June 1

 
   On day one of our travel course we drove to Powell TN- about eight hours away from the college. It was a long trip but we made great time thanks to Amy's driving. I am looking forward to checking out the cabin tomorrow, hiking in the Appalachia area and touring the Cherokee hospital. I think the Cherokee hospital will be a totally different environment than what I am used to at Methodist.
     In regards to apprehensions, I think interacting with the community at the soup kitchen could be a nerve-racking experience. After learning more about the people, culture and area at the museum tomorrow I think I will feel more comfortable and actually look forward to spending time at the soup kitchen. I hope the community is open to talking to our group throughout the next week and we learn a lot from their stories.
     Everyone has biases and when working in healthcare it is especially important to keep these in check while interacting with the community. I am curious to learn more about the Cherokee's views on how the trail of tears still affects them in the current day. Cherokee Indians receive large sums of money throughout their lives yet so many still live in poverty. I hope to learn a lot more about their values and culture at the tomorrow in order to better understand their views on life. The North Carolina trip is off to a great start and I'm looking forward to starting the NC portion of our trip tomorrow.