Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thank you
I just want to thank everyone who followed my blog this past summer. The comments that you guys left behind was very helpful and encouraging to read. I am going to continue blogging, but I've decided to change the blog site to "Me, Myself, and I" Please follow me there! :D
Friday, July 31, 2009
Last 10 Days in Africa...
July 27, 2009 – July 28,2009
This week is my final week in Bwiam. I’ll be working in the medical ward throughout this week. I’ve been wanting to work in the medical ward since day one, so I was really looking forward to it. (You save the best for last, right?) So, the medical ward is where the Cuban doctors make their rounds, meaning that they’ll go around the whole hospital checking up on patients. I get to follow the Cuban doctors and get to see how they diagnose the patients. Basically I get the opportunity to see how medicine is used and how patients are treated in a third world country. I saw many patients with different problems. One patient had her toe cut off, another had a fever up to 103 degrees, and this one patient had a 1st degree burn on her whole left arm… It’s quite unfortunate to see them. They’re so helpless. The worst part is that the Cuban doctors can only do so little to treat them. Usually their best option is to wait it out and hope that the patients get better.
July 29, 2009
Today Alex, Molly, Heedeok, Matt, and I decided to go to Brikama. We spent the entire day travelling around. We ate at a nice local African restaurant. It was really nice to get away from the hospital. These past couple of days I’ve been more homesick than ever. Travelling to Brikama definitely helped alleviate that sickness. I did some more shopping at the crafts market and finally headed back towards home. By the time I got back home, I was completely exhausted. I went to bed right away.
July 30, 2009 – July 31, 2009
Again, I went to the medical ward and got to see the patients. There weren’t any new patients these last two days, so it wasn’t as exciting. One thing I really enjoy about this program is that the people within my group are so diverse. Every time I engage on a deep conversation with them, I’m learning something new either about their culture, their country’s history, or about the world in general. I’ve become more interested in politics than I’ve ever been before. I’ve been so oblivious of everything that’s been happening outside of the U.S.
Tomorrow is officially our last day in Bwiam. After wards we’ll be traveling around The Gambia and Senegal doing some exciting things (hopefully…) I still can’t believe that I’m leaving Africa. It seems like I’ve been here for a good 3-4 months or maybe even longer… I’m so accustomed to the things here. It’ll be sad to say our farewells to our friends in the village. I’ll really miss them.
This week is my final week in Bwiam. I’ll be working in the medical ward throughout this week. I’ve been wanting to work in the medical ward since day one, so I was really looking forward to it. (You save the best for last, right?) So, the medical ward is where the Cuban doctors make their rounds, meaning that they’ll go around the whole hospital checking up on patients. I get to follow the Cuban doctors and get to see how they diagnose the patients. Basically I get the opportunity to see how medicine is used and how patients are treated in a third world country. I saw many patients with different problems. One patient had her toe cut off, another had a fever up to 103 degrees, and this one patient had a 1st degree burn on her whole left arm… It’s quite unfortunate to see them. They’re so helpless. The worst part is that the Cuban doctors can only do so little to treat them. Usually their best option is to wait it out and hope that the patients get better.
July 29, 2009
Today Alex, Molly, Heedeok, Matt, and I decided to go to Brikama. We spent the entire day travelling around. We ate at a nice local African restaurant. It was really nice to get away from the hospital. These past couple of days I’ve been more homesick than ever. Travelling to Brikama definitely helped alleviate that sickness. I did some more shopping at the crafts market and finally headed back towards home. By the time I got back home, I was completely exhausted. I went to bed right away.
July 30, 2009 – July 31, 2009
Again, I went to the medical ward and got to see the patients. There weren’t any new patients these last two days, so it wasn’t as exciting. One thing I really enjoy about this program is that the people within my group are so diverse. Every time I engage on a deep conversation with them, I’m learning something new either about their culture, their country’s history, or about the world in general. I’ve become more interested in politics than I’ve ever been before. I’ve been so oblivious of everything that’s been happening outside of the U.S.
Tomorrow is officially our last day in Bwiam. After wards we’ll be traveling around The Gambia and Senegal doing some exciting things (hopefully…) I still can’t believe that I’m leaving Africa. It seems like I’ve been here for a good 3-4 months or maybe even longer… I’m so accustomed to the things here. It’ll be sad to say our farewells to our friends in the village. I’ll really miss them.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Kanalai
July 22, 2009 - July 24, 2009
Nothing really exciting happened these days... The day time was spent doing hospital work, while the night time was spent either watching a movie or chit chatting. I've been reading Lamb to keep me occupied these last couple of days...
July 25, 2009
So originally we were supposed to go to Kanalai today to visit the President's house and his home village. However, we found out (around 6:45 am ish) that someone walked into our rooms and stole our stuff again! This time, I and Heedeok didn't lose anything, but Russell and Matt both lost around $300. Russell also lost his I-Pod and camera. F our Lives
July 26, 2009
So our weekend trip to Kanalai got postponed to a one day trip. We were supposed to leave around 9:30 am, but we ended up leaving around 12:00pm... Again, Gambian time...(everything here starts so late!) So Kanalai is really nice compared to Bwiam. You can definitely tell that the President invested a lot of money on his home village. The roads are asphalted, there's street lights, etc... We spent the day going through the game park. We got to feed ostriches, see wild crocodiles in action, hold snakes, and watch hienas in the wild. It was exciting! After wards, we spent the day lounging in the swimming pool. It was a fun filled day, unlike this week...
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One week remains until we leave Bwiam. I will probably post one last time in Africa later this week before our group heads toward Dekar. We will be traveling around The Gambia/Senegal for our last week. Diana (one of our group member who can speak French pretty well) has been making phone calls and arranging our plans for travel week. I'm really looking forward to exploring the different parts of The Gambia and Senegal. It'll be nice. :) I'll be looking forward to seeing you guys very soon! Until next time...
Nothing really exciting happened these days... The day time was spent doing hospital work, while the night time was spent either watching a movie or chit chatting. I've been reading Lamb to keep me occupied these last couple of days...
July 25, 2009
So originally we were supposed to go to Kanalai today to visit the President's house and his home village. However, we found out (around 6:45 am ish) that someone walked into our rooms and stole our stuff again! This time, I and Heedeok didn't lose anything, but Russell and Matt both lost around $300. Russell also lost his I-Pod and camera. F our Lives
July 26, 2009
So our weekend trip to Kanalai got postponed to a one day trip. We were supposed to leave around 9:30 am, but we ended up leaving around 12:00pm... Again, Gambian time...(everything here starts so late!) So Kanalai is really nice compared to Bwiam. You can definitely tell that the President invested a lot of money on his home village. The roads are asphalted, there's street lights, etc... We spent the day going through the game park. We got to feed ostriches, see wild crocodiles in action, hold snakes, and watch hienas in the wild. It was exciting! After wards, we spent the day lounging in the swimming pool. It was a fun filled day, unlike this week...
