Importance of Sustainable Commitments

Importance of Sustainable Commitments Although I have travelled to a few countries over the past years, both for public health work and vacation, Ethiopia is the only destination I have returned to for a second time. The return to East Africa meant a number of things for me as a student and travel lover. For one, I had a sense of familiarity with the environment of Ethiopia. As soon as we landed in Addis I immediately recognized the distinct faces, colors and smells of the city. I felt a strange sense of comfort that doesn’t normally come when exploring a place for the first time.

During the two-hour journey from Addis to Debre Berhan, our project site, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the landscape, rather than focus on taking pictures of the donkeys and acacia trees. More than anything, the “otherness” of Ethiopia was gone for me; it felt present and real. As a student, the second trip meant the expectations were higher and more specific. The sense of “observe and report” was replaced with an obligation to produce. The trip focused on our implementation of workshops, seminars and project goals and the majority of our nights were spent brainstorming around a table. The first trip afforded us the luxury of being newcomers, however visit number two required us to focus our activities, and synthesize our previous trips into a meaningful visit. I could definitely feel myself having to push.

Most international trips seemed fun and lackadaisical to me; more about the cultural experience and personal development. As a student, this trip was a 180 for my professionally and academically. For example, I had to present my research interests to a group of international teachers and students. We were tasked with creating presentations within just two days time, and I felt like the experience really highlighted actually how much I had learned in my field. By pushing outside of my comfort zone, I was able to grow as an academic. My second time visit Ethiopia turned out to be the most productive international health experience Ive had thus far. The trip combined real-time experience with project management, and I had to act on my feet more than once to produce meaningful results for our stakeholders. The sense of familiarity and responsibility that I felt during this trip really helped my gain insight into my future career as a public health practitioner working in global settings.