One more month!

It is official! I have to report to Washington D.C. on March 12th for staging and orientation. Today I opened 7 boxes of gear and clothing, including 4 bottles of bugspray with 30% DDT three bottles of 95% DDT and 2 bottles of Permanone which comes with a label reading Caution: Do Not Apply to Skin...and yet it will be all over the clothing that I'm going to wear. I suppose I'm preparing myself to ingest and be exposed to numerous chemicals! Once I have accumulated everything I'm going to pack, I will post pictures.

Less than 2 months and counting!

Today is January 18th, 2007 and it has finally hit me that I am leaving for Senegal in less than 2 months. The amount of packing and planning I still have to do is daunting, but exciting. I have prepared a 2 page packing list with a 10:1 ratio of gear/products:clothing. Now begins the task of checking off everything on that list.
My friends keep asking me if I'm nervous or anxious and I am honestly not. I am just ready to go and so excited to get there already. It's the waiting that's killing me. I guess this is a good time to practice "Patience and Flexibility" (the PC mantra which I anticipate repeating often to myself over the next 2 + years).