Bon voyage

So I leave tonight for Malawi, the culmination of a lot of hard work, planning, and money. I'm excited, and a little nervous. But I feel good about this trip.

I went shopping yesterday, and bought Chawezi some stuff I hope she'll like.

• A backpack (always handy), which I then filled with-
• bars of soap (requested by her)
• a HUGE bottle of skin lotion (also requested)
• a hairbrush
• granola bars, mixed nuts, and other snacks

I don't know how long she'll remain in the hospital (hopefully not much longer), but I thought these things might all come in handy in one way or another.

As for me, I'm almost ready to START packing (I still don't leave for another several hours, so here's no rush, right?). I've got my camera batteries charged, my iPod charged, two books of sudoku puzzles, and two books to read all set out and ready to be packed.

Next up, I need to make a "Countdown Calendar" for Rowan, who is going to have the hardest time by far with me being gone for eight days. We've tried to prepare her for it, but she's already expressed some sadness about my leaving, so Aimee and I decided to come up with this calendar to help her count down the days until I get back.

So I guess that's about it for now. I catch a red-eye flight to DC tonight, then a flight from there to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) tomorrow, and from there to Lilongwe on Sunday. The flight back is WORSE. Same itinerary in reverse, except that this time the first two legs also include stopovers. Not layovers, where you can get off the plane and stretch your legs, but stopovers where some people get off, others get on, and you resume your trip. If the plane's on the ground, I want to get off of it, at least for a few minutes! =)

I hope to be able to continue this blog while I'm there, and keep people up-to-date. If not, I'll post as soon as I get back.

THANKS!