What am I actually doing in Cape Town, SA, you ask?

Okay, so this is my final post for the day. Promise. I realized as I was reading over my previous posts that I hadn't really made clear what I am doing here in SA, and for those that don't know and are going to follow this blog let me tell you. I am here through a research program through Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, called the MHIRT program (Minority Global Health in Research Training program). It was founded at Hopkins over ten years ago with the purpose to increase minority students in the field of nursing research with the intention of offering a research experience abroad. I applied because I see myself doing research my career and wanted an opportunity to get my feet wet in research abroad in hopes that it would inform my nursing practice at home as well. I was extremely excited and thankful to be accepted in December, and now I am here. 

I was accepted to a position at the University of the Western Cape here in Cape Town, working at the School of Nursing here on a project with Dr. Makombo Ganga-Limando looking at traumatized refugee populations, specifically looking at the parents of traumatized children and their responses to their child's trauma. It will focus on the coping mechanism of individual resilience and its ability to help parents through their experiences. This project has already been started and I will only be analyzing data and stuff like that. Additionally, the "trauma" we define is sexual assault and gender based violence. It may not sound uplifting but interesting and complex, most definitely. As weird as it sounds I'm very interested in gender based violence work, and have the extreme honor to be working with Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell (my US Faculty mentor from Hopkins) who is one of the world's leading experts on intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence. 

I think this summer's experience will be eye opening and enriching in many ways, as I've already mentioned and am looking forward to seeing who I am after it is over. Many of you know how I have been envisioning myself in twenty years just like Dr. Campbell, but who knows maybe this experience will show me a different interest, open a different door, or shoot me forward on this path with the force of a canon ball? Either way life will continue on the path I'm on, and will just be made under me as I place my feet, we'll see where it goes.

Work begins on Monday and although I'm relatively new to the world of research I cannot wait to get started, because there's only one way to learn how to do it, right? Just do it and jump in. Experiential learning was always my easiest way to learn.