Brett's Blog

Day 1: With great excitement, we got the chance to meet Dr. Lambert today at his clinic in the city of Puerto Plata. Having an opportunity to be immersed in the culture around the area and be exposed to the language, atmosphere, and social dynamics of the people has been incredibly interesting. Speaking with Dr. Lambert about his vision for the lab is fascinating and getting to measure the space and visualize what it could become makes the goal for our project that much clearer. All of these things have truly made the trip so far a fulfilling experience and the rest of the week will be life changing!

Day 2: Another incredible day on the trip! We had the chance to visit Dr Lambert’s clinc in the Batey, walk around a bit of the area, even getting to meet a class full of school children who were learning 4 languages, Spanish, English ,French and Creole. This is a great asset for these children as it gives them an opportunity to work in places in Puerto Plata where fluency of languages is important.
This experience motivates me to pursue becoming more multi-lingual, to be able to better communicate when travelling to other countries.

Day 3: It was a great experience to visit a private lab, Coste Norde, today. The lab manager was friendly, energetic and ready to explain the origins of their establishment as well as their plans to expand the operation to include more testing.

The people here are incredibly friendly. They have welcomed us into their workplaces with open arms. Sadly, I can't say for certain that the same mentality is shared in a lot of workplaces in Canada. I feel as though I've gained appreciation for the importance of being positive and the impact it can have on the people around you.

Brett Smith
Medical Laboratory Technology Student
NSCC, Waterfront Campus