How I Found Myself While Solo Backpacking Through Africa

In my last year of Pharmacy School, I used my clinical rotations as a way to include travel into the year. I chose an international global health rotation in Zimbabwe (which lines up with my career goals the most) and requested the following block off and had 3 extra weeks for Christmas and New Years. I bought a one-way ticket to Zimbabwe and left the rest of my trip open to whatever was going to come my way. The first time I went to Africa was when I went to Uganda for research and I felt whole there. This time ended up being no different.

My first 6-weeks in Zimbabwe were life-changing. It was the study abroad experience I never had. I was living on campus at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare with 4 Dutch medical students. Each day was different- I was in the hospitals, the Kaposi Sarcoma clinic, UNICEF, the psych ward, and at HIV support groups. As a PharmD, I saw more in Zimbabwe than I’d see in my life. When I wasn’t teaching young girls about safe sex practices or at UNICEF, I’d spend the evening exploring restaurants, coffee shops, events, and integrating myself in the community. Everyone on campus was so friendly, inviting, and welcoming… it was so easy to make friends! There’s also a ton of expats in Harare and you all end up finding each other! I went to a little gathering at one of the UNICEF volunteer’s home and quickly realized that all the UNICEF volunteers lived in one big house. Each person had a different story, came from a different country, and it was just so surreal to be surrounded by…