Starting from where I left off, we had another day of Spanish classes on Tuesday from 8-4:30, and then one of my roommates Jean and I met the dentist we'll be working under for the rest of the month, Dr. Ortiz. It was a little frustrating, because he spoke no English whatsoever, and we are just conversational in Spanish. But, it all worked out. We learned that there are three sectors of dentistry in Quito--public, private, and Social Security. Jean worked in the private sector this week, while I worked in the Social Security sector. So far, I've assisted with a couple of general procedures. I've been able to assist with wisdom teeth (muelas del jucio) removal and taking the stitches out of a patient's mouth that had his wisdom teeth removed the week before...what a learning experience! It was so surprising to me how similar the clinics are to the ones in the States, but then again, Quito is a very modern, cosmopolitan city. Proof: I heard N*Sync on the clinic radio today. If that's not modern, I don't know what is... :)
Since rotations have begun, I'll go to the clinics in the morning (I get picked up at 6:30 AM...ahh!), then class in the afternoon with the rest of the CFHI students. Yesterday, we were able to take merengue y salsa lessons after class; much to my surprise, it turned into an intense aerobic workout, complete with a teacher straight from the '80s! So fun. So hilarious. Then, we all took our newly found dance skills to la discoteca in a pretty touristy area called Mariscal last night...que divertido!
Tomorrow, we're going on another tour of the city, then leaving for a city called Baños for the weekend. Baños in this case is translated "baths," because the city is famous for their hot springs; it also has biking, hiking, and white water rafting...basically an outdoor lover's dream!
Dr. Ortiz has taken a liking to ending our rotations half an hour early to show me around the city...so, I have some great pictures!
Que belleza...one block from my house
In the upper right is Cotopaxi, one of the tallest active volcanos in the world
La Basilica
Vista del Parque Itchimbia
La ciudad de Quito! You can see La Virgen de Panecillo in the left
La Virgen de Panecillo
La Valle, a view from the other side of the mountain
Un abrazo muy fuerte,
Courtney
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