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.

I'm all vaccinated

Yesterday afternoon I went in for my last and most potent vaccination - the yellow fever vaccine.  I'm not typically one to read up on what I am getting myself into.  In fact, my friends know more about the Peace Corps than I do.  The yellow fever vaccine was no exception to the things I know little about.

So I received all my other vaccines about 3 weeks ago and this one was missing due to the fact that most clinics do not carry it.  I had to search for travel clinics that could provide and stumbled upon Northwestern's travel clinic.  I chose to go with that one for the name since I figured they know pretty well what they'e doing with every other medical department so why would it be any different for the immunizations dept.

I stepped in and waited about 15 min for the nice RN, Tim, to call me.  He had me read up on the vaccine while he walked to the back to bring in the vaccine.  This is where I found out that 1 in about 200,000 have reactions that can lead them to the ER.  Even if you don't end up in the ER, it's likely to result in a fever and flu symptoms.  In my head, I chose not to freak out.  I'd already come this far and wasn't about to back out even if I happened to be that unfortunate sucker who got injected with a bad batch of the yellow fever shot.

The shot stung a 2 out of 10 on that pain scale.  Not the scary monster that the article made it sound like it would be.  I went out to for a walk to meet my friend for some shopping then Jamba Juice.  The article said I should expect symptoms within a few hours but I went all day and night without any.  What a load of crap!  I was expecting something to whine about and get babied on.  I guess my immune system just wasn't going to allow it.

Or so I thought...

It's Saturday and I cannot stop sneezing.  My eyes look like they've been through a break up and my nose is a snotty mess.  No one is around to pamper me.  I'm missing a party tonight.  And yeah, I cleaned the whole house hoping the activity would clear my sinuses.  No success.

If anyone cares to visit me while I'm out in Uganda, be aware that you have to encounter the same.

Now to get full medical clearance.  Vaccines: Check.  Physical: Check.  Lab work: Check.  Dental: Check.

Missing: Optometrist visit, Pap smear (lost the results), misc. immunizations.

Stay tuned for the results and my shopping days at the hiking store.

Uganda do what?!

Uganda.  That is the country assigned to me for 27 months starting this November.  I have accepted and there is no going back.  Poverty, HIV/AIDS epidemic, malaria, heat, limited electricity, mosquitos, and no sewage system are just some issues that I'll be running into.  

I have accepted that I'll be alone and will be giving more than receiving of worldly things.  However, the payment that I'll be receiving is in smiles, hugs, blessings, and hopefully lessons to last a lifetime.

I am in the process of getting logistics in order before I depart.  I expect this process to last 2 months and once that's done I can dedicate my time to saying my "see ya later's."  

Wish me luck. :)

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