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.
