Its Time For Africa

Tomorrow I will be getting on a plane and flying almost 9000 miles to Uganda where I will be living for the next six weeks.  I can't believe that I'm really going to Africa!!  I'm a little bit nervous and intimidated by it, I have never been so far away from home before.  I hope that it is amazing as what I am picturing.

I am planning on keeping my blog updated -  at least once a week.  I don't know if I will be able to upload pictures or not but I promise that pictures will come once I return home.  

Bon Voyage Party

My family threw me a goodbye party yesterday complete with gifts and decorations.  My sister and brother in law even found a street map of Uganda, I'm totally taking that with me.  It was fun spend the night with my family and one of my best friends.  I definitely felt the love and support from everyone.

My dad, Uncle Brent and me.

One Month

One month from today I will be on my way to Uganda.  I'm not so sure that it has totally hit me yet.  Maybe it won't become totally real until I actually set foot onto the plane and finally take off.  I have been trying to read my handbook from HELP INTERNATIONAL and put together a list of things that I need to take with me and things that I need to do before I leave.  My sister, my mom and me are going to go shopping for clothes next week.  

I bought some Chacos at REI last week (I was NOT happy about that purchase :)  Everyone keeps telling me about the cool tan lines that you get from them, but who cares about the tan lines?  I just spent ninety five dollars on ugly sandals.  They are apparently recommended by podiatrists so hopefully they don't end up hurting my back or my knees.  I have never heard a bad thing about them, everyone seems to love them but they are just not attractive.

This is the color i bought.  Maybe they aren't that bad...

I also bought an electrical adapter while I was at REI which should prove to come in handy now as well as in the future.

I have to call my bank and tell them I will be in Uganda and get some cash to take with me.  I found out that I need bills that are less then ten years old so that should be fun.  I have to call the company that has my student loan and set up payments for June and July or maybe they will let me skip a payment.  Gotta stop at the health food store and get vitamins, and probiotics.  Get sunscreen and bug spray.  Yikes!  There is so much stuff to do.

Its Getting Closer.. Forty Days Left

This week I have been trying to figure out exactly what I need to take with me to Africa and how much I need to take.  My grandma is making a couple skirts for me, she already has one finished and it is so cute!  I almost don't want to take it to Africa because I like it so much. 

I am not going to take anything valuable with me, well except for my camera.  I'm not going to take my iPod or my computer with me.  I want to be in Africa and don't want any distractions.  I will have access to an internet cafe so I will be able to update my blog and email my family.  The only time I would use my iPod is on the plane ride there but its not necessary, I will take my headphones and can listen to the radio on the airplane or watch TV and if those get lost or stolen it won't be a big deal, I will have two more pairs at home and can always buy some more for ten dollars.  I will make sure to take a journal with a few pens, plenty of memory for my camera and a cheap book.

As far as clothes I plan to leave everything I take with me in Uganda so that I will have more room to bring things home with me.  I'm pretty much going to buy whatever I want since who knows when and if I will go to Africa again so I am going to take advantage of being there.  I might even take a smaller piece of luggage inside of a larger one so that I will have even more room to bring stuff home.  When I went to Hawaii with my family we had to buy another bag so we could take all of our stuff home and we were only there for two weeks.  Who knows how much stuff I can accumulate in six weeks?

 
Between planning a bridal shower for my sister, planning her wedding and moving, it hasn't left much time for me to plan for Africa but with only forty days left until I leave Salt Lake City I have to start getting things ready to go.

Its Official!

I finally received a confirmation for my flight.  I am really going to Africa, who does that?  Am I crazy?  Maybe a little but I'm ok with that :)

I hope this experience is everything I want it to be and that I will actually be able to make a difference in someone's life.  I'm excited to see Uganda and meet some awesome Ugandan people and maybe even learn a little bit of their language.

Airfare, ISIC card and Antimalarial Medication

I finally sent in a flight request with HELP International and heard back from the travel agent.  Now I am just waiting for confirmation that my flights have been booked/reserved.  I will be leaving the United States on June 8 and arriving in Uganda the next day.  I'll be in Uganda for six weeks and leave on July 20, arriving in Salt Lake City on July 21.  I am extremely excited that I get to have this opportunity and look forward to having my life change.

I received my International Student ID Card in the mail, the only thing is I have to put it together myself.  It says get a passport sized photo, cut it to fit and cover the whole card with plastic.  So  I got my passport sized photo, it was way to big!  By the time I cut it down to size my head was HUGE, so I decided to print out my own picture that is the right size in the first place.  My awesome dad is going to help me with that this weekend.

I went to the health department yesterday and got a prescription for antimalarial medication.  They gave me three choices, all of which had a list of side effects to go with them.  I ended up choosing the one with the least amount of side effects, it also happened to be the cheapest option :)  I am nervous about taking the pills because I have a very sensitive stomach and can't tolerate anything.  I really hope that I don't end up having an upset stomach for six weeks in Africa! 

LASIK Eye Surgery

The thought of having instruments near my eye while I am awake has always scared me; what if I moved my eye and the surgeon slipped and something went wrong?  I didn't want to be blind.  In the end my desire to have perfect vision won out and I decided to go ahead with the consultation for LASIK at Hoopes Vision.  I decided that this would be an ideal time to have the surgery so that I don't have to attempt to put contacts in or were glasses while I am in Africa.

My sister took me to Hoopes Vision for the consultation a couple weeks ago.  When I got there I had to watch a fifteen minute video about the procedure and answer some questions.  They showed me the room with the lasers, they have about six plus the intralase laser.  I then had to undergo several different tests in order to check my eyes to make sure that they were healthy enough to have the surgery.  I was there for about two hours and made an appointment to come in the next week for surgery.  They gave me a prescription for two different eye drops and told me to get some artificial tears.  I was instructed to bring all the eye drops with me on the day of surgery as well as a consent form that I had to sign.

My parents took me up to Sandy last Wednesday and I signed in for surgery.  They gave me a valium, as well as post-op instructions.  I was finally taken back to the surgery area, my dad was allowed to come with me and observe, my mom didn't want to.  The first step was intralase where they created the corneal flap. In between the steps I had to sit in a massage chair for about twenty minutes with my eyes closed.  The second step was the actual correction;  the surgeon moved  my flap, held my head and told me to stay very still while the laser reshaped my cornea which took a total of six seconds.

I went home and slept for three hours.  When I woke up I could see clearly across the room.  I can see things that I didn't even know I couldn't see!

I felt so sick, I thought I might throw up! I was so scared

Reading about the procedure.

The first step, intralase

The second step

All done!

This week I plan to:

• Finish reading my handbook
• Book a flight
• Get antimalarial medication