Getting Ready

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So this is it! I am off on a new adventure! However, this is an adventure unlike any I have every embarked on before. I have roadtripped across the United States multiple times by myself and with others; but we are talking about a country I speak the native language in and am comfortable with most of the cultures. I have stayed in unattractive parts of Mexico and some of the more beautiful areas - but as a tourist where I had nothing to worry about except where my next margarita came from. I have flown across the world to the continent of Africa with my church. A trip that was planned out for months ahead of time and where nothing, even down to where and what I was eating, was left for me to decide. I have walked through the streets of Paris, the city of love, as romantic and easily navigated as Chicago, Illinois. But there is something to be said about traveling across the world by yourself. The planning that goes into where you will be staying, how you will be getting there, how you will be paying for it, what you can or cannot eat, the immunizations you must acquire before the trip, the medication you must take with you for the trip, what you can or cannot wear, how the weather will fare; the list goes on so long I cant help but to be overwhelmed! My partner is the financial party for the most part and I must do my part to make the trip go as smoothly as possible. As exciting of a challenge this is to take on, my nerves have been getting the best of me. We are down to the last days, the last hours before we take on a flight that will last almost a whole calendar day. We will land in other world alone and struggling to communicate. Our adventure will begin the moment we step out of the airport. It seems so surreal to me even now. I have made lists and remade lists. I have packed, unpacked, and repacked. I have researched and read articles and books. In the eye of an outsider I looked beyond prepared. But in my bones I am shaking and scared and nervous and anxious. I pray that God will watch over us and take care of us. And I know as soon as we step out of the airport, when our adventure begins, I will forget all my worries and take on the moment with vivacity.

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