Hola! I had the rest of my week at school and I finally began my rotations in La Clinica Biblica is where we have our classes, but in the hospital side, a few of us have our rotations. To be a part of the rotations program, you must pass an oral exam and written exam before coming to Costa Rica. You have to pass those exams so the program coordinators know you will be able to understand what is going on in the hospital. Anyway, I was placed in the rehabilitation wing of the hospital to start my rotations, which is basically the physical therapy side. We saw a few patients getting treatment, but otherwise it was a kind of slow day. Clinica Biblica is a private hospital, so there are as many patients as there are in a public hospital. However, we were shown the facilities and the nurses were very nice and tried to explain everything very clearly so we understood. In comparison to my friends who were placed in the physical therapy wing with me, my Spanish could use some work. So whenever the nurses explained something I didn’t understand, my friends were more than happy to explain it in English for me so I could learn as well. However, my friends who were placed in other parts of the hospital weren’t put in groups, so they had to go in alone; whether you’re with a group or not just depends on the wing of the hospital you’re in. Because the hospital can be slow at times, our coordinator said he will try to put us into the EBAIS offices next week, which is more like primary care, and he said we will see more patients there! I will try to explain more about the healthcare system of Costa Rica in another post!
Anyway! On Fridays, we don’t have classes, so this Friday we went on a field trip to Volcán Irazu, which is the tallest active volcano in Costa Rica! It was such a cool trip. We met up with the kids on the Sustainability Program in Costa Rica and began our journey. It was sort of a long ride, but when we got there it was so worth it. We were literally above the clouds. ICDS (our program) also brought a professor who was able to tell us more historically about the volcano and the area we were in. The volcano was VERY WINDY, so much so that I thought the wind would pull my phone out of my hands when I went to take pictures. But the pictures were SO worth it.
It was just so pretty and so wild to think we were visiting a volcano. At one point, I checked my watch and it said we did like 64 flights of stairs, and it 100% didn’t feel like it. The experience was just so cool, the little trek made it so worth it; I can’t emphasize that enough.
After the volcano, we visited the town of Cartago for lunch and to explore. We walked through the streets and saw the largest stone church in Costa Rica, although it was never finished due to expenses and I forget the other reason, but it was very pretty! And then we went to the Básilica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles which was stunning. I have seen some amazing basilicas in Europe, but this one was beautiful in a different way. We explored the cathedral and heard about the legend of the Virgin de los Angeles and the stream that has healing properties in the church. It was all very beautiful. After that, we decided to head home, which is cool because I was exhausted! But it was a wonderful and very awesome first day of exploration in Costa Rica! I can’t wait to share more my adventures with you all as I have them! Ciao for now!
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