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One week remains until we leave Bwiam. I will probably post one last time in Africa later this week before our group heads toward Dekar. We will be traveling around The Gambia/Senegal for our last week. Diana (one of our group member who can speak French pretty well) has been making phone calls and arranging our plans for travel week. I'm really looking forward to exploring the different parts of The Gambia and Senegal. It'll be nice. :) I'll be looking forward to seeing you guys very soon! Until next time...
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Life in The Gambia
Hello guys! This past weekend Russell, Matthew, Heedeok, Allison, Molly, Alexandra, and I went to Senegambia. It was really nice to get away from Bwiam and go to a more developed/westernized city.
July 17, 2009 – July 19, 2009
This weekend we decided to leave Bwiam. (In case you guys don’t know that’s the village that I’m staying at…) We left on Saturday morning around 5:45am. The ride to Senegambia (a 2-3 hour ride) went so smoothly. We didn’t have to wait 20-30 minutes to find a taxi. Our first stop was the bank. I exchanged some money for this coming weekend. We dropped by a book store and the European market afterwards. The European market was fairly big. It was really similar to Ko-Mart back in Dallas. We ate breakfast there and headed off to SeaView, the really cheap hotel. We swam around the pool area and relaxed for a bit. We then went to Paradisso, a well established Italian Pizza restaurant. It’s probably the best pizza I’ve had EVER. I think my standards for food went down ever since I got here though… haha For dinner we ate at a Chinese restaurant. We got there around 8:00pm, and they served us dinner at 10:00pm. It was by far the worst service ever! But I think that’s just how it is in The Gambia. Everything is like 2-3 hours late! That bothers me so much.
On Sunday, we went to the Brikama Craft Market. I bought a bunch of souvenirs. It’s really fun to bargain with the local dealers. You get this really good feeling when you bring the price down to 60-70% it’s original value.
July 20, 2009
After staying in outpatient for a week, they moved me to the pharmacy. Pharmacy isn’t as boring as I thought it would be. There’s a lot of sitting around, but I’m actually doing work. I get to prepare the medications that the patients need. The best part about this is that I get to learn Mandinka from the pharmacists. I’m learning more Mandinka today than I’ve done these past few weeks!
July 21, 2009
I worked from 9:00 – 11:00ish… The thing with pharmacy is that you get out really early, which means that you have a lot of free time in your hands. And that’s not good since you’ll be bored! But today I ended up borrowing this book called Lamb. It’s pretty entertaining. I also ended up tie dying today. It’s a lot easier than I thought it was. Although the end result wasn’t that great… haha Maybe I’ll get better if I try it again?
I’m starting to get a little homesick… I think it’s because I’m going to leave Bwiam pretty soon… On the bright side, I’m getting to know my group members really well. I feel a lot closer to them. It’s probably because we spend the whole days together. haha Well... until next time...
July 17, 2009 – July 19, 2009
This weekend we decided to leave Bwiam. (In case you guys don’t know that’s the village that I’m staying at…) We left on Saturday morning around 5:45am. The ride to Senegambia (a 2-3 hour ride) went so smoothly. We didn’t have to wait 20-30 minutes to find a taxi. Our first stop was the bank. I exchanged some money for this coming weekend. We dropped by a book store and the European market afterwards. The European market was fairly big. It was really similar to Ko-Mart back in Dallas. We ate breakfast there and headed off to SeaView, the really cheap hotel. We swam around the pool area and relaxed for a bit. We then went to Paradisso, a well established Italian Pizza restaurant. It’s probably the best pizza I’ve had EVER. I think my standards for food went down ever since I got here though… haha For dinner we ate at a Chinese restaurant. We got there around 8:00pm, and they served us dinner at 10:00pm. It was by far the worst service ever! But I think that’s just how it is in The Gambia. Everything is like 2-3 hours late! That bothers me so much.
On Sunday, we went to the Brikama Craft Market. I bought a bunch of souvenirs. It’s really fun to bargain with the local dealers. You get this really good feeling when you bring the price down to 60-70% it’s original value.
July 20, 2009
After staying in outpatient for a week, they moved me to the pharmacy. Pharmacy isn’t as boring as I thought it would be. There’s a lot of sitting around, but I’m actually doing work. I get to prepare the medications that the patients need. The best part about this is that I get to learn Mandinka from the pharmacists. I’m learning more Mandinka today than I’ve done these past few weeks!
July 21, 2009
I worked from 9:00 – 11:00ish… The thing with pharmacy is that you get out really early, which means that you have a lot of free time in your hands. And that’s not good since you’ll be bored! But today I ended up borrowing this book called Lamb. It’s pretty entertaining. I also ended up tie dying today. It’s a lot easier than I thought it was. Although the end result wasn’t that great… haha Maybe I’ll get better if I try it again?
I’m starting to get a little homesick… I think it’s because I’m going to leave Bwiam pretty soon… On the bright side, I’m getting to know my group members really well. I feel a lot closer to them. It’s probably because we spend the whole days together. haha Well... until next time...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Hospital Work...
So this past week I was assigned in outpatient. I've seen a lot of patients with many different types of skin infection. Most people here tend to get some sort of bacterial infection mainly because they don't take showers. It's very disheartening to see these patients especially when such a simple thing as a shower can prevent the patients from getting an infection.
On Wednesday (July 15, 2009) we attended a baby naming ceremony. It's part of an African culture. Every time a family has a new born baby, there's a huge celebration. Music blasting from the speakers, children dancing (btw people here are amazing at dancing), and food served all day long. It's really fun to attend. Dancing, eating, and chit chatting with the village people. :D
On Thursday (July 16, 2009) we had a celebration at the hospital. In the year 2006, a fellow crossroader named Catherine Cunningham, was so disheartened to see the electricity go off in the middle of surgery within the hospital. After coming back to the states she has visited many universities and companies to talk to professors, politicians, and businessmen. From her hard work effort she has raised $300,000 to install a solar panel in the hospital. Through the solar panel, the hospital is now capapble of having electricity all day long without worrying about the power cutting off. Today we officially celebrated the solar panel and had a huge festival. I was amazed at the fact that Catherine, a 20 year old college student could raise so much money. She really inspired me to do something special w/ my life as well.
This coming weekend we will be going to Senegambia (a more developed city) to relax and chill by the beach side. We'll be eating some good American food, so I'm really looking forward to it! I'll try to update you guys soon, until next time... God bless!
