Hello..

So, being a bit of an internet novice and having never written a blog or anything similar I'm very unsure of how this whole thing works - Apoloigies for any clumsiness and such, but here goes!

Firstly, my name is Kimberley Balsdon (Kim please!) and I'm currently a second year student at Cardiff University studying Radiotherapy and Oncology. And the reason I've decided to start this blog is due to my recent success in winning the Society of Radiographers (SCoR) International Elective Competition!

Being a student member of SCoR means that I have the opportunity to tap into loads of different resources, including journals, conferences and weekly newsletters to keep me up to date with the world of radiography. When I saw this competition in StudentTalk advertising a prize of a 4 week elective placement in a third world country it sounded like an amazing experience! I've always been interested in travelling the world, experiencing new cultures and having lots of amazing adventures, so being able to combine this love with my love of radiotherapy seemed to be perfect! To enter I had to write an 800 word personal statement about where I wanted to travel to and how I would benefit from the experience.

Having not heard anything by the end of Decemeber (when I thought winners would be announced) I assumed I had not won; I was disappointed, but I had expected not to. So I forgot about it really..

Then at the end of January, I had just finished Uni and got a phone call from SCoR saying that I'd won!! I was in complete shock and amazement and was sooo excited!It then became official.. And me and +Richard Betteridge could begin our journeys across the world :)

The society work with Work the World to offer this opportunity and since I won I have been working along side them to plan my trip. Originally, I had written in my statement about how I wanted to go to Ghana for my four weeks. However, the links that Work the World have in Ghana for radiography are diagnostic, but not radiotherapy. Therefore, I had to change my plans and am now off to Tanzania for four weeks! I wasn't disappointed about the change as both offer amazing opportunities!

I'm flying off to Tanzania on the 1st of June - less than a month away?! - and leading up to this date I will be regularly posting and keeping you guys up to date about the country, the healthcare, the hospital I'm going to, the culture, the language, my preparations and then my experiences whilst I'm out there (although internet connection can be very dodgey I hope to be able to keep in contact as much as I can!).