All of a sudden, it hit me that I'm leaving for Africa in less than a week. Staring at my friend Christi, blinking back the sun out on the patio at Mojo, it hit me when she asked if I was nervous. Or when my mom told me yesterday that she needs to hear my voice at least once a day before I go because what I'm doing "is a big deal." Or when I've been driving friends to and from the airport, thinking the next time, it will be me coming from the international terminal. Even though I've been preparing for 2 months and I'm set and ready to go, I don't know anyone I'm traveling with and have no idea what to expect. I realized today that I don't know what my life will look like in a week. I'll be in Uganda, but what will I be doing? who will I be with? will I have friends? what will I eat? will I feel completely overwhelmed? how will I explain to other people when I get back about what I've experienced?
I might feel like I did when I lived in France the first time, moved to San Francisco: an uneasy feeling in my gut from the moment I awoke. I'm not doing the easy thing. My friend Aldwin wrote in his thoughtful penmanship, "You're probably the only person I know who would be brave enough to do something like this, giving to do something like this." I know that might not be true, but I'm encouraged by it all the same.
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