Although slightly later than planned, I am so excited to be writing my first blog post from Buenos Aires! Our flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta went smoothly, but unfortunately our flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires was delayed from 10 p.m to 8 a.m. The group decided to stay at the airport instead of leaving and sleeping at a nearby hotel. We passed the time by playing card games and bonding. After 12 hours in the Atlanta airport and 9 on the flight, where I was luckily able to catch up on sleep, we arrived in Buenos Aires! After getting through customs, we were met by two of the IES workers coordinating our trip. They gave us alfajores, a traditional Argentine dessert made of two cookies and a dulce de leche filling, giving me a great first impression of Argentina. They were delicious! We then went to the Park Royal City Hotel, where we are staying, to drop our bags off before getting dinner. Our dinner was an Argentine asado barbeque at IES with chorizo and steak sandwiches. So far I’d give the food a 10/10!
The next part of our program began at 11:00 a.m at IES, where we had a safety lecture and salads for lunch. Then we headed to the University of Astral to have our first two educational lectures. We heard from Dr. Gabriel Novick, where he gave us a review on the broad aspects of Argentina’s healthcare system. The second lecture was from the 2017-2019 National Minister of Health, Dr. Luis Gimenez. He gave us an overview of the national ministry of health during his time as minister. This included one of its programs, implementing more primary care practices. He told us about this program’s goals and possible outcomes. We discussed how the ministry of health is financed and some of its downsides, including the issue of fragmentation. I really enjoyed this lecture, as I found the global health aspect extremely interesting. Afterwards, we went back to IES to have a tango lesson. I really enjoyed the tango lesson, although I think I need a lot more practice before going to a milonga, a tango club. I really enjoyed learning about this part of Argentina’s rich culture in such a fun and hands-on way, and it is an experience I will never forget. Overall, my first impression of Buenos Aires, Argentina was that the food is amazing and the architecture is beautiful. I know from the first two lectures that I am going to learn so much from this program and I will definitely have a new perspective on global health. I cannot wait to continue to explore this city and its culture! Until tomorrow!
