On my last day in Belize, coming back home was not something I was looking forward to, because I knew I would be going back to the daily routine of work, eat and sleep. While I was feeling a little home sick, and I couldn't wait to see my family and friends, I had no intention of going back to work again. I currently work at a zoo with the farm animals, and after working with horses, sheep, and pigs, working with them has become easier. I walk them, feed them and groom them, which I enjoy now that I know the proper way of doing it. On another note, I love that my whole family now calls me doctor/vet. My family in Peru and some of my mothers relatives write to me and ask me if I really performed surgery on that cat, or if I really castrated that cow. I enjoy seeing the awe in their faces when I tell them all that I did in so little time, and how much I loved it. I'm very glad to know that my family and friends motivate me to continue with my dreams and they finally see how badly I want this. I tell my family how amazing it was to be able to get that full experience, and how beautiful the country is. The people are so different than the people here in Jersey. Over in Belize, people that you don't even know say hello to you, or engage in a conversation; much more people friendly. Most importantly, I've made such great friends within those two weeks, and I think that was the hardest part of leaving. I only wish they would have lived close to me ! Little by little, with every passing day I became very good friends with everyone in my group. We did absolutely everything together, I think we even went to the bathroom together LOL, but yeah I miss those girls. With them it was non-stop laughing and fun. As I post the pictures up, I see each picture and remember it like it was just yesterday. I still talk to all of them through Facebook, and I think we're even planning a reunion of all of us, probably in Florida because a huge portion of our group was from there. I'm definitely looking forward to a trip.
Coming back home, I was also surprised to have been called for an interview at a vet hospital I applied to right before leaving. I got hired right on the spot as they were amazed from my stories of Belize. While the doctor couldn't believe that we did castrations on cows and baby pigs without any anesthesia, I explained to him that it was something normal in Belize. I got the same reaction from my mom when I told her, and she thought it was animal cruelty. I did some research on whether it was okay to not use anesthesia for cows and pigs, and to my surprise it is very common for most farm animals. A procedure such as a castration is fairly quick on the cow, so anesthesia is not really required, and might do more harm than good in this case. The healing process is fairly quick for large animals as well. I figured it wasn't needed or that it was normal because the cows weren't screaming in pain, and as soon as we finished, they got up and started walking. While it sounds cruel, that's just how things are done. Anyways it's been my second week at the vet hospital, and I love it. The only downside is that after being able to do so much hands on in Belize, here in the U.S, they don't let you do anything. They don't even let me do injections !! I don't understand how I'm supposed to learn and get experience if they don't let us do anything. In Belize, the owners trusted fully in us, and let us stitch up their pets, and administer medications. I don't know how I'd feel letting a college student do anything on my dog, so I can see why vets here are so strict with letting college students do much.
Aside from the course itself, there so much to do, that I wish I could have stayed the whole month and done two courses, but sadly I'm poor. I lived my first cave tubing experience and visited the wonderful ancient Mayan site of Xunantunich. Immersing in a culture different from my own allows me to gain an understanding of the world and to see things from a different perspective. Now I see what everyone was talking about when they told me I just had to study abroad, at least once while in college. I would love to study abroad for a whole semester, which is something I might look into. In fact, my experience with ISIS was so great, I will become an ambassador for ISIS. I will be preparing a presentation and talking to future students about my wonderful experience and hopefully have students take journey with ISIS as well. If I had any doubt in my mind about my future goals, my two week stay in Belize proved me wrong. This is what I want and I will work extremely hard to reach my goals. Two weeks later, I still have pictures to upload, and have friends who still are tagging everyone in them. Studying abroad with ISIS has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Rustyy.. I will come back to see you. We miss you !
- Alejandra
No comments:
Post a Comment