On Wednesday (July 15, 2009) we attended a baby naming ceremony. It's part of an African culture. Every time a family has a new born baby, there's a huge celebration. Music blasting from the speakers, children dancing (btw people here are amazing at dancing), and food served all day long. It's really fun to attend. Dancing, eating, and chit chatting with the village people. :D
On Thursday (July 16, 2009) we had a celebration at the hospital. In the year 2006, a fellow crossroader named Catherine Cunningham, was so disheartened to see the electricity go off in the middle of surgery within the hospital. After coming back to the states she has visited many universities and companies to talk to professors, politicians, and businessmen. From her hard work effort she has raised $300,000 to install a solar panel in the hospital. Through the solar panel, the hospital is now capapble of having electricity all day long without worrying about the power cutting off. Today we officially celebrated the solar panel and had a huge festival. I was amazed at the fact that Catherine, a 20 year old college student could raise so much money. She really inspired me to do something special w/ my life as well.
This coming weekend we will be going to Senegambia (a more developed city) to relax and chill by the beach side. We'll be eating some good American food, so I'm really looking forward to it! I'll try to update you guys soon, until next time... God bless!
Monday, July 13, 2009
INTERNET!!!!
So the internet hasn’t been working in the hospital for the past two weeks or so. Apparently the person in charge of paying the bills forgot to pay it… BUT we finally have access to it! So this blog might be incredibly long, but please bare with it… you can scan through it… hehe
July 1, 2009
Nothing much has happened today. Alex and I both went to John’s (a missionary who has decided to live in Bwiam…) house. Hearing his story, how he got saved, and his missionary work has really inspired me. It made me realize that God truly works in many ways and many different places throughout the world. Later in the night, it RAINED! I’ve never seen water pour down from the sky as it does here in The Gambia. I was so happy to see the rain pour down like that. :D
July 2, 2009 – July 3, 2009
I got to see another birth. Again, seeing a baby being born is pretty awesome. BUT this is definitely not something I’d be willing to do for the rest of my life… enough said.
July 4, 2009
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Today was a very eventful day! In the morning I got to see SURGERY! I shadowed Dr. Jones (the surgeon in The Gambia) and assisted him in a hernia surgery. It was a pretty minor surgery, but just the fact that I was in the OR room assisting Dr. Jones in a surgery was thrilling! :D
After surgery (around 2:00 pm) Matt, Russell, Heedeok, and I went to Senegambia to meet up with the rest of the group. We had a pretty difficult time meeting up with them. Once we arrived at the hotel that we were going to stay at, we were all so happy. It was FREAKIN AWESOME! It cost ($22), but it was SOOOOOOOO nice. Flushing toilets, sprinkling showers, clean swimming pool, and the best part… AC!!! :D haha
We all ate dinner at this pizza place and then went to bed.
July 5, 2009
Our group decided to go to the monkey park. I took some really cool pictures. Nothing really exciting happened after the monkey park…
July 6, 2009 – July 8, 2009
So this week I’ve been staying at the laboratory doing some clinical experiments. I’ve been testing blood samples to see if the patient has syphilis, HIV 1 or HIV2. I’ve counted many WBC’s and tested their Hb. It’s pretty cool. Granted that the technology here is really limited, but the lab is still similar to the labs that I’ve been in in the states.
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BTW… SOMEONE STOLE MY CAMERA! –FML
So last Monday… someone came into our rooms and stole our belongings. Molly lost up to $300, Diana lost $150, and Tammy lost $50. I lost my camera. I’m REALLY sorry, hyung. We were all so pissed off.
I really wish I could have shown the pictures that I took these past 2 weeks to all of ya’ll… *sigh* But I still do have some pictures that I’ll post up, since all of my group members took pictures as well, so no worries?
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July 9, 2009 – July 10, 2009
On Thursday, we bought a chicken for 150 dallasis (approx. 6 US dollars). We literally slaughtered it on the spot, plucked its feathers, and ate it. It was delicious! We took videos of the whole thing so I’m sure you guys can see it soon! :D
Nothing much has happened on Friday. Just the usual… hospital work, cooking lunch and dinner, and playing mafia. Oh, get this! We found a projector and a computer that has movies in them! So we have movie nights now a days. :D Who would have thought that I would watch movies in Africa!
July 11, 2009
On Saturday we got to watch surgery! There were four surgeries. (1. Rectum surgery 2. Hernia 3. Hernia 4. Hydrocoel) The last one was so awesome. I’ve never seen such a big scrotum. It was literally the size of a pine apple. The doctor let us touch and do all sorts of stuff this time. It was so awesome! (I feel like I keep on using the word awesome… haha but it was!)
July 12, 2009
On Sunday we went to church. It was really different from the ones that I’ve been to at home especially the praise songs. (The only musical instrument available were wooden drums) It was a real humbling experience to watch people worship God in such a different way. There’s just so many ways we can honor God… I could really feel the Spirit working at this place. Day in and day out, I feel as if God is testing me and showing me His amazing work in so many ways. I can’t wait to share these things with my small group this coming fall year.
After service, they offered us pork! It was so GOOD! I haven’t had that much opportunity to eat meat and every time I do get to eat it, I am always so happy! Haha
So we (my group members) are all so happy that the internet is back and there are a couple of others who have to use the internet. So I’ll leave it at this. I’ll try to update soon! Until then…bye!
July 1, 2009
Nothing much has happened today. Alex and I both went to John’s (a missionary who has decided to live in Bwiam…) house. Hearing his story, how he got saved, and his missionary work has really inspired me. It made me realize that God truly works in many ways and many different places throughout the world. Later in the night, it RAINED! I’ve never seen water pour down from the sky as it does here in The Gambia. I was so happy to see the rain pour down like that. :D
July 2, 2009 – July 3, 2009
I got to see another birth. Again, seeing a baby being born is pretty awesome. BUT this is definitely not something I’d be willing to do for the rest of my life… enough said.
July 4, 2009
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Today was a very eventful day! In the morning I got to see SURGERY! I shadowed Dr. Jones (the surgeon in The Gambia) and assisted him in a hernia surgery. It was a pretty minor surgery, but just the fact that I was in the OR room assisting Dr. Jones in a surgery was thrilling! :D
After surgery (around 2:00 pm) Matt, Russell, Heedeok, and I went to Senegambia to meet up with the rest of the group. We had a pretty difficult time meeting up with them. Once we arrived at the hotel that we were going to stay at, we were all so happy. It was FREAKIN AWESOME! It cost ($22), but it was SOOOOOOOO nice. Flushing toilets, sprinkling showers, clean swimming pool, and the best part… AC!!! :D haha
We all ate dinner at this pizza place and then went to bed.
