Fall Adventures: East Coast to West Coast

I recently got reprimanded for not posting anything since my last adventure. I was kindly reminded that my adventures do not have to be international for them to count. So, I am making an effort to update everyone on my whereabouts for the past 3 months. Most of my time has been in Provo, but I have made a few trips.

LABOR DAY: LAKE POWELL with MPH COHORT

Lake Powell was incredible. I can't get enough of the sun, so the lake was perfect for me. I skied, wakeboarded, and attempted to surf (I did get up, but it was tricky). We also spent lots of time eating and just hanging out on the houseboat. Now that I've experienced warm Lake Powell (and warm Caribbean Sea), I'm not sure I can go back to the cold lakes in WA or have as much fun playing in the water at the Oregon Coast. You have to learn to enjoy different aspects of each place.

Sorry, I only have one picture. To see more from our trip, visit the MPH blog mphcohort7.blogspot.com

WASHINGTON D.C.

We took a bike ride to Eastern Market and had a fantastic pancake breakfast.

DC Temple

Standing at the Memorial Amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. I started working on my speech for when I deliver it here in this amphitheater. Liz made fun of me, but I thought I had a pretty good start. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Chris and I hung out and did some more bike riding through Capitol Hill and around the District. We also visited the Monuments and did some other "DC musts".

Teresa and I were able to reconnect after a few years of not seeing each other. Teresa and her cute family just moved from Boston and are temporarily in DC before moving to Texas at the beginning of the year.


BIRTHDAY WEEKEND IN SAN FRANCISCO

Awesome roommate reunion in San Francisco. Steffany had been in Utah for the past few weeks and needed to drive back to California. Alison and I volunteered to drive with her for the weekend and fly back. Here we are hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf. We ate yummy clam chowder bowls and fresh crab while enjoying a BEAUTIFUL day in San Fran.

Me and Alison at the Oakland Temple where you can walk around on top. The view is gorgeous!

Just smelling the flowers! (Whitney and me)

Picture taking is always a blast!

Best Friends (and lots of wind)

Beautiful Temple
(and again, notice the wind)

Roommate Reunion

Birthday Celebrations

Whit and Steff invited half their ward over to celebrate MY birthday! So, really, I'm sure people came to socialize and for dessert, but either way it was a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention. Whitney even made me an ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream-YUM!!! I had an AWESOME birthday weekend and loved every minute of it!

Stay tuned for the next adventure: NYC and Philadelphia....

Ahhh, the Blessed State

It's been a few weeks since my last post and since then I've been in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Idaho again, and Washington. I guess I only drove through Idaho and Montana, but that's enough for me. It's a little crazy being back and I miss the carefree days on the beach and baking in the sun. I've been home in Spokane for the past week and wondering if it is really August as I look out the window and see rain and 64 degrees. I'm hoping summer will be back in full force in Utah.

Being home is pretty good and I'm still working on saving the world by playing with many nieces and nephews who are invading my house. I love the chaos and really believe that my family is the cutest. Life is a bit different here than the Caribbean, but relaxing just the same. My days are filled with eating, eating, walking, eating, movies, playing, more playing, and lots of talking--it's fantastic!

I'm not exactly sure when my next adventure will begin, but for now, I'm content to continue my saving the world efforts at home.

Farwell to Barbados

I'm at a loss of what to say....

My time in Barbados is over. I cannot believe that I am flying back to Utah tomorrow. I definitely have mixed feelings about leaving. The weekend has been a blur, my busiest weekend yet. Friday, I finished the internship, Saturday, I went to an all day picnic on the Atlantic coast, Sunday church and Bridgetown Market, today Cropover and beach. I started out my last day with a sunrise run on the beach, followed by watching the Cropover parade on TV (quite scandalous, if I do say so) and finished by spending the afternoon at the beach. I even have sun kissed shoulders and face (though I did apply sunscreen...twice). I tried soaking up all the sun and surf I could. I love swimming in the warm Caribbean Sea. I find solace in the beach, it is my sanctuary, and I will miss it. I had a tough time walking away from it not knowing the next time I will see it.

Barbados, I will miss you. Goodbye.

Last day at PAHO

Woohoo!!! Today was my last day at the Pan American Health Organization, and I went out with a bang! It was a super busy day and here are some pics from my last days. I finished my report, made visits to the hospitals and clinics, and had my evaluation interviews. Busy Busy! Good thing I burned the midnight (and early morning) oil to get everything done.

