3 June 2018
Winter has arrived here in Lima!
Winter has arrived here in Lima!
In Peru, winter starts in late May and lasts until December. When we think of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, we often think of snow and cold. But here in Peru, winter skies are mostly cloudy, and we seem to have fog every day. Imagine the pea-soup fog of London or rainy drizzle in Seattle, and that is what life is like in Lima through the winter. Our winters down here can be very gloomy times.
Many people view what we do as being like Santa and Mrs. Claus because of the many donations we make as part of our work.
In reality, our work focuses on promoting self-reliance for those that we help. We provide only what those that are in need can't provide for themselves.
Every year, LDS Charities provides courses in two cities in Peru to train doctors in techniques for saving newborns and mothers after the delivery. We coordinate the visits of four US doctors and four Peruvian doctors who teach the courses, which this year will be in Cañete and Huánuco in mid-June.
Preparing for the courses involves processing about a ton of training simulators and course materials from the USA, ensuring it all makes its way through customs (a 1- to 2-month process), then dividing, labeling, and shipping the materials to the two teaching sites. We completed that massive task this week, and the courses will be presented to 100 health-care professionals a little over a week from now. We travel with the team of doctors, coordinating the travel, lunches, hotels, and ensuring the courses are presented as planned (typically in our church meeting houses).
This is our second time through this process while on our mission (the first time was last November in Huacho and Cajamarca). We are getting good at all the work involved in the packing and shipping of a ton of goods and making all the arrangements.
Peruvians love the raw fish dish they call Ceviche. It consists of chunks of uncooked fish prepared in a spicy lime sauce called ‘tiger milk’. We often eat Ceviche in restaurants where it is usually a first course. We order Ceviche several times each month. It is among our favorite Peruvian foods.
Last week during one of our long walks, I found a guy in a park selling Ceviche from his special bike cart - which some locals call a "carito de la muerte" (or "cart of death") for its perceived unsanitary issues. For only 3 Soles (about a dollar), he would prepare the dish with raw fish, fresh lime juice, spicy sauce, and corn. Yummy!
The Ceviche I bought on the street (for S/ 3 or $1 USD) was delicious! And by the way, I never got sick.
I seldom get sick when eating exotic foods in foreign lands. In 2016 on a trip before our mission, I never got sick by eating street food throughout Southeast Asia (tiny crabs in Singapore, octopus tentacles in Bangkok, soups and other delights in Hong Kong and Vietnam). It must be a special gift I have.
(Sandy, on the other hand, gets sick to her stomach just looking at half of the strange food I easily devour.)
The Pan-American Highway runs right through Lima, Peru. It continues heading north and eventually passes through our hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on its way to the Arctic Circle.
Guinness Book of World Records lists the Pan-American as being the world's longest highway - 18,000 miles (30,000 kilometers) from Pruhoe Bay, Alaska, on the north all the way down south to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the end of South America.
I often wonder what it would be like to get in a car and drive back to the USA on the Pan-American Highway. Unfortunately, there is a 100-mile section of swampland jungle in Panama (called the 'Darian Gap') that has such wild terrain that it has never had a road built through it. Anyone attempting to drive the entire distance has to take a ferry around the gap that exists in the road.
The Pan-American Highway is actually a freeway as it passes through Lima.
The Pan-American is always packed with traffic - trucks, cars and buses use it as the fastest way to traverse Lima (although it is usually bumper-to-bumper with slow moving traffic). We try to have our taxi drivers take us across town on the Pan-American because it tends to be faster than any other route (even though there is a S/ 5.30 ($1.75 USD) toll at one point). It is a real blessing to have the Pan-American.
And so our days are now numbered here in Peru as our mission draws closer and closer to its end. Now is not the time for us to grow 'trunky' as there is still much for us to do before we leave.
Humanitarian Perceptions
Many people view what we do as being like Santa and Mrs. Claus because of the many donations we make as part of our work.
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| Marshall and Sandy Claus in Lima (at least, the way some perceive us) |
In reality, our work focuses on promoting self-reliance for those that we help. We provide only what those that are in need can't provide for themselves.
- Through our wheelchair donations, recipients can gain independence, care for themselves and their families, and possibly seek employment.
- Clean water projects and the wells we donate require that communities do the drilling and construction, install the pipes, and then collect user fees so they can maintain their pumps, tanks, and distribution systems.
- Donations of medical equipment to poor public health clinics and hospitals empower local doctors to provide better care and save lives of those in need.
- All organizations that receive donations commit to doing their part to help those in need and promote improved lives for the destitute.
- Our donations never consist of cash - they are always goods that provide relief from suffering and lift those in need of the greatest help.
