And so it begins...

After 32 hours of traveling, one ripped suitcase, one "lost ticket", and countless forms at customs, we finally arrived in Cochabamba on Saturday morning. Group 3 met us at the apartment and acted as our wonderful tour guides of the city for our first weekend. Our first order of business was to cram six people into a tiny taxi whose engine sounded like it was going to fall out or explode and drive up a mountain on a cobblestone road...all to take a tour of a brewery that doesn't offer tours and to eat lunch at a restaurant that didn't exist. So we walked back down the mountain (where halfway down, Tiffany broke her flipflop), took a taxi back into the city, and ate at one of Tiffany and Lauren's favorite restaurants. After lunch and naps, we went out for a fabulous night on the town at another of the girls' favorite restaurants and then to the boys' favorite discoteca. (Green Pepper!) Overall, a fun and exhausting start to the trip.

Day 2 in Cochabamba... We woke up to an exceptional breakfast made by Tiffany and Juana, then went over to the stadium to go to the "dog market" and watch little children play futbol. Now when I say dog market, I literally mean an open market on the street where they sell puppies of every breed imaginable. People bring these puppies to the market in potato sacks, laundry baskets, wooden crates...you name it...and try to sell off the litter. While Paige was tempted to buy a puppy that I was convinced looked like Marley, she resisted and we went home empty handed. The rest of the day was spent exploring the city and hanging out with Tiffany and Lauren.

This morning we went to the hospital for the first time. After a few hours in the burn center playing with kids, I joined Paige in the Peds ER where we held down a teenage boy who had overdosed on "una cosa blanca" while he had his stomach pumped. While trying to avoid the projectile vomit, a nurse nearly stuck me with the bloody IV needle that that the patient had yanked out of his arm. Hepatitis scare narrowly avoided, Paige and I decided to do something less dangerous and fold gauze. Meanwhile, in another part of the hospital, Henry blew everyone out of the water with his amazing talent.

More to come....

--Rachel...and Paige...and sometimes Henry

Superlatives of the week:
Most likely to need a MEDEVAC: Rachel
Most likely to get hit by a taxi: Paige
Most likely to not authorize his debit card for travel: Henry