¡Buenos Dias! I just completed about a week and a half here in Costa Rica! It is such a lovely country and I am so glad with my journey so far. The first week was a little hectic. I had to orient myself in the town and my internship, but had fun getting to know everything. I am living with a host family here in the town of Santo Domingo just outside of San Jose. They are super nice and it is a daily challenge to use my Spanish as much as I can with them.
We started last week by having an orientation at the Praxis Center. Our director– Heidi– gave us a brief overview of the history of Costa Rica. We then did a brief walk around Santo Domingo. The next day we went to downtown San Jose to go to the National Museum of Costa Rica (pictured above). There I was able to see artifacts that dated as far back as before the colonization and the arrival of Columbus. The building itself also is a testament to the story of Costa Rica. It served as a military base for the city of San Jose. But in 1949, President Jose Figueres Ferrer disbanded the military of Costa Rica and in a historic act sledgehammered a hole in the wall of this base. So much history in such a cool place!
I also started my internship. I am working at a clinic with a general physician. It has been so cool to see how medicine and healthcare is different in another country. For example, public health here is really good and there is widespread access to it. So the private healthcare sector is usually seen as an option for second opinions. Nevertheless, there is a lot of overlap and many doctors work on both sides to offer the best care they can.
While working in this clinic, have been able to shadow the doctors. I have learned a lot about medicine and how to interact with patients through them. They have been such great teachers and make sure that I am able to engage and learn from each visit as much as possible. While I was sitting in on one visit I had a “cultural incident.” This term refers to a sort of culture shock where my past experience or my own culture came in conflict with the culture I am experiencing now.
To summarize, I was sitting in on a visit of an elderly lady. Coming from a southern, conservative family, I was raised to treat those older than I am with the utmost respect and to go out of my way to help in any way possible. When it came time for the doctor to examine the patient on the examination table, I imagined that my offering my hand to help her up would be a thoughtful gesture. To my surprise, the patient slapped my hand away. I had never experienced such an outright rejection like that.
I was embarrassed and thought that I had done something wrong. I believed that what I had done could have been insulting to her. Looking back though, there is an underlying cultural difference in behavior that I continue to explore. I am not sure if it involves the treatment of elders by younger people or if it is a gender construct that came into play. Nevertheless, I learned that my help is not always needed or received as a sign of respect. The patient might have seen my hand as an assumption of an inability and that could have offended her.
I continue to learn many things while I am here. Not only Spanish and Costa Rican history but also new things about myself and my intercultural connection to others. I cannot wait to share more of my journey soon. Nos Vemos!