During my first week in Lima, I ventured to Miraflores, The Museo Convento de San Francisco y Catacumbas, some temple ruins and a public health collaborative meeting covering National Peruvian health and illness.
¿Quien es Alana Herman?
Hola, I am Alana Herman, one of the bubbliest, nerdiest people you will ever meet. I’m a nursing major as well as a third generation Sun Devil taking pride in my family’s ASU legacy and my commitment to serve the community as a future nurse.
During my time visiting and serving in the village of Umasbamba, I have learned about the importance of weaving. Weaving is extremely important for the village culturally as well as financially. Many of the women have learned to weave beautiful pieces from the older women in their communities or from small schools. One of these handmade pieces can take more than a month to make. They start with cleaning the wool of a sheep. After cleaning the wool, they use natural dyes from flowers and plants to make different shades and hues.
My day in the clinic was extremely exciting because it was my first clinical experience in a hospital outside of the United States. My favorite part of this day was working in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department. I was able to assist with prenatal assessments and examinations with the help of the doctor. I believe that this experience will be valuable in my future as a Labor and Delivery nurse. My classmates and I also had the opportunity to work in the Emergency Area where we helped with assessments, wound care, and observed the doctor repair a laceration with stitches.
After hours cruising through the lake and stopping by to visit several islands, we docked on Amantani Island for the night. After eating lunch, relaxing, hiking, and watching the sun set over the lake, we had dinner with the members of our new family. Freddy, his wife Violeta, and their daughter Julissa welcomed us with their hospitality and warm faces. This dinner was definitely a highlight of the trip for me and many of my classmates. I will never forget sitting alongside these amazing people in the small, dark, kitchen area.
Today with tears in our eyes and love in our hearts, we spent our last morning in the village of Umasbamba. Peru has been like a garden to me. We all came here as small seeds, and this environment has helped us grow. We have been nurtured and fed with knowledge and love. We have also learned to prune the parts of ourselves that do not give life to those around us. Not only have we learned to understand different people, we have also gained a deeper understanding of ourselves. I have learned to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of a culture different than my own.
Today, was the last day of service work and our last full day in the village. Yes, many of us are exhausted, but our hearts are full. We have been able to complete many small projects that will make a significant difference for families. Our last day, we were able to finish the wall that we had been working on for many days, after finishing this wall, we were so proud and amazed. Seeing the wall smooth and finished was a great moment. Without modern tools and materials, it was difficult and time consuming.
For four days we lived in the village that we had been visiting for the last couple of weeks. This environment was completely different than what I have been used to. Yes, change is scary and it can be uncomfortable. However, I am choosing to embrace the experience. Since the moment we landed in Peru, we have had to adjust to new foods, new traditions, new social norms, and a completely different way of living. We have been challenged in class to reflect and notice our own biases and change the way that we think.
During our trip, a group of students and I took an excursion to Lake Titicaca. We were able to meet many people and learn about the history of the islands and the techniques used to make them. On this lake, there are 36 natural islands as well as 87 man-made "islas flotantes" or floating islands. Totora reeds grow in the lake and they are essential for making the islands, building their homes, and the reeds can even be eaten. It was amazing seeing these huge islands floating in the middle of the lake and I was fascinated to learn about the process.
The village of Umasbamba is an hour bus ride from the city of Cusco and today we came here for the first time to start our service learning project. We partnered with Kaya Responsible Travel in order to help build sustainable cooking stoves and restore the kitchens. After being welcomed with music and dancing from the community and getting to know the people we would be working with, we received training on the work that we would be doing for the next two and a half weeks. We used "ladrillos" (bricks) and "barro" (mud) to build the stove and the chimney.