I really enjoyed my time here in Argentina. I met some really cool people that I formed real friendships with, and I learned some really interesting things not just about the healthcare system, but also about the culture and way of life here in Argentina. I learned that the people here drive like maniacs. I…
Tag: Patrick Lopresti
Museum Day
Today, on the penultimate day of the trip, we got to sleep in, not starting until 1:30 PM. Today was another cultural day, in which we visited two museums- the first being the Immigration Museum of Buenos Aires, which is also in the same building of the current immigration center. The immigration systems of the…
Pitt vs. La Matanza
Today, we went on a bus ride to a public hospital, which was pretty worn down and not very nice. It was very overcrowded and filled with sick people waiting for care. It is crazy to see how different the hospitals in the United States are to third-world hospitals. Then, we went to the University…
Malba Mentality
Today was a very busy day, with a lot of travel and information. First, we went to Medife, which was a very powerful private insurance company, with its own private hospital, which is also called Medife, and ASE, which is a very big obras sociales union. ASE provides health service and manages contributions from company…
Evita
Today, we went on a walking tour of the city, in which we saw many palaces and the Recoleta neighborhood. The neighborhood is really nice, clean, and pretty wealthy. It has many historical palaces and other buildings. In Recoleta, there is the Recoleta Cemetery, which is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world….
Ranch
Today was purely a cultural day, and we visited a ranch called Don Silvano, which is an hour and a half bus ride West of Buenos Aires. Despite the overwhelming swarms of mosquitoes, it was a good time. First, we just explored the ranch- we looked at the fields, the animals, such as peacocks, llamas,…
A long day
Today, we took an hour-long bus ride to the Austral Universidad Pilar campus, which is the main campus of the university, and contains a private hospital and a school. It was a very nice campus with cool architecture and nice classrooms. To start, we got a 45-minute lecture from the founder of the hospital about…
Strike Day
Today, we had an off day, due to the city-wide strikes that were against the beliefs and ruling of President Melei. Although the strike was overestimated by the Buenos Aires citizens, there were still multiple closures and acts of protest that were being done by the workers. We headed over to the IES building around…
Public vs. Private
Today, on the third day here, we started early again, at 8:45, and we walked back over to Austral University, where we received a lecture from Josefina Medrano, who is the former head Minister of Health in Salta, which is a less wealthy province in the northwest of Argentina. The lecture was much more business…
La ciudad y los uniónes
Day 3 was full of learning about Buenos Aires and Argentina as a whole, whether it be about the history, culture, and geography, or about the role of unions in the healthcare system. In the morning, we went to the city hall to get a lecture Daniel Ferrante about the Buenos Aires ministry of health…
Day 2: Never flying through Atlanta again
Before we even arrived in Buenos Aires, the group was presented with a very unique bonding opportunity. Our flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires was delayed from 10pm to 8am the next morning. We had the choice to either go to a complementary hotel or stay in the airport overnight. We all chose the airport,…
Introduction
This May, I have taken the opportunity to enroll in the University of Pittsburgh Plus3 Argentina program. I am very excited to travel to Buenos Aires and be surrounded by the unfamiliar culture of South America. I have always wanted to travel to Argentina, and now I get the chance to do so, while also…