Week 1 Reflections

We have spent the past few days acclimatizing to the heat, the food, and the easy pace of life in San Pancho. The opportunity to participate on this field school is what attracted us both to enroll in Camosun’s Dental Hygiene Program.

It is quite surreal finally being here. A few things really stood out to us after the first couple of days: the sunsets are spectacular, there are copious numbers of wonderful restaurants, there are perros roaming the streets and beaches at every turn, and the roosters (almost) never stop announcing the new day.

We are most looking forward to sharing our knowledge and skills with the locals, so that they can continue to maintain optimal oral health when we leave. We expect to grow personally and professionally while gaining cultural humility, but we did not expect to become as immediately inspired as we have by the altruism we have witnessed here. San Pancho is well loved; both the Circo de los Ninos de San Pancho and Entreamigos are social programs that serve to empower the local residents by providing them with skills and confidence to achieve their dreams.

We will be setting up our clinic at Entreamigos soon, and providing dental hygiene services for the next two weekends – but we are also looking forward to the cultural experience of an Islas Marietas excursion where we will snorkel in a hidden beach, known as Playa del Amor. Adios  from paradiso!....,.by Jessica and Kyla