No Use Crying Over a Spilled Drink…..In Your Lap

I made it safe and sound to Lubango, Angola!! And it only took 48 hours.

If you know me at all, you know that I like to fly. I am totally fascinated by the concept. Like, I get the physics behind it, but I also don`t get it. How can that much weight really stay suspended in the air for so long?

Anyways, I wanted to share my travel stories that got me to the place that is already changing my heart.

Trip from Columbus -> Atlanta. Short and innocent, right? Wrong. I was sitting middle seat, of course, between a mother and her son. They wanted to sit next to each other, but neither one wanted the middle seat. So, that got us really far. Halfway into the trip I began to doze into that half-conscious but not sure about reality state. Then I felt something cold on my lap. It took a few full seconds to realize that the something cold was in fact a spilled cup of ginger ale (and ice cubes) on my lap. Turns out that while you sleep, a cup on the seatback tray slowly slides to the edge, and my lap happened to catch the fall. The kicker? The mother never woke up from her slumber and had no idea.

Luckily, I was wearing my quick-dry, breathable pants. Everything dried before I walked off the plane. #silverlinging.
Another fun fact: Joey Bosa (OSU Football player) was on the flight. The motherly figure sitting next to me (before the spill incident) goes `girl, if you are single I would try my hardest to find a seat closer to the front` (he was in first class). Maybe next time.

Atlanta -> Johannesburg: A quick 15 hour flight, made enjoyable by the little boy sitting next to me. His name was Sammy and he had a giant bag of snack size Snicker bars as his carry on. He was even nice enough to keep my seat warm for me when I got up to stretch my legs…by falling asleep laying down. He was too adorable to wake up, so I did a few extra laps to try and reduce the incidence of kankles. Yeah, didn`t really work.

Long story (and I really do mean long) short, I stayed the night in South Africa at a hotel that is literally almost on the runway. I felt very posh. My flights to Namibia and then finally to Angola went very smoothly, which is most definitly answered prayers.

Betsy, Meredith and Norm greeted me at the airport. Of course I gave them giant hugs!!! I am so excited to be here and really thankful to finally meet them. I feel like I practically know them already (due to the endless emails I bombarded them with). I really impressed them (and myself) with the fact that my checked luggage was checked all the way from Columbus to Angola. That literally never happens.

The afternoon was spent sharing fellowship with Betsy and Meredith, meeting some of the other missionaries, visiting a local park and eating a delicious meal.
I am staying the evening in Lubango at one of the missionary homes before I head off to Kalukumbe tomorrow. There, I get to spend some time with the Cummings. I hope to dabble in some OBGYN action with the Mrs Doctor Cummings and some ER action with the Mr. Doctor Cummings.

Testing. Is this thing on?

Testing… 1, 2, 3…

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be blogging about my experience on an international medical rotation, I would have called you cray-cray. Secretly, I would be hoping you were right about the international adventure part…but the blogging…naaahhh!

But here I am, five days from my departure, setting up a blog.

Stranger things have happened.

My hope is that with this blog, my family and friends can share along with me- in (semi)real time- my experiences of medicine in a developing country. This trip has been a long time in the making, and by the graces of God everything has fallen into place. Many prayers have been answered and many prayers are still being said.

This trip is a medical rotation, where I hope to add a few brain wrinkles by the end of the 5 weeks.  It also serves a greater purpose. I have been given this unique opportunity to grow in my faith and in my concept of self. I look forward to the meaningful conversations shared. I plan to pick the brains of the Kubacki family (my hosts and the village doc), discovering how they listened and obeyed the call for medical mission work. I am excited to embrace a new culture, learn a few new dance moves and see the stars without light pollution.

I am ready to blur the lines of my comfort zone.

Am I packed? Nope.

Is Toto’s song “Africa” playing on repeat in my head? Yes. Am I embarrassed? Not really.

Stay tuned.