Packing + hanging out with friends + coming back to the US has been hectic, but here is my recap of my fifth and final week in Puebla!
Monday:
This week my rotation is in surgery, so I’m spending all week in the OR watching different surgeries. Today I watched a coronary bypass surgery, which was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! It is so humbling to see a beating heart and also to see how much knowledge the doctors have to fix a heart. Seriously, there are so many times where I had to write in my notes to look up how they were doing the surgery, because it blew my mind that they were able to take a vein from the leg and put it in the heart. We were there for about three hours, but only saw about half of the surgery. At one point, the surgeon had to step out to change gloves, so we were able to stand near the patient to watch them put him on bypass and watch the heart. I think I’ve said this before, but the heart is my favorite organ, and it was so so cool to see it beating and working in real life.
Tuesday:
There weren’t any surgeries today, so me and the other girls at my hospital went to a starbucks close to us and talked about our time in Mexico! Later that night I went to dinner with some friends, and also to the Estrella de Puebla.
Wednesday:
Today Mexico played in the World Cup, so some friends and me went to go watch the game at a restaurant! The atmosphere is so fun and it was a nice break from the hospital. Even though they lost, they made it past the group stage onto the round of 16. My mom came to Puebla to visit me and so we went to dinner in El Centro, and I got to show her around! It was so nice to have her in the place where I’ve spent the past month, and I can’t wait to show her around more. At night, I went out with some friends, but we didn’t stay out too late since we had to go to the hospital the next day.
Thursday:
My last day at the hospital did not disappoint! After waiting around for a little bit, I got to scrub into a brain surgery to remove a tumor! The doctors we observed were all very helpful and willing to teach us, and it was so cool to see how complex the surgery was, but also how talented and knowledgeable the surgeons were. It was an 8-hour surgery, and I only was able to stay for 3 hours of it. But what I saw was unforgettable and I learned so much even from just observing. I was sad to leave the hospital, but I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had and everything I’ve learned.
Saturday:
Today is my last day in Puebla! In the morning, my friends and I went to the market in El Centro with their host parents. We shopped around for a little bit, and I bought some Talavera and other souvenirs. Then my friend’s host parents took us to some of the tunnels that run underneath Puebla. They were telling us that the tunnels were how the Mexican army was able to beat the French during the Cinco de Mayo battle. It was really cool to walk through, and we probably wouldn’t have found the tunnel without the host family’s help! Next, we went to a store called “La Oaxaqueña”, where we bought chocolate, vanilla, and mole from Oaxaca. For lunch, the host mom bought us cemitas (which is a giant sandwhich- google a picture of it!) and we ate at their house. For dinner, my host mom invited her whole family over for mole Poblano, and it was the perfect last meal in Puebla. Later that night after we had all packed, my friends and I went out for some ice cream and to hang out together one last time in Puebla! Five weeks went by too quickly; I am not ready to leave this city and all the memories I’ve made here, but I know I will be back in Puebla soon.
Monday:
This week my rotation is in surgery, so I’m spending all week in the OR watching different surgeries. Today I watched a coronary bypass surgery, which was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! It is so humbling to see a beating heart and also to see how much knowledge the doctors have to fix a heart. Seriously, there are so many times where I had to write in my notes to look up how they were doing the surgery, because it blew my mind that they were able to take a vein from the leg and put it in the heart. We were there for about three hours, but only saw about half of the surgery. At one point, the surgeon had to step out to change gloves, so we were able to stand near the patient to watch them put him on bypass and watch the heart. I think I’ve said this before, but the heart is my favorite organ, and it was so so cool to see it beating and working in real life.
Tuesday:
There weren’t any surgeries today, so me and the other girls at my hospital went to a starbucks close to us and talked about our time in Mexico! Later that night I went to dinner with some friends, and also to the Estrella de Puebla.
Wednesday:
Today Mexico played in the World Cup, so some friends and me went to go watch the game at a restaurant! The atmosphere is so fun and it was a nice break from the hospital. Even though they lost, they made it past the group stage onto the round of 16. My mom came to Puebla to visit me and so we went to dinner in El Centro, and I got to show her around! It was so nice to have her in the place where I’ve spent the past month, and I can’t wait to show her around more. At night, I went out with some friends, but we didn’t stay out too late since we had to go to the hospital the next day.
Thursday:
My last day at the hospital did not disappoint! After waiting around for a little bit, I got to scrub into a brain surgery to remove a tumor! The doctors we observed were all very helpful and willing to teach us, and it was so cool to see how complex the surgery was, but also how talented and knowledgeable the surgeons were. It was an 8-hour surgery, and I only was able to stay for 3 hours of it. But what I saw was unforgettable and I learned so much even from just observing. I was sad to leave the hospital, but I’m so grateful for the experiences I’ve had and everything I’ve learned.
 |
| the doctor and resident who let us scrub in! |
Friday:
Today since we don’t have our hospital rotations, we had a farewell breakfast at a restaurant near school. Afterwards, we went to a drive through safari about 30 minutes from Puebla! It was such a fun experience and a fun way to spend time with everyone one last time before we went back to the states. After spending most of our day there, we headed back to Puebla where I grabbed lunch with my friends near UPAEP. At night, we went out with some of our intern friends from the hospital, to celebrate the end of their intern year and us leaving! We went to their favorite place to go dance and it was so fun to see everyone one last time! They taught us so much in the hospital, and so kind to become friends with us. I’m going to be sad to leave Puebla and the local friends I’ve made here, but also grateful that my U of A friends will all be together once school starts!Saturday:
Today is my last day in Puebla! In the morning, my friends and I went to the market in El Centro with their host parents. We shopped around for a little bit, and I bought some Talavera and other souvenirs. Then my friend’s host parents took us to some of the tunnels that run underneath Puebla. They were telling us that the tunnels were how the Mexican army was able to beat the French during the Cinco de Mayo battle. It was really cool to walk through, and we probably wouldn’t have found the tunnel without the host family’s help! Next, we went to a store called “La Oaxaqueña”, where we bought chocolate, vanilla, and mole from Oaxaca. For lunch, the host mom bought us cemitas (which is a giant sandwhich- google a picture of it!) and we ate at their house. For dinner, my host mom invited her whole family over for mole Poblano, and it was the perfect last meal in Puebla. Later that night after we had all packed, my friends and I went out for some ice cream and to hang out together one last time in Puebla! Five weeks went by too quickly; I am not ready to leave this city and all the memories I’ve made here, but I know I will be back in Puebla soon.
My name is Lili and I am from Dallas, Texas! I’m an honors junior Nursing student and also minoring in Spanish. This summer, I’ll be studying in Puebla, Mexico in a service-learning health professions program. I’ll be living with a host family, taking Spanish classes for health professions, and also shadowing a doctor in one of the local hospitals. I’ll be writing about my experiences in the hospital, around Puebla, and on the different excursions my group is taking. I hope you follow along!
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Nursing major Lili Barrientos is spending the summer 2018 term in Mexico with our U of A Faculty-Led: Spanish Immersion & Service Learning in Puebla.
Read more from Lili at https://lettersfromlili.wordpress.com/blog/.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/
