Updates: Peru, Summer Visits, & Symposium

I have started my internship in Peru, and it is such a thrilling experience. It’s been interesting seeing how a NGO operates abroad, understanding the language and culture of Peru, and getting used to the hot weather.

I took lots of pictures here - the new fruits, delicious food, wonderful plants, and the place I’m calling home for the next couple of months. I’m excited to share them with my buddy when I return back on campus! I have some images below to share for you all.

I’ve been really excited to see summer visits going smoothly. Talking to a friend who goes on these visits, I know that the volunteers and their buddies are enjoying and taking advantage of the opportunity.

In addition, my co-advocacy chair and I are reaching out to individuals and doing planning for the 4th National Alzheimer’s Buddies Symposium, which will be happening in spring of 2019. There’s a lot up in the air in terms of speakers, but we are trying to get in contact with individuals to share their experiences at the event. One thing that we’re proud to have accomplished is to make teams (e.g. fundraising, publicity, design) to really start the planning as soon as possible when we are on campus. All I can say now is that I'm very excited for the things to happen next year!

- Ellen Zhang

 




 

The airplane that took me from Lima to Pucallpa - a rural and underserved region. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from my life outside of my internship... 

The airplane that took me from Lima to Pucallpa - a rural and underserved region. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from my life outside of my internship... 

The city in which I stayed at. Here, this is take an the Pucallpa Plaza, the most urban region of the city. There's a center plaza with this sign and markets all around. There's also really good passion fruit ice cream here!

The city in which I stayed at. Here, this is take an the Pucallpa Plaza, the most urban region of the city. There's a center plaza with this sign and markets all around. There's also really good passion fruit ice cream here!

Fruits such as coconuts are beyond common - including tropical ones that are not found in the USA. What a delicious treat on the hot days of Peru - it's always hot in the jungle here. 

Fruits such as coconuts are beyond common - including tropical ones that are not found in the USA. What a delicious treat on the hot days of Peru - it's always hot in the jungle here. 

The common mode of travel. It takes a while to get used to the strong smell of gasoline, wild winds, and occasional dirt flying in your eyes - but after all that, it's quite fun to ride on these. 

The common mode of travel. It takes a while to get used to the strong smell of gasoline, wild winds, and occasional dirt flying in your eyes - but after all that, it's quite fun to ride on these.