I'd say the most difficult thing about this past week besides the intense amount of class work, packing and preparing for Togo is saying goodbye to such amazing people! I've really grown to love this place and the people here have made this experience one of a life time! Over the past three months I've been so blessed by the incredible adventures, the opportunity to learn and laugh harder then I have in a while.
I've always known this about myself but it's becoming more and more obvious in my life all of the time. I thrive off of my relationships. I need people in my life or I'll go crazy. Meeting people who are like me, who also just want to make an impact on this world really inspire me. I've been encouraged and grown so much by these friendships that my mind is blown. I'm truly thankful for the impact they've all had on my life.
Over the past three months I've gained a lot of knowledge about health care in developing nations and am so excited to put it to use. I actually got a little practise yesterday when a soccer game went wrong and one of the guys got his face stepped on with a cleat. Hurray for butterfly stitches! One of the most valuable lesson I've learned since being here is about the idea of healing with love. That we look at the whole person, and our motives are to actually help people. I know the power of love , but to apply it to health care is a new concept. If you listen compassionately, and give people the time and care they need there is a lot that you can do for them, even if you can't heal them with medicine. I hope that I can be an example of love in the field and touch lives everywhere I go.
The last few weeks we've learned about prenatal care, stress management, first aid, and now we're learning about venomous snakes and spider bites! It's pretty fascinating and scary at the same time. I now feel fairly prepared for anything we could see in the bush bush.
A few things I've learned about our time in Togo is pretty exciting. We will be working at the clinic in Noepe every day, and teaching a lot of practical skills in the village. Fingers are crossed to deliver a baby, because that would be an incredible experience. We will not have running water and will be showering from a bucket. We'll be living a very simple life without the pleasures of our western world. Our laundry will be hand wash only and the temperatures are around 40c every day. Im actually really looking forward to a time of being unplugged and just purely focused on the medicine. I hope to connect to wifi but I really don't know what to expect. I will do my best to keep in touch via my blog and Facebook/Instagram with some amazing stories and photographs.
I realized that over the course of my time here I've talked very little about my adventures, so I wanted to elaborate about some new and incredible experiences I've had. Since arriving I've had the pleasure of traveling from Worcester into Cape Town and really seeing the beauty of this place. I've had the chance to kick some butt and get some huge bruises paint balling for my first time.
The wild life is incredible here! I can't believe that when you just go out for a hike or a picnic you get interrupted by an ostrich... Some of my favourite places I've experienced here are Hout Bay, the old biscuit mill, Cape Town board walk, waterfall hiking at Limietberg, and for the first time ever ... shark cage diving in Dansbaai, and the list goes on! The adventures and experiences are limitless here!
Well my friends it's time for me to pack and get on a plane. I will do my very best to stay in touch! Thank you for all of your love and support on this journey! And I cannot wait to talk, with you again :)
Meghan
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