Cristell Duarte, Pedro Villalba, and Ariana Gonzalez are graduate students from the Department of Surgical Instrumentation at the Medical School of the National University of Asuncion. They arrived in Taiwan in September, 2014 after obtaining a fully-funded scholarship granted by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) in the Republic of China (Taiwan) to study a four-year degree program in medicine. They are currently senior students and are already treating patients

At I-Shou University the students are required to maintain a cumulative grade average of 60% for each semester course. Cristell said that with effort, they manage to achieve all of their goals, and that sacrifice has its reward.

For Ariana, this life experience has become an adventure, and a daily challenge. Especially given that medicine itself is demanding and exhausting, since it requires 100% commitment, she added.

Pedro is among the top 15 students of his class, and he said one of the main challenges was to learn the local language and so be able to talk to their patients. He was happy to share that with lots of dedication he was able to have the chance to do it.

Once they finish their studies in Taiwan, these three students plan to go back to Paraguay and share their medical experiences in Taiwan with their future colleagues. Taiwan has very advanced health care and excellent resources, and the I-Shou medicine degree program prepares students to be well-trained qualified health professionals.

The students are sharing their experiences to encourage other Paraguayan students to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and be part of the academic and cultural exchange between Paraguay and Taiwan.