When this Boy Meets World: Reflecting on #GlobalOneHealth

When this Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Wandering down this road, that we call life
Is what we’re doin’
It’s good to know I have friends that will always
Stand by me
When this Boy Meets World.

My first night in Ethiopia I tried to settle in with a good friend called Netflix.  Unable to stream – and still deciding if I’m proud or ashamed to admit – I pulled up a great alternative:  Season 7 of ‘Boy Meets World’ on YouTube.

So I unpacked for my journey with help from Cory, Topanga and Mr. Feeny.  (Random tidbit:  Did you know that Mr. Feeny was the voice of KITT in Knight Rider?  Well, William Daniels, to be precise.)  Unsure exactly what our experiences would be in Ethiopia, I was excited for the journey ahead.

When this Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World

I’m not a person who goes abroad for 11 days and says that it changed me.  I returned to Columbus with the same values, but do have a broadened perspective of what we can accomplish as educators.  In a recent blog post, I spoke about the role Ohio State can play in effective cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural partnerships.  I took copious notes, and my mind was going a mile-a-minute while we interacted with our Ethiopian collaborators.

It was amazing to see their ambition, expertise and pride first-hand.  This is something we could not capture through emails or Skype conference calls.  Thank you to Dr. Wondwossen Gebreyes, ODEE and the Center for African Studies for creating this opportunity for our team.  This trip will aid our collaboration greatly!

Wandering down this road, that we call life
Is what we’re doin’

Our trip to Ethiopia kept us on the run.  Days of training workshops, traveling and partnership meetings, we were running on fumes and caffeine.  Lucky for us, the local coffee was pretty fantastic.  During the first half of our journey, I tried to soak it all in.  Figure out our place in this giant puzzle, and prioritize where we can best help in the Global One Health initiatives.

As I’m sure Cory (Tressler, not Matthews) and Nicole would agree, just being around Wondwossen for a few days helped put the puzzle pieces together.  He sees the 30,000-foot view of our project, and where each partner can contribute to the digital learning, rabies education and collaborative teaching goals on this work.  It also didn’t take me long to realize that Wondwossen is sort of a “rock star” – having strong relationships with both government officials and educators.  He’s the right person, and right personality, to make our Global One Health dreams a reality.

It’s good to know I have friends that will always
Stand by me
When this Boy Meets World.

A great by-product of my trip were the friendships gained.  I cannot say enough about the hospitality of our Ethiopian partners.  Several took hours out of their days to provide us with campus tours and join for dinners.  They embodied a passion that was both fulfilling and motivating for me to see.

I enjoyed the time spent with Wondwossen, Cory & Nicole.  Three amazing yet humble people in their fields, these educators represent everything that is great about being a Buckeye.  The Ohio State community is fortunate to have them out in the world doing what Buckeyes do.

Ending a blog post – especially one that puts a lid on my trip – is always a daunting task.  Do I end with a profound statement?  Or a thought-provoking question?  But then I realized, I had a human fortune cookie at my disposal.

I had a memorable time, and am fortunate for the entire experience.  If you have the opportunity to involve yourself with the Global One Health initiative, I highly suggest that you consider it.  Class dismissed.

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