Last Song

Well this is it. My final blog post from my time here in Kenya. 24 hours from now I will be on a plane to Nairobi to hop on a plane to Amsterdam to hop on a plane to NYC to hop on a plane to Chicago. It seems so surreal, I can't believe I've been here two months. I've met so many incredible people. I've learned a lot, both about medicine and about myself. I can truthfully say I will be a better person and better pharmacist for this experience, regardless of where I end up.

The last couple of days have been incredible. Sad, but incredible. All of our Kenyan friends have been wishing us goodbye, asking us for contact information, and all the while making us promise we'll come back someday. I definitely wouldn't mind. Last night, our preceptors had us over to their house to play Rock Band and enjoy each other's company. It was a lot of fun. If there is one thing I have gained from this rotation, it is a vast amount of respect for people (such as my preceptors) that choose a career in global health. There is so much frustration with the reward, and I'm sure it becomes very disheartening at times. However, it is these people who give me hope that a day may come where top-rate medicine is no longer a privilege of those with means, but a right to all. I've seen it happening, even in my only two months here.

Today we went to the wards just to rewrite the treatment sheets one last time. After that, we stuck around IU House working on various things and tying up loose ends. At the end of the day, one of the peers here took us out for a drink as a sendoff from Kenya. I know I keep coming back to it, but the people here are really what have made the experience so rewarding. The Americans, the Kenyans, we've met Dutch, Scottish, Canadian, Indian, you name it. Everyone is here because they want to help, and it's an incredible thing to be able to witness.

So as my time draws to a close here, I find myself very content with my time here in Eldoret. I'm not extremely excited to leave, but neither am I wanting to stay. I am simply ready. Ready to take what I have learned here back to the U.S. and apply it. Ready to get back to the people I love and care about. And so, with a heavy heart I leave Kenya behind… for now. Until next time, Kenya. Hakuna matata.

"By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed." ~ Ashanti proverb