Less than 72 hours!

So, I'm leaving the house in 2 days, 5 hours and, 29 minutes (not that I'm counting or anything) and heading to Boston to start the first leg of my trip ! I can't wait. I'll be landing in Antananarivo the next day, where I'll be met by my program director, and all 14 of us students will head off to orientation for five days. Then our first home stay will begin on February 1st, in the capital, Antananarivo (aka Tana). The next day, we'll start our classes, which consist of French, Malagasy, a field study seminar and a national identity and social change seminar. Throughout the next two months, we'll have a village home stay, which I've been told can be pretty rough, and a home stay in Mahajanga, along with some different excursions. Then the last month of the program, I'll have to do an independent study project where I'm given a stipend to cover living costs and I'll go do my field work and write my 40 page paper. Then the last few days in Madagascar, we will all come back together in Tana where we'll present our work and say our goodbyes. Then I'll be back in the states just in time to celebrate my 19th birthday! Woohoo!

The last few days I've been gathering everything together and packing, making sure that I have everything I need. It seems like there's so much to do, and I'm afraid that I'm going to forget something important. I had to get doctors notes for my prescriptions, I have to make sure I have a list of important phone numbers, my International SOS card, my money, debit card, homework, WHO card, copies of everything, etc... Just my luck, I'm going to forget something silly like my passport. So for those of you reading this, please send good thoughts my way that I'll have a good enough memory and keep everything together! :)

Here are a few pictures of what I've been packing so far:

Razors, face wash, shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, sun screen, bug spray, beachy hair spray (since my hair probably won't do any other look with the humidity over there), more sun screen, wet wipes, deodorant, more sunscreen, body wash, hand sanitizer, and make up remover. :)

As much as I'd like to ignore the fact that I will be in classes while I'm over there, and doing field work, I have to acknowledge it at some point and make sure to pack school supplies! I have two books that I'm supposed to have read, and I've only read one....I still have this whole book to read, but I'm hoping that maybe over my 30ish hours of travelling, I'll find some reading time. :) I also need to scrummage through all of my school supplies from last semester that are still packed away and pack those for my trip too.

These are all of the gifts I got for my home stay families. :) Calenders, playing cards, mints, beanie babies, string for macrame, pencils, stickers, jump rope, mascara, eye shadow and eyeliner (for my host sisters), caramels, pop rocks, foot ball, bouncy ball, little alien things, weird cat and dog that grow when you put them in water, three onesies for any babies I met along the way (Thanks to Jeannine!), and a couple of other odds and ends.

Most importantly, my medications!! I've got a little bit of everything, a few prescriptions, a lot of over the counters, with some bandaids, tissues, and cough drops too. I've got stuff for allergies, colds, flus, food poisoning, my awful knee issues, and more. I also had to get doctors notes, and a medic alert bracelet for my amoxicillin/penicillin allergy. Hopefully I have everything that I need! :) 

Shoes!! :) Plus one of my lovely pair of orthotics that should hopefully help with the knee pain I have been experiencing lately. I went to the doctor about it a few days ago, and apparently my x-rays show that I have something on top of my tibia in my knee joint that is some how an indication of some chronic knee condition, so that's always good. I'm taking arthritis meds, ibuprofen, some medicated joint rub, and glucosamine in addition to the orthotics and a stretching and strengthening routine. Hopefully it doesn't flare up too much while I'm gone.

And some of my favorites, a few gifts from Dad. An awesome crank flashlight, and a wonderful pink knife set. Thanks Daddy! :)

I might do another post before I go, or this could be my last update from here in Maine! The next one might just be from Madagascar! I'm certainly going to miss it here, but I sure am ready to do get this trip started. Not much longer!