little, but powerful

This is so cool, I have to share. Yesterday I purchased a solar charger that is about the size of my hand and super light. It will charge most electronics, including ipods & cellphones! So, I will be charging my ipod and cellphone under the African sun. Perfect for rafters, campers, and adventure travelers. Cheers to cool inventions!

Things I Will Miss, Maybe

Today got me thinking about some things I will miss about Bend, the U.S. and more specifically the developped world. Friends, family, and my dogs are all givens. It will be interesting to see how this list changes when I actually get there. So, maybe this is more of a gratitude list.

- Great microbrews and diverse selection of beer.
- Dependable internet connection (mainly to download songs).
- Floating the Deschutes River, one couldn't ask for a better summer activity.
- Eating at new restaurants with Lindsay and Jenfoe, or just grabbing a pint at one of our many micros.
- Especially Chow, thanks Lindsay for enlightening me.
- Jenfoe's kids.
- Getting a perfect with Beth.
- Girls night out.
- My relative proximity to anything resembling Latin culture and food.
- Having a view of the Three Sisters.
- Relative lack of diseases, especially curable ones.

Things I look forward to:
- Waking up, and knowing that my job matters.
- Talking with the locals.
- Being with kids who are reselient and not spoiled.
- Waking up and seeing Kiliminjaro from my window.
- Wildlife.
- Balloon Ride over Masai Mara, Kenya.
- Murchison Falls, Uganda.
- Rafting the Nile in Uganda.
- Climbing Kili.
- Roaming and relaxing on the beaches of Zanzibar, Pemba, & Lamu all along the Swahili Coast.
- Kigali, Rwanda.
- Mountain Gorillas in the DRC, Uganda, or Rwanda.
- Lake Malawi, Malawi.
- Learning Swahili.
- Hopefully going to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.

"Soldiers, you've got to soldier on. Sometimes even right is wrong."

There is no doubt that going to Africa is the best thing I can do for myself and others. It was this or the Peace Corps, and maybe even the Peace Corps sometime in the future. I even have been keeping potential mates away because it seems so silly to get "involved." Not really sure how much of this is subconcious or intentional, but I don't want hard goodbyes. Yet, at the same time, I yearn to be enraptured again. So, I will soldier on, with highest hopes for Africa, love, and friendship.

etc.,

As you can imagine, gathering and doing all the necessary things before going to East Africa is a little cumbersome compared to going to Europe, the Middle East, or even parts of Asia. I guess with so many recent trips I have become accustomed to flying by the seat of my pants, not really planning too much. East Africa is totally different, I can't even remember when I had my last TB, tetanus, Hep A & B, & meningitis boosters. Time to get pricked over and over again. What's insanely ludacris to me is that my health insurance and most American health insurance companies won't even pay for the yellow fever vaccine. Going to Africa obviously isn't a health necessity, but last time I checked my health is a necessity. Thanks America; our screw ball health system is something I will gladly leave at home.

East Africa

I am moving to Kenya this September for an undetermined amount of time. You might ask what on earth is taking me away from my comfortable life here in America, or you might think it's, well, awesome. Honestly, it just feels right. The way travel and life has changed me over the past decade it seems like the only logical thing to do. In Kibwezi, Kenya I will assist in running an orphanage for 36 children. Daunting, fulfilling, adventurous; I'm sure it will be all of those things. In short, that's why I've started this blog. I want to share with all of you who care my thoughts, images, experiences as I navigate this journey.