Success!!

Life can be so unfair sometimes.  That I can afford to benefit from this unfairness is both humbling and frustrating.  Humbling to recognize how lucky and blessed I have been but also frustrating that others are so conversely unlucky.  I wrestled with this reality on my 23 hour flight to Bengaluru. Even more so as I landed in Doha, Qatar and thought about the number of people that have had the opportunity to see Doha.  What an incredible city, constructed at the intersection of the desert and Persian gulf. Mountains of steel and concrete erected in the middle of the desert. A sea of unknown languages washed over me as I tried not to stare at everyone, in all of their exotic beauty, as they tried not to stare at me in all of my similarly exotic beauty.  One is forced to ask himself how there can be so many different colors and languages in one world.  

In West Africa, although I was indeed a foreigner I could, to a degree, blend in with the locals.  Here in Doha, there was no hiding and I became intimately aware of my difference.  Aware in a manner that only happens when one is… the only one.  That being said, it was a beautiful, refreshing, and exhilarating experience. 

Moving on from Doha, we landed in Bangalore at about 2:00 am.  To my supreme astonishment, we had no problems making our way through customs or securing our checked bags.  We even found a taxi, told him where we needed to go, and convinced him to actually use his meter.  We were not however successful at getting our driver to drive on the right side of the road, at the posted speed limit, or in a rational manner.  We arrived at our dorm after an hour long roller coaster ride and checked in at about 3:30. 

Success!!

A Fast Forward of Sorts... On the road again!

It has been some time since my last post and a lot has changed in the past 2 years.

For those of you who do not know, I stayed in Burkina Faso for a third year (yeeaaaa despite what I may have said in a previous post. WOMP) during which I worked as a monitoring and evaluation consultant for a couple of national ministries as well as the Peace Corps.  With this new role came a fancy “office”, a house in the “city” with plumbing & electricity, as well as a decent number of both great and terrifying stories.  I presented work directly to the minister of health, appeared on national television, and had a wonderful learning experience.  I also got the opportunity to travel through Ghana again (story to come in another post). At the end of my third year I was ready to return home and start grad school… but the Peace Corps and fate called with a proposition.  They wanted me to stay and offered me a position as a salaried technical trainer.  After some reflection I took the position and moved to yet a larger “city” where I lived with the country director in a building that can only be described as a mansion.  I stayed in the pool house and enjoyed gourmet meals every night.  I made more money as a short term consultant than I had over the entire 3 years as a PCV. Life was good; I was and continue to be incredibly humbled by the opportunity and am thankful for the adventure that the job turned into.  

After the expiration of this contract, I backpacked though Morocco and Turkey where I had an absolutely exquisite experience.  Turkey is by far my favorite country that I have had the pleasure of visiting.  Parasailing, beach, sailing, caving, and a plethora of ancient structures kept Kristine and I busy and in a state of constant astonishment.  

After the travels, I returned home to the USA and suffered my fair share of reverse culture shock moments.  I began grad school, moved to Minneapolis, and experienced a never before seen side of America; The Midwest.  Braving snow, howling gust of wind, skiing uphill, and what often seems like frozen personalities I made Minneapolis home.  (SideNote- I’ve eaten more red meat, potatoes, and corn in the past year than I have EVER in my life.  What a cool experience)

I now find myself between the first and last year of school with a rather nagging itch to explore India. After no less than 2 projects on health care in India, I decided to go see for myself what the Indian-subcontinent has to offer.  And dear read… if the first day is any indication… I am going to love it. 

Read on as I share new stories and also reflect on older experiences that I never wrote about here. 

Cheers,