1:30pm: Here I am, parked in my window seat, next to a guy who can't stay on his side of the invisible space bubble. This guy could barely mutter politely when he got up to let me in my seat, but he could IMMEDIATELY start chatting up the woman who showed up to claim the aisle seat in our row. Not that I was hoping for a seatmate with a bottomless pit of scintillating conversation to pour out on me. I'm just wondering if he can't take up more of her personal space instead of encroaching on mine while simultaneously ignoring me. I mean, if you want to snuggle, that's fine, but I insist you introduce youself first. And now he's tucked his foot unde his leg, the bette to face Ms. Aisle Seat, so his foot is also not in my space. I expect he'll want to share my fold-down table as well. 10 1/2 more hours...
Less than an hour later, I have staked my claim on my half of the arm rest and have just cued up 21 Jump Street. Cops in shorts, on bicycles, arm rest, snacks... this flight is looking up.
30 minutes later: Ms. Aisle Seat gets up to take a tinkle and Mr. Chatty Pants takes the opportunity to sniff his arm pits. Awesome! Let me help you out, buddy. It's your breath that stinks, not your pits.
3 hours in: Ms. Aisle Seat has busted out the ear buds and Kindle. Chatty Pants is looking like he just got shut down. Arm rest score: me 3, Chatty Pants 2. 21 Jump Street is pretty great. Dinner is a little weird, but ok.
3 1/2 hours: Someone just farted. Not me.
Evolution of an Adventure
Evolution of an Adventure....
10/23/11 Greetings! Welcome to my Nursing in Nepal blog! In May, 2012, I'll be graduating from San Jose State University's School of Nursing and in early June I'll be leaving for three weeks in Nepal along with SJSU faculty and other nursing students to provide nursing care to women and children in Nepal and I need your help to get there! Our team will be providing wellness exams, vaccination clinics, and health education in Kathmandu and other villages in the Kathmandu Valley. My goal is to raise $5,000, which will cover a significant portion of this trip. I realize that the current economy is making life difficult for all of us. Any amount contributed is appreciated as each dollar gets me closer to an opportunity to help disadvantaged families while building my skills as a nurse and caretaker.
I'll be updating this blog with amusing tales of adventures in preparing for international travel and, once there, I'll be documenting my experience with photos and stories as much as the available power supply will allow! Subscribe to my blog and please join me on my adventure in Nursing in Nepal! I welcome your comments, questions and insights through this amazing journey.
12/8/11 I have just received the uber disappointing news that the nursing trip to Nepal has been canceled as political unrest has put Nepal on the State Department's watchlist and the university won't let us go. While it will be incredibly difficult to quit dreaming Nepalese dreams, I am unshaken from my determination to take an equally awesome nursing trip after graduation. I just have to figure out where and how. So, I'll do some research in the hopes of finding another exciting opportunity off the beaten path and apply my passion and your generosity there. If I can't find anything within a few months, I will refund your donations. Thank you again for your support and stay tuned!
Next stop...
1/6/12 It's on like Donkey Kong! So, a bit of change... turns out I'll be going to the Edna Adan Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland. It is a midwife-led clinic and I'll be staying in a guestroom at the clinic (which I hope isn't code for hospital bed) and I will share more details as soon as I have them. When the trip to Nepal was canceled, I was heart broken, crestfallen and downright bummed. I had just long enough to think about it all that I had created an idea in my head of the adventure that I was going to have there. After a few hours of being sad girl, I said to myself "Self, you can still have an adventure somewhere. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself." According to ProWorld, their projects in Nepal are still on, so that was still a possibility, but a very expensive possibility. No different than when the school trip was on, but as long as my adventure options are open, why not find something equally mind blowing for a bit less money? I emailed a doctor who spoke to my nursing class about the Fistula Foundation (www.fistulafoundation.org) and asked if any of the clinics they support in Africa might be willing to take a new grad nurse for a few weeks this summer. An email turned into a conference call which turned into me going to Somaliland!
Side note to any nursing students who might be reading this: clinic placement is not the regular domain of the Fistula Foundation. I lucked into a formal introduction, but you can contact the Edna Adan University Hospital directly for service options.
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