amazing conversations

Salut tout le monde!

I love having amazing conversations. The kind where you talk for hours and make way too much noise for a public setting and the next thing you know, the starbucks employee is coming up to you asking you kindly to leave the building so they can close up. Okay so that's not the situation everytime, but that's what happened last night when I met Amber for coffee last night. What started off as a "let's catch up" and have a brief conversation about her experiences at Rollins turned into a discussion on topics ranging from refugee health in the Congo, top-down vs. bottom-up development, and of course praise of the incredible Dr. Paul Farmer, physician-anthropologist. Amber even recommended some incredible books that I hope I have time to read before I depart for Africa. It is such a comforting feeling to meet other like-minded individuals who understand completely where you come from and why you want to do the things you want to do, no real explanation necessary. No defense. No offense. There were no judgements, no rationalizations, no criticisms. Simple plain helpful advice and encouragement. I'm really glad to know that Jess is not my only ally here in Atlanta. I don't know if I'm going to meet other like-minded people who want to enter the international health field like me in the Peace Corps or Togo, but I certainly hope so. If not, its encouraging to know that if I do decide to get my MPH after the PC, it'll feel like I'm in good company.