I Found My Twin

Highlight of the day: Savannah and I must have been spending too much time together, because we have started answering questions at the same time and finishing each others sentences. Everyone always asks us if we are sisters, and now I see why!

     I knew it was going to be an interesting day from the start when Savannah and I were asked at breakfast to evaluate chairs based on their design, comfort, and stability. From there, we went to Hospital Puebla for a few hours. The hospital is private, so it is more difficult to simply shadow doctors. We had to get permission from many department heads before starting our time there, so we will really start shadowing on Monday.

The plastic surgery office - AKA the best office in the hospital

     While we were there, a doctor named Andrés showed us around. He really loved the fifth floor of the building because on that floor was the plastic surgery office. Andrés explained to us that the private hospitals are very different from public hospitals in Mexico. In private hospitals, the staff caters to the patients much more than in the public hospitals. There are about 220 doctors' offices, and then other doctors work on the floors where patients stay. The hospital has ten floors. The first floor houses the emergency room, cafeteria, pharmacy, and main offices. The second floor is the surgical floor. Floors 3-4 are filled with rooms for admitted patients. Floors 5-10 are doctors offices of different specialties. With so many different doctors, almost any specialty you can think of can be found at Hospital Puebla.

     After our tour was over and we had talked with many different employees, we headed back to Cholula. We are going back on Monday to spend more time in the hospital and hopefully see some surgeries; today was mostly just introductions. Since we were done so early, Savannah and I decided to walk into downtown Cholula. The best way to describe our afternoon is with pictures:

First, we stopped at a coffee shop and took in the views and
the refreshing breeze on the upper terrace.

After walking into little shops and even a local farmer's market,
we decided to explore the Zócalo (the center of Cholula).

After browsing artisan stands, we decided
 to go to the Convent of San Gabriel. 

Also in the convent was the Royal Chapel. This
is a picture of the back of the altar. The entire
church was decorated very ornately.

The church and convent were beautiful and very large!

Next it was time for a snack on the way back. We'd been
walking around for about four hours at this point. 

There is a really cute crepe place in downtown Cholula which
sells a "crepe of the day" for less than $2 USD. Today it was
raspberry and delicious!

     After five hours of walking, shopping, and eating, I was exhausted. Getting to spend time exploring Mexico was 100% worth the fatigue I was feeling. Now it's time to rest up for our last full weekend here!