A Day in the Life of a Global Health Intern

August 16, 2017

I wake up in the morning around 6 or 6:30, say a prayer, and then if I'm lucky get a little exercise. After this it's nice to start the day with a cool shower before eating breakfast and talking to people from home. Most often I talk with my fiance in the morning, but sometimes I talk to my sister or my mom. Breakfast usually consists of toast and fruit with some cereal on occasion. It's hard to keep things like cereal stocked when you are feeding 7 adults.

Around 7 or 8, depending on the day, we leave in our tuk-truck to work on whatever project we have planned for the day. Some days we head out with our translators and bags of soap to do health surveys in the local villages. Other times we are ready to do an outreach project such as dental hygiene clinics, days for girls programs, and health presentations. No two days are exactly the same.

After driving for a few minutes to upwards of an hour we arrive and pile out. If we are doing an outreach project it is time to set everything up so the outreach will run smoothly. Some days setting up simply includes setting our bags of feminine hygiene products on a table while other days are much more complex. Once we are set up it is time for the best part. We now get to interact with the Cambodians and put our plans into action.

We work for about 4 hours as the sun creeps across the sky. We've only been working 10 minutes and already the sweat has started to run. By the end our clothes are damp and you can see the droplets on our faces. But this is still the best part. There are always children and interacting with them brings a smile. They have so much energy and are so hopeful for the future despite the world around them.

At times it seems the heat will be the champion of our fight to help others, but there is always a little reminder in these moments of why we are here. It sometimes comes in the form of a mother getting involved in the garbage cleanup to set a good example for her kids so they know that hygiene takes the work of everyone and it should be a priority. Other times it is when a father comes through the dental hygiene clinic and catches the vision of it so he comes back later with his family so they can learn too. And other times it simply comes from sitting with people and realizing through their smiles that we are not all that different and have similar hopes and dreams for our lives.

By noon it feels like nap time but we go instead to lunch at a local restaurant. We have no way to cook for ourselves so we rely on local cooking which usually turns out really well. Smoothies have also become a staple of any meal.

After lunch we have some time to relax and explore Siem Reap as well as run errands. We go out on bikes to the local market to buy fresh produce as well as get things like cups for our dental hygiene days. We go to Lucky Mall to get some other groceries and snacks so we don't have to eat out all of the time. After the errands are finished we enjoy the afternoon by visiting the local markets, watching local craftsmen at work, or just enjoying a fish massage. Enjoy might be the wrong word for the last one though since it tickles too much for me to really relax.

The evening includes eating some dinner at Heartptint House. Since cooking is not an option dinner typically includes ramen noodles cooked in a bowl of hot water or a PB&J. After that we wind down by playing a game and getting ready for bed. By 9 we are almost asleep ready for the adventures of a new day. (673 words)