Tanzania, Can't Wait to Meet 'Cha!

It looks like it's been quite a well since I posted anything here. I don't really have a good excuse other than, you know... life. It's been more of a 'processing things in my head rather than writing things down' kind of year.

BUT, that will change shortly, because...

I'm going to Tanzania for 7 weeks!

I mean, I couldn't really finish up med school without at least one more big adventure under my belt. You all know how I am...

I'm leaving at the end of this week and will return mid-end of March, right after Match Day actually (ahhhhhh).  I'll first be spending 5 weeks on a pediatric rotation in Arusha; which will include working at both the main hospital and rural clinics in the mornings and the Child Growth and Development Centre in the afternoons. I'm particularly excited about this since the CGD focuses on HIV prevention through education, while also working to address the many orphans that HIV has created in the community. The organization partners with groups of Maasai women who have taken children without families into their care. My work there will include the preparation of educational materials that will help to provide the women’s groups with additional skills through training, monitoring the children and charting their health, and assisting with outreach efforts that will help to raise the visibility and profile of CGD as an organization.

Once the program is complete, I plan on sticking around for another 2 weeks to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro (or at least try... but it's right there guys... how could I not?!) and then spend the duration of Match Week in Zanzibar trying not to panic. And hopefully a Serengeti safari will happen at some point while I'm there too.

And to make things REALLY interesting... I'm going to be by myself. I have never had a problem traveling on my own (it's always scary, but enjoyable at the same time). But I will essentially be living and working on my own with all local docs while I'm there; no other students or international volunteers will be with me. This should hopefully mean that I will able to really be immersed in the experience and the local community but it will be incredibly challenging all the same.

No matter what, I'm really looking forward to this new adventure and am so grateful for another global health opportunity since it's something that I feel so passionately about and plan on making a part of my career for a long time. I also can't wait to see how I can apply what I learn to experiences back in the US medical world.

Since I plan on posting lots of pictures and updates on here throughout my time there, feel free to follow along!

Travels: Knoxville Road Trip

I love to travel. Anywhere and anyway. But road trips are definitely a favorite of mine. I can’t say I have had too much experience, at least compared to my road trip Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I’ve done a few, and have been itching to take more.

I’ve taken a road trip with a group of friends, and a few with my family, and while I think everyone should take at least one road trip with a group of people (lots of laughing, story time, bonding time, and you can split up driving), there is just something about taking a long road trip by yourself.

I’m not going to lie, driving for several hours on end without much of a break, is kind of painful. But it is well worth it when you consider the fact that you get to drive through new places with new sights to see, getting lost in music you forgot you had, with just your own thoughts.

So, I decided to take advantage of this past holiday weekend and take a road trip to go visit my brother in Knoxville, TN for a few days. The drive down there is about 9-10 hours, and one I have done before, so nothing too outrageous, but still great. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it.

 

A few highlights of the trip were watching the Boomsday fireworks (which were then cut short by a small fire breaking out), seeing the orange-mania that took over the city for the season’s first football game, and simply getting to just spend time and relax with my bro for a bit.

But within my trip was another trip. While I was there, I took a mini road trip to Nashville to watch my brother race, also by myself since he had to travel with his team. However, the only thing I had to get me from Point A to Point B was Google Maps on my phone, which we all know is not always very reliable. Lucky for me though, my temperamental little helper provided me with some nice surprises.

The race was in Percy Warner Park on the outskirts of Nashville. I was a little distracted driving through what was clearly music-executive-mansion-row to realize that Percy Warner Park is huge…with many many entrances. I ended up driving all over the park; through golf courses, up a mountain, down a mountain, around horse farms, until I finally found it. At least I made some friends along the way!

 

Then, after the race was over and it was time to drive back, my phone decided it didn’t know where it was either. So, I drive along looking for the on-ramp that I need, with no clue where the heck I am, when I come over a bridge and…

Oh, hi Nashville

Seeing the entirety of the Nashville skyline, at night no less, when completely unexpected, was definitely a terrific shock. That single moment makes me want to jump back in my car and go straight to Nashville to explore the music city (stopping in Knoxville to pick up someone first of course).

Therefore, as a result of this and some past adventures, I present to you:

Road Trip Lesson #1: Do no be afraid to get lost. You will never know who (or what) you might meet and what you will find. In fact, it is highly likely that you will find some incredible things. Just ask Christopher Columbus. Or maybe not, I hear he wasn’t very nice.

And Road Trip Lesson #2: If you are in a strange city where you do not know anyone, are far away from home, by yourself, parked on a side street (bonus points if it’s called Lucky Street!), on a holiday, in the middle of winter, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, lock your keys in your car. Not that I would know…that is just a for instance.

Take a road trip, take several, solo and ensemble. Just follow my two rules!