Go Inppares!

So, since my last post I've been pretty sick. A lot has happened since then, like the Peruvian elections. Many people voted for Keiko Fujimori, Japanese daughter of the former dictator Alberto Fujimori who is currently in jail for corruption. But the other candidate, Ollanta Humala, won. He is a Peruvian leftist ex-militar who everyone says is a liar and accustomed to violence. But really, both of the candidates were not trustworthy. I've only heard complaints from Peruvians about this year's election. Some of the more moderate candidates, like PPK, did not make it past the initial vote to this Sunday's runoff.

I'd like to give a major shout-out to Inppares, the private clinic where I work. Not only do they provide every kind of health-or-otherwise counseling to anyone who walks in (generally for free) and all kinds of low-cost preventive and diagnostic testing and services, but also they treated ME in general medicine. :D On Monday I couldn't even walk the three blocks to the clinic, so I arrived in a taxi with my host mom without an appointment. I didn't get pushed to the front of the line or get any different treatment than anyone else, and still I was promptly brought to a doctor's office, examined, questioned, and signed up for tests. In between attempts to throw up in the clean bathrooms, I got my blood drawn and submitted a urine sample, and went to the on-site pharmacy to buy the prescribed electrolyte solution (sabor a mierda, I mean fresa) and antibiotics.

All of the tests and medicine came to only about $30, in probably less time than it would have taken at a US clinic (especially if I didn't have an appointment). I really wonder how Inppares does it and still affords to stay open. From what I've heard and seen, the clinic is very well-staffed, and the staff often have free time to chat with friends during slow days. They don't get paid much, but no one in Lima says they get paid much. Inppares also offers free bottled water from dispensers while patients wait, and TVs with So You Think You Can Dance-type programs playing all the time. :) They are also trying to computerize everything, and eventually make a lot of the data entry automatic. And if that's not enough, they also have discount campaigns, radio advertised, and big conferences on sexual health. Awesome. They have pamphlets about preventing hate crimes against people of different sexualities, and they often use gender-neutral language (pareja instead of esposo/a, novio/a).

Although I could have gone back a few hours later for the results, I wanted to wait until the next day so I could spend more time sleeping. So on Tuesday, Renzo accompanied me to Inppares and we spoke to the doctor, who told me I had an intestinal infection and continuing the antibiotics would fix it. Again, the appointment/meeting with doctor was free.

I spent the rest of Tuesday and some of Wednesday resting, studying Spanish, and reflecting on how my next 9 weeks will be different from this last one. Obviously no more massive exposures to bacteria via water, but also no more surfing Facebook with homesickness and much more time outside enjoying Lima. I just got invited to a birthday party at a gay bar on Saturday night, and meeting a new friend tomorrow, so I'm off to a good start. :D And Renzo has plans to go to Trujillo with some friends and me on a weekend in the future. It's three hours away and apparently very beautiful. Looking forward to it. :)