….. I will be flying in a plane to Africa.

This time next week, I will be around the world.  I am still scratching my head at how quickly this happened.  One night, seven months ago, I am talking with my partner at work at 2am about going to Africa, and here I am tonight, finalizing my packing list after hugging my kids just a little bit longer tonight than usual when I tucked them in.

I keep wondering if my expectations will be congruent with my reality.

Will it be hot and dry and dusty?

Will it be lonely yet overwhelmingly crowded at the same time?

Will I be regularly thinking about hand hygiene, transmittable diseases, and antibiotics in my “Just in case” bag?

Will I feel like a giant in both height and girth?  Or will I feel finally like I am amongst other taller people and can now understand the struggles of the vertically challenged?

What will it be like to absolutely and without question, experience being the minority?

How will I feel about their customs vs ours?  Will they be that different?

Will I come back skinnier than when I left?  Either due to diet, extra walking or di-poopus-of-the-blow-hole?

Will I have packed everything that I end up needing?  Or will I be MacGyver-ing things because I missed something important?  Or will I have totally over packed and hauled ten or twenty extra needless pounds around the world?

Will I finally find a coffee that I enjoy?

Will I be overwhelmed due to sadness or fear or incongruent life values during the trip?  If so, how often?

Will I have a more intense appreciation for my life and all of the things I treasure?  Or will I find it irritating what people take for granted and what people here waste, that have other people dying for not having?

Will I make a noticeable, tangible, measureable difference, that will make all of this worth going for?

Will it be as life changing as everyone seems to think it will be?

Will people tire of hearing the stories or will I tire of telling them?

What will my kids and husband and family and friends notice to be different about me when I get back?  What will I see differently in them?

I hope to be regularly able to post so you can come with me on this trip daily.  If not, I will amass the collection of thoughts I type out until I am able to mass post.  Worst case, it will get done upon my return, though that is not my vision.

Be well.

Are you getting excited?

Are you nervous?

What does your husband think of you going to Africa?

These seem to be the questions I am asked most these days. It make sense though, in less than a month I will be leaving the comforts and relative safety of my home in Canada and heading to Ethiopia and Malawi for three weeks. I will be joined by two other paramedics (and friends) as well as a dentist and his wife, and a physician, to go and volunteer to work in a community doing medical relief at the clinic there.

I have travelled before to Indonesia, to Mexico (not just the beaches) and to India, so while I know there will be devastating poverty, illness and malnutrition, I think I will have some of the culture shock lessened by my previous experiences. It has been a while though, so I am sure there will be some initial adjustments needed.

I am excited. Travelling always opens new doors. It expands my mind in ways that can never be repackaged into the same sized box as it came out of. I have always loved finding both the similarities as well as the differences in how different cultures live. I’m not super excited about the food to be honest. I tried an Ethiopian restaurant in Vancouver this summer….and I wasn’t super excited about what was served…. It wasn’t horrible, but more sour and vinegary than I expected, and not my cup of tea, so to speak. It will only be a few weeks, so either it will be a good diet plan for weight loss, or I will dip into the snacks I bring along more than anticipated!

I am nervous. To say otherwise would be lying. I am nervous about not being able to connect to my family and friends as easily there as I can here. The Ethiopian government controls the internet there, and sometimes it gets shut down. I will need to find a SIM card or use their cell phone to text home to let people know that I am ok. On my day off I hope to find an Internet cafe and upload my daily logs. My intention is to write daily about my experiences and share via this site what is happening. If I can do so regularly, I would love to. The more people learning about what I am doing, the better I think.

Glen is nervous too. I can understand that. We have kids and to go has risks. I know that I am waaay more outside the box than him in some regards (this being one for sure!!), but I do know that our kids will be in good hands with him running the house while I am gone. I also know he understands just how much I appreciate his support. While it isn’t on his bucket list of things to do, supporting me to go is a huge part of me being able to do it.

All the support I received while doing my fundraising has also been amazing. $6,775 of my $7,000 was raised with bottle donations, cash donations, attending my steak night fundraiser or the paint night. I certainly could not have done it without my little village of family and friends either!! Work was willing to give me a leave of absence, and when I get back I look forward to sharing my stories and pictures with everyone.

Until then, stay tuned as the countdown continues!