Bon Voyage

I'm all packed! Our countdown is now T-minus 7 hours. So how am I feeling now...

1) Accomplished. In six days, I managed to go from finals mode to travel mode, which included saying hi and bye to all my friends, buying everything I needed to go to a third-world country (bug spray and castile soap included), and collecting an entire suitcase's worth of donations for the orphanage. And while I'm on that topic, I'd like to give a shout-out to Tessa and her mom, who really came through with donations. Thank you SO much; they are really appreciated.

2)Dazed. I think the last bullet is self-explanatory; these last few days have been mayhem. And this whole experience has been a whirlwind. Every other major trip I have undertaken has been years in the planning and the making. This one happened in months.

3)Excited. Duh! I'm going all the way to AFRICA! I'm not sure my brain has even fully comprehended this fact yet. I'm literally going halfway around the world. The travel time alone to get there is 30 hours (not counting the time difference). This is such an incredible opportunity, and I'm so lucky to have come across it in only my first year of college.

4) Slightly Nervous. Not gonna lie. I'm not nervous about safety or anything, despite what many of you may think. I'm more nervous about communicating with my host family. I want this experience to be as fulfilling as possible, and the language barrier will definitely pose a challenge. But I won't let that stop me.

And to address the issue of safety (for all of you to whom that is the greatest concern): i'm not worried. Yes, it's a little riskier to go to Tanzania than Germany. But I don't think its any riskier than many (or most) of the countries in Latin America. It's probably just as safe as areas in Southeast Asia. And it's waaaaay safer than the Middle East right now (although my parents would not have let me go to the Middle East right now the way it is). Tanzania is actually much safer than most of the countries in Africa because of the tourism revenue from Mt. Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. I think Africa just gets a bad rep because it's Africa. But OHS has taken every precaution to ensure our well-being. They have their own Jeeps to evacuate us if need be and access to the local clinics. In addition, we will be staying in a little village away from any possible political turmoil and I will have a cell phone. And, as my dad put it, "We wouldn't let our daughter go there if we thought she was going to be in danger."

So this is my last blog from the U.S.! Goodbye, industrialized world, we will meet again on July 20th.