i start my adventure today.

tomorrow

i leave tomorrow. i can't believe it.
i have my travelers cheques, although not in the denominations i requested; and with the exception of charging some electronics, i'm packed.

delta

delta sent me a reminder email today. this is a very positive thing as i have paper airline tickets and booked the flight using an outside agent. i'm glad they still know i'm planning on flying across the ocean in two days. my first flight is at 1 in the afternoon.
they also sent me a link to a reminder page about international flying, which allowed me to verify my mom's note that i can check two bags. this is awesome because i put the duffle bag folded up [empty] inside my backpack to that i can then fill it with good stuff on the way back. this is exciting.

these two things take away a small portion of my anxiety. also, today i begin taking my anti-malaria pills. and after laundry, i will finish packing.

travelers cheques

ordered money today. thought that it wouldn't be a hassle, but it was suggested that i have them in pounds sterling as opposed to dollars, so that threw a wrench in my plan of carrying them out of the bank with me.
the lady assured me that they would be at the branch on wednesday for me to pick up, which is a good thing because i leave on thursday.
only thing left on the list is retrieving my torch from school, getting some gifts, and possibly finding a pair of sunglasses.
oh, and thinking strategically about packing...

typhoid

on wednesday, i completed my series of typhoid pills, so i'm set on that.
ashley brought up that i need to get color copies and documents to someone here as well as with me, so i'll be taking a trip to kinkos to accomplish that tomorrow or maybe tuesday.

after two weeks of the world music drumming workshops, i am really excited to continue drumming in Africa. Hearing about Josh's (one of the teachers) experience in Ghana, makes me really pumped to learn in the Gambia. So i just need to make sure that i have the traveler's checks and documents, and that i'll be able to eat something safely.

i'm still anxious about it.

travel doctor's appt.

wow. four shots, an oral vaccine, and anti-malaria pills. that's a lot. and a lot of money. but preventative medicine is a good thing. a scary thing to hear about the "live" diseases. but i'll take the vaccines.

so i am not in possession of sore arms with band-aide tans, but also have vaccines in me. and my official yellow card to enter the country. yay.

the yellow fever shot burned. it was weird. and one of the other ones hurt more than any other shot i've ever had. and i filled my prescriptions today. so that's another major accomplishment in preparing for the trip.

short absence

it's time for an update. (and the promise to be more diligent about posting now that the trip is upon me)

while home in wisconsin, i acquired items for the trip.
1. i purchased a new digital camera, which is not just for the trip, but will be heavily used on the trip.
2. i purchased a traveler's backpack. with the help of the man at REI, i think this will be a good fit.
3. i purchased a new pair of "real shoes" (according to my father) so i would not be walking around in my flipflops.


Also while in Wisconsin, i attended a world music drumming workshop. At this workshop, i sang songs and danced dances from Ghana, so i think that was a good warm-up for my trip to the Gambia.

I can't believe it's only 3 weeks away.
Today i have a doctor's appointment to get shots. So i'll post later on that.