Post-trip blog 2

Continuing from my last post, I noticed that the U.S. is extremely EXPENSIVE. We are rich, rich country. Food here costs twice as much as anywhere in Mexico, however it's also twice as rich in nutrients (and fat). While driving home, I noticed that streets and building are well maintained in relation to Mexico. But I feel as though, there's a loss in cultural and artistic nature. Oaxacan building are very Victorian, and the streets look as through they have inlaid stone. Also, people in Oaxaca walk around a lot, and I really like that. However in the U.S., everyone uses cars to get to where they need to go, regardless of social class or economic status. In general, there's a lot of waste and resource use in the U.S., which I haven't seen in other countries in the world. I feel like there should be more emphasis on conservation and redistribution of resources in order to conserve our environment and maximize the potential of what we have. We as Americans don't care because we don't have to face the reality of limited resources, as other countries do; however, I don't think it's an excuse to excessively waste the blessings that we have. For example, instead of spending money on military endeavors and health care litigation we could spend it on education and community based health care programs. We could build the social services of our country, which tend to lag behind countries with less than half of our GDP. I find it ridiculous that people buy large SUVs, when there's literally no petroleum left for other countries to use for development. Why is it that our gas prices don't reflect the reality of the scarcity of petroleum? It is because Americans just don't want to pay for it like everyone else? Or how much food we consume and throw away (speaking for myself here also), when children in Africa, India, Mexico, and many other countries are starving. Even through all my criticism, I LOVE the U.S. because we have freedoms and resources, which many other countries don't have. We were built on principles of equality and human justice, and we work hard to preserve that. No country is perfect, but I feel as though we're miles ahead of other countries in that respect. I'm proud to be an American, which is why I can't stand to see injustices within my own country.

Post-trip blog 1: Reverse Culture Shock

Post-trip blog 1: Reverse Culture Shock

Coming back to the U.S., was definitely a culture shock. Adela told us that we would be going through some major reverse-culture shock after the trip, but I didn't really believe her. I thought,"How could I be in culture shock, if I'm just returning home? If anything I would be glad to live in familiarity again." Was I wrong. As I write this, I miss Oaxaca SO much. The U.S. seems extremely foreign to me, and I'm noticing things here, that I've never noticed before. The first thing I noticed was the attitude of most people. American culture tends to be less service oriented than other countries. For example, when I was at Burger King, the only thing employees really do is take your order and warm up you food. They don't serve you, give you napkins, or ask If you need anything else. It seems like they really don't care about what they do, if anything they hate being there (which I can understand because they're most likely underpaid and underinsured..however I'm sure people in Mexico are too). The entire experience was impersonal and I didn't like it. In contrast, cafe's and restaurants in Oaxaca (even fast food restaurants) are very personalized. The waiters love to have conversations and get to know you; they see if you're comfortable and check up on you from time to time. If you want something else, they're really happy to assist. This level of service isn't confined to restaurants, it's in every part of Oaxacan culture. It doesn't matter if your in a bus station, an airport, or a market, people are genuinely interested in helping, being friendly, and building relationships.

Being back in the U.S., I feel like culture of America is centered around being independent and impersonal. Everyone is in their own world, doing their own thing. For example, when I was walking through the airport, the majority of people were irritated or stressed. They wouldn't look and smile or say hi. Even when I smiled at people, they seemed to look confused or ignored it. This level of independence has formed a culture in which human being are socially unaware of each other. It seems (I might be being harsh here) that American culture is selfish. However, don't get me wrong. I know not all Americans are like this. Many Americans are great people, who like to meet new people, build relationships, and expand their horizons. Actually, most Americans that I've met, who are interested in new people and relationships, are those that I meet in foreign countries, or on foreign flights. They love to find out about other cultures, beliefs, and customs. I feel like they have more of an understanding of the world and can better tolerate difference and diversity, which is why I think it's so essential to travel and live in other countries. I've lived in America my whole life, and after being in Oaxaca I think that I used to be extremely closed minded. Now, I want to start a conversation with everyone; especially people from different countries or states. I want to learn their perspectives, views, and experiences. I feel as though, everyone can teach me something useful; something that can inspire me and improve my life. I no longer feel that I know everything in my closed little world. I want to travel more and do more programs through CFHI because there's a WHOLE WORLD out there, and the amount of lessons and experiences to be gained are ENDLESS.

