My name is Nafisa Jiddawi and I am a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, a Certified Nurse Midwife, and Family Nurse Practitioner. I am originally from Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of East Africa, and moved to the U.S.A for school at the age of 12. I did, however, spend most of my holidays with my family in Zanzibar, and have therefore always considered that to be my home, until I started my own family 7884 miles away from my island, in Washington, D.C.
It has always been difficult to answer when people ask me where I’m from, because in addition to Zanzibar and Washington, D.C., a big chunk of my formative years were also spent in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I met my best friends and some of the most important people in my life. To make it even more complicated, after seven years of living in Washington, D.C., my husband, our son, and I moved to Costa Rica in August of 2017, when our son was 16-months-old. Costa Rica will always be special because it is where we had our daughter. My husband and I, together with our two children, are currently living in Zanzibar. I guess I am a global citizen?
My husband, Samuel, and I met in college in 2008. It was “love at first sight” with us although our beginning had its challenges. We initially had a long-distance relationship, as I was finishing my undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, while he was working as a D.C. Public School teacher immediately after he graduated. Once I graduated, I packed my car without any plans, and followed my heart to Washington, D.C…where I would start my career, attend Georgetown University and George Washington University for graduate school, build a home, and start my family. I guess it worked out! All thanks to the following quote by Ray Bradbury, which significantly inspired my move – “Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.”
After many adventures together, locally and internationally, Sam and I became parents to our sweet pup Squiggles in 2011 (may she RIP), had our traditional Zanzibari wedding ceremony in 2013, and our follow-up wedding receptions in 2014. In 2016, we welcomed our beautiful son, Abraham, and in 2017, our sweet daughter, Soraya. From hiking up Reach Falls in Jamaica to changing dirty diapers in Cambodia, it has been quite a journey. Between it all, we’ve always found time to do what we love most; travel and appreciate what the world has to offer.
As a couple, Sam and I have traveled to sixteen countries together on five different continents; including more than eight countries on four continents with our Abey and Soraya. We were determined to continue our wanderlust ways upon the arrival of our son. Though traveling with little ones has its challenges, it opens a new lens from which to experience our world. Through this blog, I hope to inspire you to explore the world in addition to sharing my experiences as a wife, mother, and a health care provider.
I hope you enjoy reading about our never ending adventures.
