Now That I'm Home

Now that I've adjusted back to my life back here in the US, I've been able to take some time to reflect on the time I spent in Oaxaca this past May. Going into the trip, I had no idea what to expect and I have to say, it was nothing like I expected it to be like. I learned so many important lessons, experienced a new culture, and was able to grow as a person while I was there.

Adjusting to a entirely different culture and immersing myself in it for two weeks with very little access to the resources that I have available to me back home was definitely out of my comfort zone and yet I wouldn't have asked for it to be any other way. Even though having access to AC or clean tap water or other basic amenities would've made my stay in Oaxaca more luxurious, it would've taken away from the experience that I had there. Waking up at 6am every morning to make my way to the hospitals to shadow medical professionals throughout their day was something that was hard to do but also very informative and eye opening.

This trip allowed me to meet new people from across the world and made me open to trying new things that I had never thought I'd be open to trying before. I tried new foods (such as grasshoppers and burnt milk flavored ice cream), took public transportation in a foreign country without a supervising adult, and explored what the streets of Oaxaca had to offer me. The new friends that I made there are friends that will last a lifetime even though they are thousands of miles away. I even made some new friends with the local stray dogs that we ran into every night on our evening strolls.

I never truly understood how fortunate I am to have been born and raised in the USA with a family who has comfortable living situations and surrounded by an abundance of resources. Some of the things that I experienced while I was in Oaxaca regarding the medical circumstances made me realize how much technology and knowledge we have access to here, especially in a bustling city such as Boston. I'm thankful for what I grew up with and appreciative of the life that my parents have built for me here, despite them coming to the country as immigrants from a country healing from a civil war. This trip is one that I'll never forget and I hope that everyone is able to have an eye opening experience such as I've had, and I'm hoping to have many more myself in the future.

Traditional Medicine in Oaxaca

The concept of Western medicine, which includes hospitals and what we are familiar with in the US, is still a fairly new one in the state of Oaxaca. While shadowing in the hospitals here, I noticed that their technology is not as advanced as what we have here, especially compared to a place like Boston, MA. Many citizens of Oaxaca actually still believe in the ways of traditional medicine and it is commonly used here. We were lucky enough to have a traditional healer come in and teach us about her traditional health clinic and demonstrate some of the rituals that she performs.

One of the first things that she did was introduce us to all of the natural ingredients that are used in her practice and show off some of the products that she can make using different herbs and plants. She had balms, body soaps, lotions, and even hair products.

After she explained what she does and how, she gave us a group spiritual cleansing. During the ritual, we all closed her eyes as she massaged different essential oils into our skins and looked into our souls. Many of us were skeptical of this at first because of what we are used to in the US but after hearing her words, we realized how legitimate they were. The healer was telling us things about ourselves that she had no way of knowing and often tugged at the things we held deep within our hearts and haven't had the courage to tell anyone yet. She was able to find these things about us while giving us this spiritual cleansing and give us advice on how to improve our lives. It was an experience I will never forget.

Living With a Host Family

This trip is nothing like I've ever been on and I think that a large part of that is the fact that I'm staying with a host family. All of the other trips that I've been on I've stayed in a resort, hotel, or a cruise ship that had running amenities and lots of the conveniences that I'm used to having at home. In Oaxaca, being the poorest state in Mexico, there aren't a lot of luxuries that we enjoy in the US which make this experience all that more authentic.

Even though the heat is intense here, there's no AC which is really hard to get used to. The only means of cooling down is from the ceilings fans and taking a shower. In order to use the hot water here, I actually have to ask my host mom to turn on the boiler so that hot water is available for me to use. In addition to needing to wait for the boiler to heat water, the toilets here doesn't flush great so used toilet paper is tossed into a trash can rather than into the toilet which is a lot different than how it is in the US.

Pictured above is the cafe/bakery that my host mom owns. It's right below the living space of her house which is a common layout for the houses here. In her bakery she has different types of cakes as well as other kinds of desserts such as flan, cookies, and jello. And if you aren't in the mood for something to eat, she has plenty to drink as well such as frozen coffee drinks and refreshing sodas.

And lastly, here's a typical lunch that I've been having during my stay here. The meals are very balanced and healthy (in my opinion) compared to the ones in the US. There's always veggies, starch, and usually a type of meat or other protein such as beans. One thing that they love here: QUESO. Queso means cheese and there's always cheese in all of the meals.

My First Death

When we started to work at the clinics this week, it was a bit of a mess in the beginning. We were split up
into two groups at two separate clinics so on Monday morning we ventured off to our respective locations
. My group took a taxi on to this highway and traveled up this mountain but once we got there, we found
out that we had given the driver the wrong address. And so the trek across the mountain began again in
order to arrive at the correct location. We thought all was fine but when we arrived, it seemed strangely
empty at the clinic. Upon going inside and talking to the nurses working there, we found out that the
doctors who were supposed to receive us that day were currently on strike. We called the CFHI
directors and made our way back to the language school. The day wasn’t a total bust though since we
ended up volunteering at a place where underprivileged children got their education and it actually was
really nice.

