A Week Away

Well, it's a week to go before we leave Madison to head to Charlotte for orientation and then it's off to Nigeria! We're very excited. The UW InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship that we're a part of gave us an opportunity to share with them at the last large group meeting about what we've learned during our time in Madison and how that impacted our decision to head off on this trip. We're in the process of getting everything together to be packed up before we go, trying to decide what type of food we want to bring with us that may not be easy to get while we're there. In particular, we've been getting herbs and spices that aren't easy to come by in Africa.

Barbara's trying to figure out what medical books she wants to bring with her, but the hardest part for her has been trying to decide what "fun" books she wants to take. She reads a LOT, and that's one of the key ways in which she relaxes, so she's hoping to take some that can keep her entertained for a little while if we need a break from being in a different place. I suspect the hardest part will come after the first week or two, when we've had a chance to settle in and culture shock starts to hit us a little. We're excited, but we also realize that we'll be in a very different place than any we've ever been in. It'll be a challenge to get used to being so far from our friends and family.