ANOTHERDAYINPARADISE

Everydaywasanewandwonderfuladventure.Everytimewearrivedtoanewplace,DrStevePurdyused to say: “Another day in paradise”. So, I think it´s theperfect phrase todescribethismagicaltrip.

Iama23yearsoldlady,fromArequipa,Perú;IstudiedVeterinaryinScientiPicUniversityof theSouth, inLimaandsinceveterinary issuchabroadcareer, studentsusuallycouldnot get completely involved in all areas or specialties. Therefore, internships andexternships are absolutely necessary and useful, because they allow you to have moreexperienceandabetterviewofwhatexactlyhappensonthePield.Atleast,thisisthewayitworksinmycountry.

As happens with most of all newly graduated veterinary student in Perú, I was in thesearchformypath,asinthemeanwhileIwasworkinginmythesistogetthedegree;whensuddenly, the advertisement for this journey appeared randomly: this would be myopportunitytohavea lookattherealityofmycountry.Anditreallywas, ineverysingleway.

Theideaofworkingwithcamelids,whenIstarteduniversity,wasimpossible.Fortunatelyandbyaccident,Iwasproposedtoworkinalpacasformythesislastyear;andthatisthebeginningofeverything.ThemoreIlearnedaboutcamelids,mainlyalpacas,themoreIfeltin lovewith the topic.At the same time I could realized the lackof knowledge that stillneed to be investigated, especially in my country, as it has the highest population ofalpacasinthewolrd.Thiswouldmeanahugecultural,socialandeconomicpositiveimpactforallandeanpeople,mainlybecause theiranimalsmeanseverything to them.Theyarethe principal source of food, quickly cash if they need, Piber and skin for cold andsometimespacking(llamas)totransporttheirproductstothenearesttown.

Havingtheopportunitytojointhisamazingcausewasthebest journeyIhaveeverbeenpartof.This trip setabeforeandafter inmy life. I learnedsomany lessons for lifeandclarifysomanythoughtsIwashavingtroublewith.Thistripmademebelieveinhumanityagain,realizedthatthereisstillpeoplewithahugewillingtohelptheotherswithoutanyulterior motive, even with so many difPiculties such languages, lack of tools or gadget,distance,geographiclocationandaltitude.

Workingwith suchanamazinggroupofpeoplewas incredible. Itwas impossiblenot tolearnsomethingneweveryday.Thisjourneywassofullofknowledge.Italwayshappenedthatiftherewassomefactthatyouwereabsolutelysureabout,thenyouwouldrealizeditwasn´tnecessarily thewayyou thoughtbefore.On theway,youalso learn tobe Plexiblewithtreatmentsandtheoryingeneral,becauseyouneverknowwhatyoucanPindineachcase.Youalsolearntoworkinteam,tobequickerinPindingsolutionsandadapteasilytonewdifPicultsituationinordertohelpandsucceedintheattempt.

Therewere somany stories andpeople touched, includingme.Mostof families thatwevisitedwereinthemiddleofanything,sofarawaywithnotransportationavailable,withareallydifPicultaccess,eachoneharderthanthenextone.Houses,cloths,furniture,animalsand of course peoplewere so needy,with somany lacks, but thankfulwith such strongwilling tosuccess thateverysingleeffortdeserved itandmadeyouencourageandkeepgoing.Now I canunderstandbetterwhatDrPurdy feelwithNuñoaProject andwhyhekeeps doingwhat he does. He is such a passionate, altruistic, humble andwise person,sometimessarcasticwithagreatsenseofhumor,butextremelycourageanddetermined,thatnowadaysyouhardlyhavethepleasureofmeet.Sincethe Pirstday,hewasalwaysencouragingustotry,tonevergiveupforsmallobstacles,toalwayskeepdoingourbest,evenifitseemedimpossible.

Thistripnotonlygavemenewtrulyfriends,wewerealittlefamilyduringthis2perfectweeks.Alldinners,mainlyinPucará,withMexican,PeruvianandItalianhomemadelovely

food, after a hard working morning, were not only delicious, but pleasant and funnybecauseofourafter-dinnerconversations,talkingaboutourowncostumes,languagesandhabits,withoutstoplaughing.

