A little sigh of relief

Deep breath. I've finished my 6th semester, and I now have 5 weeks of coming straight home after work. In the past when I've had a few weeks off, I've felt lost and useless because I had nothing to do when I came home and felt like I wasn't making any progress towards my future, but it won't be anything like that this time. No time to relax just yet. So here's the list for May:

• Get letters of recommendation submitted to pre-med advisor (halfway done so far)
• Book flights to Germany and South Africa (!)
• Look into Travel Medical Insurance
• Start getting visa documents together, for example - letter from orphanage of volunteer position, health form from doctor, chest x-ray, police report, proof of health insurance, bank statements, flight details, $800 deposit, and who knows what else....
• Finish the book Say You're One of Them (Oprah's Book Club) that I started over Thanksgiving, but only got halfway through because I haven't had the time for pleasure reading.
• Get through as many of my Netflix movies as possible
• Start cleaning out junk in my apartment to make the August move a little easier
• Start shopping for my little Fi, my niece who will be born in August, and maybe pick up a few things for my Nes too
• Learn German (yes, this may be a little optimistic) 
• And the big bang (and the one I'll spend the majority of my time on) will be my movie project. I'll be putting together photos, videos, and music from my time in Africa into a DVD for my kids, my germans, and myself.

It sure is going to be a busy month!

Homesick much?

Can you think of a more beautiful place to call home? It amazes me that a place so beautiful can have such a devastating past. And even worse, such a devastating present. And yet her people are happier than anyone I've met in America. How can that be? Could it possibly be true that money doesn't buy happiness? I saw the Dalai Lama give an interview in which he said he believes that rich people are mentally poor, and vice versa. He explained that the rich are never satisfied, because in their lives, they are always wanting one more, one more, one more. In the experiences I've had in my lifetime, and the people I've met across three continents, I must say that I agree with him completely.

Nelson Mandela once said "My country is rich in minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people - finer and truer than the purest diamonds."

I've never been able to find the words to describe the people of South Africa to my family and friends in America. There's a spirit in them that is unlike anything else. And by merely being in the presence of such an energy, they taught me compassion; they taught me ubuntu.  The education I received from them was priceless. And no matter how many times they thank me for what I've done for them, I will always know that it was nothing compared to what they've done for me.

Intro to Heshili

That little face is the reason I get up every morning. Really. She gave meaning to my life. That's my 4 year old daughter, Nes. Don't you see the resemblance? Technically she isn't my daughter, she's more like someone I pretend to have adopted.

So here's where my life began: After finishing my bachelor's degree in finance, I spent a year volunteering in South Africa at an orphanage. This is where I met my daughter who was 18 months old at the time. And over the course of the year, along with finding myself, I discovered a passion for medicine, which led me to my current career path. And now almost three years later, I'm in the final months of my post-bac pre-med program, and am counting the days until it's done - 103.

And for future plans:
When I finish these classes, I'll hang around for a few weeks to meet my niece who is due August 9th. I'll then fly to Germany for 3 weeks to visit my 6 best friends who lived with me in South Africa for the year (lovingly referred to as "my germans"). That trip will then be followed by 7 months back in South Africa with my kids, all the while studying for the MCAT which I plan to take next April, which will then be followed by med school applications next June. How's that for a plan?

So, once my Organic Chemistry final exam is done next week, the visa and trip preparation will begin (as was the plan to start the blog after the exam, until procrastination of studying sounded like a much better idea).