The Maternity Clinic and The End

Me and Dr. Marquez in the Maternity
Hospital

This week I worked in the maternity hospital and totally loved it!  Colleen and I were both there together and we got to see 4 C-sections, 4 Dand C’s and I’m not sure how many natural deliveries!!!  I’m so glad I didn’t pass out because I have been wanting to be an OB/GYN for a while now, and was secretly worried that when I saw one I would change my mind.  My favorite was the natural deliveries; childbirth is really just such a fascinating thing.  I was surprised by the way the baby looks when it comes out.  I had heard that it was a purplish blue color but I was expecting it to have rubberyish skin.  And I didn’t even think about the umbilical cord, ehich is blue and then the placenta has to deliver after the baby comes out.  I can’t believe there are people who actually eat those things.  I’d never want it anywhere near my mouth.  The C-sections were also really cool because each one was different.  Like, one of them cut vertically, from the bellybutton down but the other three went horizontally the way I was expecting.  The C-sections in a way remind me of Mary Poppins, the way she reaches deep into her bag and pulls out something wild like a coat rack.  The doctors do the same thing, reaching down into the women’s abdomen and pulling out her baby that’s all slick and there is blood and liquid squirting out in random directions.  It was really an amazing week to be able to see all of that, totally uncensored.

I can’t believe that my month here is over already…  I have had such a great time and really do hope that I will get a chance to come back and visit.  I am said to be leaving but I am really looking forward to eating cheese – the one thing that I miss from the States!  This is going to be a big semester for me; I am starting a new job at Upper Chesapeake and working on my own project in the lab (not sure it will work but hey, you never know until you try!).  I will also be taking the MCAT within the next few months and applying to medical schools in June.

On the hike to our last waterfall in Banos:
"The greatest gift you can give to others is the example of
your own life."

Living in Quito for a month was truly an enriching experience.  It was a step outside of my comfort zone, because I was afraid of both cities and public transportation, which I had to take everyday to get to my clinical sites.  I also didn’t know the language when I came here, which just made everything scarier.  But I did it, and I am proud to say that my comfort zone has expanded.  Even though I had my money stolen and my bag slashed and I still often don’t understand people, I feel so much more competent in my abilities to travel and to not only survive in a new environment but to thrive in it.  I wish that I had more time to spend here, so that I could continue to learn and to grow in this way, but it is time to get back to my obligations and responsibilities in the States.  I am so happy to have had this experience and I am only more determined to pursue a career in international medicine.  Every time I do something new, I am pleasantly surprised at my capabilities to succeed and to develop as an individual.  I really hope that every person chooses everyday to learn something new or to take a chance, whether in big ways like travelling to a new country, or in small ways, by taking a new route or talking to a stranger.  You just never know what life has in store for you!