My time spent in Guadalajara, Mexico was a very rewarding experience. I traveled through Projects Abroad which arranged everything for me, from Hotel pickup, to housing, to a city tour. In addition, staff was always available to help organize weekend trips we volunteers may be interested in. I arrived in Mexico in the middle of March 2013 and stayed in Guadalajara on dental assignment for five weeks. My first two weeks were spent working alongside a private practice dentist. A typical day in the private practice entailed a 30 minute bus ride in the morning to the clinic, followed by an intensive 4 hour Spanish medical terminology and anatomy review. The review was interspersed with patient visits, which permitted opportunity to observe. At 2 PM or so, I would head home for lunch. Following lunch I would study dental articles and magazines to further my knowledge of the vocabulary and procedures. This required a lot of self motivating, especially after a big meal, but was my efforts quickly proved worthwhile. After my first two weeks I headed north for a long weekend in Mazatlan. I quickly made Mexican friends and was invited to stay in a friend's home not far from the beach. My time in Mazatlan was awesome. The weather was perfect, the beaches were packed and the festivities were abundant. It was impressive. The younger party goers would line the street the runs parallel to the beach and dance til sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. And, I had the opportunity to learn a dance native to Mexico. Upon my return to Guadalajara, I began working in a free hospital clinic. For me, this was much more fun. As previously addressed, the first two weeks required a lot of studying. The last two were a reward for all the hard work I had put in. The hospital clinic had 5 chairs with five to eight doctors (some of which were students). One chair was mostly dedicated to oral surgery. The others were for routine visits. The variety of cases I had the opportunity to observe was awesome. I also had the opportunity to assist on multiple oral surgeries. There was no typical day at the hospital, but this made it more enjoyable. There was, however, typically at least one oral surgery for me to observe or assist. While in the clinic, I learned to develop and interpret x-rays. I typically spent between 4 and 5 hours at the clinic, all before lunch. The clinic was a lot of fun, but it was definitely more enjoyable because of my two week introduction to medical terminology and Mexican Spanish in general in the private practice. My fifth and final week, my parents came to visit. We traveled to Puerto Vallarta, an exotic beach destination, for 3 nights, took the Jose Cuervo Tequila Express Tour (highly recommend) and toured the city of Guadalajara. My time in Guadalajara had the potential to be a truly tremendous, life altering experience. I simply needed more time there. I speak of its potential in this manner because I spent 5 months abroad in Spain as an undergraduate student and I can attest to the power of a trip of this length. A five-month period is long enough to significantly impact you as a person. Five weeks, on the other hand, permits you to make many acquaintances, one or two good friends, and an improved ability to communicate in the foreign language. My advice, wherever you travel, stay twice as long as I did. Cheers and good luck.
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