3 weeks left...

I’m kind of going back and forth between topics I wanted to cover from earlier this year and things that I’m doing right now. Sorry if its confusing! So now for the current update:

This weekend was very busy getting ready for my trip. Sometimes I feel like I am almost ready for my adventure and only need to finish up a couple more errands…. Other times I feel so behind and overwhelmed that I don’t know where to begin!

Friday afternoon I picked my dad up from work (his car was in the shop) and we went to the Apple store in Tyson’s to talk about what camcorders work well with Apple computers. Getting a camcorder is turning out to be a huge project. We’ve gone to Best Buy, Circuit City twice, and 2 Apple stores! Thankfully my dad is much better at researching and asking the questions. I sure have learned a lot about the technology available these days. So many choices. Friday night I took a break and watched the movie Michael Clayton with George Clooney.

Saturday I went to a local thrift shop because it was half price day. We found some long skirts to wear in the classrooms and even a map of the world for 25 cents. I love half price day! My mom and I also went to Price Club to pick up my prescriptions. Medications are turning out to be the most expensive thing. Hopefully I won’t get sick and need them, but they are better to have with me just in case.

After Price Club, my dad and I went to the new Apple store in Fair Oaks. We are getting so many different opinions; we have to ask multiple people. We had heard we needed ilife 08 for the best version of imovie, but the lady we talked to said imovie 06 is actually better for what I’ll be doing. That’s one less thing I need to get! That was about all I got done on Saturday, I spent the evening babysitting Miss Cassie!!

Cheesecake Factory called me expecting me to work even though I haven’t heard from them for 3 weeks. I told them sorry but I was just too busy and wouldn’t be able to work this summer. They weren’t happy with me but oh well! I’m going to Africa!

On Sunday my dad finally told me he had concluded his research and picked the perfect camcorder. So we went to Circuit City to check it out but we were going to buy it online because that was cheapest. Turns out they were sold out so we couldn’t even look at it. I want to have a week or two to try it out, so we are ordering it today. Next my mom and I were off to the teachers store to see what they had. They had a ton of great stuff but it was super expensive. We ended up getting some posters of the continents for just $2.50. They were sold out of Africa posters. Bummer! We also got some ideas of things to teach like our 5 senses and as my mom calls it “physical geography” but basically teaching the planet we live on, the continent we live on, the country we live in etc.

Finally our last stop was Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is always trouble because I feel like I need everything I see. We got all type of travel supplies and things like shampoo, lotion, anti bacterial wipes etc. We got some peanut butter crackers, crystal light to-go packs, and the electrical adaptors for the outlets. We also found the game Jacks which my mom thought would be perfect! I can’t remember how to play, I’ll have to Google that!

So all in all, it was a very successful weekend. I feel like I have accomplished a lot. My to do list still includes finishing my photo book of my life to show the kids, working on reading the Malawi textbook and writing responses, packing my suitcase and finalizing lesson plans/finding appropriate songs and dances to teach. I’d still like to find toothbrushes and some other supplies. It all depends how much room I have left in my suitcase.

My mom and I were talking one night and wondered if Malawi has Girl Scouts. We looked it up online and sure enough there are Girl Guides in Lilongwe!!! I emailed them a couple days ago asking if they needed supplies and/or if they would want to meet. I was a Girl Scout for 10 years and so was Krista so this would be really great if we could meet the Girl Guides of Malawi!! I haven’t heard back from them but I’m really hoping I will in the next couple of days.