Catadupa.

Rather than take my nursing boards as advised, I opted to spend the majority of my first summer after graduating from nursing school, working as an intern for a smallish, faith-based NGO called Experience Mission www.experiencemission.org . As one of the first interns in their new summer internship program, there were a few kinks to work out to say the least. Although beautiful, this was a challenging country to work in and the community where I lived and experienced daily life was a far cry from the materialistic-Jimmy Buffet-spewing port towns frequented by the cruise-ship tourists. 

As when traveling anywhere, I highly recommend that you veer off the beaten path, take some time to understand the culture and the context, listen to the stories of the people and please, spend time in communities not frequented by tourists! 

And if you are reading this and are in college or have recently graduated, I highly recommend you to check out www.experiencemission.org, especially their summer immersion program!

*More photos and stories coming soon!