Hello World... and all that jazz!

I have to admit that writing the first blog post, on a fresh new blog, fills me with a certain level of apprehension. As nothing goes before you, and with the weight of what comes thereafter; you are left struggling finding the appropriate words to say... Therefore I write this post with a proviso, that you forgive me for my best attempts. Or, at least, please try!

To get the formalities out of the way, my name is Richard Betteridge. I am a Diagnostic Radiography student in the UK, studying in my second year at the University of Hertfordshire. I have chosen to write this blog, because I am lucky enough to be a winner of the 'Society and College of Radiographer's International Elective competition.' 

For the uninitiated, that means I entered a competition with the professional body that represents Radiographers in the United Kingdom; for which I am a student member. The competition operates in cooperation with Work the World, for two students to undertake a month-long international placement in a developing nation. Myself and the other competition winner +Kim Balsdon, had to write an 800-word personal statement, outlining the reasons that we would be the people to make the most of this opportunity.

In my statement, I outlined my personal interests in international healthcare development; especially for the provision of radiology services. Furthermore I explained my past-experiences of travelling to Nepal, for the purposes of the Scout Association's Explorer Belt award; where we planned, funded and undertook an expedition to that country. I wrote my statement with the intention of travelling to Kandy, Sri Lanka. However unfortunately due to changes being implemented to Work the World's programme, this is no longer the case... Positively this means that we had to find an alternative: therefore I shall be travelling to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

I have to admit that when making my application, it was a real tossup between Sri Lanka and Tanzania; therefore I am not to disappointed about this change in destination. The country of Tanzania has intrigued me ever since hearing of my sister's travels there: with its reputation for beautiful national parks and diverse, friendly people. Furthermore I was lucky enough to be present at the SCoR's student conference 2012 to hear from David Evans – a previous winner – talk  about his experiences as a Therapeutic Radiographer in Dar es Salaam: where he had both high praises for Work the World and Tanzania itself.

And with that, we are led to the present and the need to outline my intentions with this blog.
Firstly I intend to update on at least a weekly basis during the buildup to travelling to Tanzania. This stage will follow my research into the country, whilst exploring to some of the concepts relating to my time there. This could range from reports from the WHO, to learning the basics of the Swahili language. Following this, I shall be using this blog to fully detail my actual time spent in Dar es Salaam; documenting both my experiences as a Radiographer and of the country itself. Finally upon my return, I will use this space to writeup my reflections about the time that I spent there... Therefore hopefully giving your good-selves a comprehensive overview of my entire experience, so I hope you care to join me on this journey!

(I feel that I have hopefully covered the main aspects up to this stage. It is my intention that this blog shall remain professionally-relevant to healthcare and radiography, I am therefore aware of maintaining a strict level of patient confidentiality. Therefore within this space I intend to keep details extremely limited and where necessary apply some creative changes to the exact nature of events. As I develop this site, I shall outline my feelings and thoughts on this topic in more detail.)