Cirujia y Carnaval

February 13, 2013

Mural at La Fiesta de las Frutas y las Flores en Ambato (Festival of Fruits and Flowers), made entirely out of fruit, flowers, and bread!

Just finished up another week here in Quito. This was an interesting week (and a half) because this past Tuesday was the holiday of Carnaval, which falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, so we had a four-day weekend. Several other CFHI students arrived this Saturday, which was the official start date for this month of the program. We all had orientation together on Sunday, which included some general program guidelines and a tour of our clinical sites in Quito with a mix of walking and Trole (an electric bus that runs through the middle of town and only costs 25 cents!).

My clinical rotation this week was in the Hospital Militar with the surgery team. I rounded with the team (which usually included 20+ residents, students, and doctors) and also had the opportunity to observe in the OR. It was interesting to see how things were done in Ecuador as opposed to the US. One obvious difference was the use of reusable surgical towels and drapes as opposed to the almost-entirely-disposable OR equipment in the US.

During the afternoons I had Spanish class with the other students in the Advanced Class with our teacher, Betty. It was really great to have class with other students. We have a lot of fun, but are still learning a ton. We didn’t have class this Friday, but instead left around noon for Ambato and Baños to celebrate Carnaval there. Activities included the Fruit and Flowers Parade in Ambato, a citywide foam fight, white water rafting, and a bullfight. It was a really nice break from clinic and class and an incredible experience to see how Ecuadorians celebrate Carnaval and take part in the fiesta!