Here is what is happening. I have left Lima. I am now living in Iquitos full time. I have painstaking brought my stuff from Lima to Iquitos, and Iquitos is in a very far section of Peru. It´s really a different world. Over the summer, I realized I wanted to be here, on the ground, living in the salty water of Spanish (or more specifically Castellano). I am in in a cute apartment without full walls filled with light. It rains a lot in Iquitos, and my windows are always open.

I am very dedicated and working a ton on a project co-sponsored by 4 US Universities and 1 Peruvian NGO to reduce cervical cancer in Iquitos. Iquitos has 5 times the incidence of cervical cancer (a preventable cancer caused by high risk varities of HPV) than the rest of Peru. It´s ridiculous and maddening that women are dying this way.

Our project support local agents from the Ministry of Health (called DIRESA) to improve high risk HPV screening and treatment so these specific viruses do not become cervical cancer. I work full-time in Spanish. My brain is often tired. We are focused on “technical assistance” for the health centers who are providing the treatment (thermocoagulation). It´s a massive process.

I got my Peruvian residency this year through a work visa.

I am reading a ton of books, writing each day, and going to many events put on the Ministry of Culture branch in Iquitos. I have been watching the river Nanay (a tributary of the Amazon) rise and all the huts sitting on it, rise too. I eat a lot of beans and lentils. My neighbors are a group of expats from Australia and Europe. They are friendly, and things are quiet. This is what is going on.