The Week Before

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This is it! Officially one week to go before my flight. I'm pretty sure my heart will be constantly in my stomach all week out of both nerves and excitement.

I've already gone shopping (yay Walmart!) to get all the supplies I need like gloves, toiletries, clothes, of course a first aid kid in case I get mauled by a lion....just kidding. 😊

I'm working all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday which only leaves Thursday and Friday to do all last minute prep work. My bags are almost packed. I still have some laundry to do and a few things to find around the house and the mess I call a room. The hardest things to find are those that I have to find from all the stuff packed from school because that's everywhere, attic, garage, room etc. I have plenty of room left over because even though I'm going for a month, my laundry gets done every day so there is no reason to bring a bunch of clothes 😊 That way I'll have a bunch of room for souvenirs on the way home! I've been told to get a bunch of African fabric which I'll probably make a quilt out of when I get home. Any other suggestions?!

I still have to get my boosters and see if I need any other shots, good thing is its a malaria free environment so I don't need any of that. I had a doctors appointment last week but I had to reshedule because they were running an hour and a half late. of course they only said something after an hour so that was a waste but hopefully I won't need anything extra.

I also need to go to the DMV to get a state ID so that I'll be able to renew my passport. Of course my passport is good for this trip, but I've caught the travel bug and will hopefully continue traveling once again in January. I'm going to work closely with someone at my school so that I can spend the month of January in Gernmany and London studying abroad, taking a class on the Psychology of WWII. Then from there my current plan is to fly to Australia and study abroad for my spring semester. But more updates on that when I officially make those plans 😊

I have to get a cell phone still, I'm not really sure what to do about that. There are a bunch of options and I need to make a decision really fast but I don't know the best one and its hard to decide, I think I've found the one I'm gunna buy, its the cheapest I just have to make sure it's a credible phone company. I also have to get my medical coverage, we just have to finish reading the plan to make sure I'll be covered.

I'm getting pretty nervous about everything but once I get there and meet people it'll subside. I just hope I get along with people and the work isn't too hard/stressful. I guess I always thought the trip would be in the future and it would never actually catch up to me. I'm also pretty nervous my bags'll get lost, even though I put what I need in my carryon and I have travel insurance that will cover for lost baggage. plus a ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for....I'm safe here, but I'm meant to travel. 😊

I officially leave on Sunday at 2 from providence, from there I fly to washington dc, after an hour an a half layover, I have an 10 hour flight to Dakar, Africa. After an hour layover, I fly to Jo Burg which is another 8 hours followed by a 3 hour layover and my last hour and a half flight to port elizabeth were I will be picked up by someone from the reserve. I think I'll be pretty happy to see land by then. Anyone who's been on a plane for that long, feel free to give me tips as to how to pass the time. I've heard I shouldn't sleep so I adjust to the time difference better, but I don't know if I'll be able to spend that much time doing nothing.

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Comments

[Tricia]

What to bring
I had friends travel to Africa that, on a tip, brought paper and pencils for a local school. They were told kids often didn't have the basic supplies like pencil and paper - and they were right. The school kids were happy, my friends were happy. That was several years ago, but if you have room a couple dozen pencils would fit right in.

[Grandma]

wishing you the best of luck in Africa Allie. I will be following your travel blog. love you grandma