Winding Down

We are really getting down to the wire as far as our time here (can't believe there's only a week left), so needless to say a post is long overdue! It's just steadily gotten hotter and hotter here this past month, which has slowly sapped much of my computer browsing energy in general. And now for some updates:

1. Last week we finished our final settlement survey, making our total number of women surveyed a whopping 180. A great, large number of people and data (trust me, took hours to input all of the surveys into SPSS statistical software based on the data dictionary I'd created. Believe it or not--because I really don't--I've taken on the job of data inputer and stats test-runner extraordinarre. And even more shocking is the fact that I like it). Now we are visiting one settlement in the north, central, and south regions of the island in order to tell communities what we've found and get any extra input.

This is what 180 surveys looks like

We are so pumped we are done! (photo cred: Sara)

2. Also as of last week I am now feeling 23! Yes, the only thing better than having my 21st in Cyprus was having my 23rd (man that sounds old!) in the Bahamas! Spent a relaxing day at the beach, followed by a delicious dinner at the fancy/famous Tippy's beachside restaurant (a favorite of Mariah Carey and Matthew McConaughey) which came as a big surprise from my team members as I thought we would just eat at the fish fry. We made our appearance there later, when the crowd was noticeably more Bahamian/local and got our groove on to some local Bahamian jams (along with about 5 different birthday songs played, to my mortification, in my honor. the best was probably when the song "Birthday Sex" came on, to which one of my team members turns toward me and seriously tells me "sorry but you ain't getting none of that tonight").

Perhaps the most adorable dancing partner ever (photo cred: Sara)

3. We will be coming back! Yes indeedy, we've been invited to present our project/findings at the One Eleuthera Health & Wellness Symposium on cancer the first week in August. I really can't begin to describe how awesome/what an honor it is to have people be this appreciative about our work. It's amazing and really starts to hammer home the idea that slowly but surely I'm starting to become a "public health professional."

I could not have asked for a better team members (photo cred: Sara)

People always tell you that when you go abroad for an extended period of time you are going to go through phases: upon arrival you will be so pumped but after about a week you'll start to get into that moody/homesick/irritable towards all your surroundings period. After this comes the calm contentment that you feel because you've finally become truly comfortable with your environment. I've definitely gone through all of these stages. I was excited, and once that wore off I was hot/sweaty/itchy/generally unpleasant; now I'm coasting, and when I stop to look around at the clear Caribbean beneath my feet I get sad because it's a feeling of calm and beauty that I wish I could (and know I can't) bottle up to take with me and remember forever. I've had my ups and downs here, but Eleuthera and my time spent on the island has been an experience that certainly will stay with me forever. Not your typical summer internship but something that's equally valuable and in a way far more special. Now I just have to look forward to the depression/rea-daptation phase that comes upon your return (but oh, the reunion with a.c. will be so so sweet).