Telling stories since 2005
I was a bit preoccupied. Preoccupied with what I was going to say. Preoccupied with not getting lost. Getting lost. That was the hard one. Left. Turn right at the first hallway. The right at the last door. It’s easy. It was not easy. I have never been great at finding my way. Whether on…
Dear Reader: Hi. My name is Eliza Marie Montgomery, and this is my story. It’s been said that one’s co-workers determine job satisfaction. Especially in healthcare. To some degree, I believe that’s true. After all, these are the people I spend the most waking time around. And even not on a 12 hour shift, these…
2020 Michelle here: This museum I found in Zagreb, Croatia is perhaps one of the more interesting museums I’ve ever been in [The Sex Museum in Naples is another]. While Zagreb is no uber charming city, this museum had me enthralled. The end of a relationship is always a trying time for everyone involved even…
If we are being honest I was simultaneously bummed and relieved to be medically separated from the Peace Corps. Bummed because I came to do a job and despite all the issues at site, quitting was never an option. Relieved because medical separation gave me an ‘out. Physicians and Physiotherapists in Kigali couldn’t get me…
I guess by now you know that I left the Peace Corps; I was medically seperated from the Peace Corps due to an injury I sustained while at a Peace Corps’ training. I returned to Greenville, spent the night with my best friend, and made my way to my little country house where Miss Molly…
Wait? Are you still in Rwanda? The Peace Corps? The short answer to that question is no. No, I am not. As of February 3, 2020 I left Rwanda for what I think will be the absolute last time, but I’ve learned to never say never. Earlier this year I was medically separated from the…
There’s a long version and a short version of what happened. Short story: I was medically separated from the Peace Corps on January 4, 2020 after being evacuated on December 23, 2019. I was shipped out of the country just before the government shutdown started. PC’s theory was, and it seems plausible, that the impending…
Peace Corps’ friends are a different breed of friends. They start out as government issued friends. Over time and sometimes due to proximity, they become lifelines. Meet-ups in the local regional hub when you just can’t handle village life anymore–PC bestie is there. WhatsApp calls for speaking in English when the 8-hour time difference to…
This may not be the most politically correct post I’ve written. If you are easily offended, you’ve been warned. Back when I worked in the hospitals, occasionally some misguided soul would yell out ‘hey, respiratory,’ as I walked by. I’d continue to walk on by. And then the misguided soul would continue ‘hey, I’m talking…
A List of Things I Do and Don’t Miss about village life long commutes (my Rwanda house is less than a five minute walk to the health center; my SC house is a 40 minute drive to the hospital) sitting in front of a computer at a desk all day for work housing prices (so…