Readjusting After Medical Separation
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...
Holidays and Exams
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...
Flu advice circa 2018
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...
Every.Single.Thing. I Packed for Madagascar
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...
Some people
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...
Travel Mistakes I Keep Making Over and Over
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...
Poop, pills, and parasites…oh my
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...
Get lost!
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...
Why even leave home
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...
‘Stay safe’
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...