Last week I traveled to Chile for three days with a cousin of the my Peruvian family to renew my tourist visa. We took an 18 hour bus to Tacna, Peru, then a taxi across the border to Arica, Chile, and finally a plane from Arica to Santiago. About a 25 hour trip one way. It was a long journey, but well worth the effort. Chile is a very modern country that has very little in common with Peru. There is lot's of Western-style commerce and very little indigenous cultural influence. We visited Santiago for two days and Valiparaíso for one day. Santiago is a city of about five million people and an important financial center for all of Latin America. There is an extensive subway, great urban parks, and many museums. Valiparaíso is a bit like San Francisco, but more disorganized. It's more of a working class city and on several occasions we were advised by the locals to not walk further into particular neighborhoods. We made a poor bus choice on our return trip in Peru. The bus driver and about 10 women were traveling with smuggled clothing from Chile and four times during our trip Peruvian customs agents stopped the bus and pulled out at least 50 bags full of contraband clothing. However, the women didn't give up their illegal items easily. They clawed and scratched with the officers to hold to as many items as possible. Overall, it was great to see a different country in South America and I now have a different perspective on my experiences in Peru.

An orthopedic team for children was at the clinic last week. This is the third time Dr. David Shaw and his staff from Portland, Ore. have come to perform surgeries. It was really an amazing campaign because a lot of children received life-changing procedures and I was finally able to translate with confidence. Some of the surgeries included: club feet repair, reconnection of hips that had been dislocated since birth, separation of connected fingers, and the removal of extra toes. The above pictures are of Emily from Cusco. I am unsure of the medical terminology, but as you can see, both her feet are deformed and her left leg curves upward at the knee. In her ankles and feet, the surgeons released and reconnected tendons and wrapped her legs in plaster casts to maintain the desired position. The casts will stay on for six weeks and then she will receive braces to allow her feet to continue growing correctly. She was really a cooperative little kid and obviously really cute. In Peru, patients come from far and wide to see an American doctor and to receive surgeries they would otherwise not have access to. The people who come from the highland communities and the jungle are especially interesting. They usually have no knowledge of surgical procedures or Western medicine, but they give their children to the volunteer doctors with confidence. Although Emily and her family are from Cusco and more modern, they lacked the means to pay for an operation and were very grateful to the volunteers doctors and the Kausay Wasi Clinic.

I hope all is well. Cuidense.