A Great Work Week

As the title of this entry suggests, I was pretty happy with the way my first week in the lab turned out. With the Spanish challenge aside, things went really well. One of my favorite days this week was Wednesday. Wednesday was when we ventured out of Valdivia to go to los campos. Our lepto study needed to enroll 5 farms for the project. These were all locations from a previous study that tested positive for Leptospira bacteria in the water surrounding their homes. The previous study looked cross-sectionally at contamination, and our goal is to look temporally. Therefore, Marcelo and Gunther made a list of the homes that had the most positive samples, and we went from there. The trip took us about an hour or so away to the town of Lanco. The drive out to Lanco made me love it here even more..everything is just so beautiful. Once we got to Lanco, it was the perfect, quiet place I've been to in a long time. The roads to the various farms were tiny dirt roads with next to no traffic. All you see is livestock, modest little houses, rivers, and mountains. Perfect. I was nervous for this part of the week because I knew that I may end up having to talk (pathetic. I know). I was afraid of what the people would think. But then, we arrived at the first house, and I realized how wonderful all of the people were. They all seemed like the type of people that would invite you in for a dinner and a good conversation. At each house we visited, Marcelo gave a run-down of why were there and what we wanted to do. Everyone seemed legitimately willing to help, and concerned about what the previous study found. Every house we visited signed off on our consent forms and were completely willing to be part of our study. 100% success rate. Yay! I am super excited to go back to the farms and start our sampling. We will be taking water samples, as well as animal blood samples, and trapping rodents. Just from that one day, I realize that I am and already do love field work. Lab work is great, but it is nice to get out and interact with the people. Hopefully by the end of the project, I will be able to have a full conversation with all of them and tell them how grateful I am.
To top off the day at the farms, we stopped at this little roadside stand for what I was told would be a "huge sandwich". They weren't kidding.

 This glorious work of art was the weight of a small child. The bread was made in a brick oven, and the meat cooked to perfect tender perfection. It was absolutely, ridiculously delicious. The best part was that it was from a little stand that I never would have known about or stopped at by myself. The little hidden gems of travel spots are what makes traveling so addictive.
The rest of the time at the lab was spent working on our study questionnaire, and looking into other things to do for the project. Friday was by far the most taxing day. It started by me getting to work at 11:30am. From there, Marcelo, Gunther, and I took a nice stroll through the gorgeous botanical gardens on the UACh campus. It is filled with different trees from all over Chile, and runs alongside one of the main rivers here. After that, we went for lunch and beers at Kuntsman! Kuntsman is the brewery/restaurant here that I really wanted to go to. It is a little piece of bavarian Germany, in the middle of Chile. It was awesome, and the bock was even better:) After that, we drove another 5 minutes to the point where the rivers meet the ocean, and it opens up into the Pacific. This was indescribably beautiful. I loved every site, sound, and smell. The best part is that the coast is only 10 minutes from Valdivia. Just a short bus ride, and I can be there whenever I want. Friday just made me fall in love with this place even more, because it has everything that I love. Gorgeous scenery, water, mountains, culture, good food, great beer, and quiet. I wish I could have all of my family and friends here to see why I love it so much.
So, that was my work week. I am so happy with the opportunity that I have been given, and am enjoying every second of it. Today I made a trip to the Mercado Municipal and bought the sweetest alpaca sweater know to man. It is most definitely going to be my new go-to. Other than that, my Saturday night plans consist of Spanish flashcards, teatime with my house family, and red wine with the ladies.
Take care everyone!

Ash