Tomorrow is T Minus One Month

Full medical clearance was obtained.  Now I went through a couple hours of confused posting on Facebook due to a note I read about there being a possible delay on our itineraries as one of the results of the government shutdown.  In fact, my parents heard from another family member that they expected my trip to be cancelled entirely.  My mom was ready to begin celebrating.  -.-  Well, hate to break it to everyone but the trip is still ON!

Shortly after that mix-up was discussed, I received an email from Peace Corps with an itinerary and instructions on how to book my flight for staging.  I had lunch with the parents and burst their bubble as lightly as possible.  :-/  Then I picked up the phone and called the travel agent.  I got the perfect time to depart - Monday, Nov. 11th at 7:25am.  US Airways 1746 departing Chicago O'Hare and arriving in Philly at 10:25am.  Staging begins at noon and then it's a brief orientation before departing the next day.  Wednesday, Nov. 13th is when I am scheduled to actually arrive in Uganda.  I have no words for the excitement I feel.  Just know that it's a good feeling.

I am going through a little anxiety these days as I go through my things and place them in my bags to get an idea of how much I will be able to fit.  I have so many items that are for comfort that I'm afraid it'll fill up at least one bag.  -.-  Who knew I was attached to material items???

I am also loading my new portable external hard drive that I bought yesteryday. 1 TB should be enough.  I am usually pretty random with the movies I watch and as long as I get my favorites with limited Horror flicks, I'm good.  I need a few shows to keep me busy too.  Game of Thrones and Mad Men are at the top of my list and then I'll be taking suggestions.

I bought a camera finally and I am stoked to test it out in the wild.  It's the Sony DSC-WX300.  Smallest, lightest camera I could get with a 20x optical zoom.  I wanted small specifically so I could carry it without drawing too much attention and zoom for when I go to a national park in Uganda to take pictures of the lions and hyenas from a distance.

Now to prep my family for what's ahead.  I love you all and I am not doing this to run away or distance myself.  I am doing this because I believe this is my purpose.

More to come as I get ready... Stay tuned.