For University of Pennsylvania senior Cait Breslin, studying abroad in Buenos Aires and in Kolkata has been an important part of her college experience. And she says it is good preparation toward her long-term goal of becoming a physician.

“Both the lively, rich culture of Latin America and the uniqueness offered by India have always appealed to me,” says Breslin.

A biological basis of behavior major and Hispanic studies major in the School of Arts & Sciences, Breslin spent half of the summer in the Penn in Buenos Aires program through a Gilman International Scholarship.

 In Buenos Aires, Breslin took one course in Argentine literature and cinema and a second course about Argentine politics and history. The classes at the University of Buenos Aires are “Spanish only,” which allowed her to improve her language skills during the six-week program.

“Each of my Penn professors in the Hispanic studies department had been genuinely interesting and cool, so I definitely wanted to continue with my Spanish language education in Buenos Aires,” says Breslin.

During her time in Argentina’s capital, Breslin visited a ranch on the outskirts of the city, where she saw gauchos, traditional Argentine cowboys, went horseback riding and ate local meat dishes at an Argentine barbeque. Since dancing is an important part of the city’s culture, on many nights Breslin joined local Argentines at the dancing clubs called boliches.

After the Buenos Aires program ended on July 26, she headed to India on an independent program. Breslin became interested in studying and working in India after taking a course at Penn about the country’s history.

In India, Breslin interned at the Institute of Neurosciences in Kolkata. She worked with stroke patients and attended daily neurologist and neurosurgeon meetings. 

“It was great to be in that room and observe all of the cases and the discussions that the physicians would have about the various patients,” says Breslin. “I felt very lucky to have the opportunity to get exposure to that kind of environment. I found it to be a truly inspiring space where people were actually applying their knowledge and having a dialogue about what was best for a particular patient.”

During her five weeks in India, Breslin also traveled to Delhi, and visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and Shimla, a town at the foothills of the Himalayas. She and some friends also visited McLeod Ganj, the town where the Dalai Lama lives.

Breslin hopes to become a neurologist and work with Médecins Sans Frontières in India or Latin America. One of her areas of interest is in studying the effects of childhood poverty, neglect and malnutrition on brain development.

“ I really enjoy being with kids so I would love to work with children in some capacity in my career, perhaps serving orphanages,” says Breslin.

Her opportunity to travel and study abroad fulfills the Penn Compact 2020 goal of engaging globally.