This morning, we traveled to San Justo, where we visited Hospital Parroissien, a public hospital. In comparison to the other areas we visited on the trip, San Justo is a relatively poorer area, which can be seen by the infrastructure on the drive over. Once we reached the hospital, it became apparent just how bad the situation was, as the nurses would not allow us to enter the hospital without spraying ourselves with repellent first, due to the hight risk of dengue fever within the facility. The hospital was honestly not one I would want to be treated in, as the walls were plagued with filth, all while mosquitoes filled the air. The emergency room and the ICU were under renovation, so I cannot imagine in what conditions those patients have to stay, especially when oftentimes they’re most demanding ones. There were some postives from the hospital however, like the fact that they’re one of the only public hospitals who has a mental health wing, and have the capacity to conduct neurosurgery! This was an incredible fact to me, as it goes to show that even with very little resources, they have the capacity to save those who need it the most.

Next, we traveled to the National University of Matanza, located pretty close to the hospital. It was actually and old Chevy Factory, which they bough out and renovated to become a beautiful campus. We got to visit some mock clinics, and the most beautiful theater, modeled after old-timey movie theaters! We even got to visit their library, which was like a mini Hillman! (except somehow even quieter) In comparison to Pitt, the campus is definitely much smaller, and it is also a closed campus. There was also a lot more people outside, even though it was a pretty chilly day. We learned a little while earlier that public universities in Argentina normally get a pretty bad reputation, as they are free and typically lack both funding and resources. In comparison, the University of Pittsburgh is also a public university, but the fees paired with attending range from $40,000 to almost $70,000, thus providing the university with ample resources. Regardless. this university overcame that, as they are world- renowned in many aspects, all while providing education to the most populous municipality in Buenos Aires!

Following the tour, we then headed to Palermo to visit the various works of art through the expression of graffiti. Palermo is known as a more ‘trendy’ part of Buenos Aires, as the area is littered with trendy shops, restaurants, and clubs. Thus, many artists head to Palermo to showcase their talents of art! We saw many different types of art, including mosaics and paper-mache that was done directly on the wall. One work of art featured a huge anti-smoking campaign, in which we had to decipher what it meant. My favorite work was the one in which one of the mother’s of the children who were abducted in the 70’s had a painting featured on their building, completely with a drawing of the children themselves. It showed that even street art can have the most deepest of meaning. I loved the tour and cannot wait to see what we are doing tomorrow!