Upcoming Neonatal Resuscitation and Saving Mothers Courses
Every year, LDS Charities provides courses in two cities in Peru to train doctors in techniques for saving newborns and mothers after the delivery. We coordinate the visits of four US doctors and four Peruvian doctors who teach the courses, which this year will be in Cañete and Huánuco in mid-June.
 |
| We are getting good at packing and labeling the ton of training materials we ship for the mothers and babies courses we present each year. |
Preparing for the courses involves processing about a ton of training simulators and course materials from the USA, ensuring it all makes its way through customs (a 1- to 2-month process), then dividing, labeling, and shipping the materials to the two teaching sites. We completed that massive task this week, and the courses will be presented to 100 health-care professionals a little over a week from now. We travel with the team of doctors, coordinating the travel, lunches, hotels, and ensuring the courses are presented as planned (typically in our church meeting houses).
This is our second time through this process while on our mission (the first time was last November in Huacho and Cajamarca). We are getting good at all the work involved in the packing and shipping of a ton of goods and making all the arrangements.
Ceviche - Peruvian Sushi
Peruvians love the raw fish dish they call Ceviche. It consists of chunks of uncooked fish prepared in a spicy lime sauce called ‘tiger milk’. We often eat Ceviche in restaurants where it is usually a first course. We order Ceviche several times each month. It is among our favorite Peruvian foods.
 |
| Ceviche - very popular Peruvian dish made from raw fish and onions prepared in spicy lime sauce. |
Last week during one of our long walks, I found a guy in a park selling Ceviche from his special bike cart - which some locals call a "carito de la muerte" (or "cart of death") for its perceived unsanitary issues. For only 3 Soles (about a dollar), he would prepare the dish with raw fish, fresh lime juice, spicy sauce, and corn. Yummy!
 |
| Ceviche Bike Cart, central Lima. It looked so good that, despite the fact we should not tempt fate by eating street food, I just had to have some. Sandy just shook her head and said I would likely pay the price by being sick and spending the night in the bathroom. |
 |
| Preparing Ceviche on the street (and tempting fate by ordering and then eating it) |
 |
| Ceviche - Delicious street food - raw fish in spicy lime sauce, garnished with two kinds of corn and shrimp. |
The Ceviche I bought on the street (for S/ 3 or $1 USD) was delicious! And by the way, I never got sick.
I seldom get sick when eating exotic foods in foreign lands. In 2016 on a trip before our mission, I never got sick by eating street food throughout Southeast Asia (tiny crabs in Singapore, octopus tentacles in Bangkok, soups and other delights in Hong Kong and Vietnam). It must be a special gift I have.
(Sandy, on the other hand, gets sick to her stomach just looking at half of the strange food I easily devour.)
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway runs right through Lima, Peru. It continues heading north and eventually passes through our hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on its way to the Arctic Circle.
Guinness Book of World Records lists the Pan-American as being the world's longest highway - 18,000 miles (30,000 kilometers) from Pruhoe Bay, Alaska, on the north all the way down south to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the end of South America.
 |
| Pan-American Highway - Longest Road in the World |
I often wonder what it would be like to get in a car and drive back to the USA on the Pan-American Highway. Unfortunately, there is a 100-mile section of swampland jungle in Panama (called the 'Darian Gap') that has such wild terrain that it has never had a road built through it. Anyone attempting to drive the entire distance has to take a ferry around the gap that exists in the road.
The Pan-American Highway is actually a freeway as it passes through Lima.
 |
| Pan-American Highway - Always packed with traffic through Lima. Taking this highway from Peru will get you to Alaska (with a little detour by ferry around the Darian Gap in Panama) |
The Pan-American is always packed with traffic - trucks, cars and buses use it as the fastest way to traverse Lima (although it is usually bumper-to-bumper with slow moving traffic). We try to have our taxi drivers take us across town on the Pan-American because it tends to be faster than any other route (even though there is a S/ 5.30 ($1.75 USD) toll at one point). It is a real blessing to have the Pan-American.
And so our days are now numbered here in Peru as our mission draws closer and closer to its end. Now is not the time for us to grow 'trunky' as there is still much for us to do before we leave.
I love seeing the projects you're working on at the office, even if it looks like just a mountain of boxes! The contents of those boxes will enable many wonderful things to come forth. And glad you stayed healthy even after the street cart vendor lunch.
ReplyDeleteThe ceviche looks delicious, even as street food. I'm surprised Mom eats the fish in a restaurant. She used to hate most fish. Her taste buds must have acquired a taste for it.
ReplyDeleteI can see you taking a boat to Alaska, renting a bike, and biking the length of the Pan-American Highway, at least in your dreams. Thanks for the fun stories Santa!
-Chels