Preparations

I’ve been getting a lot of things together these past few days because I think July 17^th is going to sneak up on me really fast. Also, I got my “staging kit” (I’ll be in Philly for 3 days before heading off to Benin) and that was just reminder that this whole thing is actually real and not just some figment of my slightly crazy imagination. I have a feeling that I’m going to over pack, as I always do, but I’m going to try reeeeally hard not to. Really.

The staging packet included some fun things like sheet with bike measurement information. I’m pretty stoked about getting a bike…mainly because I want to get a bike horn, basket, colorful handlebar tassels, and those beads that go on the bike wheels and make noise. Remember those? I won’t actually get any of that stuff. Well, except for the tassels. I’ll pack them right along side my head lamp, shortwave radio, swiss army knife, and all the other necessities. They also asked us about our mountain biking abilities (I’m a novice) and our bike maintenance abilities (novice, again). So apparently, besides job and language training, I’ll also be getting schooled in the ways of bike repair.

Another funny thing included in my packet was an itinerary for the staging in Philly. The thing I’m most looking forward to is the 1:30pm “Depart for clinic” section. I like to think of it as some sort of odd field trip, but instead of going to a museum, we are going to a hospital. And instead of learning about things, we’ll be getting a billion shots. Thankfully, I’m not afraid of needles =)

Interestingly, we have 2 more vaccination field trips once we get to Benin. Hmm.