Author: Samuel Prakash | Major: Biochemistry and Spanish | Semester: Summer 2025
Medical uniform at UPAEP University
This summer, I had the opportunity to study abroad for five weeks in Puebla, Mexico in the Spanish Immersion and Service-Learning program. The course included six hours of Spanish credit divided between lectures about the healthcare system in Mexico, a laboratory section where we learned a number of medical skills, and shadowing rotations in three different hospitals—all of which were entirely in Spanish.
I decided to go on this program specifically because it perfectly blended my pre-medical focus and desire to learn the language. It also allowed me to be immersed in Mexican culture and included visits to a variety of different cities including Cholula, Oaxaca, Cuetzalan, and Mexico City as well as archeological sites and museums. These trips were an opportunity to practice my Spanish with native speakers in an exciting yet unfamiliar environment. All the while, I had my fellow University of Arkansas students to support me and experience the country with me.
When I become a physician, it’s important that I relate to my patients on a personal level to give them the best care possible. This program gave me a glimpse of Mexican culture to help me do just that. Even more, it gave me an opportunity to learn about medicine in Spanish.
Our classroom instruction was divided into three parts: lecture, lab, and shadowing. The lecture component was taught by an emergency medicine doctor who taught us about topics ranging from rural and preventative medicine to vital signs and the triage system. In lab, we were instructed in several techniques including CPR for adults, children, and infants; performing different kinds of injections; and suturing a pig’s foot. The last component of our class was hospital shadowing where my classmates and I observed physicians and their interactions with patients. We even got to watch surgeries, some of which included removal of an ocular tumor, bone repairs, and C-sections.
The goal of all these activities was to help us start thinking like doctors. What are the patient’s symptoms? What is his/her lifestyle and family history? What are the potential diagnoses and treatment options? Doing that in Spanish certainly made the process more difficult, but it was simultaneously all the more rewarding.
If this experience has taught me anything, it’s to embrace challenges and uncertainty. My first few days in Mexico were a bit overwhelming, going from speaking entirely English to nearly only Spanish from the moment I met my host family. If I felt confident in my knowledge of the language before my flight, that faded the moment I landed. Studying Spanish in the classroom felt nothing like communicating in the real world, and I struggled to understand a lot of what people were saying, but with constant effort and practice, I slowly began to pick up more and more. I learned to fill in the gaps between the words and phrases I knew and those I didn’t, and everything gradually became more natural. However, that only happened because I put myself in an environment that forced me to grow.
Studying abroad was an incredible opportunity that I would highly recommend for anyone wanting to experience new places and cultures—especially for those interested in learning a new language. I will always cherish the memories I made over these past few weeks, and I can’t wait to one day return to Mexico.