July 5, 2009
Our group decided to go to the monkey park. I took some really cool pictures. Nothing really exciting happened after the monkey park…
July 6, 2009 – July 8, 2009
So this week I’ve been staying at the laboratory doing some clinical experiments. I’ve been testing blood samples to see if the patient has syphilis, HIV 1 or HIV2. I’ve counted many WBC’s and tested their Hb. It’s pretty cool. Granted that the technology here is really limited, but the lab is still similar to the labs that I’ve been in in the states.
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BTW… SOMEONE STOLE MY CAMERA! –FML
So last Monday… someone came into our rooms and stole our belongings. Molly lost up to $300, Diana lost $150, and Tammy lost $50. I lost my camera. I’m REALLY sorry, hyung. We were all so pissed off.
I really wish I could have shown the pictures that I took these past 2 weeks to all of ya’ll… *sigh* But I still do have some pictures that I’ll post up, since all of my group members took pictures as well, so no worries?
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July 9, 2009 – July 10, 2009
On Thursday, we bought a chicken for 150 dallasis (approx. 6 US dollars). We literally slaughtered it on the spot, plucked its feathers, and ate it. It was delicious! We took videos of the whole thing so I’m sure you guys can see it soon! :D
Nothing much has happened on Friday. Just the usual… hospital work, cooking lunch and dinner, and playing mafia. Oh, get this! We found a projector and a computer that has movies in them! So we have movie nights now a days. :D Who would have thought that I would watch movies in Africa!
July 11, 2009
On Saturday we got to watch surgery! There were four surgeries. (1. Rectum surgery 2. Hernia 3. Hernia 4. Hydrocoel) The last one was so awesome. I’ve never seen such a big scrotum. It was literally the size of a pine apple. The doctor let us touch and do all sorts of stuff this time. It was so awesome! (I feel like I keep on using the word awesome… haha but it was!)
July 12, 2009
On Sunday we went to church. It was really different from the ones that I’ve been to at home especially the praise songs. (The only musical instrument available were wooden drums) It was a real humbling experience to watch people worship God in such a different way. There’s just so many ways we can honor God… I could really feel the Spirit working at this place. Day in and day out, I feel as if God is testing me and showing me His amazing work in so many ways. I can’t wait to share these things with my small group this coming fall year.
After service, they offered us pork! It was so GOOD! I haven’t had that much opportunity to eat meat and every time I do get to eat it, I am always so happy! Haha
So we (my group members) are all so happy that the internet is back and there are a couple of others who have to use the internet. So I’ll leave it at this. I’ll try to update soon! Until then…bye!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Travel Weekend
This past weekend our group left Bwiam (the hospital area) and went on a trip to Sanyang. (It’s a city along the coast of The Gambia...)
June 27, 2009
So we finally arrived at Sanyang! To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. Allison (our group leader) told us that Sanyang is known as “Paradise Beach” in The Gambia. I was expecting crystal clear blue water with smooth silky sand, beautiful palm trees, and hotels constructed along the coast. To my disappointment, the beach was nothing like this. There were hotels, but not as grandiose as I had imagined. I honestly can’t say they were even hotels. It was merely a one-story building with 4 dirty bed rooms. Dead bugs underneath and above the mattress and filthy pillows were the first thing that came into my sight as I stepped into the rooms. The ocean wasn’t as clean as I expected it to be and the sand wasn’t as smooth. Dead and rotten fish were here and there, trash was everywhere, and yet this beach was called the “paradise beach”? I couldn’t help but feel disappointed…
As the sun set, however, I saw the beauty in things. Granted that there was trash lying on the ground, the nice cool breeze, the beautiful sunset, and the distant drum melody playing in the background made me appreciate the beauty of Sanyang. We spent our night talking and chatting, gazing at the stars, listening to the ocean water, messing around with the crabs, and walking along the beach. It was truly Paradise Beach.
June 28, 2009 – June 30, 2009
We came back home the next day exhausted from our journey and went straight to bed. On Monday, I finally got to witness the miracle of birth. After waiting and assisting the nurses for 4 hours, the mother had finally given birth to a new born baby. Seeing a baby born was amazing and gross at the same time. Lol. It was really different from the clips I’ve seen on television. I’m pretty sure the procedures of cutting the umbilical cord is very different here in Africa (mainly due to the limited technologies), but the miracle of birth was breath taking. On Tuesday, nothing really exciting happened. We spent the mornings doing hour medical shifts, and the afternoon going to the village. Oh, yeah… we killed a chicken and ate it right on the spot! It was the best chicken I’ve ever had! :D
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This coming weekend we will be going to Brikau. Apparently it’s a tourist attraction place and really nice. I’m not going to raise my hopes too high though hehe… Until next time…
June 27, 2009
So we finally arrived at Sanyang! To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. Allison (our group leader) told us that Sanyang is known as “Paradise Beach” in The Gambia. I was expecting crystal clear blue water with smooth silky sand, beautiful palm trees, and hotels constructed along the coast. To my disappointment, the beach was nothing like this. There were hotels, but not as grandiose as I had imagined. I honestly can’t say they were even hotels. It was merely a one-story building with 4 dirty bed rooms. Dead bugs underneath and above the mattress and filthy pillows were the first thing that came into my sight as I stepped into the rooms. The ocean wasn’t as clean as I expected it to be and the sand wasn’t as smooth. Dead and rotten fish were here and there, trash was everywhere, and yet this beach was called the “paradise beach”? I couldn’t help but feel disappointed…
As the sun set, however, I saw the beauty in things. Granted that there was trash lying on the ground, the nice cool breeze, the beautiful sunset, and the distant drum melody playing in the background made me appreciate the beauty of Sanyang. We spent our night talking and chatting, gazing at the stars, listening to the ocean water, messing around with the crabs, and walking along the beach. It was truly Paradise Beach.
June 28, 2009 – June 30, 2009
We came back home the next day exhausted from our journey and went straight to bed. On Monday, I finally got to witness the miracle of birth. After waiting and assisting the nurses for 4 hours, the mother had finally given birth to a new born baby. Seeing a baby born was amazing and gross at the same time. Lol. It was really different from the clips I’ve seen on television. I’m pretty sure the procedures of cutting the umbilical cord is very different here in Africa (mainly due to the limited technologies), but the miracle of birth was breath taking. On Tuesday, nothing really exciting happened. We spent the mornings doing hour medical shifts, and the afternoon going to the village. Oh, yeah… we killed a chicken and ate it right on the spot! It was the best chicken I’ve ever had! :D
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This coming weekend we will be going to Brikau. Apparently it’s a tourist attraction place and really nice. I’m not going to raise my hopes too high though hehe… Until next time…
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Until next time...
