Exploring Cusco and Clinic Day 1!

The past few days have been very busy!

1. First we had education day! This was my favorite day so far. We went to a local school and taught kids what was good and bad for their teeth and how to make their own toothpaste. The kids sang us a song and they even complimented my hair- haha! It was a lot of fun and I tried some of my Spanish by asking the kids their names and what their favorite food was, as our activity had them sort good and bad foods for their teeth. My Spanish wasn't perfect, but it was exciting!

2. We explored the Plaza de Armas and went shopping there. First we ate at a restaurant called La Bodega 138 and I got some delicious pasta (of course!) with some yummy garlic bread. Not quite traditional Peruvian food, but it was really good. We went to what seemed to be a farmer's market of people selling handmade goods and other things where I spent a lot of money. I bought some llama keychains, an alpaca blanket, and earrings to name a couple things... Then we saw some ladies walking around with baby sheep and alpacas, so of course we had to get some pictures! Overall it was a fun afternoon exploring the Plaza, and it is very close to where we live so we will certainly be going back.

3. Clinic set up! On Friday we set up our clinic in Cachimayo where we are working with three dentists from Peru. We brought all the supplies and set up shop, and it was interesting because the medical VAW chapter from Alabama shares the same building as us. It is really neat to see both the dental and medical chapters at work and being able to help so many people in the same area.

4. Clinic Day 1! Today was our first day of clinic, and there are multiple stations one can be at. There is intake, vitals, tray prep, sterilization, and shadowing. I was on shadowing today with another girl and we were working with Dr. Marta. Dr. Marta was so sweet and worked with us through our language barrier and made it easy and smooth. My role consisted of filling out a chart that would label which teeth had cavities, restorations, bridges, gum inflammation, and other things so that we could see what needed to be fixed and what was already taken care of. We also were able to assist with suction and other things the dentist needed us to do. This included getting any tools and trays for her; I really enjoyed how interactive it was! Patients were flowing in all day, and we had so many that some had to make appointments for future dates. In total, we saw over 3o patients today!

Overall, I am loving the hands on experience I have had and can't wait to see what happens at out next 5 clinic days! Tomorrow we have the day off and then we have a full week (Monday through Friday) of clinics!

Stay tuned!

Paige