cumpleaños, selva y despedidas

Today was a sad day. Actually, not extremely sad or anything; but in terms of sentimental feelings and things that “change our lives”, today, the family here in Tumbaco had to say good bye to my “hermano,” Ajay, and although I can’t say I’ll miss him in comparison to things like: home, ice cream, English, or having a dependable internet connection/ any dependable way to keep in touch with those I care about- I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t going to be missed. Nevertheless, hopping in the car with Elsa and Jorge after dropping him off at el aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre, life here in Ecuador continued on. At first with a some-what odd silence as the concept of returning to the three of us sunk in; but not for long, as Elsa received a phone call from her sister in Quito, and we went off into the afternoon visiting family, drinking café, and barely making it back home through the pouring rain that left Tumbaco looking more like a lake, than the pueblo it usually is.

It’s crazy to think that Ajay’s six week stay here has already come to an end, but as we parted ways, said our goodbyes, and promised to keep in touch, I realized it’s even crazier to think about how it’s been 9 weeks since I last saw the airport here. Without delving into a reflective monologue about how much I feel I’ve grown and matured, I can only hope that over the next three weeks I’m able to continue to enjoy my time here as much as I have the past two months, and ensure that the next time I visit the airport, it’s with no doubt in my mind that my journey here was worth it and that I’ve made a change in the lives of those around me anywhere near as great as they’ve made in mine.

In the past week since I last had a chance to update my blog, life here has been full of excitement. Ok, ok, again, excitement probably isn’t the best way to describe everything that has gone on since we last touched base, but since I have finally finished with imputing all data into my computer for my research, have plotted the growth of the children in comparison to the WHO standards, and will now only need to interpret the results, excitement, relief, and a bit of exhaustion, are really all I feel.

Along the lines of excitement though, last weekend was spent in the Amazon jungle. Saturday morning we woke up early to meet one of Jorge’s workers who kindly ensured we boarded the right bus, and as we waited for about an hour or so, we were quickly brought up to date about the local soccer clubs, animals to keep an eye out for in the jungle, and learned just about everything about Jorge’s jardinero (gardening) business. The bus ride was hot, crowded, and about 5 hours long- at least until the first stop. Since we hopped on mid-trip in Tumbaco, instead of starting out Quito, I spent the first hour or so standing, reading a book Caity’s brother gave me, and listening to the pleas of people who would come on and off the bus trying to sell anything from candy to DVDs (which, by the way, I´ve now seen Inception, Shrek 3 & 4, and a discovery channel collection on “the Universe”). When we finally descended to sea level, the humidity greeted us warmly. Within the first steps off the bus I was already sweating profusely, and the noises, smells, and brightly painted stores encompassed a livelihood and dynamic that I hadn’t seen since visiting Moroccan marketplaces last fall. In between catching our next bus to the dock closest to “Liana Lodge” (the best/ best bargain for travelers according to Juan Fernando- the Duran’s son who runs a tour business) Ajay and I delved into the local gastronomy, ultimately picking a traditional restaurant to satisfy our hunger after Ajay turned down my numerous offers to try the local street vendors grilling skewers of, well, for lack of certainty, miscellaneous meats and vegetables. After another bus ride, this one a little shorter, we arrived at a small stop in the middle of dense greenery. Immediately we were greeted by a shoe-less indigenous guide, who woke up as a result of our bus driver honking and speeding off down the unpaved road as soon as we stepped out the door.

In short, our journey was much briefer than I think either of us wanted. We only spent the night in jungle after getting a call that we were direly needed in the clinic Monday, but even with only a little less than 24 hours amongst canopies of trees, canoeing tributaries of the Amazon river and turning 22 to the singing of exotic birds and monkeys shouting, the jungle was everything my imagination anticipated and more. One of the interesting things about Liana lodge, other than the whole, no electricity, tri-lingual staff, and 4-star hotel service, is that it is only part of a larger project designed to protect the rain forest and increase indigenous involvement in the tourist industry. As such, associated with the lodge is an immense animal reserve that’s home to animals I’d only seen from watching Jungle Book; as you can imagine, it was any easy choice to decide what we’d fill our precious time pursuing. Since we made it to the lodge just before night fall, the first evening was spent relaxing around the communal fire and drinking an array of fresh juices and Pilsner.

Once we got back to our pitch black lodge, I ended up having to take the bed closest to the giant spider web due to Ajay´s fear of arachnids. Somehow the roosters around our cabana were louder than at home, and I probably slept less than normal, but with the pressure of enjoying every second we had, when the sun was finally out, we sped through breakfast and threw on knee-high rubber boots to explore the jungle. With the help of a guide who pointed out everything from termite burrows to meter long snakes, we slithered through the jungle, reaching a look out that, although was a bit laughable in comparison to Cotopaxi, gave an amazing view of the extensively flat and never ending reaches of green vegetation that spread out from the river we rode to reach the lodge, and faded into an indeterminable haze of clouds and tree-tops at the horizon. Following a short rest, we headed down to the wildlife reserve. Below I’ve included some pictures of my favorite animals there.