The next day we all got repositioned at one of the major hospitals in Oaxaca but again, it was quite messy.
None of the doctors seemed to be expecting us and so many of us ended up sitting around doing nothing
for the majority of the four hours that we were there for. However, as the week went on and the doctors
were more prepared to let us shadow, we got to see lots of cool things. I ended up loving shadowing this
nurse and doctor in the ER. Honestly, I was a little scared to shadow there since I thought I was going to
witness gory injuries such as car accidents. There were a few but they weren’t as gory as I had previously
thought they were going to be. Below is a picture of the MCPHS group after a day shadowing at the
hospital.

Some of the things that we witnessed were surgeries, abortions, the cancer wing, as well as jaundice. I saw
my first case of jaundice while I was here and I was in awe at seeing it in person.

But today was different in the ER. It was a quiet morning since today was Mother’s Day in Mexico so there
weren’t a lot of patients; even a lot of the doctors didn’t show up to work. The patient I saw with jaundice
the other days was the main focus of today. Me and some other students followed the nurse to go perform
an ECG on him but as we were there, I realized something was really wrong. My peer pointed out that his
chest wasn’t moving up and down at all and when I glanced up at the heart monitor, all of his numbers read
a solid 0. As the ECG printed out from the machine, it looked different than the other ones that we had
performed for other patients. Instead of seeing undulations in his readings, all of the graphs came out to be
flat lines.

I wasn’t sure what was happening but we disconnected the machine and followed the doctor. He went out
into the hallway and called in a small lady with a short haircut. As he spoke to her, I watched her face and
felt my heart breaking with her. I didn’t understand the words that the doctor was telling her but as her lip
quivered and tears streamed down her face, I knew what he had said. Her husband was dead.

Before this, I had never even come close to witnessing a conversation like this. The last time I had been
near a dead body was at my friend’s grandpa’s funeral, and even then it hadn’t hit home like this had. To
actually see a patient who had been alive the day before and come in the next day to find out that he was
dead was surreal. And the conversation with the wife after the fact was more heartbreaking to watch than I
had anticipated. I felt my own eyes watering as I watched her walk into the room to say her goodbyes to
her husband. Later on in the day when I was writing some paperwork that the nurse had requested me and
my friends to do, I saw a team roll out of the ER wing with a body bag in tow and knew that it was the
patient. Seeing the cart disappear with him on it gave the moment a sense of finality and I wasn’t sure how
I was feeling. Many doctors say that it doesn’t get easier to have this conversation, and I now I believe
them.

First Few Days in Oaxaca!

We arrived at the airport in Oaxaca on Saturday afternoon at around 3:00pm and the first thing that I noticed was the sweltering afternoon sun. The heat wasn't that noticeable when we were inside of the airport terminal but as soon as we stepped outside, the sun was bearing down on us. Unlike the brisk Boston air that I was used to, this climate was much warmer and muggier.

But as we drove towards our new homes for the next two weeks, the intensity of the heat faded into the back of my mind as I took in the new views around me. The cities of the state of Oaxaca were small in size but were still bustling nonetheless. Colorful buildings greeted me and flowering plants alongside the road greeted me with their beautiful shades of pink and purple.

I got to meet my new host family which consisted of a woman, who owned a bakery, her son and her dog named Scrappy. Pictured below is her living room that is right next to my bedroom and the bathroom that me and my housemate are currently using.

The weekend was spent just getting used to our new environment and it definitely was a big culture shock for me. It's so hot here but there's no AC in most of the buildings and even in the vehicles so it's taking me some time to get used to it. The food has been pretty good here and the street food has looked amazing but we are definitely being wary of what to eat and from where since we don't want to get sick for the two weeks that we're here. My host mom has provided breakfast and lunch for us everyday and for dinner the group of MCPHS students go out all together and it's very fun. The weather in the morning and the evenings are beautiful and much more like what I'm used to and the views are amazing. I can't wait to see what else our rotations bring us and what else we will learn about the Oaxacan culture.

T-Minus 24 Hours Til Mexico

The long wait is over and the two-week trip to Mexico is finally upon us! We're leaving tomorrow and I'm nervous but also excited for what this trip will bring. The new experiences that we'll find ourselves going through are sure to be many that I'll remember for a lifetime to come. This is my first time traveling internationally without my parents and though I'm surrounded by my peers and friends, it's still so nerve-wracking. We have an itinerary that we'll be following while we stay in Mexico but I still have no idea how it's going to really be like once we get there.

I'm currently writing this from one of my friend's house in Connecticut where we are spending the night before our 8am flight out from JFK Airport in New York City. We're all running last minute errands before we set off to drive to JFK and I don't think it's hit any of us that we're going to be leaving so soon! We've gotten our host family assignments and can't wait to meet them upon our arrival.

This is my first time ever doing a trip like this and I'm super excited for all the things I'm going to learn while I'm there. As a future healthcare professional, I'm hoping that this trip will expose me to how the medical setting is in another country and teach me ways in which I can help my future patients. I want to learn different skills such as communicating with patients from other cultures but also spending time immersing myself in their way of life.

But it's time to turn in for a quick power nap for the night so more posts and some pictures will be coming soon so stay tuned!