By Tina Lin – SALUD Program guest blogger traveling in Peru.
We went to the Gynecology ward in hospital Lorena this morning. It seems like patients in this facility do not really have privacy. I felt a little shocked initially that the doctors and students would just gather around the patient to discuss her case in front of her. The beds are lined up in a row next to each other. One patient can easily overhear what is wrong with the patient next to her. There were about 8 students/interns, 1 attending doctor and 3 nurses. I can imagine this may be overwhelming for a woman who is still grappling with the idea of having late stage of cervical cancer.
We saw about 7 patients in this early morning round. The most interesting cases were cervical cancer, woman with all three types of prolapse (rectal, vaginal and uterine), lady with pre-malignant tumor at the cervix and a 3-month pregnant woman with gastritis. It was especially hard to hear what the doctor was saying because he was soft-spoken. The age of the patients ranged from early 20s to late 40s.
After our visit to the wards, we asked questions about prenatal care and abortion in Peru. The doctor explained to us that prenatal care is recommended but most people from rural areas just choose not to visit the hospitals. On top of lack of follow up, the rural women often carry unwanted pregnancies. Sometimes they would try to self-abort or go to an un-professional doctor. This causes a lot of problem including visits to the emergency, infection and perforation of uterus. Abortion is illegal in Peru. Some woman would drink the juice of a certain herb called ruda that is known to abort pregnancy (we do not know if it really works).
Later on in the afternoon, I had Spanish class. We always have exams on Friday. This week I learned about pronouns and practiced more past tenses in Spanish. A classmate of mine just found out she passed her Boards. I start to wonder about what life would be like for me as a second year starting in August. At night, I went home to eat dinner and I spent a lot of time with the maid. She showed me pictures of her kids and told me about previous exchange students that also stayed at my house here. It was neat to see what other people have done. I also want to visit the farm that my family owns.

By Glenn Rigby
Located in Central America, Honduras shares a boundary with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. It is also bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Honduras (that's a lot of water).
Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Honduras in 1502, after which it became a part of Spain's vast empire. The Spanish ruled for approximately 300 years, and then Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas.
Besides lush rain forests, untouched cloud forests (which can rise up to nearly three thousand meters above sea level), mangroves, savannas and mountain ranges laden with pine and oak trees, Honduras harbors yet another priceless ecosystem: The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. In the Bay Islands it is no coincidence to swim with bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, parrotfish, schools of blue tang and even the colossal whale shark. The white sands, tall coconut palms and the easy-going Caribbean atmosphere provide refuge from the busy Central American cities, or across the Atlantic Ocean.
Copan: A city located in Western Honduras, near the Guatemala border. It has a population of about 24,000 inhabitants, and has an unmistakably colonial feel. Copan also houses famous ruins of the ancient city that once dominated the territory.
Outlined are some of the attractions of Copan's ancient Mayan ruins:
* The Ball Court is the most artistic of its type in Mesoamerica, with unique sidewall markers resembling macaw heads. Below is a picture of one of the Court's side buildings.
* The Acropolis is divided into the east and west court plazas and features the most monumental temples in Copan.
* The Great Plaza famous for its stelae and zo zoomorphic altars scattered around it. The Hieroglyphic Stairway holds the longest known text left by the Maya civilization. It was erected by ruler number 15, known as Smoke-Shell, and is believed to be a lineage tree recording the ascension and death of all Copan kings from Ya-Kuk-Mo to Smoke-Shell himself.

Presidential Elections – By Emilly Hogge Guest blogger traveling in Morelia, Mexico.
One thing that I find pretty fascinating about Mexico at the moment is its politics. The Sunday that I arrived were the presidential elections, and from what I gather, the results still have not been decided. The candidates were only a percentage point or so apart in the votes they received, and therefore there has been some question as to who actually won. Just looking on the BBC website now, I see that one of the candidates is claiming fraud, that there were electoral irregularities (and thus that he is the correct winner).
In any case, I know the elections are really on peoples' minds here right now. Support is very starkly separated between the two candidates, with the majority of people in my city supporting the apparent winner, Felipe Calderon. It is crazy to me to see how strongly many people show their support for him- they have the normal bumper stickers and signs in front of their houses, but also bracelets, school bags, and things people wear every day.
One of our teachers at school explained this level of passion as stemming from the fact that Mexico had one ruling party, the PRI for more than 70 years, until the year 2000.
In my host family's house, there have been two lively discussions among the family about the political situation, one over breakfast, and one during dinner. Each of my host family members seems very passionate about Felipe Calderon. My host father even mentioned something about marching, or protesting in the streets for Calderon if need be.
Some of the discussions made me a little uncomfortable, as the ladies who clean our house were present for them, and I sometimes wonder how they feel about the political situation. One of my Spanish teachers here explained to me that Felipe Calderon, and the PAN party, are generally liked by more educated, well to do people. The other candidate, Lopez Obrador, apparently appeals more to people working class people who live in rural areas, and I wonder where the ladies working in our house fall on this spectrum.
Actually, just now reading on BBC news, there is apparently going to be a protest in favor of Obrador in Mexico City this weekend, with a huge rally in the city center, the Zocalo, on Sunday.
This is of special interest to me, as I have signed up for a trip to Mexico City for this Saturday and Sunday, and I know the Zocalo is on our list of things to see. I am pretty excited about seeing the City, just because it's such an important place in Mexico, and it would be neat to see this part of its history being acted out.
But the grand scale of the demonstrations also seem a bit scary to me, as a foreigner traveling. I don't want to do anything foolish, or endanger myself.
So. . I'm not sure yet what I'll decide to do, but this is definitely an interesting time to be in Mexico.

