Study Abroad Reflection 

The biggest adjustment I faced during my time abroad was getting comfortable with the food. Not specifically the type of food I was eating, but rather the portions. Something that helped me adjust to the amount of food I was eating was knowing how much my host mom appreciated showing her culture through the food that she cooked. The majority of her cooking was made from fresh and local ingredients, and I could tell how proud she was to be using vegetables she grew from her own backyard. I remember that any time I would compliment my host mom over a meal she made, she was very excited to talk about her recipe. Especially with homegrown foods such as fruits and vegetables, and even at breakfast with the coffee, it was very special to see how rich Costa Rica was and how its people appreciate the gifts from the land they are on. 

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Later on in the trip, I also recognized the significance of food to my host family, which was a means to connect with one another. Often, extended family members would come over for lunch and dinner and would talk with my host mom even if she wasn’t sitting down and eating with them. This is not something I experience in the United States, as I don’t live super close to my extended family and I only really eat dinner together with my family when I am home. I found it very heartwarming that I was able to be a part of these family meals, and that my host mom treated me like any other one of her children or nieces. 

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In relation to healthcare, I noticed that there really wasn’t a stigma regarding women breastfeeding in public or in intimate settings. On the first night that I arrived at my host family’s house, my host sister started breastfeeding her six month-old son at the table. I had never been around this before so I felt a little awkward and didn’t know if I should have left the table. As time went on, I noticed women breastfeeding their child at the parks, on buses, and pretty much any shared space. I had the opportunity to work at a breastfeeding clinic in the town I lived in, and I learned about how important and special this practice is for mothers and their newborns. I had little knowledge of breastfeeding before I went abroad, but I learned about how common and how valued breastfeeding is to mothers in Costa Rica and how it is not anything that a woman needs to feel ashamed about doing.

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The most impactful experience throughout my time abroad was working in the breastfeeding clinic I mentioned above. For my internship paper, I was one of the very few who was able to actually go to the hospital and see the healthcare system in the country. I focused on factors that affected a woman’s choice or ability to breastfeed, and luckily, there was a clinic attached to the hospital where I could go and listen to real life experiences and see how women were treated. The first time I went, I was very nervous and did not know what to expect. The longer I was there, the more I felt like I knew what I wanted to ask or learn more about, and what my role was in interacting with the patients. Over time, I gained confidence to talk with the doctor I was shadowing and also gained confidence in what I was saying in such a specific setting.