I am a Master!

A Master of Public Health that is! I am proud to announce that I have completed my degree with a 3.7 GPA. It was hard work but I've had a great time pursuing this degree! Plans for the fall are research, an internship, and I have just signed up to be a mentor. I hope that I am wise enough to help guide a young mind. I'm excited to share some of the wisdom that I have gained over the years. Plans are still coming along for Honduras, March 2011. Yo necesito practicar espanol!!

~A

Time Flies!!

Time sure flies!!! The summer semester is over and all that stands between my and my MPH is a credentialing exam. I am scheduled to take it on Aug 28! I'm getting a bit nervous. As most know, I am a huge procrasinator and haven't really taken the time to properly prepare. The next couple of weeks will be critical and I will be super busy reviewing everything I've learned over the past few years.
On a good note, plans for Honduras are coming along smoothly. I am scheduled to spend the month of March doing public health training there. As soon as I finish my exam it's time to brush up on spanish!! I can't wait.

~A

The semester is over!!

Plans are coming along for me to travel to Honduras and work in a hospital doing Public Health Training. I am super excited. This semester has finally come to an end. Mom was right....the older you get the faster time flies!! Only 1 more semester to go and I can't wait to be finished.

~A

Been a While!

I had a great, life changing time in Zimbabwe. The past few months have been spent working on my MPH. Once that is completed (August 2010 hopefully!) I would love to travel back to the beautiful country of Honduras and work in a children's home that I was blessed to visit in 2005. Plans are in the works and I hope to have good news to share.
It's amazing what you can see when you really open your eyes. My wonderful neighbor had established a non-profit while I was in Africa. Braids n beads....a non-profit that travels to low income apartment complexes and braids young girls hair for free all while teaching self-esteem. Amazing isn't it. Please check out her website. braidsnbeads.com
Find your passion and become involved! We all have a life that's worth living so get out there and live!!

~Alicia

Things are going GREAT here in Zimbabwe!!! I am sooo excited to share all that is happening but you must wait a little longer!!! I am now officially 24!! I celebrated my birthday like a princess. High tea and chocolate tarts at the Nesbitt Castle. It was so fancy! I even poked out my pinky when I sipped my tea! :) yipee!!
I am trying to learn some Ndebele and it is so hard. It's so amazing to see a young child that can speak 3-5 languages and I still struggle with my English! :) But it is going well, I can greet people!!! Oh well, believe it or not I am at a lost for words!! Till next time!!

Tootles,
~A

My lotion doesn't work in Africa!!!

Oh man....I'm so use to the 90 degree 100% humidity weather in Texas! But here, 70 degree 0% humidity!!!! That's right.....ZERO PERCENT!!! My poor skin is suffering. It all began with the daily routing of applying my cocoa butter lotion from the states.....5 minutes later and I'm ashy again. So, I do the natural thing and put on some more. STILL ashy! So Sherrie suggests that I buy some body butter, it's suppose to be sooo good! I use the body butter...ashy again within 10 minutes. Long story short, now I take a bath with body oil, apply cocoa butter, body butter AND straight glycerin! Geez!! Now my hair is beginning to suffer from the dry air! I never thought I'd miss the humidity of Texas but right about now I sure could use some moisture in the air.

Dry skin aside, I've been learning to drive a standard truck! This is a huge accomplishment for me since I've never driven one in my life. Add the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road and the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the truck, and you've got some interesting times! It's coming along quite well and I am getting the hang of it. I'm still quite nervous to tackle the round about so we'll wait a while for that one.

Another big update....I am no longer in Tutume due to unforeseen issues. But now I am more excited than ever. Bethany Ministries has some great projects lines up. I will be helping to establish a clinic in Zimbabwe to accommodate women and child health. I'll also work with an abandoned baby clinic and deliver much needed supplies to hospitals. Awesome things are happening!!! Stay Tuned!

~A

1 week in Tutume

Oh my, It's been such a while since I've added to the blog. While I was in Francistown we had access to free wireless internet. Here in Tutume we had to use 1 mobile modem between 3 internet users. You have to pre-pay for airtime. So during our last visit to Francistown we each bought a mobile modem for our laptops. With this type of internet, you must take your sim card from the cell phone and place it in the modem then connect to the internet. This is why my calls are sooo short. Both the internet and cell phone use "minutes" and the air time isn't cheap when you are calling overseas!

All that aside, D and I are stuggling to get use to the culture. It is more different from the US than I thought. I am praying for endurance and strength! We've only been in the village for a week but it feels MUCH longer than that. Aside from the culture, I am learning how to cook. Yesterday I plucked my first chicken then we boiled it and ate it for dinner. No, I did not kill it, I refused!!

Hopefully I'll be able to post as much as I'd like to!! Please stay tuned!

~A