Canyon Adventure Tour (Guanacaste)

Canyon Adventure Tour

Its one thing to read something online and think you would do it, than actually doing it. Stephanie and I wanted to do some adventurous activities, stuff that we wouldn’t normally do, so we signed up for this canyon adventure tour. The reviews were great, the activities seemed adventurous, and it was an entire day event. We were set, and super ready.

But NOOOOO. It was so tough!!! Our tour included ziplining, rappelling, horseback riding, river tubing, and rock climbing. Doesn’t sound scary right? But that’s until you’re life is being kept together by a rope, a hook, and a tour guide. You start to question a thing or two lol.

ZIPLINING

So the first time I went to Costa Rica, I chickened out when it came to zipping across a body of water holding onto a rope, but this time, I knew it was something I had to do. I was extremely scared at first, especially since our “brake” was to just pull down on the rope with our hand and eventually it would slow down. Wasn’t the most reassuring thing. We ended up going across eight different ziplines, all very different, some longer than others, some higher and more scarier. It was such an adrenalin rush, I honestly felt like I was flying.  I felt like I was a pro by the end and could totally do the tour myself.

The only downside to this was going about 25 mph across and getting slapped in the face by flies and mosquitos. I most definitely swallowed a few flies here and there, but hey I got my protein right?

RAPPELLING/ROCKCLIMBING

I’m not scared of heights, but I am at the same time. I’ve done enough stuff to ensure that heights don’t bother me, but when I look down, that’s just another story. The aim of this activity was to rappel down the rocks, and then climb back up on the other side. I’ve rock climbed maybe once or twice in my life, but indoors, and with a soft mat underneath me to catch me if anything. With this one, I just heard the water splashing against huge rocks as the current rapidly drifting.
The photographer and the guys were laughing at me because I was really excited at first and super pumped until it was my turn to go down, and then I basically had a panic attack. When they started to lower me down, I questioned my entire life and just started praying haha. I make it sound worse than it really was; it was scary, don’t get me wrong, but it was such a thrill. Going up though was way more tough. I have a lot of lower body strength, but for climbing, it requires a lot of upper body, which I wasn’t entirely prepared for. About half way up, my arms were getting tired, my shoelaces came undone, my foot slipped off the rock, and I was ready to call it a day.

The instructor was motivating me, well more like yelling for me to grab the next rock, and slowly but surely I made it. Before I went up, I was watching what the other people were doing so I could follow their route up or come up with a different way that would be easier. Once I got on, its like everything went out the window. When you’re so close to the wall, you can’t even tell where you are or what rock you are actually grabbing onto, it all looks the same.

I just remember reaching the top and shaking for about 10 minutes. My shoulders were already hurting and I was just happy I made it.

HORSEBACK RIDING

I feel like I’m scared through all of these activities and something always goes wrong haha. But anyways, we got to the part where they assigned the horses to each of us. I really wanted this beautiful white horse, but we didn’t really have a say as to which one we could have, but the horse ended up choosing me. It gradually started walking towards me so then I was able to ride him, which was really cool. It was a little smaller than the other horses, which I was fine with.

Before all these adventures, I had put on some sunscreen. My mum had given me this sunscreen that she got from the islands, but had aloevera and banana oil in it. I guess horses like bananas or something because a few of them kept licking me. I was soo scared one of them was gonna bite me so obviously I freaked out, but that didn’t stop them. Stephanie’s horse just kept coming up to me and licking me down my leg. Super weird. But also, my horse liked competition or something so it would race the other horses and always wanted to be at the front regardless of if I pulled back on the reigns. By the end of it, I was certain that I had a bruised rib from all the trotting and my thighs were super sore.

San Jose, Costa Rica

Where do I even begin??

This is my second time in Costa Rica, but first time going without my family. They were both totally different experiences, not just because of the company but more so because I was young the first time I went.

 My friend, Stephanie, and I had planned most of our trip before even going so that we could utilize the very few days that we had there. We had arranged to be in San Jose for 2 days and Playa Hermosa for 3 days. Our sole purpose for this trip was to relax and have fun as we just finished our exams. We needed an outlet, some place where we could get away and not think about school. This trip did the trick!!

