Amazing Experience

As a volunteer in the Veterinary program, I found it very eye opening to see how animals are viewed/treated in Central America and how clinics are set up to offer medical services for them. It was also very eye opening for me to see how people in this culture live in rural communities. The food was always so fresh and the people were always warm and friendly. And the country itself was absolutely gorgeous. Although awkward if you don't know Spanish and the family you stay with doesn't know English, it was definitely worth staying in a homestay because it really gives you the full effect of the culture. As for highlights, it felt so good to help out needy communities and to send dogs home with brand new collars and leashes who had come in to the clinic with rusty chains around their necks. Knowing you are not only providing a service for the community, but educating them so that they may make better decisions for their animals makes you feel like you are making a real difference in the world. I experienced a couple of difficulties on this trip. Not knowing much Spanish did make it difficult to communicate with people there; however, there was always someone in my group to help me out. Another difficulty was the fact that they don't use gas anesthesia on patients. All of the anesthesia was intravenous so this made it quite stressful (for me, at least) when monitoring the animal during surgery. But in the end, I would definitely do this trip again!!