Being short on time we quickly left the reserve running back through the jungle and catching a canoe towards to the lodge. All of the haste was worth it, considering that we made it to the bus on time, but since we reached the stop about an hour before the bus (running on Ecuadorian time…), it’s hard to say that the running part was entirely necessary. Looking back on it, we spent as much time on the bus as in the jungle, but even the few short hours there were a great way to start being 22.
The week in the clinic was spent preparing for a dentistry brigade that would be visiting from the United States. In all, this process involved doing inventory, once again reviewing the translations of the hundreds of pieces of dental equipment that would accompany the group, and basically following whatever demands the staff could think of. The hectic nature of this kind of grueling work was alleviated a bit when I came home Monday night to a chocolate mousse cake that Elsa had baked for me; which, after eating some of the most delicious crepes I’d ever had the pleasure to taste (garlic shrimp with a gravy that deserved to be found in a professional cook book somewhere), was the perfect way to end the meal.



After singing happy birthday to me in English with Spanish verses at the end to wish me many more years, I made a wish, blew out the candles, and enjoyed the rest of the night with my make shift family. It goes without saying, that even though I went to bed full, that I night I missed home, my real family, and my friends, a little more than the usual.




The rest of the week, as I began to explain and then got side tracked thinking about chocolate cake, was mainly full of working in the clinic. Other than a 7.2 earthquake that I’m pretty sure didn’t even occur (well, ok, it did occur, but it was so deep in the earth, and significantly far away that it only shook the chandeliers a little bit), until Thursday and Friday when the dental crew arrived, I basically spent every waking minute entering data into my computer and trying to sneak left over pieces of my birthday cake. Sharing the clinic with the group of dentists was a fun, and interesting experience. I’d never really felt any sort of special intrigue toward dentistry, but after watching hundreds of teeth extractions, in the very least I gained a newfound appreciation for the profession, and at times though it might be kind of fun; yet, now that I’ve had more than a day to think about it, it’s nothing compared to the way I feel about medicine.

But speaking of medicine, the rest of this week is probably going to be a bit more action packed than the last. This Thursday I will be leading my final group meeting for the High Blood Pressure Support group, and hopefully, by covering the topics of exercise and diet a little more in depth, I can leave the group with the motivation to change their lives in a tangible, productive way. Included in this though, means that I have to once again experience what it feels like to be a telemarketer and make another few hundred calls or so over the next two days… It’ll be alright though, one thing I’ve learned since being here is that no matter how arduous, or difficult it may be to try and make a difference, no matter how insignificant the consequent change may seem, it’s still a change that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.

I hope that the final days of summer treat you all well, and before I go start working on my presentation, I also want to send a special thanks to all of you who have made a change in my life and given me the motivation to continue on this path. hasta luego

drew

written last week...

Well, with two days left of being 21 all I can say is that the past year has been the best of my life. Not only have I been blessed to the point that I’ve traveled to more than a handful of countries; somehow convinced the woman of my dreams to spend the rest of our lives together; and been able to do so without any major setbacks; the combination of all these things has set a foundation, and a certainty in my life that is incomparable. Even though I still find it hard to sleep between rooster crows and honking car horns, in terms of professions, and jobs, and all that good stuff, I think I’ve found something that I could potentially do for the rest of my life- and with the aforementioned foundation- all the ambiguity of med schools or future plans seem conquerable as long as I continue to follow my heart and dreams.

Since I last wrote, I’ve been through probably the most dangerous experience of my life, (also the most tiring), been extremely elated to have overcome this challenge, and if possible in spite of hours of tireless work, even content as I’ve undertaken the challenge that brought me here: my thesis research.

To put the strenuousness of my past weekend into context I’ll stray away from my usual exaggerative descriptions and only give a concise timeline of the preparation, the events, and the facts of the endeavor. To begin, Saturday morning, Ajay and I got up at 5 a.m. After hopping on a bus into Quito, we headed toward the center of town where the tour agency was. Running on American time opposed to Ecuadorian, we showed up at the arranged meeting time of 8 a.m.; only later to wait until our guides arrived at a little past 9. After getting fitted with all sorts of snow equipment, boots, crampons, and a backpack to throw it all into, we hit the road by 11; Ajay and I rode in a jeep with three of our guides, while 6 other foreigners that were accompanying us and another guide tagged along in a separate car. With two stops- one for gas and café, and one to buy food for our meals- the trip to Cotopaxi national park took about 3 hours. By 3 p.m. we were in the parking lot.

At this point, we were an hour and a half hike away from the “refugio”- a.k.a. the shelter where anyone crazy enough to attempt an ascent at the mountain rests between hiking the dirt road to reach there, and throwing on their snow gear. With about 50 pounds of gear we traversed the path; which, thanks to Cotopaxi’s volcanic tendencies consisted of a mixture of dirt, dust, and ash, that under your feet was about as easy to walk through as beach sand. When we reached the safe-haven, the whole “altitude factor” became obvious; at this point we were at 4,800+ meters above sea level- or about 16,000 feet. After a quick lunch of chicken and rice (yum!) we threw on our snow gear and learned the technicalities of climbing on glacial ice. The only downside I found to this form of climbing compared to traditional hiking is that you’re weighed down by about three times as much clothes as normal, and the addition of footwear as sturdy as moonboots with metal teethed cleats, makes your legs feel like they’re waking up out of a coma. As one annoyingly loud American who over-used the word “dude” put it, “one pound on your feet, is like carrying three pounds on your back;” and I’m pretty sure the boots and all other feet equipment had to have weighed at least 5 pounds. Long story short, it became increasingly hard to dredge uphill as the lessons in ice-picking and rope tying carried on.

