T.I.A. - My First Adventure on the Way to French School at Middlebury

Bonjour tout le monde! After a quiet couple of years post-Malawi - which, I can assure you, were anything but boring as I worked the D.C. circuit in the private donor world and completed the first year of a doctoral program in global health - I'm back (and with more adventures than ever)! My first year returning to student life has only been done for 2 weeks and already I've touched base in 5 states and 2 countries - completely normal in the life of this "D.I.V.A." 

Latest destination: Middlebury, Vermont

Sound boring? Well, my thirteen hour journey here yesterday suggests anything but...But I'm getting ahead of myself....

It started seven years ago, when, as a college junior at Michigan State University, I had an incredible opportunity to study abroad in Senegal, West Africa. The experience of living with a host family and an amazing roommate (who passed away last month, God rest her soul), interning with the Conseil National de la Lutte contre le SIDA - Senegal's National HIV/AIDS Policy Agency, and truly experiencing immersion into another culture encouraged me to really develop my French language skills. I returned to Senegal to do research the following year. Somehow, the years kept going by - I completed my Master degree, worked for a couple of years, traveled to at least 7 different countries, and with the exception of a quick trip to Burundi and Rwanda and a 3-week course at the Alliance Francaise, barely used my French! 

So, as I started my doctoral program this year, I knew that it was now or never. I was selected as a Kathryn B. Davis Fellow for Peace, funding me to promote better health and protection for children globally through an intensive summer of parler-ing francaise at the world-renowned French Language School at Middlebury College. Now, if only I could get there...

My day started off well - the weather in Boston was hot and beautiful and my taxi came with time to spare. I got to the bus depot for what was supposed to be a four-hour ride to Burlington, Vermont, followed by a one hour commute to Middlebury. But what fun would my stories be if everything went according to plan? After the first two-and-a-half hours of the journey, our bus driver pulled over on the side of the highway - never a good sign! He informed us that the Megabus had overheated, we could no longer drive, and he was awaiting instruction from dispatch. Thirty minutes turned into one hour turned into nearly two hours, and finally it was determined that we needed a new bus. So they'd send one from a nearby stop, right? Of course not - they'd send one all the way from Boston! After some optimism that the bus had cooled down, we inched our way along the highway, only to pull over again and sit on the side for a total of three hours. This might not have been the end of the world but naturally, it was hot, I had no food (translation: I was really cranky) and there was no water available on the bus or within walking distance (as us public health specialists would note, that's a serious safety hazard). My not-so-subtle discussion with the driver, as well as lots of mumbling and grumbling from the passengers who couldn't find alternative transportation, resulted in the driver transporting us to the nearest town, where we waited another two hours for a replacement bus. 

After a few more hours, the new bus delivered us to Burlington, where the excellent Middlebury Transit and our lively host Bill was waiting for a large group of us. We drove another hour, getting some fun facts about the history of Vermont. For example, did you know that Vermont has the second smallest population of U.S. states? And that this is the home of Ben and Jerry's ice cream?! He helped us check-in at the university, where we'd long missed the welcome dinner and festivities, and dropped me and my body bag of a suitcase at my new residence for the next seven weeks. I got my workout for the day carrying three bags up to the top floor via the stairs - naturally there was no elevator in my building - but I couldn't have been happier to unpack in my little dorm room.

My five-hour turned 13-hour journey is the latest in my unfortunate transportation adventures (think Kenyan safari...or Lake of Stars mishap...or Zanzibar transport nightmare...or Liwonde National Park fiasco...and the list goes on...). But in each of those situations, the most difficult transportation events were linked with some of my most incredible life experiences! And while I sometimes join the "expat club" complaining about ridiculous experiences like this when I travel internationally - "Oh, T.I.A. - this is Africa" - I couldn't help but smile as life reminded me that problems that affect peoples' lives are everywhere. I may not be in a foreign country this time, but from tomorrow, I actually sign a contract committing to embracing this foreign language immersion program - all French, all the time! My crazy trip here is bound to lead to an equally crazy summer, but could you expect anything less when "T.I.A." (This Is Africa America)!

A bus I hope to never see again! 

The beautiful views of Vermont...
from the side of the road...

My little dorm room - home sweet home!