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Finding A Contact

I'm starting this entry from the last one. I mentioned my contact that I made in Africa, and this is the story of how it happened. I work in the MICU at Duke Hospital. There, I work with a doctor, a pulmonary fellow, who is from Kenya. Initially, I knew her as an acquaintance, but little else. I didn't really even know from which country that she was from. At the time, I was thinking mostly about visiting Ghana or South Africa mostly, and possibly Tanzania, although I felt it was too expensive to get around in Tanzania. From reading a Lonely Planet, I felt that Kenya was a little too crime-ridden, because it mentioned that in Nairobi, petty crimes liking having your bags stolen is fairly common. At the time of reading that, I assumed I would be spending my time in Nairobi, and didn't feel like dealing with that.

At any rate, I was telling a coworker one night that I was a little frustrated with the whole process of finding a right fit of an organization, and she told me that I should contact this certain doctor about it, as she might know of good organizations to work with. So I sent an email, and ended up speaking with her on the phone. As it turned out, her mom lived in Kenya still, and even better, worked with an organization called Choice Humanitarian, which as it turns out, was one of the more expensive "working holiday" organizations I complained about in my last entry. The exciting part was that her mom knew of a clinic that apparently is owned by Choice Humanitarian, but is run by a PA. She offered to contact her mom to see if there was an opportunity for me to come and work in the clinic, without having to pay any money to the organization. She also gave me her mom's email address. I went ahead and sent an email expressing my desire to come and work at the clinic. I didn't get a response, even though the doctor told me her mom had actually been excited about me coming. Eventually, I called this lady, whom I will call Mary for privacy sake. My first conversation with Mary essentially consisted of sorting out our communication issues, and then Mary informing me that she'd already worked out the details of coming to work at the clinic as well as where I'd be staying; basically, they were just waiting for me to buy my ticket and arrive. I was thrilled, to say the least. It was an opportunity that I couldn't have imagined and of course immediately seized.

Later, I was telling my girlfriend Jess about why I wanted to go. We were having a long conversation about work and life, and I was telling her about how I was starting to feel a little bitter and pessimistic about work, and why this trip was really allowing me to have something to look forward to. Apparently something clicked in her head, and it all made sense to her. Without any encouragement from me, she decided she wanted to go, and on her own initiative, spoke to her boss to get three weeks off. When I bought my ticket a few days later, she bought one as well. In the end, my friend at work, and through her, my contact Mary in Kenya, made all the difference to both Jess and I.

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Comments

Hey Aaron! Keep me posted on your adventure. I am proud of your idealism. Stay safe and have fun!!

Yo Aaron! Bro, so good to hear what you are doing and am excited for you. It was so good to see your picture when I checked out your blog. It has been a long time since I've saw your face. Anyway, love ya man and keep me in the loop. Richee
www.xanga.com/Elevation04
www.myspace.com/elevating

Richee, Hey, bro, glad to hear from you. I've been keeping up with your adventures, your trip to China was cool. You've got a good thing going, I'm excited to hear how things go for you and Grace...

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