Unfortunately, my first day of clinical rotation didn't go exactly as planned. My partner, Daniel, and I arrived at our clinic at 8 am sharp and were greeted by all the nurses and staff. They told us the doctor should be in at 9 so we had to wait for an hour to get started. This wouldn't have been a big issue except we ended up waiting 3 hours and the doctor never came. Apparently this is a common occurrence in Oaxaca. Anyways, we called our medical director and she was so upset that she decided to have us go to a different primary care facility the next day.
It all ended up working out for the best because our new clinic (picture above) was much nicer and in a better area then the first one. Also, the staff was much more welcoming and excited to have us there. Just so you are aware, I do not plan on boring you (my viewers) with all the details of my clinical rotations. From now on I will only include interesting cases from my clinical experience in my blog.
My first day at this new clinic, Centro De Salud Pueblo Nuevo, was very busy. That day they were doing a big promotion on parental planing, meaning the focus of the day was on medicine that would prevent an overabundance of births. We started the day with simple birth control methods, but finished the day with 8 Vasectomies and 12 women who got their tubes tied. We assisted in streamlining the process and prepping all the patients for surgery (took blood pressures, installed IV's, etc.). Don't I look like a doctor all dressed up in my lab coat :) ???
On Saturday our entire group met and went on an 8 hour tour to 5 popular tourist sites. The first place we went was Arbol de Tule, which is the widest tree in the world.
The tree is 58 meters in diameter and over 2000 years old. I didn't get any pictures of them, but we were told that the tree had bumps and branches that resemble animals. Also, this tree was part of the inspiration for the tree at Disney World that contains sculptures of animals in its bark.
Here is a picture of my two roommates and I.
Next we went to a famous carpet house calle La Casa De Tarjetas. Here they showed us the process of making wool and how they dye it different colors.
Here is a picture of the wooden machinery that they now use to make these intricate and masterful carpets. Before the creation of this machinery, the indigenous people would spend years making their rugs. Now, it only takes about 4 weeks to finish a masterpiece.
Here is an example of the detail and skill that is put into each carpet. They said it takes a person 3 years to become a master carpet maker.
Second, we went to my favorite place of the day, Hierva el Agua. This is a hot spring on top of a mountain that, over millions of years, has created a fossilized waterfall of calcium and other ground minerals. If you look to the far right of the picture you can see the waterfall, and right behind me are some of the hot springs.
Here is a closer look of the waterfall with Paul and I. We had a lot of fun showing off in the pools of the hot springs. It felt nice to be back in the water. Remember the days when I was as tan as Paul??? haha We took a million more pictures that I will have to share with all of you when I return.
Next we went to some more Zapotec ruins in Mitla. Although these ruins weren't as cool as Monte Alban, they were better preserved and we were able to go inside of the tombs.
The city was destroyed and abandoned early because the Spanish were taking over and wanted to change the religion of the Zapotec people. A huge battle began and, in the end, there was no winner and more destruction than resolution.
Here Paul and I are going into the dark tombs. It was hard to see and there wasn't much more than tunnels, but we did happen to find an ancient bathroom, or at least something that looked like a bathroom.
The last stop in the trip was at a famous Mezcal house. Mezcal is a hard alcohol that specific to Oaxaca. It turns out that Tequila is actually a type of Mezcal. The only reason they are different is because Mezcal is still traditionally made the same way with a process that involves this stone wheel. Tequila became so popular that they changed its processing in order to release faster to the masses around the world. In the end, both are made from the same elements, the agave plant.
After hearing about the processing, they gave us necklaces with bamboo shot glasses and then proceeded to give us a million small samples. Personally, I am not a big fan of hard alcohol but you know what they say, "When in Rome". Haha It probably would have been a better trip if we went to this place first, but I have no complaints. It was a great day.
Earlier this week we met some people who work at Stanford. After getting to know each other, they asked us if we would be interested in visiting an orphanage to play with some of the kids, so today (Sunday) we went to a local catholic orphanage. I couldn't believe how excited the kids were as soon as we walked in the door. Immediately when I got there I had two kids hug my legs and ask me if I could play with them.
The facility had kids from ages 4-21 with the bulk of them being around 9. We played soccer with them and taught them how to do cartwheels. It was a lot of fun.
Here is a picture of my friends John and Paul with two of the little girls. It tuns out, a lot of the kids actually have parents, but they are from such poor families that their parents couldn't provide for them.
Here is a picture of me and one of the girls I spent most of the evening with. We played tag and she showed me her favorite ball. It was another great week and weekend. I hope you enjoyed. I'll probably do another post around this time next week. :)
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