Go to South America? Heck Yes!!!

Back in February, I went to a meeting that discussed the possibility of members of the School of Pharmacy going to South America on a humanitarian/health initiative. Our initiative would provide needed vaccinations and water purification systems for some of the poorer residents of South America. I was recruited by Dr. Coop to figure out how to put together the water purification systems they wanted to take down to install in small towns and orphanages. So I figured the system out and wrote up a step-by-step procedure on how to build it. I turned it in and never heard anything about it again. I know they were having trouble figuring out how to fund the initiative. So when I got a phone call from my old advisor at UMB on June 14 asking if I was still willing to go, I was super surprised. But of course, I said yes! Everyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I've always wanted to go to South America. The biggest incentive, for me, was that it was completely paid for because I was going to be a team leader. Or in layman's terms, I was the only one who knew how to put together the water purification systems so they had to make sure I made it down there.
When I asked when we were going, I was surprised that we were leaving the following Wednesday. I had only six days to get everything ready! The whole initiative was a month long endeavor that hit most of the countries in South America and in Central America. Actually, the only ones that they didn't go to was Colombia (for obvious reasons), Honduras, and Nicaragua (I don't know why they didn't go to the last two). Unfortunately, since I have started working for Argonne at the University of Maryland and have the Exotic Beam Summer School in August, I was only able to go for a week. Thank goodness that week had me going to the two South American countries I've wanted to go to the most!!! I was able to go to Chile and Peru!!!
It was an amazing experience! We installed sixteen water purification systems throughout Chile and Peru. Also, my team helped to build some bunk houses at three orphanages in Chile so they would be able to house more kids. It was a very humbling experience working in those orphanages and small towns. I am very blessed and I need to be reminded of that more often.
But we didn't just work hard, we played hard too! Oh my goodness! I ate so much food! And it was all SO good! I can't even begin to describe it!
Do you guys remember me mentioning several times that I am a terrible tourist? Well, I remembered my camera, but I forgot the battery charger and the battery was dead. So I wasn't able to get very many pictures and the ones I got are either from my phone or my friend Billy's phone/camera. I'm really sad about it but it gives me an excuse to go back, right?
The airplane ride takes forever! It was a thirteen hour flight from Atlanta! Seriously, I about went stir crazy! I think that Dr. Coop is now very glad that we weren't able to go to that conference in London. I really don't think that I was that bad but I'm going to be teased about it by Billy for the rest of my life. Actually, the thing that sucked was that my laptop and my Nook died with over seven hours of flight time left. I slept a little but I've never been good at sleeping while traveling so that lasted all of maybe an hour. And me in my stupidity, didn't bring a real book. I'll never make that mistake again! But, it worked out! Wanda, who is Dr. Coop's girlfriend/partner, saved me. She had shoved a carry on full of books. She seriously had around 45 books shoved into that suitcase! So she lent me books the whole trip for when we were traveling in exchange for me dragging the suitcase around South America. It worked out for everyone since we were sick of hearing Dr. Coop complain about having to haul the thing around himself. Take home lesson, as great as my nook is, it is useless with no power. I will have a real book with me from now on when traveling.
Speaking of flights, our group that went to South America took up one-third of the plane! Our group had 73 members plus a 25 man security team. The security team was just to make sure that our large group of gringos was not attacked or kidnapped which I guess is a real issue in some South American countries.  Thankfully, Peru and Chile were some of our safest stops on the initiative.
I just realize that this is a long post already so I will post my tourist/eating activities in two posts. One for Chile and one for Peru.