For the week of Valentine's Day, Hansel took Jeff and I to the Amazon jungle to the town where he performed his year of rural service after graduating from medical school. We were able to take care of patients directly for the first time since we arrived in Peru, which brought up some discomfort about my rusty medical abilities, but it was a good challenge that I'd been hoping for when I came here. In brief, it was a thought-provoking and inspiring experience, and my respect for Hansel grew as I imagined myself in his shoes, freshly graduated, trying to learn on the fly how to be a primary care provider in a tropical setting. The time in Santa Clotilde (the jungle town) helped me gain confidence in interacting with doctors and patients in the Lima hospitals. While attending rounds in the infectious disease department, I've found myself following the discussion more than I have in the past, and I sometimes am able to contribute something I've gleaned from the patient...
This is where I’ll write updates about what I’ve been up to for friends and fam :)