Anjali Borsum, a class of 2027 College of Medicine student, is on a month-long global health trip in Sodo, Ethiopia. While in-country, she is blogging for the MUSC Center for Global Health. Read her previous blog posts: Blog one and blog two. Please to view all of her photos in our Flick gallery.

A few weeks ago, while having dinner with one of the missionary families here in Sodo, Dr. Tim made a striking comparison: living in America is like living inside a Yeti cooler—somewhat exposed to the outside world yet completely insulated from it. His words resonated deeply.

In the United States, we often hear about people lacking access to clean drinking water, children growing up homeless sleeping on the streets, and families struggling to find food. Hearing about these hardships is one thing, but witnessing them firsthand is entirely different. Until I arrived in Sodo, I couldn’t truly grasp the reality that millions live this way. Each day, I see people walking with donkeys carrying orange water jugs filled from streams, mothers huddled with their children under blankets on the streets, and young children in battered, dirty clothing asking for money. It was in these moments that Dr. Tim’s analogy became painfully clear: Americans are shielded from a vast, difficult reality that much of the world faces.

This brings to mind something many Ethiopians believe in: the Germ Theory. The idea is that because Ethiopians, and many others across Africa, are exposed to a variety of germs from a young age, their immune systems develop to be more resilient. People eat with their hands and share food and drink as it is part of the culture. In the hospital, we notice that hand sanitizer bottles are often empty, and many doctors do not wash their hands between patient encounters. In the operating rooms, after sterilization, gowns, towels, drapes, and instruments are routinely reused. When we asked about post-operative infection rates, we were surprised to learn that they are remarkably low—something attributed to consequences of the Germ Theory.

In many ways, this mirrors how Americans approach life. Just as we strive to shield children from germs, sanitizing every surface and limiting exposure to anything that might cause harm, we also insulate ourselves from the harsher truths of the world. We avoid confronting the fact that millions lack clean water, shelter, food, or access to healthcare, often because acknowledging it feels uncomfortable and overwhelming. Yet, this kind of insulation is not truly protective—just as those exposed to germs develop stronger immune systems through exposure, facing reality fosters resilience and understanding. Perhaps, in trying so hard to shield ourselves, we are actually making ourselves weaker.