Best experience of my life!

I took part in a two-week session of the Atlantis Project last June. I always wanted to go abroad but knew that I would not be able to during the school year due to my double major and extra curricular activities. When I first heard about the Atlantis Project I knew that it was the perfect opportunity to not only go abroad to a country I have never visited before but also to get more hospital experience. The application for the program was very straightforward and easy to fill out. I was also happy to see how many options there were to choose from in terms of dates, lengths of the program, and places to travel. I chose to go to the Canary Islands in Spain (the island of Tenerife) because I have studied Spanish for a long time and knew that it would be a great opportunity to practice the language.
When I first got to Tenerife, I was happy to see that everyone in the program got their own room and bathroom at the Residencia. There were three directors which helped us figure out where everything was and how to get places such as the hospital. It was very easy to get to the hospital and it was quite close to the Residencia. One of my favorite parts of the program was that we got to give our preferences for fields that we wanted to shadow doctors in. This let me explore multiple fields and helped me confirm what fields I want to go into in the future. The doctors were also extremely nice and even though a lot of doctor-patient conversations were in Spanish, they still translated what was happening especially when they were using medical terms that I could not understand. The hospital itself was also very nice and it was so exciting to wake up every morning and go there.
After our hospital hours, some students took part in a volunteer opportunity during which they taught English to Spanish speakers. Other students went out to the town to have lunch together, explored new places, went to shops, or played sports outside the Residencia. A lot of days we were taken to have group dinners together and go on excursions. The excursions were truly amazing and included activities such as whale watching, hiking, exploring a cave, a tour of a vineyard, a flamenco show, and visiting beaches on the island.
The Atlantis Project is honestly the perfect pre-health summer program. It was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had while also learning so much about medicine. I highly encourage everyone I know to apply and am going again myself this summer!