The Magical Powers of Lists (Traveler`s Edition)

Different style blog. A little too lazy to write a whole entry today if I'm being honest and as a self proclaimed type A control freak I'm a huge fan of making lists. And it's more fun to read too, am I right? 

Ps. I'm really not an extreme type A, clearly if I'm being lazy about writing...I can chill and binge watch Grey's Anatomy or House or The Big Bang Theory with the rest of 'em. It just might be after a 12 mile run. And almond butter. After a 12 mile run and two tablespoons of almond butter. ;) 

Trip Reads

1. Better - Atul gawande, a must read especially for those in medicine written by a general surgeon. Discussion includes how far we have come in medicine (things like eradicating polio and the introduction of antibiotics), and how little, simple differences (like hand sanitation) can make a HUGE impact, and reminds us that there is always room to do better. 
2. Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari. The comedian researched romance around the world the last few years and how it has changed with the advent of the smart phone. He writes with sarcasm and playful rhetoric (and photos) that makes for a laugh out loud and super interesting read. Talks about both the pros and cons, and emphasizes this new phase in growing up our parents and grandparents didn't likely have, a period of growth and self discovery as a single person and the easier access to "find your soulmate". Read it on Kilimanjaro which was great because it's easy to pick up, not too intellectually demanding, and provided comic relief after a physically demanding day. 
3. Being Mortal - Atul Gawande (current read). This time Gawande writes on how modern American society has basically institutionalized the elderly as they lose capability for activities of daily living instead of keeping them with family or in their own homes. He talks about why this has changed (as medicine prolongs life) and how it has somewhat improved with the notion of assisted living but also how it can continue to improve. 
4. Yes Please - Amy Poehler, light hearted and insightful read by the SNL comedian on life and career with the ultimate message to DO YOU. Great beach read.
5. Running magazine - There are about 4 marathons I want to run including Eugene and Honolulu, 10 recipes I want to try, and more athletes to look out for! Read and schemed on the looong bus ride between Nairobi and Lira. 
6. Top 100 Most prescribed American drugs (as of 2014/2015) - out of an optometric journal my dad sent along. Going to keep as reference. Spoiler alert - diabetes, hypertension and psychiatric drugs take the cake. LETS EAT LESS JUNK AND MOVE MORE PEOPLE!!! Throw in some outdoors activity (preferably some sunshine) and I could guarantee those psych drugs would plummet too.  

Top East Africa Experiences so far (pre Zanzibar)... no specific order, except maybe the first two. 

1. Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro! And the people we met here....Looking at you Aussies! 
2. Ngorongoro Crater - did that even HAPPEN!? GO! 
3. Locking lips with Giraffes in Nairobi and watching baby elephants play in the mud at the Elephant Orphanage. 
4. Boda Boda and Tuk Tuk rides. Local transport is just fun in East Africa. Even just saying it is fun. The tuk tuk driver in Diani let me try driving on the long choppy dirt road to Swahili house in Tiwi...it was a blast! Ok more information: A tuk tuk is a three wheeled open air vehicle that operates like a motorcycle. No cooling system so their shelf life is about 2-3 years and it's about half the size of a small car. We were picked up from the teeny tiny Ukunda strip (one room and baggage claim consisting of chairs under a tent) by Iddi in his green tuk tuk and it was like "Hey, welcome to Diani! This is sure different...I love it! 👍🏼" 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Feeling like family in Mbale- making dinner and chapati, having dresses made by Whinnie's tailor, Sunday church, and babysitting baby Divine Blessing. 
6. Bathing in Sipi Falls with Rodgers and Whinnie and meeting locals on Maple village outings 
7. Runs in Mbale, Lira, Karura forest (Nairobi), Diani beach 
   
8. Playing soccer with Lira kids and watching baseball 
9. Newborn piggies in Lira 🐷  and Gloria's handholding 
10. Stilts backpackers accommodation in Diani. Owned by a very chill yet organized Canadian. He will make you feel taken care of. It has less mainstream tourism vibes and more homey comfort. You can sleep in tree houses for $17 each a night and feed bush babies nightly in the bar/lounge. Five min walk from the beach and across from the infamous Forty Thieves beach restaurant and club with its great tropical cocktails, tables in the sand and surely a view of locals trying to sell camels rides. Try a Sawa at Stilts. Its the most delicious cocktail made of lime, honey, sugar, vodka and sprite. Free coffee, tea and wifi... oh and make sure to lock up snacks because the monkeys will reek havoc! 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     

11. Jumping into the Africa shaped tide pool (with cave) in Tiwi Beach. Still can't get over how WARM the water is here.... don't count on it to be refreshing it's basically tub temp. Pretty cool. 

