1.Overcoming fears, part one.

I loved the idea of travel and I could spend hours on Pinterest looking up all the places I wanted to go to, but I was scared when I learned I would be flying solo and meet my VAW group at our final destination of Cusco City. Very meticulous planning was the only thing that kept me from dropping everything last minute. It was my first time traveling alone, and I hoped it would be a smooth breeze getting there.

When your mind focuses on all the negative possibilities, of course at least one thing would go wrong. Multiple things went wrong in my case. From my ticket not being valid to almost missing my first flight, I said my farewells to any form of smooth sailing. Along the way, I realized that these were life lessons and I should get all the experience I can get from them. By the time I reached the Lima airport and I learned that my next flight LAN Chile didn’t exist, I wasn’t fazed. LAN had apparently become LATAM and my flight was delayed. I already had a long layover and I was about to collapse from exhaustion, but then I was saved by the company of two new people in my life who I can call good friends now. Thank you, Theresa and Melissa. I was able to arrive to Cusco safely. Unfortunately, when I got there no one was there to pick me up. Thanks to my limited Spanish, T-Mobile and Mrs. Flores (for waiting with me), I was able to finally reach my host family. My first time traveling alone wasn’t the best experience, but it was a lifetime of experience nevertheless.

Exploring Cusco City

2. The golden opportunity.

I didn’t get altitude sickness, my Spanish wasn’t horrible and my host family was understanding and caring. The whole reason I was in Peru was because of the organization Volunteers Around the World. VAW was something that I was hesitant to join at first in my freshman year at UT Dallas, but thanks to our President Saad’s inspirational speech, I was eager to apply. When I got accepted, I took it as a sign I was meant to go. I realize looking back, if I didn’t go I was missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to re-motivate myself as to why a medical career was something I wanted to pursue. I learned a lot about the Peruvian healthcare system, medical Spanish and how triage and pharmacy worked. I was even able to learn suturing techniques from the VAW doctors.

Working in triage.

But most of all, I met a lot of people in Peru … I even encountered myself. Most of our time was spent holding mobile clinics and helping out the local population like the orphanage. There were also free days, and we were in Peru with one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Our group decided to hike up from the bottom to visit the wonder of Machu Picchu. I’m the least athletic person in the world. Thus, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I couldn’t control my breathing, and I was wondering after each climb and halt to breathe if I was ever going to make it to the top. After 7,970 feet, a couple of hours of climbing up, I witnessed one of the most beautiful sights in the world. The whole climb was worth it. Probably out of everyone, I spent the most time just in the ruins, about seven hours, that included taking a nap and getting the experience of waking up to the sight. I even spent one of those hours by myself wandering around the wonder. Somehow I ended up getting to listen to different tour guides, the last one being in French, but by then I understood everything that was said.

During my time spent on Machu Picchu, I realized that Peru was making one thing clear to me – my love of solitude and experiencing my own company. Don’t get me wrong, though. Groups are great, and being a part of UT Dallas VAW made my experience one I will never forget.

UTD Medical

Teamed up with Sunay, Theresa and Melissa for rotations!

3. Overcoming fears, part two.

I’m a fan of progress. Peru sure helped me grow as a person. On our last free day, our group decided to go white water rafting on the Peruvian rapids and zip lining. I don’t know how to swim, but I found some courage and got myself to the point of no turning back. It was dry season, and thus our boat had plenty of opportunity to flip. It was the scariest, most exciting and adventurous 12 kilometers of my life. Towards the end of the journey, I even jumped off the boat into the water. Being in Peru helped me to take control of my fears and not let them control my life. While I was zip lining, I thought to myself I wouldn’t even be surprised if this was the birth of an adrenaline junkie.

Post white water rafting

I want to give a special thanks to UT Dallas Medical Team Leaders Dev and Sabrina and our VAW Site Coordinator Meca Meli.

Shout out to Darsh Shah for making sure I got to the top of Machu Picchu.

And thank you Asha Pavuluri, Nivi Sukumar, Melissa Achettu, Theresa Kunnel and Eleni Rigopoulos for being like sisters to me; Evelyn Gartstein for being a caring roommate.