Stopped off at the Universidad de Chile and had a wander through the courtyard watching student life in Chile - very similar to Salford but with more sun.
Found ourselves in very artisan area of the city where many hand made goods could be found - fascintaing and the people were so friendly and helpul allowing us to practice our spanish or should I say spanglish?! From there we took the funicular railway to the top of a small mountain to San Cristobal sanctuary where the Mother of Santiago overlooks the whole of the city. What stunning views of the city and the surrounding Andes - breathtaking. Sat for some moments of quiet contemplation then back down again.At various points in the day our thoughts and discussions covered such issues as:
a) should OTs be involved in the early stages of emergency aid\disaster relief?
b) is there a difference between newtworking using social media or travelling the world in reality?
c) is the UK health system killing occupational therapy?
d) What will a collection of international OTs look like?
We are hoping that these and others will be debated over the next couple of days as we prepare to go to conference. Watch this space.......................
2 comments:
I think this trip will be the making of the two of you, if you can conquer this you can conquer anything!! I think social networking is great but definitely can't beat the reality of travelling somewhere for real and experiencing a different way of life first hand....enjoy x
What a priveledge to travel to Chile for the conference. I hope it will be very enjoyable and stimulating.
Good questions you raise too. I think that social media works extremely well in cementing real life relationships. This is probably even more pertinent in an international context.
You will be meeting people in Chile who you may only ever meet again sporadically at best. Seamless, quick and easy social media communication can help to support and nurture those fledgling relationships and continue the conversations and debates that are instigated out there in Chile.
What is more, by using social media, as opposed to, say, Email, you can contaminate the professional circles here in the UK with the challenges and insights that others are wrestling with in other parts of the world. Global wiki-thinking.
As for whether the UK health system is killing occupational therapy, well, that is good meat for debate - no doubt you'll be picking up the baton on that once you return to Salford.
Have a safe and excellent trip!
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