12. Swahili House - gorgeous house in Tiwi beach, Kenya where we stayed two nights with seven others (organized by Oyana!). Complete with pool, open air balconies, and friendly staff that will cook your meals if you bring the groceries. Also it's on a super exclusive beach. Definitely a rare occurrence in my travels to be at a white sand, palm lined beach that beautiful without any crowds. Seeing Oyana and Mary from college and meeting other expats was a highlight. Staying there only cost about $80 for two nights.

13. The Cave restaurant, Diani beach. You dine in a natural coral cave... it's sure to blow you away with its dim candle light ambience and open cave starry night ceiling. It feels all cool and echoey. 

14. The Seafood -calamari, crab, local catches, oysters, lobster paired with white wine oh my!  

15. Afternoon diet pepsis or cokes when all you need is something COLD. 

Five MAJOR things I'm thankful for:

1. Good health throughout this trip. Good health in general. 
2. My loving, supportive, sunshine family.. I'm SO lucky. There are so many kids who have a drunk or abusive parent or no parent(s) at all. Or kids who live in families worried about safety, or when or where their next meal will come from. I have lived a charmed, comfortable life with two parents who always listen, take the time, and go out of their way over and over again to help me or just be with me. I know and understand better as I get older to not take this lightly. This is not necessarily the norm around the world. Really looking forward to spending some quality time with them before starting my career. They're really great human beings. My brother is pretty wonderful too. Love you guys, wish I could be there for your visit in Indio with Kendra, Ryan. So happy for you two. 
3. My Physician Assistant degree (MMS). Token of hard work and dedication. My ultimate calling. 
4. The ability and means to travel. Even if does mean going into a little more student debt... what could be more worth it!? 
5. Running 🏃, climbing, jumping, hiking, swimming, beaching every active "verb-ing" that my body can do. 

Ten things I will be happy to come back to the States for...mazungu things that I realize will make me sound like an Orange County basic. 

1. Spinach, almond butter, almond milk, and berries (Yeah, I'm a health food snob I'll admit it) oh and Acai bowls.. I could live on those things. 
2. Really all of Trader Joe's for that matter 
3. ICED/ Blended drinks. Drinkable tap water. 
4. Easy chatting with my best friends at normal hours 
5. Not feeling like I have to shower after showering 
6. Making progress in medicine
7. The gym. Orange Theory fitness. Yoga. All Things I realize are extra fluff that aren't necessities but quiet my mind and make me a much happier human. 
8. Water pressure in showers
9. Street cleanliness and recycling 
10. NOT OUR POLITICS!!!!

Ten thoughts to TAKE HOME: 

1. Realize again that there are people totally happy if not more happy than you with much less. What's really important? Health, family, friends, feelings, experiences, moments, hugs :-)  (maybe the occasional glass of wine with Dad?) 
2. Don't try to make a moment or experience something it's not. Take it as it is and roll with it. 
3. Like who likes you (thanks Amy Poehler). Don't waste time on those who don't! Who cares what they think, and to continue being cliche... those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. 
4. Its ok to forget the facts but remember the feelings.
5. Trust future you to get things done. Focus to the best of your abilities on the NOW. Back to the senses. 
6. Be confident. Look at what you have accomplished, what you have seen and experienced. You are capable. 
7. Do at least one thing a day that brings you closer to long term goals. Eating better, running harder, trying something you've never done, studying a new topic in medicine...
8. Patience... moods are short lasting, instead of complaining or getting frustrated try and keep smiling and focus on others or do something you know will elevate your mood (run, organize, get outside) 
9. On an off day look at that beautiful Masai wrap on your wall or giraffe (twiga) painting you bought in Kenya and let the memories flood your brain! At this very moment a gorgeous Ugandan woman is riding to work side saddle on a boda boda. Another dreamer is accomplishing their Kilimanjaro trek at 19,341 feet in Tanzania and on top of the world (literally and metaphorically). A kid in Lira is jumping out of his primary school window to race across the field to start baseball practice. A young Kenyan man is dusting away the trash next to his shop before laying out his bananas, mangos and cabbages. Chapatis are being fried and flipped in all the oily goodness at hundreds of street stands in Uganda. Wayne is smoking a cigarette and standing behind his bar in Diani greeting a new traveler from Norway, or England, or Sweden. 
   
10. Realize how happy you are writing this right now on a bus from Tanga to Dar es Salaam and that maybe all the hype on self reflection and putting what you are thankful for into words really does work...or maybe it's the travel. But most likely it's all both of them. 🏼☺️

Bustling Kampala

We arrived into Kampala from Lira mid afternoon and took a boda boda to our hotel downtown where we would stay one night. Kampala is quite busy and exciting. Downtown is situated on rolling hills with skyscrapers and larger buildings that were scarce in Lira and Mbale. Traffic rivaled Nairobi and the boda boda drivers were slightly more aggressive on the roads. It was definitely the type of downtown that made me hold my bag a little tighter as we walked into our hotel.

