Either way....ABOUT A WEEK AGOOOOO!! *Hits Shmoney Dance*
Heeeeeeey guys! About a week ago, I moved to Guam...Last year after closing out my Peace Corps service I promised to keep blogging, buuuuut life! So here we are a year later! I know, we have A LOT to catch up on. How dare I just pop up a year later like, “New phone, who dis?” I promise we will catch up on the past year....but I moved to Guam! “Guam what??” you’re probably asking. Guam, Guam! Dee island! Go ahead and pull that up on your map because I know most of us have NO idea where Guam is!............You back?! OK! Guam is a U.S. Territory in the Pacific Ocean, apart of what is know as the Micronesian Islands. The native people are the Chamorro people. Although, the population is now one diversified by those of Asian and Pacific Island decent. Guam was originally colonized by Spain, gotta love Europe, acquired by the U.S. as apart of the Treaty of Paris, captured by Japan during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and then recaptured by the U.S. a little over 2 years later. That's your history lesson for today. Ok! Let’s get into it! I’ve always wanted to do travel nursing. One reason I went into nursing was to have flexibility in where I worked and when I worked. Last time we spoke, I had just started my job at George Washington University Hospital. My time there was well spent, and may be revisited, who knows! I figured what better time to try all the things you want to do than the present?! I mean, no one wants to be 88 years-old thinking, “I wish I would have just given it a shot when I was 26, with no kids and no spouse?” Don’t get me wrong, the decision was cumbersome for me to make, because who really wants to leave the comfort of stability? I moved so much as a child, I always knew I wanted stability as an adult. When I was in high school, I was so tired of moving, I didn’t talk to my mom for like 2-weeks because we were about to move AGAIN! I know all this sounds like one big contradiction, and we’ll talk about that later. Travel nursing is a very lucrative business, something I was unaware of. There are a billion agencies and you really have to shop for one or two that are 1. Nurse friendly and will not put you in situations that will make you lose your license. 2. Offers great benefits. 3. Offers locations you would be interested in. 4. Paying that COIN!! Most assignments are 13 weeks in length. Mine happens to be six, because, you know, Guam is super far. So long story short, my recruiter is like, “We have Guam.” I’m like, “Guam, what?” You know how there’s Paris, Texas, so I’m thinking, “This man is trying to send me to Guam, Idaho or something.” He’s like, “Guam Guam, the island.” At that moment I had to remember that Guam is a U.S. Territory! Impulsively, I agree to interview! At first I didn’t get the job, and I was completely ok with it! A part of me wanted my first assignment to be closer to home because y’all know my grandma is one of my best friends and I wanted be able to to see my family and friends whenever! Remember, I had only been home for a little over a year after living in Rwanda for a year. Therefore, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to head out again. Two weeks later, my recruiter calls and is like, “You wouldn’t believe this! Guam reposted the job you applied for, I resubmitted you, and they called and said they had been looking for your profile and that’s why they reposted the job!” *Hard side-eye* Sooooooo...BOOM got a job in Guam!!! *Cue automatic feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and fear* I’m not going to get into these feelings on this post, because these are things I want to dissect with you individually. After a week of back-and-forth, “I’m going, I’m not going,” consulting with my closest friends (I know they were tired of hearing about it!), and prayer (I was also reading A Purpose Driven Life at that time), I woke up at 3am one morning, signed the contract, and rolled back over to finish my slumber. When I woke up the next morning, I still had feelings of uncertainty... Time goes on, I'm living my regular life, casually completing things for Guam, like the RN license application, as if I wasn't going anywhere in a month. After completing pre-employment things, and being cleared, I had 12 days to get my life together! TWELVE DAYS! Oh I was scheduled to work six of those twelve. So, SIX DAYS!! Whew, chile, the stress! I'll be working on a Telemetry/Progressive Care Unit. For my non-healthcare professionals, that's people who need their heart rhythms monitored closely and people that are not sick enough for the Intensive care unit but not well-enough for a traditional medical-surgical unit. From what I have seen thus far, it will be QUITE the experience. Of course, I'll be looking for some volunteer opportunities while I'm here! I've already found a gym! I need to find me some Navy or Air Force friends because gas and groceries on the economy are so expensive I don't even be hungry anymore! Oh, I'm definitely trying to hop on a plane to Japan, the Philippines, and other places while I'm out in these waters! The island is only like 30 miles long and 12 miles wide (at the widest part). My roommate and I drove around the entire island and found some "must-do" activities, it only took us about 3 hours, even with the stops we made to see different things! We have a cute little Nissan Cube, that we be tearing up these Guam streets in (not really because gas in $4.42/gal)!! We live near the University of Guam where we can jog to a coastal area, and drive to the beach in 10 minutes! People here are extremely friendly, like Chick-Fil-a customer service friendly. There's seems to ALWAYS be a party happening and the food is AMAZING! D.C., to Chicago, to Tokyo, to Guam!! I’m here, and I’m already backed up on things to share with you guys! I know we have a lot to catch up on (I actually found a post in my draft folder that should have been posted in Aug 2017, yikes)! Bear with me as we catch up on the past year, as we talk about Guam and traveling, as we talk about relationships, as we touch on purpose driving living and faith, as we dissected and overcome feelings of doubt and fear, as we get a little sophistiratchet, all while, of course, living our best, fearless, fierce, and powerful lives! Until Next Time, Live in Love...
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