AmericAshis 4: Travel blues

AmericAshis 4: Travel blues

Louisville, Kentucky

October 20, 2009

This trip around the USA I am without computer. Obviously all my friends have computers in their houses but it feels as if I need my own little laptop to tap around. So I have been looking around for a computer. The urge for a Mac is huge yet they are way more expensive than PC’s. You will be kept informed.

Today I have made some time to scribble. Not on Facebook and Twitter but on my blog. The last two weeks have been full of meetings with amazing people. I ended my trip in Michigan in Grand Rapids where I was picked up by two dear friends of mine: Jacob Atem (former Lost Boy), a new American citizen and Dorothy Sewe (also American now). Both have lived the refugee life and their stories are a testimony to human strength. The lecture was for a mix of Amnesty International members, students and people interested from outside.

At night I got the pleasure of meeting Dorothy’s 15+ children. I have been adopted as number 16 in the group. Her house is like the United Nations, with Mexican husbands, Slovenian boyfriend, Dutch Indian bumbler and a batch of Kenyan Americans. It is here I got addicted to Lost (with its smoke monster) . I do not have a clue how this series is supposed to work and it is fun.

Jacob was so nice to drop me at Chicago Midway airport on my flight to Minneapolis. A 3.5 hour open space session on how to run a start up NGO/NPO unfolded. His organization is called Southern Sudan Health Care Organization (http://www.sshco.org) . He and his friends are raising money to open a health care clinic in Maar, Southern Sudan. One day I hope to visit this place. His life story and the stories of many of the Lost BOys is amazing. A stamina to survive the worst that humanity brings.

The plane to Minneapolis was a flight to the land of 10,000 lakes (apparently their are more than 20,000) and to where many of my friends live. Lynnea who came to work and will do research in Northern Uganda, Kelly my host and the woman who taught me canning, Evan-Tyler-Nathan who organized several medical talks for me. A workshop on health in a refugee camp setting and a lecture on tropical medicine. I sometimes forget how far out of the curriculum the work I do is. Minneapolis was good to me, I danced to the beats of a polka band in a POlish bar called Neyes, I saw Senator Klobushar talk on the health care reforms in the USA and I got to celebrate the Homecoming of the local football team.

Foremost Minneapolis has tons of squirrels and I got to talk about opportunities to continue by continuous medical education in the form of a PhD or DrPH. And I stepped in snow, earlier than usual but just as white.

Namaskar,

Ashis