Vida Medical, Dental & Veterinary Programs in Guatemala

We woke up early everyday and we'd get ready. Wear scrubs, tennis shoes, packed our day bag and filled up our water bottles. Then we'd head down for breakfast. The first part of the week we ate at the orphanage and the other half was at a hotel.

At the orphanage we had fruit, toast, cereal, orange juice, and coffee. At the hotel we ate fruit, eggs, toast, beans, juice, and coffee. Then after breakfast we'd head out for the day to work with patients!

Afternoon: After lunch we'd still have a few hours left of working with patients, for me it was cleaning, scaling, and pulling teeth. After we finished for the day we would clean up our materials and sanitize our chairs and tools. We'd heave all the tools and totes onto the vans and head back to the orphanage/ hotel.

Evening: After getting back to the hotel I would shower and change clothes to get ready for dinner. When we stayed at the orphanage we would eat with all of the kids and answer all of their questions. They'd ask things like how old we were, what the U.S. is like, and funny things like how to say certain words.

They would also try to teach me how to speak Spanish since I didn't speak a word of it. When we stayed at the hotel we would go for a walk and find a fun place to eat in small groups so dinner wouldn't take too long. It was a great time filled with great music, wonderful weather, and laughter. Sometimes the doctors and translators would come with us and we would learn great things about the local culture.

Highlights: The best part of my trip was getting the chance to assist Dr. Vivian, the dentist and learning valuable assisting and scaling skills. I hadn't ever gotten that chance before so it was very exciting to say that I got to actually assist and clean teeth. The experience really showed me that I truly want to be a dentist and will love my job once I get there!