Touring around

Roaming around the city not knowing what to do is actually better than holding a map and having everything laid out. We ended up walking all around the city square and bumping into other travelers who were here for a study abroad program. It was kind of cool to interact with them and have them share their experiences with us since we had just flown in that morning. 

I’m sure we stood out like a sore thumb, but I like I believe that we did a fairly good job of blending in.  No maps out, just walking aimlessly. We went to a cathedral, museum, park, and the main square (where I was attacked by pigeons). Some guy was throwing seeds towards my way and of course before I could even do anything, I was swarmed. I was just hoping not to get pooped on. (although it would be nice since it's considered "good luck")

Central Florida Eye Specialists (cataract surgery)

I had the pleasure to shadow a doctor in Orange City, Florida while he was performing Cataract surgery. Every time I go and shadow, I learn and see new and different things. My curiosity continually elevates and I tend to ask more questions about the process, because I am genuinely intrigued. The doctor is extremely nice so he explained the procedure thoroughly during the process. It was really cool to know that in 8-10 minutes, cataracts can be completely removed from the eye. Something as big as cataracts can be eliminated in such a small amount of time. To me, this was awesome. I’m fascinated about how the eye works and what we can do to improve our vision. Also, the doctor injects the eye with steroids and their eye drops to eliminate problems after the surgery. Usually, the patient has to remember to add drops in their eye periodically, but he wants to eliminate this step to ensure that they are getting their medication just in case they were to forget. 

Something different that they do at this practice is a “one day” surgery process. They have the pre-operation, operation, and post-operation appointments all in one day, which is very interesting. I like this because it eases the patients a little and everything can be done so quickly. They don’t need to worry about taking multiple days of work or driving to the office multiple times just to talk to the doctor.

LateKnightHype

We had the opportunity to be able to be featured on LateKnightHype at UCF. This all happened because one of our officers was working with the host of the show and she wanted to do a segment on clubs around UCF.

This was my first time on a radio show, so I was super hyped about it. At first, I was extremely nervous because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was worried about possibly messing up or choking up, but everything turned out fine. 

Patricia Hartley and Danielle Case, the hosts of the show, were really friendly and energetic so they made the experience worth while. They gave us the run down of how the show works and what we will be doing. A series of questions about the club was asked such as how people can get involved, what events we do and have done, as well as what the pre-optometry association is all about.

The best part was that it was about Optometry, not necessarily why we picked this profession but details about the club. It was great because the information rolled of the tongue and it was something that I was passionate about. The stuff that I had to say didn’t need any preparation. It felt really good knowing that we were advertising for the club and could possibly recruit new members that share the same passion.

Here is the link so you can hear us on the radio:

https://soundcloud.com/user-214187666-291557703/lateknighthype2

Cataract surgery

In our down time, we alternated shifts, and shadowed the doctor as she completed cataract surgeries. This wasn’t my first time shadowing a cataract surgery, but it was my first time outside the U.S. I was curious to see if the process had distinct differences. One thing that I noticed in DR was that they were more hygienic compared to the United States. When I shadowed at the doctors office, they had me change my shoes, wear booties, tie up my hair, wear a hair net, full body gown, and a facemask. I’m used to all of this except for the gown and the changing of the shoes. I was all for it though because I believe that everything in the surgery room must be sterile; I was just shocked that a country could be more sterile than America. It actually made me happy that things are coming a long way in various countries and something as small as hygiene to us, was taking the biggest toll.