Hello guys! I’m enjoying Africa more and more. There’s always something to do here. And the medical aspect of things is pretty cool to see. I’m not too sure when my next blog will be so enjoy this one because it might take me a week to write the next one…
June 23, 2009
Africa is so hot! I’ve never sweated so much. I literally sweat a gallon’s worth. The first thing I do when I wake up is chug a bottle of water. Hospital orientation will start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it. This evening we went to Robert Deflavio’s shop to just chit chat. In the Gambia, hours and hours are spent just chit chatting with the neighbours. The people here are so relaxed and calm. They are never in a hurry. For dinner we ate this odd fish sandwich and then I played games with some of the kids, in particular Moru and Bintu. Overall I’m enjoying myself more and more. I’m no longer looking at the negative sides of Africa, but rather the positives. It definitely helps that there are nine other group members that are going through the same experience…
June 24, 2009
Today Mr. Baji gave us a warm welcome and officially gave us an orientation. We met most of the staff members at the Hospital and acquainted ourselves with every department. I am really looking forward to working with the people here and observing the many medical treatments provided in this hospital. Oh, also today I finally received my “Gambian name” . It is Laman. :D Starting tomorrow, I will be working in the maternity ward, the following week I’ll be working with outpatient or inside the laboratory! :D
June 25, 2009
As I walk into the maternity ward to find Tammy, my fellow crossroader, I hear small whispers coming from a dark room. I open the curtains and stumble myself into the room. At once I could sense the gravity of the situation. Tammy was holding the flash light, while two nurses were taking care of a fragile body – Kodou Sallah. She has given birth to a 3 kg baby and was now in the process of giving afterbirth. I was so shocked by how weak she was. Her blood pressure was merely 60/40 (far below an average blood pressure of 120/80 *if my memory serves me right :P*) I was saddened by how weak she was and that the nurses were absolutely helpless. The only option available was to wait and hope that she got better. Things like this make me feel as if life is so unfair. I realize more and more as the day goes on, how lucky I am to be born in a country called America…
June 26, 2009
Today I got to see a patient give birth. Wait, I ALMOST got to see a patient give birth… :/ The patient was in labour for 3 hours and I had to leave for 30 minutes to attend our group meeting. And when I came back the mother had already delivered the baby. I was 15 minutes shy… how unfortunate… *sigh* After working in the hospital (we work from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm), I did my laundry. I really hate doing manual labor… haha Around 5ish our group went to the soccer field to play soccer with the Mofinga’s (people in the village) and oh my oh my… we got powned. People here are so GOOD at soccer. I’ve never seen such fast sprinters and amazing ball movement… I was completely exhausted after the game…
June 23, 2009
Africa is so hot! I’ve never sweated so much. I literally sweat a gallon’s worth. The first thing I do when I wake up is chug a bottle of water. Hospital orientation will start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it. This evening we went to Robert Deflavio’s shop to just chit chat. In the Gambia, hours and hours are spent just chit chatting with the neighbours. The people here are so relaxed and calm. They are never in a hurry. For dinner we ate this odd fish sandwich and then I played games with some of the kids, in particular Moru and Bintu. Overall I’m enjoying myself more and more. I’m no longer looking at the negative sides of Africa, but rather the positives. It definitely helps that there are nine other group members that are going through the same experience…
June 24, 2009
Today Mr. Baji gave us a warm welcome and officially gave us an orientation. We met most of the staff members at the Hospital and acquainted ourselves with every department. I am really looking forward to working with the people here and observing the many medical treatments provided in this hospital. Oh, also today I finally received my “Gambian name” . It is Laman. :D Starting tomorrow, I will be working in the maternity ward, the following week I’ll be working with outpatient or inside the laboratory! :D
June 25, 2009
As I walk into the maternity ward to find Tammy, my fellow crossroader, I hear small whispers coming from a dark room. I open the curtains and stumble myself into the room. At once I could sense the gravity of the situation. Tammy was holding the flash light, while two nurses were taking care of a fragile body – Kodou Sallah. She has given birth to a 3 kg baby and was now in the process of giving afterbirth. I was so shocked by how weak she was. Her blood pressure was merely 60/40 (far below an average blood pressure of 120/80 *if my memory serves me right :P*) I was saddened by how weak she was and that the nurses were absolutely helpless. The only option available was to wait and hope that she got better. Things like this make me feel as if life is so unfair. I realize more and more as the day goes on, how lucky I am to be born in a country called America…
June 26, 2009
Today I got to see a patient give birth. Wait, I ALMOST got to see a patient give birth… :/ The patient was in labour for 3 hours and I had to leave for 30 minutes to attend our group meeting. And when I came back the mother had already delivered the baby. I was 15 minutes shy… how unfortunate… *sigh* After working in the hospital (we work from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm), I did my laundry. I really hate doing manual labor… haha Around 5ish our group went to the soccer field to play soccer with the Mofinga’s (people in the village) and oh my oh my… we got powned. People here are so GOOD at soccer. I’ve never seen such fast sprinters and amazing ball movement… I was completely exhausted after the game…
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Gambiaaaaaaaaa
Greetings! I was trying to post up pictures, but realized that I did not bring the cable to load pictures onto the computer. So pictures will be posted up after I get back to the states. :\ If you guys could post up your address in the comment section or email me your address that’ll be awesome! I can mail postcards! :D (email: johnminsookim@gmail.com) So here’s a little update of what I’ve been doing these past few days…
June 21, 2009 (Continued…)
Like I said we headed toward the market at Brikama and there I was able to spend some time at the internet café. So whenever you travel in the market, kids from all over gather around us and start yelling “tabu tabu!” meaning “white, white!” They run towards us and grab our hands. After taking care of some business at the market we travelled towards Jamanjelly. This was a small, remote village. We ate lunch there and then attended their village meeting. It was really cool to hear the elders of the village speak and attend a town meeting. They welcomed us and were really happy to see us there. There is so much to take in whenever we travel in Africa - the environment, the people, the food, etc.
June 22, 2009
We spent the day at the hospital. We familiarized ourselves with the hospital surroundings and then did our laundry. Washing our clothes with bare hands was a big work out! Transporting water, rinsing the clothes and drying them by hanging them on strings was some tough work especially out in the heat... After we were done w/ out laundry we attended a baby ceremony in the village. So apparently every time they have a baby here in Bwiam, they celebrate by hosting a week long ceremony. We went there and the happy family greeted us by giving us the most delicious food ever. Afterwards, we played some basketball with some Gambian kids and then I went to bed.
