Buenos Aires, Argentina: Natalie

Now that I have returned to America, I want to talk about and reflect on some of my favorite memories and biggest takeaways from this trip. I think that my favorite part of living in another country was my host mom. She was incredible, and made sure that I had everything that I needed and knew where I was going. She showed me around the city, gave me recommendations on all the best food and drink places, and cooked delicious meals for me. She truly made me feel at home, even when I was on the other side of the world! I am so thankful for such an amazing host mom; she truly made my experience a good one! I also loved the independence that I had in Argentina. I was left in a place that I had never been before, with little instruction on how to navigate it or where to go; so I had to figure it out on my own. Once I figured out how to use the subway and other public transportation, I explored as much of the city as I could. This was so nice for me to be able to have the free time to go...

My favorite neighborhood of Argentina was La Boca. While incredibly touristy, you cannot help but fall in love with this unique place. The colorful walls are the main attraction here, but at a closer glance, there is so much more to experience and enjoy in La Boca. The main strip has tons of souvenir shops, along with all of the signature colorful walls that work perfectly for Instagram selfie backdrops. Throughout the neighborhood, live music could be heard from the band at the corner, playing Argentine tunes. A walk through these streets will surely lighten your mood!  The streets are authentic cobblestone, which adds even more character to La Boca. Vendors line every road, selling their own hand made products, including jewelry, scarves and blankets, artwork, and more. I discovered that La Boca was one of the best places to buy souvenirs in all of Buenos Aires: everything was authentic and handmade while also being fairly cheap. La Boca also had a multitude of restaura...

Another great excursion that I got to experience was a trip to Colonia, Uruguay. This small, touristy city on the river was absolutely charming and was a great way to spend a cloudy Saturday! We arrived to Colonia by boat, which was about an hour ride on the river. While it was fairly cloudy outside, the boat ride was still smooth and it was nice to be able to enjoy the river while we were arriving at our destination.  When we arrived, the tour guide showed us around the old town, which had been tossed back and forth between Spanish and Portuguese ruling many times in the past. There were many notable differences between Spanish and Portuguese reign, including architecture, artwork, and even crops that grew. The houses were very small, but incredibly charming. We even were able to experience one of the homes that had been remodeled to replicate exactly what one of these homes would have looked like when people were actually living in it.  Throughout the cobbleston...

During my time in Argentina, I was able to observe in a hospital in many different departments, including orthopedics, emergency room, internal medicine, pediatrics, and infectious diseases. This was an incredibly valuable experience and I know it will be very beneficial for my future. I am hoping to go to medical school after my time at NIU, and I am extremely thankful for my time spent in this hospital environment. I spent time in the Hospital Britannico in Buenos Aires shadowing the doctors. They were all extremely helpful and understanding of my situation of speaking mostly English, and made sure to speak slowly and explain complicated medical terminology to me in simpler terms. In each different department, I was able to observe doctor-patient interactions and how they differ in each ward. I really enjoyed the pediatric ward, as the doctors were all extremely friendly and were able to comfort the children who were ill. I also had the opportunity to observe an orthopedic surger...

Going to the waterfalls in Iguazu was my favorite excursion during my time in Argentina. Iguazu is a river in northern Argentina that begins with beautiful waterfalls visible from both Brasil and Argentina. The falls in these images were on the Argentina side, but when we were hiking the trails, we were viewing the Brasil side.   At the end of the walking tour, we took a boat tour of the waterfalls where we were taken up extremely close to them-- and even underneath! I was completely soaked by the end of the day, but it was a great time and experience. I was expecting falls similar to Niagra Falls, which are the biggest waterfalls visible in America, but my expectations were fully exceeded by the Iguazu falls.  The falls were incredible, but the national park surrounding them was also very nice. There were miles of hiking trails, along with a train to transport guests from one end of the park to the other. It was also filled with wildlife, including coaties, toucan...