I can’t believe I’ve been in Mexico for a week now already. I am a very adaptable person and feel that I haven’t felt homesick at all since I’ve been here due to how busy I am. My adjustment period was very short and I feel like I am getting used to the place really well. From this first week here, and even today, I’ve learned a lot about the culture and this region on Mexico. One of my initial impressions that I’ve noticed is how nice the people are compared to certain areas in the United States. As we walk by certain stores and restaurants, people say “hola” o “buenos dias” which is a small gesture yet a meaningful one. This reinforces the community bond that a lot of people have here and makes me feel apart of the community as well. I believe this has made my adjustment period here very small since I immediately felt like I was apart of the community.
Today was our first day of hospital shadowing which was exhausting yet very exciting. This week I am in the internal medicine wing which sees a variety of patients with varying conditions. The hospital we are shadowing at is a public hospital called General Zona del Norte. The conditions of this hospital are not up to par as what I see in the United States. There are wings that have up to 6 patients in each of them and their only privacy from each other is a curtain. This was somewhat of a culture shock for me because I would’ve never thought that this was an actual situation. However, I soon learned that this is a reality of a public hospital since the services are not nearly as expensive as private hospitals in the area. I enjoy having this opportunity to learn more about the healthcare systems in Mexico and comparing them to the United States.
Lastly, we started out community health class today and I can already tell how much I will enjoy it. I recently became a public health pre-med major (switching from biology) since I believed that it would be more applicable to my future endeavors. The concept of how disease spreads, to the common characteristics of a community fascinates me and I feel like it is a great perspective to understand as a physician. I like comparing this class to what I see in hospital rotations because it explains common occurrences among patients that I’ve already seen in this first day.
