Packing for Tanzania

Yesterday I packed a suitcase (bigger than I have ever traveled with) great stuff, all for the students and staff at The School of St. Jude in Arusha, Tanzania. One day last week I went from store to store, list in hand, picking up things that are on the school's wish list. I called my colleagues in our library to see if they could spare some book tape, plastic book covers and self-adhesive labels for the spines of library books. I got some helpful emails in response to my question, "What should I bring?" One frequent visitor and friend of St. Jude's suggested, that if I wanted to be popular (and who doesn't?) I should bring chocolate. And Mrs. N really got busy, making sure all the sponsored kids would get Country Day gear. And the Booster Club added shirts and back packs. A few folks added books to my pile. Will it all fit? Yes. Will the bag be over weight? (I measured it with my trusty tape measure and so I know I am within the size limits.) Keep your fingers crossed.

My suitcase is my usual carry-on. Among the layers of clothes, I have a surprising amount of equipment: iPod, computer, Kindle, cameras, phones, flip video and a recorder. Add to that the necessary chargers, plugs and batteries and I feel like a peddler from an electronics store. I may be going half way around the globe, but I will be connected as if I am just down the road, as long as the electricity and connectivity holds. (Since I am just finishing Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded," those things are on my mind.)

All the details of leaving are nearly settled, and I hope that the things that, when I am strapped in the airplane seat and I suddenly remember that I did not do them, will be things that aren't that important. Keep your fingers crossed again.

I will miss my gorgeous camellias. They are having the best blooms ever. I will miss reading in my reading chair with my cat curled up on my lap. I will miss Padres spring training. I will miss my family and friends. I will miss LJCDS more than I can say. But, I am eager to get on that plane, fly over the US, over the Atlantic Ocean, across Europe and into Africa. I am eager to learn and to work. Keep your fingers crossed.