Update

I got so many great things on Christmas day to prepare me for my travels! I got a gorgeous 3rd travel journal, so I think I'm getting the hint that my family and friends want me to journal while I'm gone. :) And I got an awesome small little mp3 player from my brother, that does recordings too, so I'll be able to hopefully use it when I'm working on my independent study project during the last four weeks of my studies in Madagascar. I'll use it for interviews and the like so that I can write my 40 page paper that's due before I leave. Oh joy. I usually try to convince myself to overlook the fact that studying abroad actually includes studying, but then I'm so quickly reminded by things like the voice recorder, and two books that my parents got me that are reading assignments for my program. I have to read them before I leave, which will be a challenge for me, because I'm not a huge fan of reading. I suppose I'll have to squeeze it in some time in the next month.

I also got a nice tiny camera that was relatively inexpensive so that if it gets stolen, I won't be losing a whole lot (although I am very hopeful that it won't get stolen). And my mom gave me a bunch of summery clothes that we got on sale from Old Navy that will be great for the warm weather that I'm about to enjoy. :)

My Dad got me a pink pocket knife and a pink swiss army knife. He knows me so well. <3 And my brother also gave me an adapter so I can actually use the electricity there. And he gave me bug spray and sun block. My poor fair sensitive skin will not do well with the sun or bugs, so that was very kind of him. :) I got a money belt from my mom, and I was given some money from some family members, which I will put towards buying myself a pair of Tom's shoes. I think they'll be pretty comfortable to do a lot of walking in, and a smaller option than taking a pair of hiking boots, which my program said were optional.

Earlier today, Mom took me to the hair dresser to get my last hair cut here in the US. I got a nice little bob that will hopefully grow out well, since I don't plan on getting it cut in the next six months or so (which is probably longer than I've ever gone without a hair cut....uh oh). I really like it and I'm hoping that having it short will make it a lot easier to take care of while I'm gone. Here's what it looks like:

And the last update for now, I've officially taken all of my typhoid vaccine pills, so I should be relatively safe from getting typhoid fever while I'm gone. Woohoo! :)