Category Archives: Notes on Travel

Why I Volunteer

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Somewhere Over Africa-Red Earth

It’s a question I’ve been asked a fair number of times. It’s also I question I find difficult to answer. In searching to articulate what drives me to volunteer, specifically, abroad I find a multitude of reasons. But I struggle to explain, fundamentally, why. I went to Africa for the first time for mostly selfish reasons. I would be lying if I said otherwise. Yes, I wanted to help, and to contribute in some capacity to those who were in need, but really I wanted to help myself. Specifically, find myself. I had grown up with a clear directive. Medical School. When I began to question my motivations and desire to be a physician my world was for the first time, completely uncertain. My goal, was to live abroad, to remove myself from the familiar, which often acts as a shelter-from ourselves, as well as the world. I wanted to get to know myself. This is what I thought anyway…

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6 Month Check In

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I doubt this will reach anyone, as it has been quite a while since I’ve been back. But I suppose this is more for myself anyway. I thought that by six months back I would feel completely re-immersed into Western culture. To my delight, this isn’t the case. I feared losing all that I learned, and felt, in Tanzania. On the contrary, my desire to be back has increased. I’m comfortable living in the US. I recognize the importance of getting my education here, and of course, all of my loved ones are here. BUT, I miss it, so much. It’s hard to explain, and I barely understand myself how a few months abroad could have such a monumental impact on my life. Three months. I’ve been back six, and very little has happened. But in those three months, my world was re-created. I still have this recurring dream of driving along the road from Moshi to Arusha in a dala-dala. I can remember it so vividly, the smell of the land, the warmth of the sunset, the wind. It almost brings me to tears. But I’m not sad, this memory is of one of the few times in my life I’ve felt entirely at peace. It’s a great source of happiness.

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