so exciting!

i'm taking a class next quarter that will, among other things, teach me how to plan and execute relief operations, respond to disasters, give me field medical experience (so, yes, should james the chick and i be stuck in the woods in mid-june with no one near by, i will know how to deliver bob. we can figure out why we were so foolish later), i'll be national disaster response qualified by the red cross for 5 different types of disaster, and know how to respond in a hostage situation.

the average humanitarian aid worker in the fields of water purification and food provision is over four times more likely to die in the line of work than an NYPD police officer. including the statistics from the world trade center.

if i'm REALLY lucky i'll go to the balkans this summer and do a 3 week intensive simulation whereupon we are responding to disasters, making convoys, setting up refugee camps, simulate airdrops, set up air cargo in an airplane, jump out of helicopters, simulate disaster relief do medical triage, and yes, even be ambushed on the road at 3 am after getting no sleep for the previous 96 hours, taken hostage and interrogated. following that we'll do 2 weeks of humanitarian aid work (primarily in eastern european orphanages and pediatric hospices - SO up my alley) and then have a little time to travel.

the program is the only one of its kind in the world. USAID thinks that all of its volunteers should do that program before being deployed overseas. it's created between my school, the u.s. government, and the eastern european government that will host the summer session.

that being said, i hate being dirty, i hate not being able to take a shower, i hate sleeping on the ground, i hate camping in general. and i'll be living in a camp for 3 weeks with an intermittently working shower, compromised water supply, sleeping in the ground, having intermittent power sources.

the costs? 25% airfare. spending money. if i want to travel, those costs.

am i scared?
terrified.

do i want to do it?
are you nuts? of COURSE I WANT TO DO IT!