Last March I finished my master’s degree in public health at UCLA and I am currently applying for PhD programs in Epidemiology. I was fortunate to receive a funded Fulbright/Fogarty fellowship to do public health research in Peru during my year between program. My project is still in the works, but it looks like I will be working on traveler’s diarrhea in Cusco. More details of the project will come as I figure it out.
Thus far, I have safely arrived in Lima. I will be staying here for a while to nail down the details of the project before I move to Cusco. My Spanish is coming back faster than I thought, but I still have a long way to go. One of my goals of the next nine months is to feel more confident with my Spanish conversation skills. There are several Fogarty Fellows who are also in Peru. They have been a great community to walk into providing a beautiful place to stay (a view from the balcony is posted below), advice on how to take the bus, and education on the Peruvian receipt culture. (In case you are wondering about the last one, you get a receipt for everything, there are two types of receipts, and you better take one of them with you.) I am grateful for the support that I have here, but I am still quite nervous with anticipation about what is yet to come.
This blog has evolved as I have over the years. I started it more than six years ago when I studied abroad in the Dominican Republic. It also documents my time after college in Tanzania. My objectives, however, remain the same. I hope to share my experiences of living, working and playing over the next nine months with those that can’t be here to share them with me!
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