-----------------------------------------------
There are so many things to do here in Africa. Just spending the day walking through the village is an adventure in itself. I'm starting to get closer to the people within my group and am adjusting quite well to the environmental settings here. The one thing that I cannot stand is the nights here. It is so HOT! Without any AC on, the night is an absolute killer. I sweat so much. As soon as I wake up I drink a gallon of water just to rehydrate myself... Tomorrow we will officially start working in the hospital from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm. We will be doing rotations our 6 weeks here. (maternal care, ER room, eye/dental care, lab, pharmacy, etc.) On saturdays, surgeons will come to the hospital and we are able to watch them perform surgery! I'm really excited about that. I really like the fact that we end things at 2:00pm so that we have enough time to go to the village and interact with them. It's always a pleasure meeting new people and getting to know more about the culture in Africa. Well... it's time for lunch so I'll talk to you guys later.
June 21, 2009 (Continued…)
Like I said we headed toward the market at Brikama and there I was able to spend some time at the internet café. So whenever you travel in the market, kids from all over gather around us and start yelling “tabu tabu!” meaning “white, white!” They run towards us and grab our hands. After taking care of some business at the market we travelled towards Jamanjelly. This was a small, remote village. We ate lunch there and then attended their village meeting. It was really cool to hear the elders of the village speak and attend a town meeting. They welcomed us and were really happy to see us there. There is so much to take in whenever we travel in Africa - the environment, the people, the food, etc.
June 22, 2009
We spent the day at the hospital. We familiarized ourselves with the hospital surroundings and then did our laundry. Washing our clothes with bare hands was a big work out! Transporting water, rinsing the clothes and drying them by hanging them on strings was some tough work especially out in the heat... After we were done w/ out laundry we attended a baby ceremony in the village. So apparently every time they have a baby here in Bwiam, they celebrate by hosting a week long ceremony. We went there and the happy family greeted us by giving us the most delicious food ever. Afterwards, we played some basketball with some Gambian kids and then I went to bed.
-----------------------------------------------
There are so many things to do here in Africa. Just spending the day walking through the village is an adventure in itself. I'm starting to get closer to the people within my group and am adjusting quite well to the environmental settings here. The one thing that I cannot stand is the nights here. It is so HOT! Without any AC on, the night is an absolute killer. I sweat so much. As soon as I wake up I drink a gallon of water just to rehydrate myself... Tomorrow we will officially start working in the hospital from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm. We will be doing rotations our 6 weeks here. (maternal care, ER room, eye/dental care, lab, pharmacy, etc.) On saturdays, surgeons will come to the hospital and we are able to watch them perform surgery! I'm really excited about that. I really like the fact that we end things at 2:00pm so that we have enough time to go to the village and interact with them. It's always a pleasure meeting new people and getting to know more about the culture in Africa. Well... it's time for lunch so I'll talk to you guys later.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
My first 3 days...
Okay, so I finally managed to come to a internet accessible area in Africa. So many things have happened since my arrival to Africa and Iĺl try to cover the basis over the hour span I have in this cafe area. Enjoy! :D
Note: Group Members include Allison (our leader), Molly, Heedeok, Tammy, Alex, Russel, Matt, LingLing, Diana, and myself.
June 19, 2009
Today was an absolute adventure. Upon my arrival to Africa, I could not help but notice the poorly constructed airport in Dekar. It was literally the smallest airport I've ever seen in my life. After claiming our baggage everything was so hectic. Originally a bus was supposed to come pick us up from the airport to drive us to Bwiam (a 14 hour drive), but something came up and the bus did not show up. It was 5:00 am in the morning and everyone within our group was tired. Mr. Baji, our host, thankfully got 5 taxis for us and took us to his friends house in Dekar. We lounged there for 3 hours and a bus finally showed up. We put our baggage on top of the bus and left to Bwiam.
My first few hours of Africa was quite horrifying. As soon as we walked out of the airport, people were swirming after us asking for money. Left and right people were sticking their hands out initiating conversation, yelling ´money, money, MONEY!' Some were trying to woe the girls within our group and Iḿ sure everyone felt very uncomfortable. The taxis were in the worst conditions possible. I was very surprised that the driver was able to drive the vehicle. (and here I thought that Chris had a crappy car... jk :P)
Somehow we managed to pull through the hectic first few hours and were now safely on the bus. Everyone seemed to have calmed down and were starting to appreciate the beauty of Africa. After 14 hours of driving (stopping for food) we managed to arrive to the hospital safely. So many things happened within that 14 hour ride to Bwiam. The main events were the ferry ride, eating at the African restaurant, and crossing the border from Senegal to Gambia.
June 20, 2009
I wake up asking Heedeok, my roommate for the next 6 weeks, what time it was. It was 11:30 am. We arrived last night at 12:00 a.m., settled in, and took a bucket shower. (we use a bucket of water to shower :\) Afterwards everyone went to bed. I was surprised by how long I slept considering I slept nearly half the time in the bus ride to Bwiam. I suppose I was still tired from all the travelling. Anyways, we ate breakfast as a group (btw the food here is surprisingly good, I doubt that Iĺl get diarhea... ) and then explored the hosptial all together. The hospital was beyond my expectations. It is so nice! I was expecting a very small hospital and did not expect to sleep in a bed, but to my surprise we each have our own room, we have a toilet to take care of our business, and we have access to both water and electricity! I am very fortunate to be residing in such a wonderful place. :D
Later in the evening our group went to the village (the village is just right outside the hospital.) The people within the village were so kind. I took lots of pictures of the children there and many others and will hopefully get a chance to post a few up later on.
June 21, 2009
Today we wake up at 7:30 am and head toward the city to buy food for the coming weeks. It is currently 11:00 am. We took a small van to get here. On our way, one of my group member, Diana, threw up on me. (how wonderful :D haha) She felt a little nauscous due to the malaria medicine she was taking. Thankfully, she feels okay right now so everything is good.
====================================
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask that you continue to pray for my safety here in Africa and that I will be able to stay strong. I feel like there will be many challenges coming up ahead. I hope that everyone in the states are doing well and I will be praying for you guys! :D
Until next time...
-John
Note: Group Members include Allison (our leader), Molly, Heedeok, Tammy, Alex, Russel, Matt, LingLing, Diana, and myself.