Outside the PAHO entrance. I walked out there by myself and asked this woman waiting for the bus, she said she didn't know how to use a camera, but then asked some younger girls who were walking by. They were kind enough to help me out.


This is me in front of the PAHO office. The building is pretty nice and the grounds are beautiful. I was looking at some pictures I took at the beginning of my internship and saw how much greener everything is now. The grass is super green and the trees and plants have grown and blossomed. The rain may be inconvenient at times, but it sure helps everything to look beautiful!


Notice the tag on the back of the chair. There were some wheelchairs in the front lobby of the hospital and it looks like they were all dontated by the Church! Good PR move...it led to some discussions on the Church's humanitarian efforts.


These are two nurses at the polyclinic, which is a free government health clinic. Healthcare is free in Barbados, but people have the option of going to private clinics if they choose, and if they can afford it, most do. The care is generally better and more efficient in the private sector. Hmmm.....gets you thinking about health care reform. Do we really want a government run health care system? There are advantages, but do they outweigh the costs? The nurse on the right showed me around the clinic and answered all my questions. One interesting point she talked about was noncompliance with medication. Many people get the medication, which is free, and continue to refill the prescriptions regardless if they took all the pills just so the doctor assumes they are taking the meds. Her mother for example, would empty the box and ask her to get more medication for hypertension. When the doctor realized her blood pressure wasn't going down, he prescribed a second medication. About a year ago, a new policy was implemented that required you to pay for a second medication. The nurse said her mom now takes the medication regularly because she didn't want to pay for the second prescription. I thought about how if something is free, people don't appreciate it, and will abuse the system. I think healthcare should be accessible, but who said it should be free? Food isn't free. Housing isn't free. Education isn't free. Why should health care be free? Just thoughts....

Farewell to PAHO. You will be missed.

Almost there

It's 6:49 am and I am working on my final report for PAHO. I can't believe my last day has finally arrived. The last three days have been my busiest yet and they seem to have flown. I fell asleep last night writing my report and I was up again at 6am to get started on it. I really want it mostly done before I even get into work this morning, but we'll see how the next hour goes. Today should be pretty busy as I am wrapping everything up and will be visiting some clinics.

I had so much time in the middle of my internship and now I'm scrambling to get things done, why does that always happen? I didn't even procrastinate this time, it was all out of my hands. I like doing quality work and I don't feel that what I'm writing is my best quality, I just haven't had time to sift through all the data and numerous interview transcripts to give the project adequate justice. There's no grade this time, but I still take pride in my work and want to produce something worthwhile and quality. I guess this is more how the working world is...you get a project and a deadline and you complete it. Not everything is in your control and you deal with what you have in the time you have. Well, with that said, I better get back to work!

The Countdown Continues...9 days

I finally made it to single digit days left--9 days. I didn't think I would make it. These last few weeks have gone by so slowly and each day gets a little harder to get up and be motivated. Well, getting up is the easy part, my body wakes up around 5:30am every day. I have a large window facing east, so I get to experience all the first signs of morning. I wonder if I'll be able to get back to my usual sleeping in (7am) when I get back to Provo. One can only hope.

I have a full week of work left and another weekend and then I head back to American soil. This week at work should be busy with interviews, visits to health facilities, and writing up my project report. It may be my busiest week yet and I couldn't be happier about that. I always knew I thrived on being busy and this experience confirms it. I need to be busy and I need people to be busy with. I'm already looking ahead at what projects, jobs, and trips I can plan when I get back. I've decided this is my last extended solo adventure. I love traveling and experiencing other cultures, but I think I want to do it in shorter durations or bring friends and family with me. The next possible adventures include a trip to Peru in late fall and possibly a trip to Ukraine sometime next year, all in the name of research. Both these trips would be 7-10 days and I would be traveling with other BYU students and faculty. I'm really excited about those prospects.

Well the official countdown has begun, so look for more posts as I number my days in Paradise.

9 days and counting....

Did I mention I love the Caribbean food?

My advisor took me to lunch after a postponed meeting. The food and ambiance was beautiful. We went to her favorite restaurant, Champers, which is right on the beach and overlooks the water. It is a gorgeous setting. The meal wasn't half bad. You are looking at red snapper, with rice and seasonal vegetables; so light, so yummy. And eating right on the water is fantastic. Smachnoho! (for those non-ukrainian speakers, that means enjoy your meal).