At Hospital Lorena with the SALUD Program – By Tina Lin, Guesst blogger traveling to Cusco, Peru.
This morning we went to Hospital Lorena to shadow doctors. I attended the Paediatrics' grand round with 3 other students. A little bit about hospital Lorena: it is a hospital that admits mostly patients from rural areas. These patients receive aid from the government if they can prove their economic status. Most of these patients are not well educated and they often speak limited Spanish. The most spoken language in rural areas (el campo) is Quechua. I will explain more about Quechua later.
The lack of knowledge about health and hygiene causes many problems we usually would not see in the US. For example, many kids presented with severe case of parasitic infection that are complicated by malnutrition. We saw a kid with tapeworm infection where the egg of the worm got lodged in the brain and caused several convulsions.
Another case was infection with amoeba that manifested in stool with blood and phlegm. This kid was having diarrhoea almost every 20 minutes. Her father looked very tired but patiently waiting by her side and cleaning her. He told the doctors that the medications are not working and the medical team considered stronger antibiotic/anti-parasitic. Aside from parasitic infections, we also saw a girl with severe ascites. The doctors suspected that on top of being malnourished, the little girl may also be infected with tuberculosis. This is because out in the farms, most children are not vaccinated against TB and they live in over-crowded quarters that are poorly ventilated. She may be mal-nourished because most people in “el campo” have a lot of children. The mentality is that they want to have more hands to work in the farm. Another reason why they have so many children is that women are not well informed about birth control. The husbands believe that if women have access to birth control; they might run away with another man.
The treatments for most of these children are usually antibiotic or anti-protozoic drugs. Most of the drugs purchased by Hospital Lorena are generic because the government funding is often inadequate for brand-name drugs. The doctors also prescribe conservatively. They will try to prescribe the first-line antibiotics like ampicillin before they try stronger antibiotics. I was told that the most common causes of parasitic infections are from unclean water or undercooked meat like pork, beef, or fish.
After the visit to the wards, we asked the doctor about the living condition of the children (in terms of the rate of abuse). He told us that most cases of abuse are not resolved even if it was brought to the attention of government officials. The child protection officials are poorly paid and most of them will do what is minimally required. Sexual abuse is not uncommon in rural areas. Due to Machismo, it is often a taboo topic for girls or women to report cases of rape. Women will most likely just live with the abuse and keep the emotional distress to themselves.
I learned a lot in the hospital today. In the afternoon, we had Spanish classes as usual. My classmates went out to a movie at night, but I went home to rest. I feel like the program really kept us very busy. I need my free time at the end of the day.

By Emilly Hogge – Guest blogger traveling in Morelia, Mexico.
Whew, Mexico.
It may be a lot of things, but no one day is ever the same as another. I'm currently trying to find a balance between making friends with Americans (and talking English) and sticking solely to Spanish-speaking. Since I arrived here alone, at times I have wished for a traveling companion or two to explore the city with. Being in Morelia by myself has made me realize how much I appreciate living with roommates in the States- not just living with them, but going places, and doing things together. Here I have class with several other students, but then when class ends, I'm pretty much on my own (other than the delicious meals and time with my host family, of course). Still, flying solo has allowed me to make my own schedule, and spend more time in the places I enjoy, and less in the places I'm not so fond of. I find that when I'm alone, I'm also keener to use my Spanish, since there really is no other option.
Getting friendlier with a few other Americans here at school has been a blessing in some ways, but it is not without its cons. I love having company in exploring places, and it's also fun comparing stories of our experience. Yesterday I sat in a cafe in el Jardin de las Rosas with two of my new friends for a few hours, something I probably wouldn't have done on my own. It was beautiful, and great to sit a take in the atmosphere of a quieter part of the city. We also spoke entirely in English, however, as one of the girls is very new to Spanish.
I also feel like I stick out more when I'm in the company of other Americans, especially when we're walking down the street together. I'm sure that I really don't blend in too well when I'm alone, but it's even more obvious when we're chatting in English together.
So… I guess I'm enjoying having company, but feeling a little guilty that I'm not using this experience to its fullest, and packing in the Spanish. Still, I'm grateful to have found some people to hang out with, something I had been missing. And I know I will continue to speak a fair amount of Spanish at home, with my host family. It's interesting to see how things are progressing, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Automobili Di Sport – By: Alexa Boyce
True, the developments that gave the automobile its popularity originated in the United States. However, the advent of the stylized racing car is pure Italian. Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lancia, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Bizzarini, Iso, ItalDesign, Pagani, Fiat: All makes of Italian cars renown worldwide for speed and beauty. Lifeinitaly.com says that these cars are "made specifically to take on competition, and Italians still produce a car that not only looks stunning, but also takes first place in many racing battles."
Racing of Italian cars takes many forms. Car racing began in the 1920's with 2-seater cars and enclosed wheel wells. Then the Grand Prix cars became one seater cars to race on a track, and broke off from the endurance racing in Europe that came to be called Gran Turismo. It was in this category that marques such as Ferrari and Maserati made their names in the 1950's. By the 1960's the 'prototype' racers had little to do with actual production vehicles.
In the 1970's Grand Touring (GT) vehicles became more popular, and the American market became flooded with so-called 'muscle' cars. The muscle cars were street-ready versions of these GT cars.
Today there are many collectors of Italian sports cars, and the market for parts is booming. Perhaps a hobby limited to those of a certain economic class, but still a widespread one nonetheless.
I recently heard that one of those who benefited from the recent stock market boom invested $4 million of his profits into one customized Ferrari. One car for $4 million may seem ridiculous, but to some, these cars are worth it.

