Dental student in Guadalajara, Mexico

My time spent in Guadalajara, Mexico was a very rewarding experience. I traveled through Projects Abroad which arranged everything for me. I arrived in the middle of March 2013 and stayed in Guadalajara on dental assignment for five weeks. My first two weeks were spent working alongside a private practice dentist. A typical day in the private practice entailed a 30 minute bus ride in the morning to the clinic, followed by an intensive 4 hour Spanish medical terminology and anatomy review. The review was interspersed with patient visits, which permitted opportunity to observe. At 2 PM or so, I would head home for lunch. Following lunch I would study dental articles and magazines to further my knowledge of the vocabulary and procedures. After my first two weeks I headed north for a long weekend in Mazatlan. I quickly made Mexican friends and was invited to stay in a friend's home not far from the beach. My time in Mazatlan was awesome. The weather was perfect, the beaches were packed and the festivities were abundant. It was impressive. The younger party goers would line the street the runs parallel to the beach and dance til sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. And, I had the opportunity to learn a dance native to Mexico. Upon my return to Guadalajara, I began working in a free hospital clinic. For me, this was much more fun. The first two weeks required a lot of personal motivation. The last two were a reward for all the hard work I had put in. The hospital clinic had 5 chairs with five to eight doctors (some of which were students). One chair was mostly dedicated to oral surgery. The others were for routine visits. The variety of cases I had the opportunity to observe was awesome. I also assisted on oral multiple oral surgeries. There was no typical day at the hospital, but this made it more enjoyable. I learned to develop and interpret x-rays as well as assist on oral surgeries. I typically spent between 4 and 5 hours at the clinic, all before lunch. The clinic was a lot of fun, but it was definitely more enjoyable because of my two week introduction to medical terminology and Mexican Spanish in general in the private practice. I wish I had been able to stay longer, but I had to return home to work. My final and fifth week, my parents came to visit. We traveled to Puerto Vallarta, an exotic beach destination, for 3 nights, took the Jose Cuervo Tequila Express Tour (highly recommend) and toured the city of Guadalajara. Had the potential to be a truly tremendous, life altering experience. I simply needed more time there.