Week One

Done one week of school!  It feels so good to be back learning things, I've missed it so much - even doing homework is something I enjoy (which is a really strange concept to me).  But I think it's because everything we're learning is things that I actually want to know.  It was just an introduction to the course, and the human body this week.  Lot's of stuff that I did in high school, but it's been a couple years since then, so it's good to get reminded of it.  There's this stat the The World Health Organization has - they did a study of how healthcare around the world is divided up by need, so into primary, secondary (stuff that you need a nurse or paramedic for), and then tertiary (doctors).  WHO says that 90% of healthcare needs around the world can be done by primary healthcare workers, and then another 7% is secondary.  That really excites me, because it means that there are things that I'm actually going to be able to do with the stuff that I learn here.  

Outside classes, the base here is amazing.  There's only 20-30 staff on base, so it's like a family.  And coming here, you're automatically included into this family.  It's been so good to get to know the staff - everyone's so friendly, and really wants to know you, and become your family.  The people actually on my school are also amazing - we get along so well already, and you can tell that it's going to be a really good group to spend the next 6 months with.

Bali, Indonesia

So for those of you who don't know (and I guess those who do)... I'm in Indonesia!  I'm back with YWAM again, doing another school.  Something a lot of people don't know about YWAM, after you do your DTS (what I did last year), they offer a bunch of what they call second level schools.  So I'm spending 6 months in Bali (and the islands around it) doing an Introduction to Primary Healthcare School.  Basically what the school does is a very focused, very intense (4-5 hours of class a day) three and a half months teaching us how to run clinics in developing nations.  A lot of what we're going to learn is about treating kids, mothers, and newborns.  As well, we're doing a bunch with disease prevention, and treatment.  Things like HIV/AID, and malaria.  

I'm really excited to start this school!  This sort of thing has been something that I've wanted to do for a really long time, so I'm excited to actually get to do it.

A bit about the other people I'm going to be with.  There's 7 people in my school - 6 girls and 1 guy.  All of the girls are under 30 - I've only met one of them yet, she's from Germany, did her DTS in Perth, and actually ended up doing the same outreach as me in Thailand.  The man is over 60, so that could be interesting with such a huge gap.  There's also 4 staff - 2 girls and 2 guys.  The school leader, Christine, picked me up from the airport yesterday, she's wonderful.  She was in Perth also for 3 years, and was the roommate of my school leader last year, so they're really similar, which makes me really excited, because I loved being around my school leader last year.

I'll try to blog somewhat regularly... but just pester me if I don't, then I'll do it sooner :)  Unless your my parents... because then I'll be blogging every day.