{"id":10816,"date":"2015-12-03T19:45:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T19:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/?p=10816"},"modified":"2024-01-30T10:27:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T15:27:47","slug":"jamaica-a-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/jamaica-a-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"#Jamaica: A Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2015\/12\/Avila-Portal2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10820 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2015\/12\/Avila-Portal2-224x300.png\" alt=\"Avila-Portal2\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2015\/12\/Avila-Portal2-224x300.png 224w, https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2015\/12\/Avila-Portal2.png 425w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a>A bright sky and big smiles\u2014these are the images that flash in my mind when I think of Jamaica. The beauty of the country is only surpassed by that of its people.<\/p>\n<p>I had many expectations for my experience providing dental hygiene care in Jamaica. I expected to feel humbled and I knew I would have to be resourceful. However, I did not expect the instant connection I felt to the country and its people. While Jamaica reminded me of my birthplace\u00a0of Cuba, what touched me the most was the graciousness and hospitality of the people.<\/p>\n<p>There was not a day that went by where at least one patient thanked me for simply being there and caring for the needs of their country. I received more hugs and thank you\u2019s than I could count. I witnessed children\u2019s eyes go wide in excitement when they learned they would be getting toothbrushes and others ran\u00a0after us for a sample of dental floss. Patients traveled for miles or even days and waited in long lines in hopes to get a chance to be treated. In the same light, some gave up their spots in line for others who they felt were\u00a0in greater need.<\/p>\n<p>To say that I gained more than I felt I was able to contribute is an understatement. The Jamaican gratitude and overall joy for life is something that I will keep with me for the rest of my life and career.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Jamaica! See you soon.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">ONE LOVE!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Ailyn Avila-Portal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bright sky and big smiles\u2014these are the images that flash in my mind when I think of Jamaica. The beauty of the country is only surpassed by that of its people. I had many expectations for my experience providing dental hygiene care in Jamaica. I expected to feel humbled and I knew I would &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/jamaica-a-reflection\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">#Jamaica: A Reflection<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":465,"featured_media":10818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[68,7],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-10816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jamaica-dental","category-study-abroad","tag-jamaica-dental-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/465"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10816"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10895,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10816\/revisions\/10895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}