Passport:(n) An official government document that certifies one's identity and permits a citizen to travel abroad.

A few days ago I was looking through the drawer where I keep my passport. It wasn’t there. My heart stopped for what seemed like eternity. Thinking, thinking… Where could it have gone?! My ticket to the world. It was right here!!

Oh.

I remember.

Last month we sent our passports off to the Cameroon embassy in DC to get our visas. I felt so isolated. Somehow incomplete. My passport holds proof that my favorite adventures actually happened: Guatemala, New Zealand, Ireland. I couldn’t have dreamed those adventures…could I? To my great relief, my passport was returned to me today. Arrived in a FedEx envelope, that looked very normal. The FedEx carrier probably had no idea that what he/she was carrying happens to be one of my favorite belongings (besides my teddy bear of course). I cannot tell you the comfort I felt holding that little blue booklet in my hand once again. Just to make sure, I looked for each stamp. Yep, there’s one, two three, four and a new, unfamiliar stamp. Cameroon has already made its mark—and I haven’t even left yet!!

I love passport stamps. Every place you travel leaves its “mark” on you; may be something you learned, or saw, someone you met or a realization that changed your perspective. Good experiences, bad experiences, the thrilling and terrifying combine to create a new way of seeing.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

What is Africa to Me?

I remember the exact moment I first dreamed of going to Africa. It was my freshman year of college and I had just come from an African dance workshop. Now you might be wondering, “How can a dance workshop be a life changing moment?”  to which I respond…I don’t really know. The workshop was lead by a music and dance performance group from Ghana and as I danced new steps to a foreign rhythm I lost my heart. The drums and movements were so full of life!

When I heard about the trip to Cameroon it was a dream come true! An opportunity to combine my passion for nursing with my love of travel; and in Africa of all places!

Our group consists of thirteen senior nursing students and three faculty (two of whom have led previous groups).For the month of January we will travel to Cameroon, collaborating with an organization called "Women, Environment and Health" (WEH) doing physical assessments, health teaching and health promotion activities in local villages. WEH is a non-government organization that was founded by a Linfield alumna in 1999. In the past four years two other groups of Linfield nursing students have worked with WEH in assessing the community health needs and promote health education on topics such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. The work we do will give WEH valuable information regarding the needs of the community as well as individuals in the village.

At our first “Team Cameroon” meeting back in September, we were asked “What is Africa to you?”  (from the poem “Heritage” by Countee Cullen) Before responding I considered what first inspired me about this foreign land: the colors, the wilderness, and a hope that endures through disparity. This trip holds a lot of meaning for me but I found it very difficult to define what Africa is to me. It is another way of life. It is a place rich with culture and history. It is a place in need of assistance and resources often taken for granted. I am looking forward to share what I know about nursing and health with the people in Cameroon but I am well aware that teaching will go both ways—and I am so excited to learn!!