Sorry about the long gap in posting

Hi to all (2-5) of my blog-readers out there. I am sorry that it has been so long since I have posted anything. I am back in Africa for the 4th time and want to start blogging again. However, I thought that perhaps I should give you all a brief update since I last posted. My international rotation in Malawi is going to be my last rotation in medical school. During the end of third year and the beginning of 4th year, I wrestled with my top 3 specialty choices: Family medicine, OB/GYN and peds. I decided to apply to family medicine. After a long journey that involved 10 residency interviews and a impressive increase to my Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles, I concluded the residency application process and just had to await where the "Match." Would place me for residency. The match is a computer program that matches residency applicants and residency programs together based on rank lists that they have all created. The "Match Day" is when all the graduating medical students find out where they have matched for residency. This year it was on March 17th. I was very nervous, but I was thrilled to discover that I matched at the University of Washington for my family medicine residency. I think it will be a perfect fit for my interests and am really looking forward to meeting my fellow incoming residents.

After the match I just had to finish up my chronic care rotation (which I did through hospice), pack up and then I was off to Malawi. My original flight had be flying from Seattle to Paris, then from Paris to Ethiopia and then from Ethiopia to Lilongwe, Malawi. However, a last minute cancellation meant that I had to add to fly from Seattle --> Amsterdam --> Paris --> Ethiopia --> Malawi. It was a VERY long journey, but I finally made it! I am still a little jet lagged, but am looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you.

More soon...