A Future Veterinarian's Basic Education and Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I believe that the educational experience on this trip was way more than I expected, in a good way. I ended up learning a lot more than I thought I was going to and I believe that my instructor did an amazing job delivering the information and made sure we understood it. The amount of homework or lessons was never overwhelming and I always felt that I had a place to ask questions if I needed help. However, you need to study to be able to do well and do not be afraid to volunteer answers when applying yourself in the field.

On-site administration of your program

Most of the time, the places that we visited in the host country were very organized and knew how to guide us with the information. However, there were a few instances where keeping our schedule as planned was not fulfilled, due to weather or absence of normal administrators. Despite this, our group was able to figure out everything and not let it get in the way of our experience.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Based on my previous experience in Latin American housing, the living arrangements that were available to us on this trip were amazing and way better than expected. I was always surprised to have a bed in any of the places we stayed and we always had access to a shower, if needed. Depending on the size of your group, living arrangements were not crowded or crunched. Besides the occasional bugs and cold water, living arrangements were nice and satisfied my needs for living away from home.

In the beginning, the food was a little repetitive, as we had rice and beans for every meal. But as we moved around to different cities, our food became a lot more diverse and we had the opportunity to go out more. Overall, it was very delicious and allowed me to get fully immersed in the surrounding culture.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Being around native Spanish speakers was imperative to my trip, as it allowed me to practice my Spanish speaking abilities and fully connect with the culture. Also, every new person that we met, I felt very connected and informed about their culture.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have any problems with health care, but my instructors did an amazing job with making sure that everyone received their respective medications or received treatment if they got cut or had mosquito bites.

Everything was very safe and the instructors did an amazing job of keeping us safe. The only thing that made me nervous was driving in the city or on the mountains when everyone is driving so close to each other and it made me nervous.

For me, my passion for becoming a vet was certainly confirmed after I went on this trip. The people that I met were some that I will continue to cherish for many years to come and the experiences were indescribable. The balance of education and ensuring that we had fun and experienced the culture was perfect. I never found myself wanting to go home or doing something else, as everything was immensely interesting.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I did not do a lot of spending so it was very easy, but I knew that it was necessary to make sure that I keep track o how much money I had, spent, and saved.

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• Other
• Hotel

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• Americans

Select all that apply

• Americans

• education classes
• horseback riding
• surfing

• amount of down time

The Academic or Linguist