Studying abroad is full of first-times, and I had the lovely first-time experience of being pick-pocketed! Yay…….(watch for your belongings, everyone). On the negative side, I never realized how much of our identities are verified through our phones (Duo Mobile can no longer recognize me). On the positive side, it was strangely refreshing to not have a phone, even if it was only for a couple of days.
Medical Innovation Bootcamp: Pies aka PieScan
For the first week of the program, we had a condensed engineering design challenge. We learned about needs identification, medical innovation, the flow of patient care, and more. My group consisted of 3 Costa Ricans and me. I’ve researched about it, but talking to other students made me see how the lack of a military allowed Costa Rica to invest so much into its education and healthcare system. A great education here is a lot cheaper than the US, and people who may not be able to afford private healthcare have the CCSS system public healthcare as an option. It was particularly interesting to hear from them about the education system in Costa Rica–for example, the idea of “minors” or “certificates” doesn’t really exist here. The conversation flowed in and out of Spanish since two of them were more comfortable in Spanish, but I was glad to practice my listening comprehension anyway!
In such a short span of time, we were able to brainstorm solutions for detecting diabetic ulcers, narrow our solution to a heat-sensitive, color-changing foam mat, and present a poster pitching our idea. It definitely was a challenging, but rewarding experience in diving into the design process for a medical-related problem.
Overall, the first week immersed me into the engineering design process and the Costa Rican healthcare system. I also was able to immerse myself in the Spanish language by conversing with Costa Ricans and in Costa Rica’s lush greenery. On Jaco Beach, I saw a group of vultures perched in a tree for the first time. The water was the most perfect, Goldilocks temperature for sea water that I’ve experienced! On the very difficult hike to the Bijagual waterfall, the forest really felt alive, and I felt like I was in another world. I saw leafcutter ants marching along with their leaves, a huge purple caterpillar, and a glimpse of a black 4 legged mammal (which the internet later told me was called a coati). Despite the initial bumps in the road, I can’t wait to explore more in the coming weeks!
Till next time!
-Carly