Waiting out the rain in Cuetzalan!
Author: Caroline Kilo | Major: Nursing
Choosing to study abroad in Puebla was easily one of the best decisions that I have made. Initially, I chose this program since it was a perfect combination of my major and minor. I loved the idea of earning 6 hours of Spanish credit while gaining experience in the healthcare field, and additionally getting to immerse myself in an amazing culture and language. This is one of the few UARK Faculty Led programs that travels to a Spanish-speaking country. My family and I enjoyed having the reassurance that we would always have someone from UARK present in Puebla to ensure our safety and a smooth schedule.
Our host university, UPAEP, gave us a valuable education with dedicated faculty. There are multiple major options available, like healthcare, business, education, engineering, and community service. Our daily routine consisted of a three hour morning Spanish in Medicine class, lunch at UPAEP, then either a lab or a clinical rotation. For our morning classes, we had a variety of doctors and nurses teach us new information every week. They were all very understanding and engaging. Every class and lab brought new activities, including learning how to prepare and dress for surgery, practicing injections on oranges, performing sutures on cadavers, learning how to evaluate and respond to emergency patients, taking vital signs, and practicing casts and wraps. We had three different clinical rotations: Urgent Care, Physical Therapy, and University Clinic. These rotations allowed us to shadow different doctors, nurses, and medical students. Speaking in Spanish with the doctors and patients was an exciting and nerve-wracking experience.
Earning credit for two Spanish classes during this program was vital to my academic experience at UARK. The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing recommends finishing minors before beginning nursing school, which means that I would need to finish my minor before my second semester of sophomore year if I get accepted into the nursing program. By choosing the Puebla program, I am now able to finish my minor on time.
Not only was I excited for the academic experience that would come with studying abroad, but also the weekend trips that would give me the opportunity to gain exciting experiences and visit new places. We had a perfect balance of academics and structured excursions. Balancing school and outside activities was simple on this trip and did not cause us the stress that usual classes do. I loved that we had an exciting schedule of excursions planned for each weekend, and also free time to explore on our own. Our UPAEP advisor, Octavio, was present with us on the weekend trips and accompanied us on the excursions. Octavio was great to have with us, and we always had the best time with him. We all felt safe throughout this trip, and did not run into any problems.
The weekend trips included Cholula, Mexico City, Cuetzalan, and Oaxaca. Each city was amazing and eye opening in its own way, and I would love to go back and visit them all again. In Cholula, we spent the day walking around an archeological site, visiting a beautiful church, eating lunch at La Casa de Frida, and shopping at a cute outdoor market. Mexico city was a 3 day trip where we visited the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, National Museum of Anthropology, Palace of Fine Arts, Basilica of Our Virgin Guadalupe, Frida Kahlo Museum, and Coyoacan. Highlights of our 2 day Cuetzalan trip included hiking the beautiful waterfalls, visiting Yohualichan, staying in the cutest hotel, and roaming around the plentiful outdoor markets and shops. Our favorite parts of the Oaxaca trip were visiting Monte Alban, the Arbol de Tule, the black clay workshops, the Zapotec textile factory, a Mezcal distillery, and watching the parades in the charming town center. During our trip, I documented each day on an Instagram account called @Carolineinpuebla, so please feel free to check it out for a more detailed view of our program and for more pictures!
I would absolutely recommend this program. The ten other UARK students that I met in Puebla now feel like family, and I can confidently say that they would all recommend this program as well. This trip changed my life for the better, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.