Since I had previously seen a surgery being done, it was cool to actually understand what was happening in the room as the doctor was inserting the lens, making the incision, and adding dye. All of this intrigued me even though I have a weak stomach. I couldn’t stop looking. The doctor was great during the whole thing as she thoroughly explained her every move and allowed us to look through the microscope as she made the incisions and performed the surgery. We got to see all the details and got to see the doctor do her thing. It takes about 8-12 minutes to do one eye. To me, this is crazy to even think about because cataracts are a big deal but it can all be fixed within a matter of minutes!! The eye is pretty cool :)

School time (Dajabon)

Our adventures continued, as we were able to volunteer at a local school by the doctor’s practice. This was extremely different compared to our first day because we only saw children today. I personally liked it better and thought it was more fulfilling because we were able to help them at a young age. It was important for them to get help at a younger age so that they wouldn’t experience eye problems later, and/or get cataracts or other diseases at such a young age. 

We saw so many students that needed a high prescription at such a young age. It was sad to know that they didn’t know any better, and that they had to struggle to see the board and do their homework. To them, that was the best that would ever happen, and they had to deal with it because they had no choice.

This is why this was the most rewarding because not only could we help them in that moment, but essentially for the rest of their life. Although, we weren’t able to see them use their glasses in class, I know that they can now see better without getting headaches or sitting really close to the board. 

An obstacle that we had while with the kids was the language barrier. I speak very broken Spanish, enough to get around but not necessarily to convey specific messages and emotions. Some of the kids were shy, not cooperative, or didn’t know their letters. This was an issue because it made it hard for us to understand what they needed and what they could and couldn’t see. They were all very smart, and were able to get through life with what they had, but for us, we struggled to understand how they were surviving. At the end, it ended up being a language and communication barrier. We solved this by using picture charts with shapes and directions so that they can use their hands or describe the picture to us. THIS HELPED A LOT! Once we switched our charts from letters to shapes and directions, you could see their eyes lit up and their facial language change. At first they were really confused and didn’t know what to do, but after they felt more confident.

Overall, we were able to see about 100 students, of all ages while we were there at the school. We got to see them during the school day, so they were excused from class. One thing I noticed was that all the kids are the same around the World. All the kids goofed off with there friends, had their cliques, and crushed on each other. That to me was really cool to see because even though, we look different physically, inside we are all the same people and do the similar things.

Santo Domingo --> Moca

Our first city on the list to provide primary eye care was to Moca. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive from Santo Domingo, in which we had a driver to took us.

Just on this first day we were able to see about 200 patients!! I was shocked when the Doctor told us about this because time just flew by. We were so happy!! I have worked at a private practice back in Florida, and we usually see about 10-15 patients a day and that is considered to be a busy day, but 200!!! This was definitely unheard of! It was such a great feeling knowing that we were able to help out so many people. It got me thinking, that if we were to do this everyday for at least a week, we could help on average of about 1400 people. Something as little as a week, can make such a drastic difference in a city. We were all determined to do it. 

One of the best things about this was the fact that the patients were super grateful. Some of these people didn’t have much in terms of food and shelter, but once they got their glasses and when they were talking to us, they were all so grateful and happy that they will now be able to see better. I would have thought they would be snobby because they didn’t have anything, and then looking at us, they would envy us or wouldn’t relate to us because we were so different. Instead, we were getting welcomed with hugs, and they opened up to us. The amount of stories were unreal, but that’s the difference between working in a hustle and bustle city compared to small, less fortunate area. I know these patients won’t take advantage of the situation and would be happy to get anything. From this we were able to so many patients and didn't notice the time. We enjoyed doing everything and helping the doctors with refractions to ensure they got the best treatment.

At first, it made me really sad to see young people getting cataracts when they are known to develop from 50+, but then it got me thinking. There’s nothing we can do now about it, but to help them. Yes its bad that they have this, but now we are able to help them out because we are here. The young people that we did help out could now benefit and hopefully the trend will continue.

The doctor that we worked with, Dr. Evelyn, was definitely one of the kindest souls ever. None of this could have been possible without her. She gave us the opportunity to help out all of these patients. She is an ophthalmologist, and in her spare time, she travels to different cities over the weekends and provides eye exams and refractions to people for free. SHE IS THE REAL DOCTOR GOALS. Her passion for optometry is so big and real, that anybody who is around her gets to feel that strong passionate vibe that she gives off.

            All of this happened just on day one… imagine how we felt at the end of the trip.