Our room at Aponye hotel was cheap and comfortable with a restaurant attached and wifi. We consulted lonely planet and lit up when we found that there was a Mexican restaurant, Little Donkey not terribly far... a Mexican restaurant! We boarded a boda boda and headed about 15 mins east (I think) where we found blended margaritas, beans, cheese, taco salad for me and even guacamole. Little taste of home in the middle of our six week adventure. We were stoked. We road through the hilly town that evening in the dark slightly buzzed and grateful to be alive. 

The next day we took a free shuttle from the downtown Oasis mall to Red Chilis backpackers for the next two nights on a friend of Corrines's recommendation. Red Chilis is a venture out of town about 20 minutes southeast and is situated on a hill overlooking Lake Victoria. Gorgeous. It was red tiled roof U- shaped building outlining green fields with a saltwater pool we could hardly wait to jump into. Kampala would be the closest town to the equator we would visit and sunscreen was not an option, more of a necessity. I was out with spf 50 for probably 45 mins and still found splattered pink and white bikini lines later that evening. Our room was lovely and spacious with communal hostel style washroom down the hall. Lovely restaurant, friendly staff and they had a local craft woman come and set up shop each evening. I ended up buying some flowy elephant pants that were a little too long and she sweetly offered to take them home and re stitch them and bring them back the following day. Solid purchase, they rock. 

I was a little sad to find out I would not be able to meet up with Sherry, the director for Loving One by One Ministries. She sent me an email describing her next few days shuttling surgical patients in and out of town, transporting stroke patients, and having several optometric surgeries lined up that she had to organize. It was simply not going to work and I didn't want to force it. My goal was to learn more about the program and perhaps find a place with them for future volunteer work and it sounds like this will still be an option. Through our travels I've spoken to multiple abroad healthcare providers and volunteers - one specifically, a young nurse Natalie, I got to talking to at the Nairobi airport en route to Diani beach (she struck up a convo as I was being all touristy with my lonely planet book and a colorful Post-it situation). She had been working in Moshi's oncology unit teaching younger nurses how to administer chemotherapy for a few weeks and she again fueled my desire to practice medicine abroad. She had lived in Kenya for 13 months three years back and came across the opportunity to return to East Africa through the hospital she worked at in Michigan. Speaking with her made me more confident I could find connections through future employers, as well as of course Sherry and perhaps even Safari doc Scott I met climbing Kilimanjaro. My biggest worry is doing volunteer work that is not genuine, and instead more of a touristy opportunity where you end up paying a program all this money to have your "'medical experience" ... nuh uh. Not doing that. The dream is to find a more sustainable way to spend a couple weeks to a month annually helping local providers with their workload and perhaps bringing over extra needed supplies and actually make a contribution that may make a difference. 

Anyways. Not all was lost and I enjoyed a morning run along Lake Victoria, trying more local foods, and collecting souvenirs at Banana Boat- a beautiful 'made in Uganda' store at the Garden Mall that has everything from local soaps and handmade cards to handcrafted wooden stools. Also had a delicious brunch at a place called Prunes, recommended by Lonely Planet. Outside seating included all sorts of fun garden furniture and they were real big on the coffee... who could really ask for more out of a brunch spot? 

I especially enjoyed my run... I departed early morning as fog was still settled over the lake and ran about 20 mins South following roads as close to the lake as I could.

I passed small children in uniform walking to school and a small bustling village with young people waiting for matatus (the small local bus). I passed a white, pristine one level psychiatric hospital with a large field and garden out front. My favorite part though was when a boy about my age carrying a soccer ball in a plastic grocery bag came out

 of nowhere and started running with me. We didn't exchange a word. At first I was a little concerned... why was he running with me? What did he want? Would he follow me all the way back to Red Chilis? But I pushed those thoughts aside and just ran realizing I kind of enjoyed the company and I might be over analyzing. I went on a shorter run than my norm so I decided to test myself with a little speedwork and picked it up a notch. He matched my speed. We circled around the road towards the hill getting closer to home and I took it up another two notches. He matched me. At this point I was breathing hard while he, on the other hand, was composed, with a relaxed face that didn't appear to be participating in any sort of labored oxygen

exchange. I maintained. This went on for probably another minute which felt like eight before I reached the driveway toward Red Chilis. He kept running straight and I waved and yelled "byeee!" to my new running buddy and he looked over his right shoulder, waved and nodded and without slowing his stride continued off over the hill. It was awesome. He wasn't trying to sell me something or ask for money or follow me home. Instead it was a fun little connection that made me giddy as I returned to tell Corrine.