Tuesday night I had the pleasure of teaching a basic medicine course at the Bible Institute that SIM partners with here in Arequipa. The main subject was, "How to stay healthy and productive in the ministries God has called us" We were discussing all sorts of subjects from filtering one's drinking water to immunizations. I like to keep my classes interactive, so I let the students ask any questions that they might have. Sometimes I have a hard time hearing because they are so timid and soft spoken and other times, despite 17 years in Peru, I just don't understand some Spanish words that they choose. One question in particular left me baffled as to what he was asking, "I'm a welder. Why do I get sick when I heat of leftovers in plastic containers?" His question was kind of out of the blue and it didn't seem to make sense. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat your question?" I asked as I moved closer to hear better and maybe get some clues from his body language what his question really was. He repeated the question. That really was his question. I briefly discussed the lack of studies on microwaving food in tupperware and told him to use glass or ceramic in the microwave before surrendering with, "I don't know."
I guess they weren't too disappointed with my lack of knowlege about leftover food as they invited me back in two weeks for a course on first aid!
