Goodbye Muddah, Goodbye Faddah

Or rather......Goodbye Ghana! Goodbye Doris Duke Foundation! Goodbye Relaxing/Exciting Year Off!

Yes that's right everyone. If you hadn't figured it out by the fact that I haven't posted in almost 2 months, I'm officially shutting this blog down to head off for greener pastures known as "My 4th year of medical school."

I was really, really sad to leave Ghana in May, because as anyone who has travelled can probably attest, it feels like no matter how long you are in a place, you feel like just as you're really, truly settling in, your departure date arrives. And so with some sadness and good-byes, I hopped back across the pond to New Jersey.

I've been super busy with reorganizing my life in the US and wrapping up my year of research. Happily, part of this included attendance at the annual Doris Duke conference in Dallas, TX. It was my first trip to Texas, and provided a bit of a step-down in terms of the weather from Ghana. Ghana = 100 and humid; Dallas = 100 and dry. I also got to see at least 4 men wearing cowboy hats over just 48 hours, eat venison at a local steakhouse, listen to an old bearded man play Johnny Cash at a local dive bar, and.....oh yeah present my research to the other fellows. There were about 100 of us in total and (nerd alert) I actually really enjoyed hearing about everyone's work and future plans. But to counter our collective nerdiness, the Doris Duke fellows (and even some faculty! Mt. Sinai and Iowa, I'm looking at you!) also proved pretty adept at drinking beer and playing FlipCup. Hooray!

So yes, I'm now tucked back into the wonderful world of New Jersey, preparing for my fourth year and a residency in Anesthesiology. If any of my future adventures land me back in Africa (or Latin America, or Asia, or....well you name it) you can bet on this blog being resurrected. Till then, thanks for reading!