What an interesting day! This morning we had an amazing opportunity to go inside the public hospital called Paroissien Hospital. We got to see a lot of their cool facilities, like their new X-ray machine and a cath lab. We heard from some nurses about their experiences, and Mimi, one of the nurses, was the absolute sweetest. She gave me some insight into what it is like being a nurse in a public hospital. They took us into their ICU, along with the new one that is currently in the process of being built, which was really interesting because we got to see the advancements of the hospital and how it is growing. They even made advancements to the emergency room the previous year.

After we left the hospital, we took the bus over to the University of La Matanza. We sat down to have lunch and ate some yummy empanadas and sandwiches. We also got to see where the nursing students learn to take care of patients and practice their skills. They even showed us an actual simulation of a professor controlling the dummy while the nursing students had to take care of the patient and figure out what was wrong. This opportunity was super cool to see. Afterwards, we got to hear from a nursing professor who discussed how the education process for nursing students works. He also gave really good insight into how the very confusing medical system works, which was really helpful for my understanding personally.

Today also highlighted the differences between the City of Buenos Aires and the surrounding municipalities in Buenos Aires Province, specifically regarding finances and economics. While the public hospital and university we visited in La Matanza were impressive and clearly working hard to serve their communities, it was noticeable that many facilities are still developing and expanding to meet the needs of a large population. Wealthier municipalities are often better funded. They also tend to have more resources and stronger educational systems. However, larger municipalities struggle because they are bigger and poorer, facing challenges such as overcrowding along with limited budgets and resources.