June 19, 2009
Today was an absolute adventure. Upon my arrival to Africa, I could not help but notice the poorly constructed airport in Dekar. It was literally the smallest airport I've ever seen in my life. After claiming our baggage everything was so hectic. Originally a bus was supposed to come pick us up from the airport to drive us to Bwiam (a 14 hour drive), but something came up and the bus did not show up. It was 5:00 am in the morning and everyone within our group was tired. Mr. Baji, our host, thankfully got 5 taxis for us and took us to his friends house in Dekar. We lounged there for 3 hours and a bus finally showed up. We put our baggage on top of the bus and left to Bwiam.
My first few hours of Africa was quite horrifying. As soon as we walked out of the airport, people were swirming after us asking for money. Left and right people were sticking their hands out initiating conversation, yelling ´money, money, MONEY!' Some were trying to woe the girls within our group and Iḿ sure everyone felt very uncomfortable. The taxis were in the worst conditions possible. I was very surprised that the driver was able to drive the vehicle. (and here I thought that Chris had a crappy car... jk :P)
Somehow we managed to pull through the hectic first few hours and were now safely on the bus. Everyone seemed to have calmed down and were starting to appreciate the beauty of Africa. After 14 hours of driving (stopping for food) we managed to arrive to the hospital safely. So many things happened within that 14 hour ride to Bwiam. The main events were the ferry ride, eating at the African restaurant, and crossing the border from Senegal to Gambia.
June 20, 2009
I wake up asking Heedeok, my roommate for the next 6 weeks, what time it was. It was 11:30 am. We arrived last night at 12:00 a.m., settled in, and took a bucket shower. (we use a bucket of water to shower :\) Afterwards everyone went to bed. I was surprised by how long I slept considering I slept nearly half the time in the bus ride to Bwiam. I suppose I was still tired from all the travelling. Anyways, we ate breakfast as a group (btw the food here is surprisingly good, I doubt that Iĺl get diarhea... ) and then explored the hosptial all together. The hospital was beyond my expectations. It is so nice! I was expecting a very small hospital and did not expect to sleep in a bed, but to my surprise we each have our own room, we have a toilet to take care of our business, and we have access to both water and electricity! I am very fortunate to be residing in such a wonderful place. :D
Later in the evening our group went to the village (the village is just right outside the hospital.) The people within the village were so kind. I took lots of pictures of the children there and many others and will hopefully get a chance to post a few up later on.
June 21, 2009
Today we wake up at 7:30 am and head toward the city to buy food for the coming weeks. It is currently 11:00 am. We took a small van to get here. On our way, one of my group member, Diana, threw up on me. (how wonderful :D haha) She felt a little nauscous due to the malaria medicine she was taking. Thankfully, she feels okay right now so everything is good.
====================================
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask that you continue to pray for my safety here in Africa and that I will be able to stay strong. I feel like there will be many challenges coming up ahead. I hope that everyone in the states are doing well and I will be praying for you guys! :D
Until next time...
-John
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
For your Information
I've recently received emails/texts of what my address is for Africa. They told us today that the address is as follows:
Operation Crossroads
Sulayman Junkung Hospital
Post 0.1279
Banjul, The Gambia West Africa
So feel free to postcard me up! :D hehe
There is one catch though! If you postcard or mail me something AFTER July 15, 2009 I will not be able to receive that mail, so please take that into consideration!
Operation Crossroads
Sulayman Junkung Hospital
Post 0.1279
Banjul, The Gambia West Africa
So feel free to postcard me up! :D hehe
There is one catch though! If you postcard or mail me something AFTER July 15, 2009 I will not be able to receive that mail, so please take that into consideration!
Orientation Ends
Today was REALLY exciting! Orientation ended around 2 pm. We had a seminar informing us of the medical conditions that we should be aware of in Africa and all of the safety precautions that we should take when we are in Africa. This includes water contamination, diarhea, malaria, and many other diseases that are common in Africa. After orientation ended our group decided to go to Target to buy a few last minute items. I ended up buying some rain boots and a water bottle. :D
After Target, Heedeok (one of my fellow crossroader that I met) and I met up w/ Mary Feng (friend from highschool) in New York City. As soon as we walked into Time Square I was astonished by the bill boards. I've never seen so many advertisements in my life! Goodness! From the facebook pictures that my friends posted up, I never thought that New York was such an awesome city. As soon as I entered Time Square I could see why New York was such a popular place. We ended up meeting Jasmin (by random chance) and she gave us a nice tour of New York from China town, Little Strip of Italy, and to the Empire State Building. (Pictures will be posted up on facebook soon!)
We will be leaving New York on June 18, 2009 (9:00 am ish) to Washington D.C. and then from there we will be leaving around 4:00pm to Senegal in Africa. I will have internet access once I get settled in Africa. Apparently the air flight will take approximately 8 hours and the transportation (through driving and walking) will take approximately 14 hours to get to our destination - Gambia. Please pray for my safety as I truly embark on my journey to Africa. I am still getting to know the people within my group and will update you guys about my group members soon along with the specific projects that my group will be doing this summer. Until next time...God bless!
-John Kim
After Target, Heedeok (one of my fellow crossroader that I met) and I met up w/ Mary Feng (friend from highschool) in New York City. As soon as we walked into Time Square I was astonished by the bill boards. I've never seen so many advertisements in my life! Goodness! From the facebook pictures that my friends posted up, I never thought that New York was such an awesome city. As soon as I entered Time Square I could see why New York was such a popular place. We ended up meeting Jasmin (by random chance) and she gave us a nice tour of New York from China town, Little Strip of Italy, and to the Empire State Building. (Pictures will be posted up on facebook soon!)
We will be leaving New York on June 18, 2009 (9:00 am ish) to Washington D.C. and then from there we will be leaving around 4:00pm to Senegal in Africa. I will have internet access once I get settled in Africa. Apparently the air flight will take approximately 8 hours and the transportation (through driving and walking) will take approximately 14 hours to get to our destination - Gambia. Please pray for my safety as I truly embark on my journey to Africa. I am still getting to know the people within my group and will update you guys about my group members soon along with the specific projects that my group will be doing this summer. Until next time...God bless!
-John Kim
Orientation Begins
Orientation started yesterday (June 16, 2009). I finally got to meet everyone from my group. There's about a total of 50 students all together, making a total of 5 groups (Gambia I, Gambia II, Ghana I, Ghana II, and Kenya). I and 9 other students fall under Gambia I. One thing I can't help but notice is the fact that there are so many girls! I'd say there's about a 1:5 ratio of boys to girls. Also another fact is that most of the people here are from West Point. Apparently West Point advertises Operation Crossroads Africa a lot.
