I have a plan!

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So I've been searching for about 4-5 months for the "right place" to go for my travel. I decided in about February or so that i didn't want to go to college right away and that instead i wanted to do something radical and different. I talked to lots of people and looked at lots of websites and couldn't find anything that sounded just perfect. I looked on a bunch of websites for orphanages in Ghana, i looked at the Peace Corps, i looked at Habitats for Humanity, the Hunger Project, the Heiffer Project, and lots of different stuff but none of it called out to me. A lot of the things i looked at were situations where you pay the company for a certain amount of time in their country and then you go there, not knowing who you're meeting, where you're going, or what you'll be doing. None of those things really called to me.

I was starting to feel really overwhelmed and stuck when, on the 4th of July, Olga Tsimanyane visited some people who go to my church and came to church with them. She lives in Botswana and works with the African Library Project. She is the Principal Education Officer of the South Region District of Education in Botswana. Before she came to church her hosts told her about me and about what i wanted to do. When i walked up to her and introduced myself, she immediately said "I want you to come live with me. I want to be your Mother."

She's a really sweet woman and I'm told that her attitude is the same as almost all Batswana (natives of Botswana). 78% of people there speak Setswana and about 35% have at least some knowledge of english, if not fluency. I've decided that i am going to go live with her and that i'll leave in about January or February. This is a really exciting step for me and it brings me a lot closer to actually going!

I like this road so much better than all the other things i looked at for several reasons. When i go to live with Olga, i won't have a contract with her so if i don't like what i'm doing or how i'm liing or anything, I'll have the freedom to change my course. I won't have to stick it out for a set amount of time or anything like that. Another up-side is that I will be living in her house, therefore I'll be living with someone i already know. On the same note, when i arrive at the airport, i'll be looking for a familiar face and i'll already be prepared fo go with her. She is a wealthy person for Botswana so i won't have to worry about draining her resources although i will find some way to compensate her for housing me for 6 months.

I'm really excited about this plan and this trip and i'll update you when i know more!

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