...and I'll be back June 12. Three months after I found out I was going to Africa this semester, it's now my last night in Seattle. It's only hit me in the last few days that I'm leaving home to go to the other side of the world; thinking it is one thing, feeling it is completely different. Also crazy to think that after 20 years of reading African animal books, collecting stuffed African animals, sketching African animals, decorating my room to be "African," and writing about African wildlife conservation, I am going to Africa TOMORROW. See? Dreams can come true.
Actually, though, I hardly have any idea what living in Africa will be like. I know that I'll be living in three month-long homestays, starting in a rural village, then moving to a small town, and finally in Gaborone (the capital, pronounced ha-buh-ROH-nay, goes by "Gabs" for short). During the last month of the program I'll be doing an independent research project, hopefully having something to do with wildlife conservation. Then, after my program in Botswana ends at the end of May, I'll be traveling solo through South Africa and Namibia for 2 weeks before flying home.
That's my semester in a nutshell, I guess. Whereas I'd usually be lugging two 50-pound suitcases back to school right about now, I've just about finished packing a small suitcase, duffel bag, and backpack. I won't really know whether I've overpacked at all til I see what everyone else on the program has brought, but I do know it's the lightest I've ever packed for 5 months.
We're getting a bright and early start tomorrow around 5 am. I've got a 7:30 flight to DC, and from there (after a 2-hr. layover) I have an 18-hr. flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. I get in there after 6 pm Monday, which I just realized is early morning over here - there's a 10-hr. time difference. I've booked a room at the Green Palms Guest House for Monday night, so if all goes according to plan they will send someone to pick me up at the airport (holding a sign with my name, which for some reason I think is hilarious. Maybe because it seems like that one Seinfeld episode where Jerry and George lie their way into a limo...). Then, back to the airport Tuesday morning for the hour-long flight to Gabs!
Given that I'll be starting the program out living in a rural village, it's unlikely that I'll be able to update my wonderful blog much in the next several weeks. I believe there's an orientation in Gabs before the home stay, so if I can I'll post my first impressions of Africa, but either way rest assured I'll update it when I can! Alright, I'm going to go run around the house some more, collecting things to pack last-minute. Signing out from Seattle, on my way to Africa!!!
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