In less than a month....

In less than a month, I will be living on the other side of the world among people who I've never met before. It's sort of like freshman year of college all over again but on a much bigger scale!

I'm excited to meet the people who I will be living and working with in and around Kibale National Park. I've read that even though all the hardships that Ugandans have had to face in recent decades, that they are some of the happiest people in all of Africa. I'm excited to see what people are like when you take away all the "extras" that we have here in the states and get down to what's really important. I can't wait to meet all the school children that I will be working with for the next six months to a year. I am hoping that the children will keep me from getting too homesick. In addition, I can't wait to see all the wildlife and vegetation . Kibale has 250 different kinds of trees and 70 different kinds of mammals including 11 species of primates! As a comparison, the US park with most variety in tree species only has 25!

People often ask me what I will miss the most and honestly I have no idea. At this point I think it will be my two adorable kittens (one who is laying beside me as I write this), my dog, and my friends and family. But I'm sure I will return with a new appreciation for running water, indoor plumbing, high speed Internet, and McDonald's.

I've had a lot of time in the last two month's since I accepted the position to reflect on why I said yes. Honestly, a lot of it comes down to why not. I am 31, single, and have no dependents except for my three pets. My parents have both passed away so I have few who depend on me at this moment. In 2008, I got a strong sense that I was single for reason. Maybe I was single in my early to mid twenties so I could help take care of my folks when they were sick. But what was I suppose to be doing with this time now. I believe God has a hand in all things - when I saw the position it all clicked maybe this is what I suppose to do. I have the skill set to train the teachers in Uganda and I'm "free" to go. In addition, to why not and my strong sense that this is what I am suppose to be doing in 2009, it also relates 20 years of believing in Carpe diem. Ever since I saw " Dead Poets Society" in 1989, I have tried to live by Carpe diem or Seize the Day. We only get one chance at this life so lets make it the best it can be.

I've "seize the day" in the past: being a Christian clown, living on a living history farm for a summer, chaperoning a group of high school students to Costa Rica, driving across country, living in London, just to name a few but I think my biggest adventure is yet to come in a little less than a month.