Four Incredible Weeks in the Medical Spanish Program

I did a month at the spectacular Pop-Wuj School in the medical Spanish program. Initially, I had doubts about how much ground I could cover, but four weeks at Pop-Wuj were enough to get my Spanish from beginning-intermediate to pretty proficient. By the end, I could spend 4-5 hours in clinic with patients without batting an eye, and I was able to give off-the-cuff presentations in Spanish about cervical cancer screening and depression stigmatization.

Pop-Wuj is a very special place. In addition to the clinic downstairs, which provides free care and medication to a predominantly indigenous population, they run projects to build stoves to subsistence farmers and also support a school that's populated by children of folks who make their living sorting through the detritus left at the town dump. My teacher, Carlos, was one of the most gifted educators I've ever been around, and 4 hours a day with him flew by like nothing.

Xela is a terrific little city with plenty to do, and it's VERY VERY SAFE. Never felt like I had to look over my shoulder, and neither did any of my classmates.

Pop-Wuj is a 10/10 experience. Can't vouch for it highly enough, and hope to return sometime in the future.