There’s a long version and a short version of what happened. Short story: I was medically separated from the Peace Corps on January 4, 2019 after being evacuated on December 23, 2018. I was shipped out of the country just before the government shutdown started. PC’s theory was, and it seems plausible, that the impending government shutdown would impede my …

It’s been a busy week out here in training-land.  3 holidays in one week, and only one day off. July 1 is Rwandan Independence Day [but it’s not celebrated].  July 4 is both American Independence Day and Rwandan Liberation Day, and for us, our only day off.  My fellow trainees and I went to the local hotel,  had pizza, fajitas, …

I had a little bird Its name was Enza. I opened the window, And in-flu-enza. Children’s nursery rhyme, circa 1918 There is nothing I like more than when history, science, medicine, and travel interact, although in this case, it’s not me doing the traveling, it’s the flu virus. Although I mostly write about travel, occasionally about history, less occasionally about …

More than 1500 coherent words on what I packed for two years in Madagascar from the kind of suitcase I had, and everything I put in said suitcase; don’t say I didn’t warn you I found out in July 2017 that I’d been accepted into Peace Corps | Madagascar.  That left me with 7 months to pack and clean out my …

I remember the first patient that I liked that died.  Really liked.  James was a 16 year old boy with Cystic Fibrosis.  He was surly, uncooperative, and mouthy.  He never wanted to take any medicines or do any therapy.  A lot of my co-workers would rather not have him as a patient, but whenever he was on the unit, I …

We all make mistakes.. .especially when doing something you’ve never done before, and traveling to a new place definitely fits in to that category. It seems as if I make at least 10 mistakes a day when I’m traveling. In that regard, I am just like everyone else [although I am not ashamed to admit my shortcomings], and when it …

Disclaimer #1:  I am not a doctor, but I do work in a hospital in the USA; I have graduated nursing school [just last week!], have examined my fair share of poop and snot, and have volunteered/visited several health clinics in my travels.  I DO consider myself an expert on all things related to green snot. Disclaimer #2:   I do not advocate unyielding doctor avoidance or rampant …

I am not trying to scare you away. Honest. I am one of the rare people who enjoy getting lost.  It’s just my preferred way of traveling.  I am always lost.  I am used to it.  I even get lost on the Swamp Rabbit Trail [SRT is the local hiking/biking trail in my area]  Sometimes it is an uncomfortable feeling–like being lost …

I live in an area where travel is not prioritized.  Most of my neighbors/co-workers, ect, think ‘traveling‘ is either going to the coast–whether Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head, or gasp! Florida or going to the NC/TN mountains.  I have been to both, but I prefer to use these areas as either a day trip or at most a weekend getaway. …

I work with a dude, who is Panamanian in origin, always says ‘get home safe‘ instead of ‘good night’ or ‘bye’.  “Get home safe.” As if I had told him I was headed out in one of the most dangerous places in the world. As if I had said I were going to try bungee jumping or sky diving. Now, while, …