SALUD Program in Quito

By Robin Fillner – SALUD Program Guest blogger traveling in Quito.
Aloha – I have to start off that way because I'm from Hawaii. Anyway, I'm starting the 2nd week of the Salud AmeriSpan program in Quito, Ecuador. I was surprised to learn that I am the only nurse out of 12 people all together. Most of the students are in between their first and second year of medical school. One person is an anesthesiologist of 20 years from Sweden. Most of the students speak intermediate Spanish and the doctor above speaks definitely advanced Spanish.
I had never studied Spanish in school (I studied German for 3 years and lived in Germany when I was a kid for 5 years). But, before I left for Quito I studied Spanish for about a month. I'm so glad I did because it is definitely helping me now. I decided to come to Quito 2 weeks earlier than when the Salud program started just to study in the school.
When I first came, I met so many people instantly. It was so easy and amazing! I traveled with a group of 6 on the two open weekends I had before starting the Salud program. Some of the students are still at the school, but most have left already on their own journeys around S. America.
I am also surprised at the level of involvement with volunteering at the school. Most of the students I have met are volunteering in some aspect whether it's with children in schools, with sick people in their homes, at the hospital, or in the government assisting with water decontamination. Most of the student here are from USA, but there are handfuls of Germans, Swiss, Swedish, and others. I've met two mothers with their children ages 11 and 15, and met some people in their 50s and 60s. It's a great group to be with.
In the Salud program we have only been learning Spanish on our level in groups of 4 and then getting together to study parts of the body in Spanish. I sometimes feel like I'm the only one that doesn't know the Spanish words, but then everyone reassures me that they don't either. I think they're just being nice. But, this week is more of the same – Spanish classes and then medical Spanish. I hope we get more into interviewing… none of us have any idea of what to expect for the volunteering that will start next week.