Tada!

Here, are the books I picked up from HPB today. I've been sitting in my floor reading them for a while. So excited!


Edited to add: 45 pounds of books! ok to go on the plane. :)

Two Weeks

Oh my goodness, two weeks left to go. It's finally starting to sink in (very very slowly). I am so excited and so nervous. Today I got a call from HPB today saying that my donations are ready. I'm excited to go pick them up tomorrow. Also, I have a bit of my own supplies to donate. I hope that goes over well! I still have a ton of little things to do and not a lot of time to do them. I have Monday off and I need to take care of my taxes since those will be due while I am gone. Also on Monday I am having a mini Going-Away-Girls-Date with some co-workers, since I haven't gotten to spend time with them lately.

On that note I would like to confess a fear of mine. I am going on this adventure alone. Solo. Just me, myself, and I. That is terrifying. I've never traveled more than a state away by myself, let alone to a whole new continent. I am independent enough to take care of myself, but I have a tendency to get pretty lonely pretty easily. I am socially dependent something awful. Besides the fact that I'll have to navigate three airports in one day, I'll also have to entertain myself on 9+ hour flights. I am stressed about being away from my friends for so long (esp. since many of them are so new). Kinda like when a mommy and daddy have a new baby, and the older kid fears that they will be pushed to the wayside; I fear that when I get back I'll be so out of the loop it'll be impossible to get back into the groove, so to speak. This, of course, is not true and is a typical Portia thing to worry about. I know once I arrive in Kenya there will be plenty of people to socialize with and I am sure it'll be easy to make friends, it's all just so stressful to think about right now.

In reality however, this is all one of the biggest incentives of the trip. I need to learn to be more independent, and happy with being alone; content to sit and relax with my own thoughts rather than the constant distraction of text message after text message and needing company to be comfortable. I think that, even if I haven't mastered this concept, by the time I return to DFW I will have gained a new appreciation for Portia-Time.

Hurray!

Yesterday before work I dropped by Half Price Books real quickly to see if they had a book I've been looking for, and while I was there I decided I might as well man up and ask about donations. The gentleman I talked to was quite nice, and he told me that I would need to speak to the GM on Tuesday to get an answer. I left feeling positive and have been waiting patiently for Tuesday to come.

Lo and behold I had a voicemail when I got out of work today from James (the nice manager man) saying he already talked with his boss and they would be happy to supply me with some children's books for the trip.

I am very pleased, that was so simple! I have been talking to a couple people from different places in Kenya, and I am confident that, even if my placement doesn't need them, they will go to great use somewhere.


Now, to figure out a way to transport a batch of books across the world...
Hmm...

A-E-I-O-U

On another note, I've started practicing very basic Swahili. I doubt there will be a time where I'll need it while I am gone, but it's fun none the less. Most nights I end up in a fit of giggles trying to say a mouthful of words that sounds something like 'squiddilyspooch' to me. However, for the most part I have proper pronunciation and some simple greetings down.

Usiku mwema [ goodnight :) ]

Preparation & Plane Tickets

Tada! A travel blog, not likely to be maintained. But hey, it's the thought that counts. I leave in just over a month and I suddenly feel like I have a ton to accomplish. The major To-Dos have been taken care of, (with much deliberation I might add, as far as the plane ticket goes) however now I'm down to the monotonous tasks that tend to make me more anxious than anything else.

Tomorrow's List:

• Write and turn in my request for a leave of absence
• Make final payments to IVHQ
• Email volunteer coordinator with updated travel plans
• (Hopefully) purchase traveler's insurance

There is plenty more to be done, but that is a start. I am also hoping to gather some donations from a few places around town. That, seems a daunting (yet honorable) quest all in it's own.


Aye! So much to do and so little time.