Ever since the day pretty little Darlene walked into the cath lab at Stanford in the spring of 09' and said "hey, you wanna go to Asia?" my life has completely changed. As the trip approached and I started learning more about the countries we were visiting I naturally got more excited, but it wasn’t until I stepped foot in Bangkok, Thailand in January 2010 that I felt the difference within me. Instantly I was flooded with emotions that were new to me, emotions that I somehow knew I had been missing before I even felt them. I don't know how to to explain it fully but I felt a mix of curiousness, compassion, completeness. I wanted to run through the streets, smell the smells, learn the culture, love the people. My big Indochina adventure was going to be magical.
By day 3 I was ready to abandon the overly planned tour group and wander on my own (I know you’re all SO surprised). Following the pack has never been my thing, and this was no exception. Having a formal itinerary for each second of the day with an occasional hour or two to spare is one of my worst nightmares. I'm more of the "explore the unknown and do what feels right inside" type. So after I backed out of a Thai cooking class to go for [what turned out to be] the most amazing run of my life through the streets of Chiang Mai, continuing on with the group just didnt' feel right. But, after chatting with my beautiful mother and roomie Darlene, I came to my senses and decided not to waste the insane amount of non-refundable money I had already paid. Instead I made a conscious effort to take in as much of the culture as I could when we blew in and out of towns overnight and ventured off on my own or with Team USA as often as possible. In all my big Indochina adventure was still magical and I learned two very important things: 1. I was meant to travel 2. Never again will I travel with a tour group.
Last fall, I was living in Baltimore and became great friends with one of the cardiology fellows who had spent a number of years living in Africa. We would have dinner or drinks after work and I loved to listen to stories of his experiences there... sometimes for hours on end. Before leaving for Asia I had begun research for volunteer programs in Africa, and when I returned finding a way to get there became my main priority (aside from finding a job to fund my next journey).
For the past 5 years or so I've been drawn to the holistic aspect of medicine and have considered going back to school for numerous disciplines trying to find my niche. The top 3 options include Doctor of Naturopathic medicine, Acupuncturist, and Midwife. The more searching I did for volunteer programs, the more I noticed how high the demand was for midwives internationally. Live in any country I want AND always have a job that I'm passionate about?! SOLD.
As I was researching midwifery programs I came across the organization Projects Abroad. They have a "no experience necessary" nursing/midwifery program in Ghana geared toward just about any skill set, only requirement is an interest/desire to learn about the field. I talked about the program for months before finally making the commitment. I owe Dar again for this one... I came home one night and was talking about taking a permanent staff position at the hospital where I was working at the time. Started rambling about school and work and growing roots and other "grown up" stuff that's foreign to those of us in the travel medicine world. She looked up at me and said "What about Africa??"... wow. She was so right... WHAT. ABOUT. AFRICA?! I applied to Projects Abroad within the week.
