Hola!

I'll try to not turn this into a travel blog.

I am in Argentina visiting a friend who has chosen to live here for her 3 months of unemployment. She's waiting for her credentials to clear at her new hospital in Florida. Being a true adventurer, she and her boyfriend decided to live in Argentina for in the interim. Because, heck, why not. I love her spirit.

I first met W in Kenya. She was a pediatric resident, and I was a medicine resident. We landed in Kenya the same day, on different flights, and met up to travel from Nairobi to Eldoret to work at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. It was through Indiana University's consortium that exchanges US residents with Kenyan residents. It was a fantastic experience, and it lead met to create the first Handle With Care charity event, that raised over $30,000 for the IU-Kenya Partnership.

So, W and I met and immediately realized we were separated at birth. Have you ever met someone you just clicked with? Just immediately felt like you could spend hours with them and not get sick of them? That was us. And thank GOD, since we were in freakin' Kenya and didn't know a single soul. At least it felt like our souls were old friends.

We were inseparable for that month, besides working in different wards (she in peds, me on the women's ward). In fact, everyone there assumed we were with the same residency program, since we just got along like gang busters.

Since leaving Kenya in 2006, I visited her in Providence, she visited me in California, and I visited her in Michigan. And now, here we are in Argentina together. We made a pact to travel to every continent together (except Antarctica, no desire to freeze to death). I think that's a good goal to have - every few years, head out to a new place, learn a new culture, and have a lot of fun together.

I'm grateful for so many wonderful people in my life, and W is one of those people that I can't imagine not having around. I picture us as old grandmas, walking in Instanbul together, and it makes me really happy.