My first days in Mexico

Hola!

I've never done a travel journal, so here goes. This is one of my elective rotations in clinical year of PA school. I am in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico on the west coast--part of the Mexican Pipeline. The program is through two companies: Child Family Health International (the medical part) and Oasis Surf & Language School (the Spanish part). CFHI hooks us up with clinics to rotate through in rural areas and also a community hospital M-F 8am-noon. Then we have a 3 hour siesta, then it's off to Spanish class at Oasis from 3-5pm.

I am staying with one of my classmates, Yvonne, and we seem to have scored an awesome apartment. Part of this rotation is a homestay to introduce people to more culture, customs, and more Spanish speaking opportunities. The family that we are near surrounds us in a courtyard. Upstairs and next door are other travelers and students renting apartments. To our right is Oscar Moncada, a super famous surfer. In the front right is Dona Chela (Oscar's mom) who cooks us breakfast (desayuno) and lunch everyday. Lunch is like dinner in America, and is called "la comida". To our left is Abuela. Then there are Miguel & Juan Moncada (Oscar's uncles) and Juan's taqueria. All in all, a pretty bad ass set up.

This week I'm going to Santa Maria de Colotepec Centro de Salud. It's about a 20 minute ride in un collectivo (ride-share) and costs either 10 or 12 pesos one way, depending on if they are giving me a gringa tax. It's a small pueblo with a school, some stores & restaurants, a clinic, and an ultrasound office. There are about 1100 inhabitants, and a fair number are indigenous. I stand out like a sore thumb, so much so that today a man yelled "gringa" while pointing in my direction from across the street. Not only am I super blanca, but I am much taller than probably 70% of the population. Maybe more. Not sure.

The heat is incredible. It's not a dry heat. It's a soggy humid mess that weighs you down at about 3pm. Like, it seriously feels like it's pushing you into the earth. I hope to get used to it soon. I'm fairly sunburned at this point. But, I almost feel I should just embrace it in order to accept the inevitable. Honestly the worst part is the swelling of the ankles--I can't see my malleoli anymore, no tengo huesos! Oh, the mosquitos. Whoa, they sure do love me. I have been trying to keep up with the DEET but it melts off (along with my sunblock). I have numerous mosquito bites and have been taking Benadryl at night to be able to sleep. Today, it enabled me to fall asleep sitting up in a chair in clinic. Hilarious when the little girl yelled "mama, ella tiene sueno!" and woke me up. Ha ha ha. Luckily, people around here are so laid back it was no big deal.

Ok, that's all the energy I have for my very first blog entry. I'll return soon to post more tales of adventures in Tropical Medicine & Community Health in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Hasta luego!