Pre-Trip, Trip.

So, packing.

I like to think that I am pretty good at packing, lots of moving between Newfoundland / New Brunswick / Nova Scotia, and a few spur of the moment trips; not to mention being on the road for more than a month last summer. Normally, when I would move from place to place, I wouldn't need that much stuff. Most places I have gone for a chunk of time you know you can get your favourite shampoo, and that a store will have your size...Needless to say I had a pretty overwhelming trip to Walmart yesterday; but alas, it is all coming together. Though trying to fit all my belongings for the next 6 months in a hiking pack, will prove to be challenging.

Overall, preparations are going really well (so far). I talked to a friend who spent 6 months in Cameroon and she helped me out in terms of what to expect, and a few things to bring which was super helpful (thanks, Link; so typical of our relationship). I also had a fantastic phone conversation with Steph, one of the Coady interns from the last cohort. Though I felt like I was interrogating her a bit with all my questions, it was great to talk to someone about what to do / bring / leave. She is going off adventuring in South East Asia this week (with one of the Coady interns from her cohort as a matter of fact), so I am forever grateful to her for speaking with me and answering all of my strange questions.

Last night I (read: my mom) booked a trip to see my sister tomorrow until Thursday evening. She has a day or so off, so I am going to go show up on her doorstep so we can have our last sister time before she gets another couple days off over Christmas. Unless she decides to come visit me, it isn't like she is doing anything important, like going medical school. Oh wait...

So now I am trying to reschedule appointments I had made during that time, and making sure that everything is on track. When I get back I will have two weeks exactly before I end up in Halifax, so I need to make sure I have everything that can be done before I go, done.

On the note of packing, I should probably go do a load of laundry, a chore which I have been procrastinating. I can only imagine how bad it is going to be for the next 6 months when I don't have a laundry machine...

All my love,
Maura