It is Friday, May 17, and it is time to say goodbye to Buenos Aires. Yesterday we had our group presentation on the public sector of Argentina’s healthcare system. It went very well and I am grateful to my group members Caroline, Cia, Shamus, and Patrick! After presentations, we also did some final sightseeing before having to leave today. We went to the San Telmo Market again to get some souvenirs. I got a necklace and earrings with the national gemstone of Argentina: rhodochrosite, a beautiful pink and white stone. I also had to get some final empanadas because I am going to miss them so much, especially the ham and cheese ones. After going to the San Telmo Market, a group of us went and got dinner and hung out together for our final night. It was so bittersweet, but being able to share this experience with everyone is something I will never forget. 

In contrast to yesterday’s overall chill morning, today was very chaotic. I woke up and got some alfajores and other Argentine snacks to bring home for my family to try. Then I had to pack up my suitcase and hope that everything would fit and it wouldn’t be overweight. Afterwards, we had a final asado barbeque and goodbye lunch at IES. The food was, again, delicious. I am going to miss the perfectly cooked steak and chorizo, as well as the dulche de leche and chocolate ice cream. After lunch we went to Florida Avenue for some very last minute shopping. It ended up being super successful, I got a beautiful red leather wallet for myself and a brown one for my dad. I also got artwork of the obelisk to add to my collection. Finally, it was time to head to the airport. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and our flight leaves on time!

I have learned so many important things on this trip that it is hard to just pick one. Relating to Argentina’s healthcare system, I think the most important thing I learned was just how different the public and private healthcare system is in terms of funding, resources, and facilities. After talking to a doctor at the private cardiac hospital and hearing that public hospitals don’t have enough resources to treat all patients, leaving healthcare workers feeling helpless, it was clear how little funding those hospitals receive. It was also eye opening seeing the public hospital in Buenos Aires Province, and noticing the amount of mosquitos in the hospital and just the overall differences in cleanliness, organization, and modern design. Meanwhile, the private hospitals we visited had living rooms in each hospital room and colorful LED lights in their cath labs. Overall, it is great that Argentina has a system that allows everyone access to healthcare, but it was just very eye opening to see the disparities between the two sectors. 

I also think we learned so many important stories of Argentine history on this trip. I thought hearing the history of Argentina’s dictatorship and the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo was very eye-opening. Most of us, me included, had never heard of Argentina’s dictatorship in the 1970’s. During our tour of the city, we were told that during this dictatorship over 20,000 men and boys had been kidnapped or killed. Many of the boys were taken and given to families that supported the dictatorship. In response, the mothers of these boys marched and protested at the Plaza de Mayo, where the president works. As a way of remembrance, these mothers and their families have marched every Thursday since. We had the opportunity to see this march, and seeing everyone come together to remember such a sad time in their history was very special. Being able to see the original mothers and families walk to honor their loved ones was such an important and once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience. 

I know I have said it before, but since this is my last blog post, I am so thankful to everyone who has given me the opportunity to go on this special trip. Thank you to Grant and Julie for choosing me and to IES and all of the guides we met for being so welcoming and organizing amazing experiences. Thank you to Gabriel for organizing and helping us meet so many important people in Argentina, and thank you to all of them for taking the time to talk to us and allowing us to learn so much from them. Thank you to everyone else on the trip for making my time so amazing and thank you to my parents for always being supportive of my dreams. I could talk about this trip for hours and I cannot wait to tell everyone about it for years to come! 

Goodbye Buenos Aires, I will miss you!