I write to you from a small river town in southeastern Cambodia a few miles from the coast, close to the Vietnam border. This has been my recharge spot after my time in the hospital. I arrived here planning to stay two days, and finally leave for vietnam tomorrow after being here 6 days. It is a tiny town with a beautiful, friendly community. A Colorado native who I met, who has been living in Kampot for nearly a decade, said that the biggest lie travelers say in Kampot is, "yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow.". I have been staying in a villa right on the river, swimming every day, doing some reading and writing, meeting some really interesting people, listening to live music at night (there is a rotating schedule with live music 3-4 days a week, but it is always the same band, the only band in kampot, playing the same music), and it has been glorious. I went to an open house for an after-school art program for disabled kids in Kampot, which was incredible. Half of the kids and staff were signing to each other, some were in wheel chairs, and all had the biggest, proudest smiles on their faces as they showed off their projects to their parents. I biked back with my face painted and turned a lot of curious heads!
It has been valuable to have the time to reflect on my time in the hospital. It was such a powerful learning experience being exposed me to a healthcare system that is worlds different from ours. Mackensie, Lauren and I became friends with our translators, who taught us all about their families, childhoods and beliefs during our daily "cultural exchange" before lunch. They were all so kind and hard-working, and I am grateful for their dedication to the project.
This also ended up being more of a career-defining trip than I could have imagined. Arriving in Cambodia, I was geared up toward applying to medical school the following application cycle. I finished all the prerequisites, took the MCAT a week before leaving for Asia, and began to look at schools. Yet, I did not feel 100% committed. A part of me was looking for some sort of experience that would confirm my med school path, but instead, it redirected me.
Two days after receiving my MCAT score (yes, I was happy enough with it!), I had a particularly challenging day in the hospital. I saw a 13 year old boy die of Dengue Hemorrhgic Fever because he arrived at the hospital too late. We interviewed his mother an hour later, heard her son's story, her grief and her regrets. It was a humbling experience, and definitely put my life into perspective.
So...I have been inspired to apply to nursing school! It feels like a much better fit for me personally and professionally. I can envision myself in the nursing role much more vividly than I could ever envision myself as a doctor, and I am whole-heartedly excited about it.
I am grateful to have such a supportive family, who have encouraged me every step of this journey. Much of it is just beginning.
Hello from Vietnam!
It has been an interesting transition entering into Vietnam from Cambodia, but so far I am loving it. There is so hustle and bustle in this country, and Saigon is filled with energy. There were food venders every ten feet selling amazing pho, fried fish, chicken, noodles, sandwiches, etc. Motorbikes travel through narrow alleyways hardly wide enough for two people to walk side by side. There are fruit stands, flower shops, and more female clothing stores than I have ever seen. The traffic is horrendous, but walking the city is fabulous. A nearby park had dance classes going on similar to those in Cambodia that I talked about, only the Vietnamese women were thrusting their hips and looked way younger and more modern. A group of local university students came up to me wanting to practice their english, and after chatting for a while invited me to join them playing a game. It was similar to hackysack, except the object being kicked and tossed around looked like a badmitton birdie or something. I was terrible at it. They gave it to me as a gift after the game so that I could practice every day.
I spent a day on the Mekong Delta, visiting the floating market and some floating villages. The scene is amazing and beautiful. Every boat has a pair of eyes painted on the front. The Vietnamese tell stories about huge iii that have eaten women off of ships and engulfed entire boats in the past. The eyes are supposed to scare away the snakes and protect the boat.
I made a friend on the bus a few days ago, a traveler who had just finished two years teaching English in Mongolia with the Peace Corps, and it has been great to have a buddy for the first stretch of Vietnam. We ended up meeting some other young travelers who convinced us to hire a guide to take us through the central highlands along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It is supposed to be an amazing route, far less traveled than the coastal route, and supposedly it's much easier to visit the small villages if you have a guide. So we are on our way! Today was spent at a small fisherman village on the beach, tomorrow we'll be at another beach town, and after that we'll head up to about 6,000 feet of elevation and spend a week in the mountains! I am really looking forward to a change in scenery and climate.
The adventure continues!
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