Hello Again!

At long last, the blog has been resurrected. Thanks to all who followed my last journey - having friends and family along for the ride was great support and I appreciate all the calls for a return to blog posts! I hope to be more consistent on the current journey.

So, what's happened in the last year?

After a year and a half in Iraq, I left the program - and Mercy Corps - in November 2010. Oliver (the aforementioned boyfriend, who most of you have heard about at great length) and I spent six weeks traveling, with nearly a month in Thailand and Cambodia followed by spending the holidays in the UK with his family. It was great to check a few places off the must-visit list and dodge US taxes in the process!

I headed back to Portland in January to finish the last two terms of my masters coursework - which I completed last week! It's great to have the MPH [almost] completed - I will sit for my final exam in September.

In the meanwhile, I will be starting a 10-week internship with USAID, the US Agency for International Development, in Ethiopia in two weeks. I will be evaluating an emergency food distribution of a corn-soy blend food product, targeting pregnant/nursing women and children under five. I will be traveling to the cities of Mekele, Sekota, Lalibela and Dire Dawa, with an additional three weeks at the Embassy in Addis Ababa. It should be a great experience and I can't wait to get there.

Until then, I am hanging out in Lagos, Nigeria with Oliver, where he will be working until September on a technical/vocational training program. It's great to spend some time with him after nearly two months apart. (For those who were wondering, its now been a year and a half together - can't believe how quickly it's gone!) Lagos is a sprawling, overwhelming African mega-city - a stark contrast from the quiet of rural Ethiopia.

Many people have asked me if, knowing what I know now, I would take my job in Iraq again. My answer is overwhelmingly, yes. It was a fantastic learning experience - challenging, fascinating and career-changing. I've developed such confidence in my ability to travel, work and live abroad, to handle difficult and dangerous situations overseas, and to excel in development work. With conflict and insecurity under my belt, I have yet to hack it in the giant bugs/tents/pit latrines scenario - but I'm now more confident in my ability to navigate that with [relative] ease as well.

Thanks to all who are embarking on this new adventure with me - let the journey begin!

Fondly,
Alisha