IngaRita's VirtualTourist Home Page

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2 friends in Njinikom, Cameroon

About me...

Of course if you're reading this then you can echo me when I say that I love to travel. I was a lucky kid and am the only offspring of one Dutch adventurous ultra-fit mother and one loving and caring father who wants nothing less than to please the wonderlust of my mother. As I got older my parents where very supportive (i.e. $$$) of my travel interests, but not just with money but also with similar zeel and excitement that I had. It was like they thought they were going to come with me in my suitcase!
I am also lucky because where I see opportunity I jump at it. I feel like you need to make things happen no mater money, time or situation. My favorite kind of travel is where I am immersed in the environment and living among the natives so to speak. I also try to look at mishaps as gentle reminders that I cannot control everything or I planned poorly and that when one door closes another opens. I have yet to have anything really terrible happen to me either while on the road which can be accredited to pure luck or travel instinct?? I also follow the simplest rules of travel...when in Africa don't drink the water unless you boiled it or it came out of a plastic bottle- I don't care that the Fon gave it to you, will he be taking care of you and your runny mess afterwards? Don't sleep in the airport or park in Amsterdam, you will get robbed. Travel using your stomach, meaning, trust your gut, if it feels unsafe... it is and don't drink the water in Africa, O, I said that already. Always keep an eye on your luggage, do your research ahead of time. Talk to the locales, be respectful, learn some simple greetings in the native language, take lots of pictures, keep a journal and write the obscure stuff like how much you paid for that hotel, be flexible, don't sweat the small stuff, call your credit card company before you go and let them know you will be traveling or they will put a hold on your credit card and that is a mess, always bring some currency with you when traveling to that country- there's nothing like being extremely thirsty or hungry on the train with no cash.

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The nurses and staff that I worked with (Cameroon)

More about...me

I quit my job in Boston and moved to DC to go to nursing school. I felt that nursing could really open doors for me and create great opportunities. It sort of has and sort of hasn't. I haven't really been able to travel as much as I like to and it really doesn't pay as well as I thought. But my patients are poor, rich, black, white, really sick, not so sick...its everything including scary.
But everything in life is a learning experience and a stepping stone to something else. But mostly I like meeting people on the road and experiencing new things.