Hospice and Herbs

Hospice Care

This morning, Michael and I volunteered at a hospice, and I worked with patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Even though several of the patients were deaf or blind, we decided to sing to them and we eventually got a few of them to laugh. I learned so much about hospice care from the experience, and my interactions with the patients helped inspire me to follow through with my aspirations in the medical field.

Herbal Medicine

As part of our comparative health study, we have been interviewing families and individuals to evaluate local perceptions on traditional and Western medicine. In this picture, Michael and I are interviewing a man who sells herbal medicine to the people of Piura. He spent several minutes explaining each of the herbs, and we learned a lot about why he considers herbal medicine to be more effective than Western medicine.

Catacaos

Michael and I spent the afternoon in Catacaos, a market district located a short drive from Piura. We enjoyed interacting with the vendors in the street, and with Michael's help, I successfully bargained down the price of a Peruvian hat to 7 soles. In addition to walking in and out of the beautiful shops, we managed to follow the USA-Brazil soccer game at the same time. The above picture offers a view of a street in Catacaos, and the picture below shows a boy polishing shoes to help support his family.