I wanted to post an update on the events since we've been back and now that I am in action I have something to write about :)
We anticipated that the transition coming back "home" and not having a permanent residence would be challenging and I was very anxious to find work so we could figure out what the next chapter in our lives would look like. Well for 5 weeks it kind of looked like raggedy college kids home on winter break bumming off their parents and not really having their act together. At least it felt that way a bit. Ping-ponging back and forth between our parents' homes in Illinois wasn't ideal for me. While it was certainly nice to spend some quality time with our families, we still were not establishing ourselves anywhere or having a sense of personal and private space - something I had been starting to miss for several months.
Since leaving Asia I had been working with a few different recruiters to find locum tenens (temporary) work for when I returned. Once I had returned, I was in overdrive and really working hard to make something happen. It was an exercise in patience and I was learning that every day is a new day with this sort of work. There would be nothing, nothing, nothing, then there would be a handful of different jobs all at once that I might be a good fit for.
After just a week I had landed a family practice job in Eagle Butte, SD on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation! My plan was to start working early in February and continue until the end of June. I really was looking forward to a new adventure and gaining good experience in family medicine. However, a strange turn of events lead to the funding being reallocated and the position was no longer being filled. I learned this the last week in January. Instead of packing my bags, I was starting my job search, again. It was frustrating to feel like I was "starting over" once more.
In an even stranger turn of events (after thinking there may have been some opportunities in MI, WA, NM, CA, and even a correctional facility position in AK), a different recruiter called me offering me a position in family practice back in Eagle Butte, SD. To say I was surprised is an understatement! I wanted to be very sure that this job was certain and wouldn't fall through like the first time around, but again was excited about the prospect of the position.
Now though, that I am actually typing this from my hotel room in SD, I can assure you this job is real. I am looking forward to the next 13 weeks working in an outpatient family practice clinic, developing my skills in a new way, and interacting with a unique and often under-served population.
After this, who know what will be next! Hopefully the flexibility to continue to travel and work other locums positions is my goal, but for now, it is just one day at a time. Wish me luck!
My "kitchen" consists of a hotel-provided microwave and maxi-fridge. I have supplied the hot plate, rice cooker, and hot-water boiler.
My closet is also doubling as a spice rack
My second dresser drawer is being used as a culinary masterpiece drawer :)
Hotel cooking, here we come!! My poor husband has no place to put anything though. Hopefully I will be moving to more sufficient housing soon!
Mastering my skills!!
