Author: Qinlan Dai | Major: Nursing | Semester: Summer 2024

Suturing (on the right: Elizabeth Manrique)

My 5-week study abroad program to Puebla, Mexico this summer was both an eye opening and incredibly rewarding experience. I chose this program because I wanted to improve my Spanish speaking skills, learn about the differences between healthcare in Mexico and the U.S., and earn credit towards my Spanish minor. I was interested in Mexico out of the many Spanish-speaking countries because the U.S. has a large Mexican American population. While I want to be able to better serve patients from all backgrounds after I graduate, this population is one that I have always wanted to learn more about. And this program met everything I was looking for and more. Because in addition, I was also able to learn more about Mexican culture, I got to try a variety of traditional Mexican food, and I met amazing people, many from different universities.
My time spent in Mexico is best divided into three parts: classes, professional placement, and life outside of school. To go to class, we would often meet at the Oxxo near where we were staying and take an Uber together to the main campus of UPAEP, the university we studied at, or to the labs. There we learned a variety of skills and concepts pertaining to the health professions, including intubation, CPR, and traditional Mexican medicine. One lesson that stood out to me was on suturing. It was one of the skills I was learning for the first time, and our professors eventually had us practice on cadavers.

For professional placement, we were randomly assigned to a hospital or clinic in the area for every day we were scheduled for rotations. There we observed surgeries, asked doctors about their role in patient care, and conversed with their students about the differences in schooling requirements between the U.S. and Mexico. We had to keep a journal for these rotations where we summarized what we did that day, what we learned both personally and academically, and our questions. Not only did I learn a lot of Spanish vocabulary for the healthcare setting, but I also got to see differences between our healthcare systems firsthand.

Some of the most impactful time I spent in Mexico was outside of the classroom, and living in Mexico was not as simple as I had imagined. I experienced first-hand the daily struggle with the intense UV and opportunistic mosquitoes. Many other things caught me by surprise when I was there, such as their drinking water and sewage system, tipping culture, and how there are security guards for most larger stores. I also learned about a variety of Mexican foods and the traditions associated with them from my host mom. She even made some for us, such as mole, tacos, and sopa de fideo.

My solo adventures around downtown Puebla and the proximity of our hotels were also some rewarding experiences for me. Being by myself forced me to do the talking instead of relying on others and gave me a chance to watch and learn from the interactions between locals. However, my favorite times were with other students after classes and during our weekend excursions. Sometimes we went to a local cafe, and sometimes we went to a Mexican restaurant. There we talked about how our different professional placements in education, business, and healthcare were going, and we talked about our favorite dishes we have had in Mexico. Getting to explore the modern Mexico City, the stunning mountains of Cuetzalan, the bustling streets of Oaxaca, and the ancient pyramids around Mexico was a lot more fun with other students who were just as excited to learn and explore with me.

If I could go back in time to give myself or someone else going into the program one piece of advice, it would be to just talk. Do not worry so much about grammar. Street Spanish and classroom Spanish are a bit different. I thought too much about every single conversation and was exhausted by the end of my first week. I woke up and spoke in Spanish with my host mom, had a conversation in Spanish with our uber driver, learned Spanish at our university, used Spanish during our free time activities around town, and then went back home to continue speaking in Spanish with our host mom. I stopped slowing down to try and conjugate every verb perfectly and used the Spanish I learned around the house. And the more I got accustomed to that, the easier and more naturally Spanish came to me.