Last Impressions

(from Georgia Hoyler)

The entire experience of being in tanzania was, as one must expect, a thrilling an rewarding one. I remain in contact with the medical students who were our translators, and I find myself at times missing their company as much as any Duke friend I have here in the states--working together on this project really made me appreciate the added benefits of doing international research. Those connections that I have made as a result of this project are to me as important if not more than the results of our studies themselves, because I learned so much about the tanzanian culture and positive outlook on life by being infected with it through these wonderful guys. I don't have any pictures of them for posting on the blog, but i know the other girls do.

I want to thank the Global Health Institute for funding this research, as I do believe that it has made members of Duke's university better world citizens, with a broader world view and a deeper understanding of the meaning and purpose of international work, which is not solely to collect data about a foreign population. I find myself drawing similarities between our mental health system here and there, and I have learned about ways to improve ours from studying theirs.