It's a beautiful life...

I have to admit that going back to school at the rip ol age of 31 has not been easy. There have been late night cram sessions, countless hours of class work, pounds of chocolate being consumed, Insanity workouts 5 days a week to make up for the chocolate eating, numerous assignments to be completed, and massive amounts of coffee to keep up. At certain points I've felt like I'll fall flat on my face. And then I remember why I'm doing this... To see lives changed and made better, and to make a difference. This purpose is far greater then my feelings of exhaustion, brain overload, and my desire to leave my homework and go play outside. 

When you start a new phase of your life you are in a position of telling people your story. Everyone is new and knows nothing about you, you're starting relationships from scratch. You can be whoever you want to be. Nobody has any idea that the confident, happy go lucky and full of life person is who you are now but wasn't always. You can choose to tell them whatever you like and there is no need to share your past mistakes. But then you realize that those scars are what make you who you are. The things you've been through in the past can be worn proud and without shame.  For a long time I was afraid people would always see me as the divorcee. That word haunted my past. For me it was just scary.... And it wasn't because I wasn't married anymore it was scary because it left me absolutely alone and so unsure of who I was. It's been a journey with many ups and downs, many mistakes made and lessons learned... But it was also of self discovery and relearning who Meghan is. I have no regrets and think my life is purely beautiful. How can I complain as I write this blog from Worcester South Africa. 

 Part of what I'm doing here is preparing to work in remote places where they have no doctors and little to no access to medical supplies. We are creating teachings to bring to clinics about water and sanitation, dehydration prevention and treatment... As well as learning about things we would only see in Africa, like the guinea worm. Google it if you can handle a worm that grows up to a meter long inside of your leg. 

In the picture above we have built a tippy-tap. It's a bunch of sticks, string, a water bottle and that's about it. Essentially it can be made anywhere and will teach people to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before preparing food. 1 in 9 people don't have access to clean water and are dying of completely preventable illnesses, like diarrhea. It's a very sad reality. 

After two weeks of classes I'm finally starting to feel like a medical student lol... Today we received our stethoscope, blood pressure cuff and have been practising vital signs on every willing participant. Practice makes perfect and I'm determined to be a pro! 

This picture are water filters that we made and will be teaching people how to make. It's amazing what you can do with rocks, sand, a bottle and a cloth. I'm learning so much and loving every second of it! 

The other night we had a bonfire and cultural night. It was a welcome to Worcester night with traditional food and dancing. It was a blast. Us Westerners decided to buy marshmallows and biscuits to make s'mores for everyone and now I think we're everyone's favourite :) I'm falling in love with this place and these people. It's a special culture and youre surrounded by beauty all of the time.