Hiking, Healthcare, and a Suitcase that Won’t Zip
Penn Global Seminar: Health and the Healthcare System in Chile
Anya, one of the Fall 2025 Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Winter Break. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
In just a few hours, I’ll be on a plane to Chile – armed with a suitcase that can barely zip shut and way too many summer clothes. Between exploring national reserves near the Andes, visiting Indigenous communities, and taking boat rides and winery tours through coastal cities, our itinerary is packed in the best way possible. As someone who loves being outdoors, I’m super excited.
But this trip isn’t just about sightseeing – we’ll be diving firsthand into Chile’s healthcare system. When I applied to this class, I honestly had no idea what to expect. So, when, a few weeks before the semester even started, we received a “summer reading” assignment – Priced Out by Uwe E. Reinhardt – I wasn’t exactly thrilled. But surprisingly, I ended up finishing the entire book in just a few sittings.
The book dove into the nuances of the American healthcare system in an eye-opening way. One idea that really stuck with me: if American families paid for healthcare entirely out of pocket, the average household would spend half of its annual income on healthcare alone. Another comparison showed that U.S. healthcare spending is so massive it exceeds the combined military budgets of the top 15 countries in the world – with enough left over to buy every single person in China and India a Gucci bag. Crazy. Overall, this book got me excited to step outside of the US bubble and explore Chile’s healthcare system.
Over the past few months, we’ve explored Chilean healthcare through guest speakers, activities, and more. One workshop stood out: we were tasked with acting as the government of a new city, forced to allocate a healthcare budget across physician salaries, specialized care, facilities, and more. It really makes you take a step back and wonder how on earth someone is supposed to design a “perfect” healthcare system – there are so many tradeoffs. In Santiago, we’ll be visiting various hospitals, primary care centers, and geriatric centers, and I’m curious to experience this system first-hand.
And of course, there’s everything else that comes with the trip. Between business casual outfits, hiking clothes, swim suits, and more – all for 90-degree weather – packing has been interesting. I’ve also made sure to pack headphones that can plug into the plane (I don’t know what I’d do on that total 11 hr flight without movies to watch!), cash in case some places don’t accept cards, and sunglasses.
I’m also really excited for all the Spanish. I haven’t spoken it consistently in a while, but we’ve been brushing up a bit in class. It’ll be fun to spend a lot of time with students from the Universidad de los Andes.
Overall, this trip will be such a unique experience, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my winter break. Thank you to Penn Abroad for this super cool opportunity! I can’t wait to share more once we’re in Chile 🙂