Summer

Hello friends! Welcome back to my blog!

Let me tell you a little bit about my summer so far.  I am in a new place this summer, due to an internship I took with the Indian Health Services (IHS).  While my technical title is a JRCOSTEP, which is run and funded by the Commisioned Corps of Engineers, I work mostly with IHS.  I have been stationed in Casa Grande, Arizona, which is halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, in the middle of the Sonoran Desert.  I just finished my first week of work, and it seems like it is going to be a good summer!

IHS exists to provide infrastructure and medical services to Native Americans.  The bulk of IHS’s work consists of running hospitals and medical clinics; therefore many of those I have met are medical and pharmacy students.  However, basic infrastructure such as running water, roads, and sewer systems are needed for hospitals as well as homes, which is provided by the Environmental Health and Engineering division of IHS, which is where I am working.  My work is focused in the Tohono-O'odham reservation, which extends from Casa Grande all the way to the Mexican border and beyond.  In fact, part of the reservation, which has its own government, extends into Mexico; native Americans can cross the border as they please.  I will provide more info about what I do as soon as I really get involved in some projects.

I will leave you with some photos of my location!  The desert is a harsh environment, but a really beautiful one.  This area of Arizona is very much stereotypical of the southwest.  The tall Saguaro cacti are everywhere, and urban mountains are common.  I am enjoying it!