Today is April 30

Of the 4 months in 2011, I have been away for 37 days:

-Colorado

-Blacksburg

-Nashville

-New Orleans

-DC

-Austin

-Louisville

-Winston

-Tampa

(Greensboro next week)

(Kentucky in early May)

(Roanoke after that)

Despite being a travel bug and an adventure guru, I'm a bit tired. That's why I'm staying put all weekend and PLAYING!

-FOFP was a great kickoff to bluegrass outdoors all summer long

-Camos Bros Pizza was surprisingly delicious Brooklyn-style pizza with awesome rooftop seating. They just opened in the Courtyard on W Franklin.

-Johnny's & crepes with my pops this morning made my day

-trails/gardening: 6 deer+ 2 copperheads+ 36 snapdragons+ 15 SPF= 2 full days in the sunshine!

-WAC (90's theme)... stay tuned for pics... they will be epic.

-Dance party at the Station

-Eno swimming

Rolling in Adele

I love Adele. She's my girl. I have loved her since her album 19. But I have had her newest album, 21, on repeat in my headphones, car, and computer for a month. I can't turn it up loud enough and, despite my horrible voice, sing at the top of my lungs.

Adele is a beautiful girl with one of the most soulful voices I have ever heard come from a white girl. Her music rings true to my experience and I identify with her sentiment. "Rolling in the Deep" is a fantastic song that highlights her commanding voice and I always clap-stomp to it (even in the car!).

This is an anthem for every girl who needs to chin up and move on.

"Chasing Pavements" was the first song that I heard by her and I still belt it when I hear it. This put her on my radar as an artist to watch for.

Birthday Love for JH

Our sweet little John Heyward is growing up so quickly! It seems like just yesterday that we were helping him move into his dorm room on South Campus. I guess time flies when you're having a ridiculous amount of fun :) Birthday wishes all the way to Alexandria for an awesome 24th! Love you JH!

A weekend in review

Back to Climbing Edition: Pilot Mountain

Months I have taken off climbing: 7

Weeks of coaxing it took to get me to get back on the rock: 4

Co-workers I turned into climbing partners: 1

Minute drive to Pilot Mountain: 90

Falls I had on my first route back on rock: 0! Flashed it (on TR)!

Range I surprised myself by climbing: 5.8-5.10

Percentage that I felt like a champ: 72 (definitely room for improvement)

Number of trees that held my post-climb hammock relaxation: 2

It feels so good to have gotten over that initial skittishness of regaining my strength, and I felt amazing. It was a beautiful day and there are sure to be many to follow this season.

On rock? Rock on.

"Because if you can't love yourself, honey, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an Amen?" ~RuPaul

Amen.

Happy First Blogiversary Local Townie!

Today is the one year birthday of my blog!

Wow, it's been quite a year! Travels across the United States, living in Africa for a semester, graduating from graduate school, searching for a new job... it's all been a lot to take in. But I certainly couldn't have done it without a little help and some laughs with good friends along the way...

Good people from D.C.

The Duke PNP's

Dana my Tanzanian BFF

The girls of the Purple Palace: Mac & Caroline

Katherine & baby Ellis Ann

Kelly G. Love

Sesh

The Townie Crew

Meg, of Meg & Bex

Blogging has been something that I truly enjoy. For a girl that was used to looking for the next big adventure, keeping up the blog has been a way for me to take more time to enjoy my life instead always anticipating "What's next?!" I look at every experience as a chance to remember it and share it with a community of future townies, whereas my previous self would blow by without looking back.


So thank you to all of my readers-- you have kept me from wasting my cute years on being too busy to stop and smell the roses. This is the time of my life when I am the most free, with the most opportunity and the least commitment, while still being the more fabulous than I had ever dreamed of being... and now it's blogged so I can remember it!


Here's to the first of many more blogiversaries! Love.

Reflections on Tanzania

I was asked to write an essay on my reflections of my time in Tanzania. I thought I would share that with ya'll along with some of my favorite pics:

After returning to the United States, my adventures in Tanzania fade to memories and my experience becomes tinted pink by the rose-colored glasses of my memory. The frustrations of everyday life do not stand out in my mind and I more readily remember the beauty and joy of the community in which I lived. I forget about the constant power outages and the toilet that leaked into my living room and instead remember the blooming flowers, Mount Kilimanjaro peeking out of the clouds, and Tanzanians shouting “Karibu! Welcome!” to me in the streets.

Learning as a nurse practitioner student was difficult since the profession is not recognized in Tanzania. I straddled the balance between learning alongside the doctors and still connecting with the nurses, and what I learned was that communication is sparse between the disciplines. The nurses were frustrated when their concerns were not heard by the physicians, and the physicians did not utilize the nurses to their potential. I see so much potential for advancement of nurses and improved patient outcomes if they simply collaborated and communicated.

I was readily aware of the color of my skin—white. I was called a “mzungu” or white person in the streets. My skin color is associated with economic prosperity and as I learned more and more Swahili, I realized that I was being beckoned to come into shops and spend my money. It did not matter to them that I was a broke graduate student from Duke. And in the hospital, my skin color was associated with Western medicine that can cure all maladies. But there is only so much that Western medicine can do if the families wait too long to seek medical attention. Sometimes there was nothing more to say than “Pole. I’m sorry," and plan for palliative care.

I plan to start my career in the United States because I am aware that health care disparities exist in our own backyards and I want to provide excellent care for the children in my community. Tanzania changed me in a way I could not have imagined—it opened my eyes and my heart to providing care for the entire family. Don’t just write a prescription; give the family food to nourish their bodies too. Don’t just write a referral form; give them bus money to get there.

What will I take with me from Tanzania? After the red dirt has long been washed from my feet and my sun-kissed cheeks have faded from being hidden indoors for the winter, I still remember the children. I remember their big heads sticking out of the tops of kangas (cloth wraps) on their mamas’ backs. I remember their big bellies and curious stares at my white skin. I remember feeling helpless in the face of limited resources and poor access to care. I remember how sick the children were as I wished for folic acid, vaccines, and well child visits. It will take a long time and a lot of resources to eliminate the health disparities that exist in Tanzania, but we must remember that health is not a privilege, it’s a human right.

Trivia @ Johnny's

Calling all townies! Come out to Trivia @ Johnny's in Carrboro on Thursday night at 7 pm. My good friend E.B. will be calling questions. Food trucks in the parking lot, beer/wine/coffee inside, good folks out back. I'm so ready for outdoor socializing to begin!

Quote of the day

Nostalgic friend: Did anyone do the whole 90's grunge thing?

me: Oh for sure. I wore jeans and a plaid flannel shirt every day in fifth grade.

Call-out Connie: Let's be serious Becky, you still wear that. Don't act like it was a passing phase.

It's Friday!

I gotta get down...

flashback friday

Back when I knew less than I do now edition:

Back in the day, graduating from school meant that we should take advantage of every single day. Go out with friends, play hookie once or twice, check something off your Bucket List every day.

Back when theme dressing was a way of life and you kept a closet full of ridiculous costumes just in case someone's birthday party required a Canadian tuxedo or a toga.

Back in 2008 when I had a job before graduating from college and I was naive enough to think my Life Plan would play out just as I planned it.

I am older and wiser now. Obviously.