Following the intro, we ate again. As the weekend went on the food got increasingly worse, but the hunger your body gets from rolling around in the snow and fighting for oxygen is surprisingly undeniable- even if all they serve is pasta and boxed wine.

Soon, it was time for bed. I would say it was time to sleep, but since we headed to our bunks around 7 p.m. and I maybe got 15 minutes of sleep before we got up at 12:30, it would be a lie to say otherwise. I tossed and turned for the 5 and a half hours of “rest” only able to hear the occasional snore, or cough over my pounding heart beat and throbbing headache- for the first time in my life, I think I began to get altitude sickness…

Regardless, I didn’t come all that way for nothing. When the guides phone alarm finally went off, I jumped out of bed, threw on my gear, and tried to drink as much water as I could while still saving some for the ascent. It was pitch black outside when we began to climb, and within two hours of hiking, we reached snow and began the real deal. We were split into sets of 2 gringos and a guide, blindly strapped up our crampons in the dark and took a few deep breaths to even sequester the minimal amount of oxygen.

Before I go any further, a little word of advice: if a guide asks you if you’re doing alright it’s safe to say something like “Sí estoy bien” or, “Sí, sí, no pasa nada;” but when he asks if you’re “Super bien”- say NO. Immediately, without hesitation, do anything you can to convince the guy that you’re as mediocre as possible- otherwise you might end up in the boat I found myself in.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the guide who questioned me as to whether I was feeling good had previously made plans to lead a tour on another mountain range at 11 a.m. that morning- two hours away from Cotopaxi. So as I strapped into the safety line with my now friend through shared suffering, Kevin (a 4-year NCAA track runner), and the guide who was in a rush, I had very little knowledge of what was coming next.

Within thirty minutes we had passed every other three-some of hikers in our group. By 5:20 a.m. – 3 hours and thirty five minutes later- we made it to the summit. Everything in between is lost in a haze of physical exhaustion and oxygen deprivation.

For the three or so hours that we trekked to the top we passed, not only every other hiking group that had left the refugio, some beginning as early as two hours before us, but caves, narrow snow-covered plank like walkways, and magnificent ice formations sculpted by the temperamental hands of freezing wind and gravity.
We beat the sunrise to the summit. In the darkness, our head-lamps lit the view of the monstrous crater that calls 19,000 feet its home. Looking into to it, I developed an entirely new sensation and definition of human insignificance compared to the power of nature. This feeling was immediately accentuated by the numbness that crawled from my finger tips, up my hands, and over every inch of exposed skin that peaked from under my ski mask. Although less frozen parts of me craved to stay put until the sunrise came, gusting wind, a now frozen set of under-shirts, gloves, and scarf, and a pair of legs that were more than ready to move down-hill, easily convinced me that my time had been sufficient atop the world’s second-tallest active volcano.

The path down wasn’t nearly as easy as I anticipated. I’ve neglected to mention that the ascent was the most teasing, arduous battle I’ve encountered in my life. Around every bend and after every unbelievably steep incline, there waited another, rising ceaselessly, with an incredulous steepness that taunted the legs I could no longer feel to even dare to continue.

Thus, on the way back, it wasn’t any less challenging to maintain control, footing, and a focused mind; and really, given the fatigue amassed on the path the first time, it was probably more dangerous to move down than it was to climb. But like everything else this day encompassed for me- I somehow managed to carry on, redefining my personal limits of capability. Not to mention that the accomplishment and adrenaline rush of finally reaching a point where there were no more huge climbs and only horizon to be seen made anything seem possible. So we headed down the same path in reverse, following the lead of Kevin but truly led by our guide and his words of motivation to carry on- fueled by his previous arrangements. In the end, by the time we reached the limit between snow and dirt our guide ran off downhill, leaving us to stroll back to the refugio at our own pace, only looking back time and again to see other groups still attempting to reach the summit off in the distance as the sun slowly climbed in tandem.

Ajay, sadly, didn’t make it to the top. Luck being as it was, his partner ended up falling ill at only a few hundred meters past the snow line, and although this distance is only an estimation and I’m not sure how far he actually made it, to this day he still says that “Cotopaxi wasn’t that bad;” which, based on my experience, can only mean that he didn’t make it too far…

...So I guess I got a little more long winded that I anticipated there, but looking back, Cotopaxi was a great experience and sort of deserved a post dedicated to it. Since overcoming the challenge I have finally completed data collection and coding for my thesis and will soon being analysis (the LONG part of the research…); but for now, we´re off to the jungle. I´ve included a link to my facebook photos from Cotopaxi, and as always, hope everyone reading this is doing well.

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051490&id=1073280085&l=e4f2b1173d