So first day of orientation was all about getting to know the people within our group. We did many different group activities to build team work. There were seminars on what to expect from this program and a Q & A session which helped out alot. I now have a good understanding of what I got myself into... hehe
So apparently we're going to be spending 2 nights at a 5 star hotel in Banjul and will be travelling alot during the weekends. It's only in the weekdays that we'll be volunteering at the hospital. They make it sound like the program is really fun. We shall see... :D
Anyways, 2nd day of orientation is about to start so I shall update you guys later. Until next time...
P.S. I will be leaving the states on June 18, 2009 at 1:00 pm E.T.
So first day of orientation was all about getting to know the people within our group. We did many different group activities to build team work. There were seminars on what to expect from this program and a Q & A session which helped out alot. I now have a good understanding of what I got myself into... hehe
So apparently we're going to be spending 2 nights at a 5 star hotel in Banjul and will be travelling alot during the weekends. It's only in the weekdays that we'll be volunteering at the hospital. They make it sound like the program is really fun. We shall see... :D
Anyways, 2nd day of orientation is about to start so I shall update you guys later. Until next time...
P.S. I will be leaving the states on June 18, 2009 at 1:00 pm E.T.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Final Preparations
The day has finally come. Tomorrow, I will be leaving to New York to attend orientation. Honestly, it never really hit me until the other day that I'm actually going to Africa. I'm actually doing this. Wow. I'm mixed with feelings of excitement and anticipation. Adrenaline is rushing through my veins at just the thought of going to Africa.
Africa... one of the first thoughts that come into mind when I hear the word Africa are people living in poverty stricken conditions. Running water, electricity, air conditioners, cars, bathrooms, internet, and so many other things that we take for granted are probably not prevalent in Africa. The economy is probably unstable, they probably have a poor education system, and an inadequate health care system. In fact, infectious diseases, such as malaria, that are mostly eradicated in most parts of the world are still an every day reality in Africa.
But I look forward to going to Africa. I want to escape the burrow of comfort I am surrounded in. I want to learn from people who do not have these luxuries (that I often times take for granted), but lead joyous and full-filling lives. Perhaps, I'm embarking on this journey to discover something new and profound about myself and life as a whole. Regardless, I look forward in facing the challenges and obstacles that are awaiting for me... Africa, here I come!
Africa... one of the first thoughts that come into mind when I hear the word Africa are people living in poverty stricken conditions. Running water, electricity, air conditioners, cars, bathrooms, internet, and so many other things that we take for granted are probably not prevalent in Africa. The economy is probably unstable, they probably have a poor education system, and an inadequate health care system. In fact, infectious diseases, such as malaria, that are mostly eradicated in most parts of the world are still an every day reality in Africa.
But I look forward to going to Africa. I want to escape the burrow of comfort I am surrounded in. I want to learn from people who do not have these luxuries (that I often times take for granted), but lead joyous and full-filling lives. Perhaps, I'm embarking on this journey to discover something new and profound about myself and life as a whole. Regardless, I look forward in facing the challenges and obstacles that are awaiting for me... Africa, here I come!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
In 10 days...
NOTE: I have based my first entry off a letter (with slight modifications) I sent to Mr. Tarte, who is graciously supporting me financially by offering $3,800.
Family and friends,
It has been said that life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. I choose to live the former.
This summer, 10 members (including myself) of various racial, cultural, and educational backgrounds in the United States will join a community in Africa for seven weeks to engage with young Africans. We will be assigned a project starting at the grassroots level with the opportunity to forge an everlasting bridge of friendship, a deeper understanding of a foreign lifestyle, and appreciate the intricate web of social, economical, and political design of a small community. I am going to partake on this journey and am inviting you to partner with me through your prayers.
Operation Crossroads Africa is a nonprofit organization found in 1958 by Dr. James H. Robinson. The program is designed to promote understanding of Africa and African Diaspora based on the belief that one can truly enter another culture by living and working in it. Over the past 50 summers, Operation Crossroads Africa has sent over 11,000 persons to more than 40 African countries. Each participant has learned more about themselves through the program and honed invaluable experiences that have surely impacted their lives forever.
As a Crossroader (pun intended), I will be living in close quarters, cooking outdoors over a wood fire, and eating a modest diet. The pressure of communal living with a diverse group in a foreign environment may be overwhelming and intense at times, but I believe the experiences and adventures gained in Africa will leave an indelible memory in my life.
I am writing so that you may join in on this daring summer adventure of mine. Through your prayers I hope to do God's work and come back to the states safely. I will, hopefully, (depending on internet access in Africa) be updating this blog throughout the summer so that I may share my experiences with you.
Lastly, I will be leaving Texas to New York to attend orientation on June 16, 2009. Orientation will last for 3 days. Afterwards, I will be leaving the states on June 19, 2009 and will be coming back August 9, 2009. (This is for you Paul! :P) I thank you all for your kind support and prayer. I wish the best of luck to everyone this summer and hope to see ya'll soon! :D
Sincerely yours,
John Kim
Family and friends,
It has been said that life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. I choose to live the former.
This summer, 10 members (including myself) of various racial, cultural, and educational backgrounds in the United States will join a community in Africa for seven weeks to engage with young Africans. We will be assigned a project starting at the grassroots level with the opportunity to forge an everlasting bridge of friendship, a deeper understanding of a foreign lifestyle, and appreciate the intricate web of social, economical, and political design of a small community. I am going to partake on this journey and am inviting you to partner with me through your prayers.
Operation Crossroads Africa is a nonprofit organization found in 1958 by Dr. James H. Robinson. The program is designed to promote understanding of Africa and African Diaspora based on the belief that one can truly enter another culture by living and working in it. Over the past 50 summers, Operation Crossroads Africa has sent over 11,000 persons to more than 40 African countries. Each participant has learned more about themselves through the program and honed invaluable experiences that have surely impacted their lives forever.
As a Crossroader (pun intended), I will be living in close quarters, cooking outdoors over a wood fire, and eating a modest diet. The pressure of communal living with a diverse group in a foreign environment may be overwhelming and intense at times, but I believe the experiences and adventures gained in Africa will leave an indelible memory in my life.
I am writing so that you may join in on this daring summer adventure of mine. Through your prayers I hope to do God's work and come back to the states safely. I will, hopefully, (depending on internet access in Africa) be updating this blog throughout the summer so that I may share my experiences with you.
Lastly, I will be leaving Texas to New York to attend orientation on June 16, 2009. Orientation will last for 3 days. Afterwards, I will be leaving the states on June 19, 2009 and will be coming back August 9, 2009. (This is for you Paul! :P) I thank you all for your kind support and prayer. I wish the best of luck to everyone this summer and hope to see ya'll soon! :D
Sincerely yours,
John Kim
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