Pyramid of the Moon
Author: Ethan Peters | Majors: Biochemistry and Spanish
In late May of 2022, I left everything that I knew behind and traveled to Puebla, Mexico. There I would remain for 5 weeks – longer than I had ever been abroad before. I was excited to begin this adventure because it was a perfect match for me. It allowed me to earn 6 hours of Spanish credit, featured a healthcare focus, and would allow me to increase my Spanish fluency. I didn’t fully understand how much the program would equip me for the future until I arrived. In our formal classes, we learned about the healthcare system in Mexico and various topics in healthcare. The classes were often very interactive. After hearing a lecture about bandaging wounds, we got to practice this skill on each other. The program also included rotations, where I observed patient provider interactions in the clinic. As a premed student, I was very interested to observe the differences in the way these clinics operated compared to those at home. Physicians in Mexico told me that diagnosis is based far more on clinical observation than labs. Further testing is usually done if the initial treatment isn’t working. In the US, physicians more often initially default to testing for diagnosis. It is vital for healthcare providers to understand their patients’ cultural context and expectations in the clinical setting. With the Hispanic US population quickly growing, my clinical experience in Mexico will allow me to better serve my patients in the future. Two afternoons each week, we had labs where we got hands on experience. My favorites were intubating a dummy and suturing real cadavers! Most of my peers won’t get those experiences until medical school.
On the weekends, we spent our time traveling to different regions in Mexico. We swan underneath waterfalls in Cuetzalan, saw traditional forms of pottery on Oaxaca, and saw a beautiful cathedral in Cholula. My favorite destination however was Mexico City. The city is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs. There are archeological sites in the featuring Aztec pyramids in the middle of the city’s bustling historic district! In the National Museum of Anthropology, I saw glimpses of life for not only the Aztecs, but also the plethora of other indigenous groups that thrived before Spain’s arrival, such as the Zapotecs. On one of our weekend trips, I struck up a conversation with our tour guide. After getting to know each other, he invited me to have dinner with his family the next night! His son and I took turns playing piano for his family, we had great conversation (all in Spanish of course), and they ordered tacos al pastor from their favorite restaurant! I plan to stay in touch with my new friends.
I would absolutely recommend this program to any students that want to improve their Spanish! It’s so close to home yet provides such a different perspective on life and culture. While I greatly enjoyed the healthcare focus in this program, there are also options for education, business, and engineering students. The one thing that I wish I had known beforehand is how quickly the time would pass. Five weeks is enough time to really start to understand the culture, but it left me wanting more! I will always treasure the memories and friends made during this amazing experience.