dawn: adventures of a journeywoman

My travels over the past few months, as depicted on a Southwest Airlines napkin.

Nomad:
1. a member of a people or tribe that has no permanent abode but moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route or circuit according to the state of the pasturage or food supply.
2. any wanderer; itinerant.

As I mentioned previously, I have been traveling the country in search of the place I will spend the next phase of my life. Beginning July 1, I will begin a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology. How does one pick the best place to continue medical training? That's a pretty complex question, but here's how it broke down for me numerically:

245 approved Ob-Gyn residencies
32 applications
14 interviews
11 cities
10 hosts
10 flights
7 train rides
2 rental cars
1 bus ride

Yes, it is sometimes quite a bit to keep track of. But notice one key number:
0-the number of hotel rooms in which I stayed. In every single location I have interviewed, there have been generous friends and family (and sometimes strangers) who have opened up their homes and lent me the use of a bed, a couch, or a futon. Two families actually let me use one of their vehicles for a day! (This is even more benevolent and trusting given that I have only had a car for 1.5 years out of my 10 years with a drivers license.) Experiencing this kind of hospitality has been most joyful part of this whole journey. A good friend told me recently that perhaps all of this is God's way of dating me, through all of these people. As a single gal, I may not have one person who welcomes me home, makes special meals, or says encouraging things. But I have discovered a network of people who are willing to step into this role for me. I feel SO rich!

But my travels began with a trip not necessitated by my interview schedule. One of the things on my "life list" has been to take the famous Capital Starlight train down the west coast. Beginning in Seattle, where I had just finished my month rotation of gynecologic oncology, I spent 24 hours watching the fog over mountains, tall evergreens, and the Pacific pass by my window. I had fun meeting a family traveling to California for Thanksgiving while in the dining car. I often felt as if I was caught up in the spirit of many old movies I admire such as North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train (but without the sleeper-I toughed it out in coach). However, just like the movies I did meet some unexpected people. One seatmate tried to convince me of several conspracy theories including a "one world order" orchestrated by 25 years of secrateries of state, a "cure for all cancers and diseases" that involves placing electrical currents on each wrist, and homosexuality intentionally spread to eliminate the human race. My trip was pleasantly interrupted by a day with two dear and wonderful friends from Washington, DC who have since settled in Berkeley before heading down the rest of the West coast. I did a local wine and cheese tasting as we chugged through Napa Valley and admired the sunset along the shore of Southeran California.

A view from my train window as sun set over the Pacific.

After taking it slow and easy, I had to speed up to make it back to my family in time for Thanksgiving. For the first time, my parents hosted our family's Thanksgiving dinner. I enjoyed helping put a few dishes together for the meal, including a recipe I made up for pumpkin muffins. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles, parents, cousins, spouses, boyfriends, and a sister crowded around our table as we were thankful to our Creator and Sustainer of life. It was easy to enjoy each other's company, but difficult to decide among the five pies: rhubarb, cherry, cherry/rhubarb, chocolate cream, and pumpkin. I also had an opportunity after dinner to share my experience in Kenya with my family through a short DVD my friend Anne had put together. Though often our families may be able to completely understand what we are going through (whether it be new ideas that invigorate or minds or experiences that stir our hearts), I have been blessed with a supportive family that is eager to appreciate who I am becoming. I also enjoy sharing in and celebrating the life changes in my family's lives.

After introducing my cousin to some great art and history in the St. Louis museums, it was time for my next train ride. Upon arriving at the 9:20pm train into my college town of Holland, Michigan I was met by some big hugs. I had met Lee and Mari while serving together at the mission hospital in Kenya a few months prior. Lee is a retired pathologist who devotes at least a month of his expertise every year to the staff and patients at Kijabe. (This is VERY important when you have many patients needing to know if their removed growth is benign or cancerous). Now, instead of trading stories while hiking among wild African animals with them, we found ourselves sitting in a warm dining room catching up over brownie sundaes. (By the way, brownie sundaes seem to have been my welcome theme on these journeys, of which I have not been able turn one down yet).

From Michigan, I journeyed onward to Manhattan. However, since funds for these travels come from my own pocket and I was in no hurry, I continued to utilize the trains. This time, I left Michigan at 8:20am and arrived the next day at 5:00pm after a layover in Chicago. I figured this was the time to finally watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, a 3 hour and 20 minute experience. I had time for this as well as several other things as we chugged through Pennsylvania. (Not surprisingly, the animated Amish in front of me departed at the Lancaster stop.) Train travel continues to fascinate me in its "lost art" qualities. It has been a lesson in a different pace. Often, the goal is to get from point A to B as fast as possible. But taking long train rides has taught me to slow down, read a book, meet a new person, meditate, and just to admire the scenery in a different sort of depth than can be achieved by air.

My roommate's sister, Jenny, had put me back in touch with a Christian Ob-gyn who does ministry in New York City. After hearing I was coming into town for an interview, she arranged for a few friends from her church to host me. In addition, she graciously lugged my heavy suitcase through the tunnels and up the stairs of the subway system, ensuring that would not get lost in the hustle and bustle of a rainy city at rush hour. Likewise, my cousin and his wife in Denver drove me to each and every leg of my interviews and schmoozing events there. While in town, I also enjoyed jumping into an outdoor jacuzzi with temperatures well below 0 (by the way, attempting this may make your hair develop ice cycles very quickly).

After my cousins showed me how to stay warm in Denver, a few friends showed me how to keep your mouth warm in Austin, TX: EAT! Eating seems to be the city's past-time (that is, after listening to the famous live music). There is the trailer scene: with parks of trailers serving "trashy" tacos and cupcakes, the Tex-Mex scene (we stopped at Chuy's which was made infamous for where the Bush twins apparently attempted to drink while underage), and got messy with smoky Texas BBQ.

The crate of Texas BBQ we ordered BY THE POUND at Rudy's.

Through these and many other stops, at times I have grown weary of living out of the same suitcase since October 24. But the exhilaration of seeing so many friends and meeting so many new ones in so many unique places in the U.S. has made it worth the journeying. One of my favorite Biblical characters in Abraham. His nomadic adventures begin with the time God tells him to "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you". Without a clue where that actually was, he started moving...and moving. Along the way, he gets stuck in some very foreign places (and twice decides his wife is too beautiful to be associated with), meets up with a foreign king who also worships God, gets a new name, has a son (or two, depending how you look at it), gets circumcised, bargains for his nephew's life whose city is destroyed, buries his wife, and finds his son a spouse. So a lot of life seems to happen in these nomadic journeys. On a much, much smaller scale, I don't feel as if life is on hold with all of my trips. Instead, I am learning and growing with each new experience. I'm not waiting until I get my "match" where I will settle for the next four years to begin living. I am living now.

Well, my nomadic journeys have stopped for a few weeks as I stop and celebrate the miracle of Christmas with my family. May God also give you resting points with people who fulfill you and remind you who (and whose) you are in your geographical, emotional, or spiritual journeying.