USC's Ayuda volunteers take a break at the Teotihuacan pyramids just outside of Mexico City.

I think most of us were surprised by the rich history and culture we experienced in Mexico City as we visited various museums and historically significant locations.  These sites gave us the opportunity to learn more about Mexico’s fascinating history. 

We were able to see original art pieces by Diego Rivera and Frida Kaulo, witness the dramatic and impressive ancient architecture of the buildings, visit the Antholopologic Museum and see the Aztec and Mayan artifacts.  Our cultural experiences were enhanced by a performance by the Ballet Folklórico in the famed Palacio de Bellas Artes and the opportunity to climb the ancient Teotihuacan pyramids.

Monday soon rolled around, and we were all very excited to get to work.  When we arrived at our first clinic early that morning, we hit the ground running, quickly setting up the dental equipment and creating individual patient stations. 

While we stacked and sorted, sterilized and set-up, the clinic director from the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México (UNAM) commented to me how very similar our operations were to a finely tuned machine.  And it was true: Each student knew his or her responsibility, and the spirit of comradery between the students drove our mission with speed and efficacy. 

We worked for 13 hours straight so that we could treat all of the people who had so patiently waited in long lines to be seen.  We treated over 200 patients and, although we ended the day exhausted, we all felt a great sense of accomplishment. The rest of the week was similar.  Each day we drove up in our bus to a new location, unloaded our supplies and went to work along with approximately eight UNAM students at each site. 

As the week progressed, we felt as though we were able to help even more patients than the day before.  In the end, we served nearly 700 patients and completed approximately 930 procedures. 

Every student had the opportunity to reach beyond him or herself in caring acts of service.  During our five days of treating patients, every member of our group had an experience of one kind or another that engrained in them the importance of serving and the value of the gift of oral health care. 

The people we were able to treat were so grateful for our help.  Warm smiles, hugs, kisses and even small gifts were plentiful.  The friendships we forged with these wonderful people will forever enrich our lives.