Instead, I spent the morning in physical therapy doing strengthening exercises for my back and running on a treadmill. On Monday, I get my first round on steroid injections into my back in the hopes that those will make a difference. If they don't, then I have to think about surgery. Not exactly the situation I was hoping for.
But with that being said, although I wish I'd been coming back from Madagascar today, I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had. My month in Madagascar was amazing and although I did not finish out the time, I have already started on the road to getting back there. I am hoping to get involved in Madagascar in a non-profit effort and I'm hoping that I can get that going. It will be a complicated process, but I will make it happen! I met some incredible people, learned more than I ever could have imagined, and fell in love with a country that needs help. In the meantime, I'm working on learning to speak French so that the next time I go, I will be able to communicate better (obviously, Malagasy would be the best choice, but there aren't very many programs or books that teach that language!).
The immediate future does not hold a journey back to Madagascar for me; I will be TAing a physiology course at the University of Minnesota for the spring semester in addition to working in 2 cancer research laboratories. However, that is not to say that I won't be working on making a difference down there in any way that I can, and I'll definitely find a way back.
To those of you who followed along on my brief journey, thank you. I wish I could have given you more of a taste of Madagascar, but I hope that at least some of you will consider visiting this incredible country.
Misoatra betsaka and soava dia to you all!
