We have reached the halfway point of the Public Health in Mexico AimOverseas study tour and I have experienced more in the past 2 weeks than I have in the past 2 years of University. We heard from lecturers on topics including prostitution, same sex relationships, global health issues and disability. The content was both insightful and controversial.
A highlight of my week included a trip to artist Frida Carlos house in trendy town Coyoacan. The brightly painted blue and red home was set around a beautiful courtyard and decorated with hundreds of colourful artworks. Frida, whom was bed ridden for most of her life had a mirror fixed to the roof of her four poster bed so she could continue to paint self portraits, her death mask continues to lay on the bed to this day. Coyoacan boasted a hippy market place with Bob-Marley like Mexicans selling leather bracelets and tattooing.
On Thursday, the bus pulled in at a rural public hospital 2 hours out of the city. A long line of village people carrying bags and babies queued outside the door. My fear of hospitals and all things medical was soon confronted as I found myself in scrubs entering an operating theatre. We were lucky enough to witness 2 natural births and 1 C section operation. Surprisingly I found the experience extremely rewarding. The mothers were so brave and actually made it look easy,if anything! The hospital was clean and orderly, even equipped with a robot connecting wirelessly with a surgeon from another hospital, to assist in operations via video and voice assistance.
We spent the weekend in the state of Puebla, a charming town 2.5hours out of Mexico city, on the way to which you can see the world's largest pyramid and explore the tunnels under the church atop it. The City of Puebla was charming and quaint with cobbled stone streets, bright yellow and pink buildings, beautiful cathedrals and cheap handicraft markets. Unfortunately I spent most of my time in the hotel room due to a horrible case of food poisoning, but the night life also sounded like fun!
The vast expanse of the 23million Mexican City residents can only be appreciated when you pass the miles of grey slums covering the mountains on the journey back into the city centre. I was shocked at the millions of people living literally on top of each other. Mexico is one of the most diverse places I have visited, as I swing from hospital, to salsa lesson to lecture, I am constantly surprised at the diversity in culture, land and custom.
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