Now that I've been living in Cusco for a little over a week, I'm beginning to get into a routine and really enjoy the city. The past few days have been fairly relaxing since this past weekend was Father's day. We normally do medical campaigns on Sundays, but it was postponed until next weekend. I have yet to partake in a medical campaign, but I can't wait to. We spend all day organizing 120-150 patients to see the doctor, taking vitals and other patient information. The campaigns are free for the patients, and include any medication that they need. It's absolutely incredible that one doctor alone can help that many people in a matter of hours.
On Friday, the other pharmacy volunteers and myself created a weekly schedule of what we will be doing for the next few months. Twice a week, we go to the local elementary school to give oral hygiene presentations to students. We also work twice a week in the pharmacy which is a block away from our apartment. Once a week, we work at El Jardín, the kindergarden that I mentioned earlier. On Sundays, we have the medical campaigns all day. Before the medical campaigns, we spend a few hours putting up posters and signs to advertise for the next day. Mark and Michael also arranged a meeting for us to talk with a doctor at a private clinic in Cusco for shadowing opportunities. Dr. Rodolfo is now allowing us to observe surgeries whenever we want, which is incredibly generous of him. They perform all kinds of surgeries at this clinic, except open heart (the low oxygen at this altitude of 11,000 ft would create all kinds of problems). Yesterday, Sarah and I went in to observe a rhinoplasty (aka nosejob). The surgery was fascinating to watch, but I think my stomach would have appreciated a less aggressive operation the first time in the clinic.
Friday evening, some of the volunteers and I went out to the discotecas in the city. Cusco has a lively night life, and we had a blast dancing until the early hours of the morning. All of the discotecas are free to get into, and a few even have salsa dancing lessons.
The rest of the weekend was spent wandering around the city, and I happened to find a chocolate museum! I sampled té de cocao, which is tea made from the husks of the cocao bean. It's delicious, and I would highly recommend trying some if you get the chance. A less fortunate event occurred on Saturday while walking along the streets near the center. As we were crossing a street, Richelle's foot slipped on the beam across a street gutter, and her whole leg fell into the grating. She couldn't get out herself, but nearly everyone nearby stopped to help her. It took a few minutes, but we finally got her out okay without any broken bones or serious injuries. Apparently this happens frequently in Peru; from now on, I will definitely put a bit more thought into where I place my feet...

On a side note, I've heard from a few people that the 'followers' application on my blog isn't working. Every time I update my blog, the followers are supposed to get an email notification, but they aren't. Since this is the first time I've had a blog, I have no idea how to fix it. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks!