Hola everyone! It’s hard to believe that less than a month ago I was graduating from Ohio State University and now I am almost a whole week into the GMI program. It’s been a month full of crazy emotions, hard goodbyes, and new beginnings. I can’t believe that Costa Rica is finally here, and I am so excited for this summer to continuously force me out of my comfort zone and into new opportunities.
Orientation (or “Bootcamp”) was a wonderful way to jump right into the GMI ways. We spent two days with Dr. Van Kleeck learning the fundamentals of leadership, time/behavioral management, and internship best practices. I have never had a formal internship in industry, so it was extremely helpful to see what is expected and what we can do beforehand to prepare. We also discussed results of two personality tests. I loved seeing certain similar traits that were present in all 9 people, as well as the comical aspects of other traits. It was important to learn how our teammates learn and function in a group so we can work smoothly as a team unit.
On Thursday evening, we flew to San Jose. My Spanish speaking is not going so well yet, but I am ready to practice for the rest of summer. Early Friday morning, we hit the road to Invenio University. Invenio stresses ‘learning by doing’ and has many co-ops integrated in their curriculum. We were able to set up the current DialOasis prototype (from last year’s team) and talk about its strengths, weaknesses, and ideas for improvement. After Invenio, we went to Liberia Hospital. At the hospital, we had the chance to:
- Observe conditions for dialysis
- Ask doctors and nurses about constraints for performing dialysis at home
- Determine key actions that increase or decrease risk of infection
- See actual dialysis procedure
After the long and exciting days of Invenio University, Liberia Hospital, and preparing for the week’s biodesign course, we had a fun day at the La Paz Waterfalls on Sunday. By now, the awkward and overly polite interactions of Bootcamp had turned to casual conversations already filled with inside jokes. We hiked, swam, and saw so many cool animals native to Costa Rica.
I can’t wait to keep getting to know the other GMIers and see where the summer projects take us!
Pura Vida!