Costa Rica Day 3

This trip just keeps getting better and better. Today was our first clinic day and I loved it! We spent the entire day from 9am to 5pm working at the clinic taking patients and diagnosing them with diseases. In just one day I was immersed in the language, the people of one of the poorest villages in Costa Rica, and medical terminology. I learned a lot from the doctors and spent a lot of the day challenging myself to speak and listen to patients and the doctors in spanish. I really did learn how much I could understand by listening to the patients and the doctors and I also learned how nervous I was to speak back. I think that's a barrier that I never really understood when people came to America and yet kept speaking in their own language. It's definitely a hard change to make and speaking in a different language can definitely be embarrassing and intimidating. The children at the clinic were wonderful and all so cute which also made the day a lot more exciting and interesting. Talking to Santi afterwards, he mentioned that this was one of the poorest towns in Costa Rica, and that people from this town were so poor that they couldn't even pay for insurance and most of them were immigrants so they couldn't get insurance for free because they weren't technically working for the country. It's hard to imagine a life without all the luxuries that we take for granted, but when you see a mother with three children who can't even afford to buy the kids milk to make sure they stay healthy, you realize the things you take for granted. The best part of this day is that we also talked about how Costa Rica holds the happiest people in the world (except I don't know for sure if it's the happiest). I love that the people in Costa Rica are so patient and kind and always happy about life. It's their positive attitude that makes me feel excited and welcome. Even the poor families that came to the clinic who had to wait for hours to get a turn to see us were all waiting so patiently in line and weren't complaining at all about all the time they spent coming to this clinic. Some of the people didn't even get medications because they didn't necessarily need them; however, they weren't angry or upset with us even though they had to wait in an extremely long line. I also learned more about Santi's family today and how his father grew up so poor that he didn't own his first pair of shoes until 14. He also had to raise all his brothers and sisters because his father died when he was really young. I definitely can tell that Santi got his hardworking, humble attitude from his dad who seemed like a great guy! Ending the day off we went to dinner at an italian place and then got gelato which was a great way to relax. It was great being with the group and just talking and laughing, even though we all seemed dead after a long day at clinic. As I reflect back on this day I love the amount of experience I got with medicine. I really did love helping the people and I loved seeing their smiles when we were able to provide them with support and medicine. It also didn't hurt being called doctor and having authority because then I felt obligated to do my part and help. Overall this day was amazing and I can't wait for another clinic tomorrow!
Quote of the day: “Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – Freya Stark