Reflection

Well, it's all over. I've been gone for four months and four days. I've spent six weeks in Cusco, Peru; one month in La Paz, Bolivia; and one month in Tarija, Bolivia. I have had countless experiences and made so many new friends from all over the world. For my first time outside of the United States, I'd say it was a huge success.

I never really began my trip with that cliché notion of finding yourself. I didn't really feel lost enough to necessitate that. I did however, have some goals.


1) I wanted to improve my Spanish: check. I can now speak at a conversational level and now even have friends that can't speak English.

2) I wanted to learn about the cultures of the places I was visiting: check. I chatted with locals everywhere I was: in a bus, in the clinics I worked in, in the market, and wherever else I found myself. I ate nearly every typical dish I could. I've eaten things from spicy cow tongue to kidneys cooked in wine to some of the best soups you'll ever eat. Wherever I was I tried as best as I could to avoid being the foreigner, I wanted to do as the locals do and blend right in.

3) I wanted to learn more about the healthcare system in Bolivia: check. I've learned about what they have and what they don't. I've learned about their rules and regulations. I've heard opinions from doctors young and old, some of whom helped write some of these rules. I've learned about patient populations and what aspects in a person's life can effect his or her thoughts on healthcare.

4) I wanted to become more independent and comfortable being alone while traveling or new situations: check. The difference from when I started is so noticeable to me. I can still recall some of that fear, discomfort, and anxiety from the beginning of my trip. Worrying about trying to figure things out on my own and worrying about finding company to spend my time with. Now at the end, I feel so completely comfortable with my ability to be independent in any situation. I know now that I have a character that allows me to be open and confident when approaching new people and can make friends wherever I go. I move on to new places without anxiety and I am so content being alone, exploring a new city or participating in an activity without any crutch of a friend.

The goals I could set in retrospect just to add a check to now are infinite. I have grown so much as a person over the past four months and I can't be more happy that I made the decision to leave the US for a place so completely different.

Naturally people are bound to ask what city I like more and facts like that, so I'll answer them in (relative) brief:

I loved my time in Cusco. I had so much fun teaching English and I felt like I was really doing some good work there. It was a very touristy city full of gringos and gringo oriented activities. Out of the three cities I definitely feel like I grew the least in my cultural knowledge and language abilities. It did have the most activities and trips to take over the course of my time there and was by far the best for adventuring and taking awesome trips.

With CFHI in La Paz I had some great medical experiences and I thoroughly enjoyed working with every doctor in the program there. I got to experience a big city in South America that wasn't overrun by tourists and I liked that. The poor aspect of La Paz was definitely my boring home stay and the overall type of personality of a person from La Paz. They are much more closed off and harder to befriend.

With CFHI in Tarija, my experience was made by my incredible host family. The people in Tarija are so much friendlier and so approachable. I made many friends there and had an absolutely incredible time. The ability to volunteer in the afternoons was great, as well. While I learned a lot about medicine, I definitely feel like my rotations in Tarija were not as comparable to La Paz. That said, they were still very informative and I would highly highly recommend the program.

The combination of La Paz and Tarija is absolutely the best part of my trip. Getting to see two cities in the same country with such opposite types of people, climate, and even medical problems, was fascinating. By the end I was able to participate in conversations about Bolivian politics and about discussions involving other cities in Bolivia.

Now, at the end of it all, I have to be honest the most overwhelming emotion I have is pride. I am really proud of myself for undertaking such a journey, such an adventure. And not only that, I feel like I have really made the most of my time here. I have learned so much because I have tried to learn. I have made an effort to talk to people, to ask questions, to explore, to be uncomfortable, and to have absolutely no regrets at the end of this trip.

And here I am, on a plane back to the USA, proud of myself and without a single regret :)