IES Santiago offers a clinical observations program for future healthcare professionals. We explore the Chilean healthcare system by observing medical professionals in private and public hospitals, clinics, and health centers all around Santiago. Yesterday I observed in the neurology unit in Hospital Sótero del Río, a public hospital that provides care to 10% of Chile’s …
Tag Archives: South America
Living Among the Dinosaurs
On Saturday I found myself eating tiny coconuts and sipping water from tiny shoe-shaped flowers. It was like a miniature tea party! In fact, one of my favorite memories from childhood was the tiny tea-set that my sister and I shared. Even for 10-year-old fingers, it was teensy. And we would always drink tap water and eat baby …
School is different here
School is different here. For example, my art class today was a field trip to the south of Chile. We spent about 9 hours in train, and 3 in bus so we could appreciate a mural painted in the small town of Chillán. We weren’t allowed to take photos of the mural we went to …
Sappy October Feels
It’s one of those nights that I can’t stop gazing out the window. I pace back and forth between the terrace, which faces east towards the Andes cordillera and my bedroom, which faces south towards even more mountains that I am seeing for the very first time, thanks to yesterday’s rain. My study break is …
An Ode to Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
It’s been just over two months since I arrived here in Santiago. Although things still feel new, exciting, and sometimes terrifying each and every day, I also realize that I have found comfort and routine living in the city. Lots of these realizations have come as I packed up my belongings into a bag, yet …
Ser Poeta
Los poetas odiamos el odio y hacemos guerra a la guerra — Pablo Neruda “Pablo Neruda es un Gran Chileno,” our history professor told us. Looking at his life and his world, I’m convinced. Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet, writer, politician, and professor, but what Chileans love most about him, I think, is his …
La Cueca
Is there a national dance in the US? No, claro, los gringos aren’t very good at dancing. This was my excuse this weekend when I was asked that question. But the truth is, Chileans aren’t always good at dancing either. It doesn’t stop them from trying, though. Chile’s national dance, called the cueca, is an …
Wonderful Limits
How do you find words to describe the Infinite? When I try to explain the beauty and majesty I saw this weekend, especially in Spanish, simplemente no hay palabras. I find myself struggling against my limits. And then the Voice inside me tells me to relax. “Tranquila,” it says. “We will have all eternity to …
Some Final Words for My Beloved City
It was about 2 weeks before I left and I was already ready to leave my second home in Santiago de Chile. I was anxious to see my family and friends and to be able to wake up under my own roof again. As much as I loved living with a host family for my …
First Birth – Appreciation for Life Forever Changed
One of my most impactful moments in Chile was during one of my shadowing shifts in a local hospital. I shadowed an OBGYN in a maternity clinic. Initially, I did not know what to expect but I must say that it was definitely a fast-paced experience. After we were shown around the clinic for a tour, we …
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