4 Continents Down 3 To Go

I have traveled a lot in the past year through to opportunities offered to me by Loyola and the organizations I’m a part of on campus. From Ireland and Scotland, to Madrid and Barcelona and most importantly, Italy, I’m lucky I got to see all these places had to offer. Most recently I traveled to Panama with Global Brigade and provided dental and medical care to the Darien province, just north of the Columbian border.

We left what we knew and entered into a completely different reality. It was a world where the homes were mostly made of wood and palm leafs, were ants are approximately the size of your pinkie and spiders the size of your hand mingle about. When we arrived on the compound where we would be staying we did have drinking water but your best chance for a bath was the river. It was very different from how I’ve been used to living.

To the girls on the trip this was, well horrifying to say the least, personally I thought it was humbling, it made me realize how lucky I am. I took full advantage of the river and when I got back I also took full advantage of the worm killing drugs found at a first world pharmacy. But our job was to help these people, to make sure that they are healthy and most importantly, teach them how they can provide basic health care to their community.

My main job was working as a dental assistant, mainly helping with tooth extractions and basic check-ups for patients. I met many people, had some great experiences and I definitely know now more than ever that I want to pursue a career in dentistry.

The best part was when we took breaks to play with the local kids, which basically mean we played baseball. Most would think that futbol would be the sport of choice, I did and soon found out I was wrong. These kids love baseball, and not only that but they are amazing at it. There were 4 and 5 year old kids who were hitting over hand pitched balls. Nobody was left out of the game and very few people were less than extraordinary.

Hidden in the Jungles of the Darien we learned what really makes life special. It is those times when someone looks at you smiles and even though they may not even speak the same language as you, the hug they give means more than anything else in the world.