Day Two - Vaccines... Ouch!

A few days ago I met my good friend Holly for dinner. We caught up on several things, friends, family, work... Holly explained that she travels quite often for work and that she has developed a fear or anxiety even about flying. She worries every time she gets on a plane that she may not make it home. However, she realizes accidents can happen every day so being scared of flying is in a way irrational. For instance, car accidents happen everyday, if you live in Chicago like me you might be more likely to get hit by car; or you could feel off one day only to be told that you have cancer since everything causes cancer these days the possibility is always there; or you could wake up one day and realize a person you care about moved across the country... and you might just die of a broken heart, or emptiness. Regardless, while sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office I began thinking about the concept of vaccines. Whenever visiting a developing country vaccines are typically standard procedure, but what makes us worthy of receiving these vaccines or preventative medications. Indian citizens are exposed to the diseases we are trying to prevent every day. It doesn't seem fair that while they are constantly vulnerable to malaria, yellow fever or typhoid, I have the ability to prevent contracting these diseases although I will only be in India for three weeks. So why the discrepancy, where does it come from, the fact that I am from a developed country, a westerner, an American? Although I am sure there is some perfectly logical explaination, I can't help but wonder why are things so unfair?

Day One - Backpack adventures

After significant consumption of wine, my good Hope College girlfriends peer pressured me into starting a blog (who gives in to peer pressure at 24 right? Well apparently I do). Although I am pretty convinced they will be the only two people reading it, I decided it couldn't hurt. At least this way I will have a log of my trip to India, which is coming up so fast I can hardly believe it. So here it goes...

I am traveling around India with my friend Kateri and we went out for drinks the other night to discuss our plans. She told me about a fabulous backpack she had bought for our trip. It is going to be super comfortable and probably hold just about everything she needs. Well... me being the guilty spender that I am decided to borrow a backpack from one of Brad's friends (Brad assured me this backpack was big enough). NOTE TO SELF: Never believe a guy when he says a backpack is big enough - there is no way I am going to fit all the stuff I NEED for three weeks in this thing. But, I don't really have a choice and since it is India I am going to have to learn how to seriously downsize... yikes. Come to find out, this backpack has actually served multiple people on several trips all around the world which I find pretty cool. This will be the backpack's first time to India but it has been all around Europe, Africa, and I believe Australia - so it adds another country, and I suppose a new continent to its list of backpack adventures.