Today we traveled to Gorliz, Spain to visit the Gorliz Hospital. The Gorliz Hospital is a public hospital that sits right on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. At the hospital we were first met with nurses who showed what it takes to deliver good patient care in their hospital. We got to visit the different floors of the hospital and see how the patients lived, how medication is delivered, how patient’s are charted in their system, and how rehabilitation therapy is handled. Additionally, we were also able to see the Oreka balance, Professor Saioa’s project, first hand as it was being utilized within the hospital. For me, the most interesting part of the hospital was seeing how rehabilitation therapy was handled for people with movement problems. When people suffer from stroke, or car crashes, or any other injury that could harm their brain, it can impair their movement and speech. At the hospital we were able to see the different strategies that doctors and nurses implemented in order to help patients move and speak normally again. One such strategy that the nurses utilized was a kind of mechanized exoskeleton that assisted patients in walking until they could walk completely normally again. Another technology that they were using was shock therapy which stimulates previously closed neural pathways in the brain to help these patients regain their movement. This trip to Gorliz gave me insight into the responsibilities of nurses and how they maximize patient care and comfort using different technologies.

After the visit to Gorliz we walked along the beach to the neighboring town of Plentzia to have lunch. We walked into a local restaurant where I ordered a bocadillo which is basically a sandwich with baguette bread. I also got to try some paella that some of my other group members had. After that we got on the metro for the first time to get back to Bilbao which took around 40 minutes. With the few hours before dinner me and my roommate decided to take advantage of our free time and head to the river that runs through Bilbao called the Nervion River. From there, we ran on a trail along the riverside for a solid 4 miles and got to see some spectacular views of the city included the Guggenheim. Finally, we headed to dinner at a pretty fancy restaurant. There I had a vegetable lasagna and a cheesecake which were both very tasty. But better than the food was the experience of just sitting down for a few hours and talking with my fellow groupmates who I have gotten to know better over the course of this trip. Overall, it was a pretty long day, but I’m excited for what tomorrow brings!