Counting the Days

      In ten days, I will begin my two month long summer experience in Central America.  This is a program through Engineering World Health, an organization I have been involved in for the last three years.   In my first year of college I learned about the Summer Institute and it has been my dream to be able to participate.  My decision to study engineering stemmed from a desire to be able to help others through application of my major and this summer will be a chance to do just that.  The program will consist of repairing and installing equipment, training staff, taking inventories, and solving any other problems that arise.

       After just finishing my semester at school, I am finishing unpacking only to start my summer packing in a few days.  We were given a packing list and I'm definitely nervous about having such limited packing space.  With a little over a week until I leave, I have been updated on all of my vaccinations, purchased my plane tickets, and have started reviewing my Spanish.  It's going to be a great opportunity to be able to use my Spanish, it's always been on and off practicing in school so while I'm sure it will be challenging to dust off the cobwebs I'm looking forward to the opportunity.

      My first month will be spent in Costa Rica where I will have daily Spanish class as well as technical training.  I'm really excited to be able to apply some of the skills I've learned in school as well as to learn many new things.  The second month I will be in San Marcos Ocotopeque, Honduras shown below.

The hospital I will be at in Honduras is the Hospital San Marcos. It will be quite an adventure and I'm not completely sure what to expect.

I'm also very excited to meet my partner for the summer, Daisha.  She goes to University of Minnesota and I can't wait to be able to work together on our summer tasks!  I'm hoping to be able to keep everyone updated throughout the summer and hope to share the experiences that await me in Central America!

You can read more about the EWH Summer Institute here.