My biggest fear is reverting back to the way I was. I don't want to be satisfied with my microenvironment; shielded from the rest of the world. I don't want to lose my diverse life experiences, and the relationships I've gained in Mexico. I want to travel the world. To meet great surgeons and physicians from different cities and countries, who can each teach me something different. I want to keep using the skills I've learned and develop them further so I can mature as a person, and ultimately be a socially aware physician capable of contributing to his community in extraordinary ways.

Side note and Oaxaca review

While reading about cultural factors which act as barriers to Latinos in the West, I realized that great doctors are those that take ingenious means to deliver the best quality health care to their patient; even if it means learning foreign cultural values, learning a new language, or living abroad for months. What separates a mediocre doctor from a great one, is that great doctors are constantly looking for new ways to delivery the best quality of health care to their patient, even if it means doing a rain dance before a consult. As long as that rain dance can increase compliance and patient satisfaction, it's worth it... no matter how weird it may seem. I also look it at it from a business perspective. If I'm a corporation, in order to have maximum receptivity for my product, I need to deliver the highest quality product on the market; my product must satisfy the consumer over any other product available. Same applies to health care. I want my patients to be the most satisfied patients in the world. If I'm selling health care, it's going to be the highest quality health care around!

Last words of the program:

I'm going to miss all the friends that I've made through this program (except the one's that live near me because we'll be hanging out over break!). Hopefully, I'll see them all in the future, as my colleagues in the medical profession. I saw a lot of good qualities in all of them, and it would be a privilege to work with them in the future.

Oaxaca was an amazing place to learn culture, emotional intelligence, and the practice of medicine. The city is beautiful in its architecture, culture, and people. I will definitely return here as a vacationer, and maybe even as a researcher. I want to improve my Spanish so that the next time I come I can explore and communicate a lot more.

The UCD/CFHI Oaxaca program was amazing. It has matured me as a person. I feel that I'm more self aware, which has lead me to be more culturally humble and socially aware. I want to increase my skills in emotional intelligence, and serve the underserved as I have never done before. I highly recommend this program to students in the pursuit of medicine because it will teach them valuable skills they can use in every part of their future career, as well as in every aspect of their life; whether it's in marriage, business ventures, or medical consultations. I feel that the most important way this program contributes to the world is that it empowers the individual to reach their potential by motivating them to go out and serve the underserved. At least for me, I really feel compelled to get involved in community development projects tied in with health care. I know that in order to keep the skills and lessons I've learned in Oaxaca, I have to involve myself in public health projects. Another thing this program revealed to me, is my love and passion for medicine. I watched tons of surgeries and I was enamored by every one of them. I want to be a surgeon, who has the technical expertise for complex procedures, true empathy and compassion to serve his patients, and a major contributor to the development of his community. Lastly, this program allowed me to meet amazing faculty, which have guided ( and continue to guide) my personal growth and development in a positive direction. I hope that Adela will be my mentor for the rest of my life; she's a great person and has the insight to really bring out the best qualities in her students. She and other doctors I've met on this program (especially Dr. German Tenorio) have helped me form an image of the type of person and doctor I want to be; I can now put my efforts into a concrete direction. With this program now over, I say "adieu!"

Last experiences in Oaxaca

My experience in Oaxaca is coming to a close. I'm in my last week here and I'm really sad. Unfortunately, I wont be able to post anything big until I get back to the States, due to the fact that I'm swamped in my final essays.

I'll quickly go over some aspects of what I did in the last week!

I saw one surgery this week, which was quite interesting. A 12 year old girl needed ligament correction because her foot was incorrectly oriented. The surgery was extremely simple, and it took about 20 minutes to complete. Dr. Rene cut the ligaments and restitched it in the correct orientation. It was an extremely simple surgery, which I enjoyed.

Unfortunately, it was also my last day at Hospital ISSSTE, and I was extremely sad. I did not want to say bye to Dr. Rene because he taught me so much and we've built such a great relationship. He was always happy to have me around. However, I took his contact information and we parted ways :(. He told me to keep in touch, incase he ever wanted to visit California. I'm glad that I was able to spend 4 weeks of this quarter, rotating with him. I learned how far empathy can take a health care practitioner in his ability to deliver care. Watching Dr. Rene interact with his patients is a priceless learning experience, and it gave me real time exposure to empathetic and socially aware health care. I learned a lot and I loved it. Hopefully, I can improve my emotional intelligence skills to his level, as well as Dr. Tenorio's.