was a very serious environment and I think that made me feel even more awe for the art of medicine. I have much respect for the doctor who is so knowledgeable. He did not have a PDA, but he kept everything straight in his head.
After class today, about 6 of my classmates and I went to Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo for folk dance performance. We saw about 9 different types of dances, each with different themes, costumes and choreography. In general, the type of clothing from each region is unique. The clothing also represents social and marital status. The costumes, type of dance and music also express political, religious and personal beliefs. The band consisted of traditional instruments such as Quena (vertical flute), Wancara (drums) and Hualaycho (guitar with metal strings). My favorite dance of all was the dance of Tinta carnival. It was a dance where the women choose their partners during the dance. In all these dances, men and women were clad in colorful clothing. I scribbled down the name of the dances so I would not forget them after I go home.