Into the Wild Blue Yonder...

I woke up this morning at 6:30 without an alarm.
I keep checking the same lists over and over and over again.
I have been loading my iPod with tons of NPR podcasts.
I have been listening to "Africa" by Toto on repeat for about 24 hours.

Time to go to Africa, hon! 

I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since my last trip (I also can't believe that the last thing I wrote about was a Kenyan Reality TV Competition.  Woof.), but I am super excited about this trip.  5 days after I land in Kenya, I will be joined by 7 young adults for a 3 week Come & See Mission trip.  This is the dream, why I started working for the AJs in the first place, and what I have been working towards for 2 and a half years.  It was heartbreaking when I had to cancel the trip last year, but I have been feeling lately that this is how it was all supposed to happen. 

Since 5 of the 7 Come & See participants are medical students at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (including my awesome sister Allie!), this trip will have a medical focus.  When the group arrives, we will spend our first week in Kenya at the Apostles of Jesus AIDS Ministry (AJAM) in Kiserian, Rift Valley.  Then we will drive to Tanzania for a few days of safari adventures (Ngorongoro Crater!), before flying to Uganda to work at the Queen of the Apostles Medical Center at Lima Farm in Nakaseke. 

It is going to be a pretty intense three weeks!

I am going to do my best to keep this blog up to date.  I'm also hoping to have some guest bloggers, so you can hear from the people with whom I am traveling.  Of course, as ever, all of this is contingent on decent internet access. 

Be well, dear readers.  The next time you hear from me, I'll be on East African time!

Here I Go Again On My Own

Thank you, Whitesnake, for saying it best. I am embarking on new travel adventures, and it is time to rouse this tired old blog and take it for a spin!

Since my last post, I have done some traveling. Spain and the Dominican Republic were wonderful, but in just a few days I am returning to my true love: East Africa.

Since January, I have started working for the Apostles of Jesus, the order whose missions I visited in Africa back in June/July, 2010. I am their brand-new "Coordinator of Development and Come & See Mission". That's right folks- I'm livin' the dream! "Come & See" is a mission initiative for people who are interested in visiting Africa. (Yes! That could be you!) I am excited to provide people the opportunity to fall in love with Africa the way that I have.

And I'm ready for ADVENTURE!

At the behest of family and friends, I am going to do my best to keep everyone up to date on my travels through this blog. I am going to be on the move a lot more than last time, so I don't know how often I'll have reliable internet, but I'll do my best to keep you all in the loop.

This trip will be about one month (February 19- March 22), and I'll be covering a few thousand kilometers on East African roads. I should probably go buy a camera.