TheNuñoaProjecthasallowedmetoseebymyselfwhatreallyhappeninmycountry,withmypeopleintheandes.Icouldseehowanimalshardlysurviveevenwiththeirextremelypoorbodyconditions,withtheirrestrictedamountof food,onlyavailable inrainseason,mostly full of parasites. Genetic diseases were common in some places because ofincorrect inbreeding, while infective diseases could hardly be treated, just whengovernmental or private organizations like Nuñoa Project visited these communities,whichhappensusuallyonceayear.Thispeopledidn’tevenknowevenhowmanymalesandfemaleshad,andunfortunatelybecauseoflackofinformationtheyhadcastratedtheirbest animals, while in some other places we weren’t allow to examine their pregnantfemalesbecausetheywereafraidofabortions.

Eachplacewewent,wechangedrolesandbytheendofthetrip,eachonewasanexpertineverything. We organized in groups and activities: catching the animal, doing theultrasounds, scoringof body condition, evaluating ageby the teeth,measuringof testes,examinationofexternalparasitesandskinlesions,takingnotesandtalkingwithpeopletogetsome informationaboutcommondiseases,abortionsanddeaths.Afterexaminingalltheanimals,evenwiththelanguagebarriers,wetriedtoexplainedthemaboutthegeneralstatusof theiranimalsandgavesomeadvisesaboutdiseasesandcares that theyhad toimprovewiththem.Themostrewardingthingaboutthispartwastheirincreasinginterestin knowingmore andmore about their animals, theywere always asking and trying tounderstand, takingnotesofalladvices.Thewholefamilywas involvedinthework,evenkidswerehelping.

A personal goalwhich Iwas afraid of not achievingwas to learn about ultrasound; butfortunatelyandthankfully,becauseofeverybody´spatientlessons,bytheendofthetripIcouldbecameanexpertonit.Ifeltsoproudofmeatthatmoment.Thisjourneymademerealized thatabsolutelyeverything ispossible ifyouaredeterminedenough toget it, aslongas,youarealsosurroundedbytrulyunselPishfriendslikemine.Whatismore,IcouldreafPirmmypassionforcamelids,andfeelagainthatworkingonthePieldwiththem,isnotimpossible, evenwith cultural barriers, geography and altituddifPiculties and extremelycoldweather.

FieldworkisirreplaceableandIfyouarethinkingofjoiningthisamazingadventure,youneedtokeep inmindthatyoushouldbealwaysready forworkandtonsof fun.But themostimportantthink,youmustbeWILLINGTOHELP,thatiswhatcharacterizesthisgreatgroup of people. They are alwayswilling to do something better for all this people andtheiranimals,evenwithalladversitiesthatareinvolved.

Finally but not less important, I would like to thank Dr. Steve Purdy and The NuñoaProyect,forlettingmebeingpartofthishighqualitygroupofpeople,notonlybecauseoftheirwideprofessionalexperienceandknowledge,butbecauseofthegreathumanbeingIknowtheyare.Thankyouverymuch forgivingme theopportunity tobe inallof theseparadises,workingtogetherandhelpingallmycompatriotswithoutaskingforanything.“ValenunPerú!!!”.AlsoIwouldliketothankLlamaPack,whoallowedustogetincontacttoallthesecommunities,theirenergyforPieldworkingisendless!.

This life experience trip dePinitely changes you in so many ways. I feel too fortunate,hoppingthatinsomenearfuture,Iwouldhavethehonoroftakingpartinthiscauseagain.Itwasagreatpleasuretoworkwithallofyou.Eachofyou:Gerardo,Lila,Nicol,Ali,Header,GianLorenzoandDr.Purdy,madethistripunforgettableforme.

Thankyouverymuch.

Sincerely,

JhoanaJimenez

TheNuñoaProjectandLlamaPacktogether.

OurlastdayofPieldwork:Wearemakingllamafaceswithhands.