New culture, new people, New Life. When we exchange our perspectives, ideas and plans to make a world better place for everyone. It's good to go different places it helps me view life in many directions
I had a wonderful experience with CFHI in Tarija, Bolivia. Just right before the program, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. I chose Tarija due to my interests in communicable diseases and also because the description of it being a small, tranquil city appealed to me. I initially felt nervous about the program since I wasn’t pre-med and thought I might not gain as much as my peers, however, I soon found myself deeply engaged in learning about the community’s public health in ways that genuinely interested me. I did rotations in family medicine, surgery, and gynecology, exposing me to different areas and levels of patient care. Through this, I gained a wide understanding of how social and structural factors shape health outcomes in Tarija. Moreover, each week we met with the medical director, where we learned more about the Bolivian health system, providing essential context to better make sense of what we were witnessing in our rotations. The medical director and local coordinator are wonderful people who I’m grateful to have had supporting me throughout the program. My favorite part of the experience was definitely my homestay. My host mother was so sweet and hospitable. I absolutely loved getting to chat with her every day over almuerzo and updating her on all of my program experiences, all the while practicing my Spanish. It felt so special getting to know Tarija and the Bolivian culture through living with her. My Spanish skyrocketed throughout my time there. In addition to practicing at home and on my rotations, there were also afternoon Spanish classes that I was attending. The Spanish teacher truly believes in immersion, so every day for class we would meet at the main plaza and then do different cultural activities together, such as ordering at cafes and visiting museums, to improve our conversational skills. I felt very comfortable in Tarija and was able to reach pretty much anywhere I needed to by foot without worries. Beyond this, I also took a weekend trip with a few of my peers to the Salar de Uyuni. We did a private tour with Sur Bike, which our local coordinator had recommended to us—so worth it! We had such an amazing time, and it was a great opportunity to explore Bolivia beyond just Tarija. Overall, I’m so glad I did this program. I really love what CFHI stands for, and they provided us with a great course on global health ethics to go through beforehand. This was my first time in South America, and it was also my first time doing a global health education program. I cherish the experiences I had and the connections I made there, and feel I found this program at the perfect time in my life as a recent graduate. CFHI’s slogan is “let the world change you,” and I didn’t realize how true that would be until I found myself learning not just about healthcare, but about people, resilience, and community.
New culture, new people, New Life. When we exchange our perspectives, ideas and plans to make a world better place for everyone. It's good to go different places it helps me view life in many directions
I had a wonderful experience with CFHI in Tarija, Bolivia. Just right before the program, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. I chose Tarija due to my interests in communicable diseases and also because the description of it being a small, tranquil city appealed to me. I initially felt nervous about the program since I wasn’t pre-med and thought I might not gain as much as my peers, however, I soon found myself deeply engaged in learning about the community’s public health in ways that genuinely interested me. I did rotations in family medicine, surgery, and gynecology, exposing me to different areas and levels of patient care. Through this, I gained a wide understanding of how social and structural factors shape health outcomes in Tarija. Moreover, each week we met with the medical director, where we learned more about the Bolivian health system, providing essential context to better make sense of what we were witnessing in our rotations. The medical director and local coordinator are wonderful people who I’m grateful to have had supporting me throughout the program. My favorite part of the experience was definitely my homestay. My host mother was so sweet and hospitable. I absolutely loved getting to chat with her every day over almuerzo and updating her on all of my program experiences, all the while practicing my Spanish. It felt so special getting to know Tarija and the Bolivian culture through living with her. My Spanish skyrocketed throughout my time there. In addition to practicing at home and on my rotations, there were also afternoon Spanish classes that I was attending. The Spanish teacher truly believes in immersion, so every day for class we would meet at the main plaza and then do different cultural activities together, such as ordering at cafes and visiting museums, to improve our conversational skills. I felt very comfortable in Tarija and was able to reach pretty much anywhere I needed to by foot without worries. Beyond this, I also took a weekend trip with a few of my peers to the Salar de Uyuni. We did a private tour with Sur Bike, which our local coordinator had recommended to us—so worth it! We had such an amazing time, and it was a great opportunity to explore Bolivia beyond just Tarija. Overall, I’m so glad I did this program. I really love what CFHI stands for, and they provided us with a great course on global health ethics to go through beforehand. This was my first time in South America, and it was also my first time doing a global health education program. I cherish the experiences I had and the connections I made there, and feel I found this program at the perfect time in my life as a recent graduate. CFHI’s slogan is “let the world change you,” and I didn’t realize how true that would be until I found myself learning not just about healthcare, but about people, resilience, and community.
