Study Abroad with UNA

The Experience of a Lifetime

Mandy Taylor - Guatemala

    This trip has been the experience of a lifetime. As I think back to my very first post when I said our hearts were full, I think I didn’t know just how much more our hearts could hold after 10 days in this beautiful country with such an amazing team/family. In this short period of time, I have experienced some of the saddest and happiest moments of my life. I could not imagine a better group of people to have shared this experience with. In our 3 clinics alone, we were able to see roughly around 700 patients. … // Read more

Antigua, Guatemala

Bonnie Brzytwa - Guatemala

We woke up early Friday morning, packed up our luggage and headed out for Guatemala City around 6:00am. After dropping off one of our instructors at the airport, we continued on to Antigua. We stopped at KFC in the city. Less than an hour later, we were greeted by the vibrant, cobblestone town of Antigua. It is surrounded by volcanoes. The colorful, old buildings are charming. It seemed to be a major tourist destination of Guatemala. The Convento Santa Catalina Hotel accommodated our two night stay. It was absolutely beautiful. The courtyard had a large fountain in the center, along with strings … // Read more

Goodbye, City of Refuge!

Mandy Taylor - Guatemala

  Today our team split up into four different groups and visited different private clinics. The groups went to an OB-GYN clinic, a general practice clinic, a pediatric clinic, and an orthopedics clinic. While we were all spread out today, it was great to be able to share our varying experiences with each other! This afternoon, we were treated to delicious snow cones from a local business. Later, we were invited to dinner by Dr. Barrientos at his home in Chiquimula. He and his family prepared a delicious meal for us while we enjoyed ourselves in his pool, basketball court, … // Read more

Clinic in Jocotán

Bonnie Brzytwa - Guatemala

A Day in Guatemalan Hospitals

Mandy Taylor - Guatemala

  Today has been one of the hardest days of my life. This morning we went to the Hospital Nacional de Chiquimula. This is a public hospital with very limited resources and technology. We split up into groups and went to the emergency department, the intensive care unit, labor and delivery, and pediatrics. My group started out in the ICU, which was divided into the pediatric side and the adult side. Unfortunately, in the short time we were there we lost two little ones. An 8 year old, who suffered from pneumonia and went into septic shock, and a 5 … // Read more