fast forward

Fast forward...I have been home for two weeks now. I consider myself fortunate because, instead of jumping right back into work mode, I have had time to reflect back on my African adventure. Writing about it has enabled me to re-experience each moment...to savor every encounter:

To slip back into the crater. To wrap my imagination around the Milky Way.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't welcome the comfort of hot showers, flushing toilets, and my own soft bed after living in a tent for over a week.

But the truth is that I'd trade them all in again for the pleasure of sharing stories around a campfire and sleeping under the stars at the end of the day. I'd trade in the shopping malls and traffic jams and flashing fluorescent lights for the endless grasslands and soaring mountains, for the soothing balm of silence that graces the wilderness.

Go ahead. Guess where I'd rather practice medicine. Under the cold scrutiny of an intrusive legal system or in a tent under the expectant gaze of a patient who has all but given up hope? Go head. Guess.

Life is a kaleidoscope. It changes before our eyes. We enjoy the fruits of abundance...until we witness the curse of poverty. We take our health for granted...until we are called to heal. We ravage Mother Earth...until we behold her glory:

This is the iconic, and elusive, Mount Kilimanjaro. I never thought I would get to see it, as it is always shrouded in haze or lost in the clouds. This was my last glimpse of Africa...

...and this is my final farewell:

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In my final post, I will introduce you to some of the people who made this all possible. I can't thank them enough!

jan