Today was our last hospital and university visit. I cannot believe the end of this trip is approaching soon. First, we visited Hospital Paroissien, a tertiary level public hospital in Buenos Aires. At first glance, the hospital had small stores at the entrance and the people seemed very dedicated to their job. The hospitals had darkly lit hallways, confined rooms, and was very crowded with patients waiting to be attended. It was vastly different from the previous hospital visits, especially the private hospitals. They had no heater which made me think about how uncomfortable the patients must have been due to the cold weather. The hospital’s environment made me reflect about how they needed more funding to improve conditions and patient experience.

After the hospital visit, we had a tour at the University of Matanza. It was a nicely gated public university with security allowing entrance at the front. It was a much smaller university in contrast to Pitt’s large city campus university. When conversing with the student who attended the university I found out a couple of interesting things. They came from different Latin American countries with one from Paraguay and another from Peru. This university attracts all sorts of students from all over the continent due to its highly esteemed programs and free educational opportunities. At Pitt, receiving a higher education is not free, which differentiates it from Argentina’s public universities offering free education even to foreigners. Similar to all other universities in Argentina, it is highly unlikely that students stay in dormitories. Instead, they commute from their homes nearby through buses, bikes, or taxis. Another interesting fact I learned was how language was mandatory in college. In the United States and Pitt, typically it is normal for students to stop taking language classes in college after completing them in high school. However, in Argentina, it is a mandatory requirement to pass English in order to graduate. I also found out that students at public universities must take an entrance exam to attend in contrast to private universities in which the fee is enough to attend. On a regular day, the students take 1-2 courses which lasts about 4-5 hours. These are less courses per day but longer hours in contrast to Pitt. 

For the rest of the evening, we got a tour around Palermo and saw various wall art in the streets. We learned about the cultural and historical significance behind the colorful art pieces as well as some background on the artists including a Brazilian artist. One specific story that resonated with me was an art piece representing los desaparecidos (the dissapeared). It portrayed some children looking over a brick wall. According to the tour guide, some children were taken by force and never seen again. We also stopped by a cute bookstore where some of us picked up some books and other souvenirs. It was a very interesting day. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s cultural activities at the museum.