It's been a while...

I was talking to a friend yesterday about a book I just finished, and she asked "Did you blog about it?".  So, I decided I'd do that.  It's been quite a while, since I've posted here.  The busyness of summer has gotten to me.  So, here is a little update.


#1 - A lot of you probably know this, but Janell is pregnant!  :)  She's due November 19, so she's still able to go on the trip.  Now, for those of you doing the math in your head, yes, she was pregnant during Dollar-a-day.  This was quite a surprise for us.  We found out when we had about a week left.  Needless to say, she started eating more a more balanced diet as soon as we found out.  However, I finished the Dollar-a-day on my own.  That made it even more challenging for me, with her eating other things.

I felt quite guilty though, because we didn't want to tell people about the pregnancy so early, but I didn't want to lie to people about her finishing the dollar-a-day.  I probably didn't handle it particularly well, but I didn't know what else I could do.  I tried to be as vague as possible, but I still ended up lying about it in some later posts and when people asked me about it.  So, I apologize for that.  I'm not 100% sure what I'd do differently if the same thing happened again, but I hope nobody is too disappointed in me.

#2 - The book I just read is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.  Here's a description of it:

In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s magnificent account takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”—as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.

It is the story of a doctor who wants to achieve medical equity for everyone, whether they are rich or poor.  It is just amazing the way he devotes his life to the poor.  He works on changing global health approaches, but also hikes 10 hours both ways to make a house call to someone in Haiti.  It is an amazing book to read.  Here is an excerpt to check out.

We're really looking forward to our trip.  We leave on July 31st.  We will be blogging while we are there as well, so be checking back for that.  :)