By Tina Lin – SALUD Program Guest blogger traveling in Cusco, Peru.
Thursday
Today we got a tour of the Hospital Segurio Social in Cusco. Everyone in my program (including me) was very impressed with the facility. It has 3 floors; the first floor is administration and emergency. Second floor has specialties like Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics, oncology…etc. The third floor is for in-patients who stabilized.
The hospital has a laboratory that runs over 300 lab tests. There are also altars of the Virgin scattered throughout the hospital. According to our guide, Dr. Viviana, this is a tertiary facility that is the best in the region. She said we can try to visit other hospitals around the area, because this facility is not representative of the healthcare here in Peru. Most of the other hospitals lack funding and equipments.
After the visit to the hospital, we also visited CIMA (Center of Altitude Medicine). It has a hyperbaric chamber and two other rooms for observations. Everyone in the SALUD program got assigned to various specialties that we chose. I am going to work in Emergency and Intensive care starting next week.
Saturday
Today I awoke to the sound of Ochiro (my house dog) barking at 5:30am. Then I couldn't really sleep after that. The plan for today was to visit Tipon, one of the Incan sites that contains excellent aqueduct system and magnificent views of the Andean mountains. I invited a bunch of other classmates that decided not to go to Puno (other people went to Puno for the weekend).
We met up in front of school and took 2 cabs to go to Tipon. It was quite a ride to get up to the entrance of the ruins. It would have been too strenuous to walk up the hill. Marcy, Todd, Taylor, Joan, Deandra and I took many pictures of the beautiful field and waterfalls. It is just so amazing to see that the same aqueducts are still directing water downhill.
The view from the top of the mountains was just amazing; you can see how well the fields are organized. A man that picks up trash around the area asked to be our guide, and he explained to us what the ruins were originally. The plants in the mountains were unique. I saw a dandelion type flower that grew straight out of the ground.
After our visit to the ruins, we walked back down to Pista Principal. We all decided to take the cab and eat lunch back in Cusco instead of trying the famous cui (guinea pig) dish in Tipon. People were afraid of having some digestive problems. After lunch in Cusco with my new friends, I went to visit the Cathedral and La Compania in Plaza de Armas. The history of Catholicism in Cusco is very fascinating. The guides in these churches are very good in English, so it is very easy to understand them.

By Emily Hogge – Guest blogger traveling in Morelia, Mexico.
Today was easily my most fun day in Morelia yet. I felt less tired today (it was the first day where I didn't take a nap), which might have had something to do with it, but what a great day! I'm feeling more comfortable in my own skin now, and less like a foreigner who sticks out hopelessly.
Yesterday, we went on a very long walking tour of the city, sponsored by our language school. I don't quite remember everything we saw, but it gave me a place to start from today. Today I set out to find an orphanage that I'd heard about, because I want to volunteer there. I pulled out my trusty map, charted it out, and found it! When I got there, I met two girls, who went to ask about volunteering for me, and then told me I should come back on Wednesday, so I will.
And then, I went to a cooking class at the school, and learned how to make chiles rojos! I don't think my Spanish benefited much, since I was horsing around with a few other people in English, but I'll definitely make them when I go home to the States. They were very tasty, and unlike anything I've eaten before, with a cream sauce over stuffed chiles.
Finally, I participated in a conversation club that they have daily at school. It was so fun- Caroline, the other girl from my Spanish class, and I were there with about 5 native Spanish speakers. The topic today was dating and marriage (1/2 hour in English, ½ in Spanish)—so fun!
Just now, while walking through El Bosque, this large park I cut through every day to go to school (not to be attempted at night), I saw so many cool things. First, the duck pond (my favorite every day). Then, some people practicing bullfighting techniques with a fake bull. Finally, someone who was at conversation club just came up to talk to me. And also, a group of about 10 teenagers just walked by, strumming guitars and singing. I feel so lucky! It's been such a great day! And I am thankful.