Step 3- health considerations- ouch

Since mosquitoes always seem to have a feast on my pasty white legs, I will need a solid inspect-repelling plan. Malaria pills will help, but I'm not sure if Avon's Skin-So-Soft is going to be enough to keep away the tsetse fly. Has anyone used those bracelet-things to keep away bugs?

Luckily, I got some immunization shots before going to China. My doctor laughed when I showed him the original vaccine records my mom gave me. He hadn't seen a document like that in ages- the original paperwork from Holy Redeemer issued back in 1973. In true Ginger fashion, I asked my mom about my MMR-shots one night on the phone, and within 24 hours, she had located and delivered the actual card. She's the best. Typhoid, yellow fever, and rabies are among some of the shots I should get.

And because I can be pretty clumsy and have the unfortunate habit of cutting myself fairly frequently, I get tetanus shots fairly regularly- which is probably why I didn't get sick after taking an unplanned dip in the Cooper River back in October.

So, I won't be drinking tap water or petting any stray dogs in Tanzania, but I hope to try lots of great food and maybe even see a lion on the Serengeti.

Step 2- research- on going

And so, the reading begins...Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and Green Hills of Africa are definitely on the list. I could read Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, but then again, maybe I could watch the movie. Robert Redford is pretty dreamy. Chinua Achebe has a collection of African short stories. I am much more inclined to read fiction, so if anyone has non-fiction recommendations, please share them.

Step 1-commit- check

I have decided to do some traveling this summer, but it's going to be a working vacation. I am headed to Tanzania for three weeks to assist Cross-Cultural Solutions' on-going community programs in the town of Bagamoyo. Using the skills I have acquired as a sister, aunt, daughter, friend, teacher, and coach, I hope to share a little something of myself with the local people. Depending on the needs when I arrive and the other volunteers, I may be working with children in a classroom, with women creating income-generating activities, or with people affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The teenagers of South Philadelphia have certainly taught me how to be flexible. Let's see if I measure up on an international level. Here's to a new adventure!