SHOTS

I got some of my immunization shots yesterday. Despite what Mike Sullivan might have told you, I don't have Rabies. He likes to tell strangers that I do, but I don't. He also thinks my name is Lindsay Retards, but it's not. Anyway, I opted not to get the Rabies shot even though my doctor strongly recommended it. While I do plan to hold and stroke and try to kiss lots of baby animals in Africa, I don't think I'll get rabies and if I do, it will have been worth it because it means I died having touched an animal. However, $650 later, I had been stabbed 4 times over in the arms. I got yellow fever, polio, meningitis, and something else, but I don't remember what. I also got a prescription for malaria tablets. A side effect of the tablets is that I'll probably have crazy dreams. Sounds good.

Susan came with me because I came home to CT and went to Bridgeport Hospital for the shots. A male nurse gave me the shots and I commented that he did it so quickly that they hadn't really hurt. Susan chose at that moment to chime in and say "Ohhhh yea, you wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am'ed her!" I kind of laughed nervously and mumbled, "No...no...you didn't. She doesn't know what that means.."

The travel doctor at the hospital gave me an hour long lecture on safety in Africa. She said things like, "wear socks with your sandals" (Uh, ISH DON'T THINK SO! I rather get malaria and die then be caught dead with socks and sandals). I stopped paying attention after awhile and was pretending to take notes. However, I did hear her say that pornography is prohibited in Ghana. I started to think about that instead and then decided that this should be written down in my "pretend notes." Basically the only thing I'd written down was that porn was prohibited. After her lecture she asked to see my notes to make sure I'd spelled the name of the water-purification tablets correctly. I had to show her my notes. She kind of looked at them for a second and then stopped talking and said "Okay, well, time for the vaccines." FAIL.

Anyway, I may be riddled with mental illnesses but at least I'll never have malaria, yellow fever, polio, meningitis, and the other thing.

A little less than 3 months to go!

It's Official

"It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you,
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do,
I bless the rains down in Africa,
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have" - Toto

If you are unfamiliar with this song than you don't know me because it is one of my favorite songs and I have some pretty sick dance moves that I invented just for this song. I usually request this song at parties and then make my friends form a circle around me and watch me dance. They don't mind. It's by the 80's band Toto for Godsake! To see the sizzling hot guys in this band, watch this: "Africa" by Toto (Live in Amsterdam)

Today I confirmed my place in the orphanage program with International Volunteer HQ! I start my assignment October 15th. I'm thrilled but I'm also terrified - I'm leaving my job, moving out of my apartment, selling anything I own, leaving behind friends, family, and boyfriend, and using every cent I have to move to West Africa. While my stomach is churning with fear, my heart is pounding with excitement! I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and spaz out about it.

I had been doing months of research and had originally wanted to go to Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Bagamoyo is a small beach city on the coast, and translated, means "lay down your heart." The inner emo in me began to obsess over Bagamoyo. In all reality though, Tanzania was too expensive to go to. Then, I settled on Rwanda. Then, on Kenya. While Kenya is a beautiful country, the northern region is still technically a war zone and there has been various bursts of violence around Nairobi. My parents sent me daily emails with links to articles about the violence in Kenya or links to government websites that warned against visiting Kenya. My mother said I would have to dye my hair brown so I didn't stand out so much and travel in groups. I finally took their hints and gave up on Kenya when I read an article in National Geographic Traveler in which the author was describing the time he was driving through Kenya this year and armed bandits hijacked their car. This does not mean I wont go to Kenya someday, but my parents are right - for my first living abroad experience, and for the sake of Susan's blood pressure, I will go to Ghana, which can use my help but isn't as menacing as some of the other places I chose. My dream is to come back from Ghana, save up again, and then leave next July to teach for a year with WorldTeach in the Marshall Islands (in eastern Micronesia).

There really isn't much to say until I go but from time to time I will update you on my progress and preparations. This blog is really for those of you that care that I'm even gone and especially for those of you that donate things for the children or sponsor me! Look where your money is going!

Linds