T-minus 1 Day!

I have less than 24 hours to get everything done before I leave earlllllllly tomorrow morning to catch my flight out of Minneapolis.  Oh dear.  I knew it'd come down to this last-minute chaos, and it's pretty much my own fault.  But hopefully my all-niter tonight (should it come down to that) will be successful and I won't forget to pack anything important.

I believe I have all my necessities already, so it's just filling my suitcase with odds and ends now. A bottle of nail polish? Sure. I don't know if people if Africa paint their toenails, but a bottle of pretty pink polish just might come in handy sometime. And how 'bout some handmade hot pot mitts, sewed by my grandma?  Of course.  They'll make for a good present to the host family I'll be living with for the first couple months.  The Mozart Clarinet Concerto or Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet?  Well, that's easy. Both, duh!  [I've probably spent the majority of my time the last few days going through my music and scanning everything into the computer so it's all digital.  Thus, I can access it and print a copy of Stravinsky, Brahms, etc. while in Africa...and should my sheet music happen to go missing and/or be destroyed by my siblings by the time I come home, I'll still have a copy and won't be utterly devastated.  Angry, yes, but not devastated.]

I've also realized I have a little more room in my suitcase than I originally planned on, and so now, one of the hardest things is deciding what additional items (mainly clothing) to take: the yellow t-shirt...or would I prefer blue?  Can't have both...just one. Or maybe I should forgo the t-shirts altogether and bring an extra pair of tennis shoes?  Decisions, decisions.

In other last minute preparations, I have officially paid off my student loans! How many recent college grads can say that?!?  They don't even technically start until later this summer -- you get 6 months after you graduate before interest accumulates & payments kick in -- but I figured that as long as I have the money, I might as well just write out one big check and be done with it, so that I don't have to worry about anything while in Africa.  Thus, I am completely debt-free!  ...I'm also broke and my bank account is near empty, but at least I don't owe anyone anything.  Not even a penny.

I also bought bug spray.  Jeesh, you would not believe how hard it was to find bug spray in Minnesota this past weekend.  Ridiculous.  The shelves in both Target and Kmart were cleared off with only those weird clip-on things left.  Stupid Minnesotan gnats and mosquitoes -- they've been awful!  My friends said the swarm of bugs we've had here recently is just preparing me for the craziness of bugs in Africa.  But really, I'm not sure Africa could be any worse.  I already can't walk outside without having a slew of bugs attack me...

And finally, before I get back to work running around the house like crazy trying to find things I want to pack and then maybe/probably spend the afternoon (which is supposed to be 100ish degrees aka Africa weather) at the pool with my little sister where all my young students say "Hi Miss Hauth! Do a flip off the diving board!" and the high school kids just shoot massive water guns at me, I'd like to mention that our house has five baby kittens.  Their eyes are open and they're finally old enough to pick up and pet and cuddle and determine what gender they are, and my sister has taken the liberty of naming two of them already.  Meet Burkina and Fasa.  Awww.

The Kitties: Burkina (on the left, held by me) and Fasa (on the right, held by Katelyn).  Both are girls, hence the name of "Fasa" rather than "Faso."

____________________________about 12 hours later _____________________

So I lied.... I do not have room for anything extra.  In fact, I might not even have room for some of my "necessities."  It's come down to getting rid of things that, well, I really don't think I should have to part with.  Thoughts of, "Maybe I can leave my sunscreen --- no, no, I need that.  Well then I won't take my tennis shoes--- wait, those have got to stay, too," are going through my mind as I try to figure out how to lighten up my suitcase(s).  The problem isn't actually having "room" -- I have plenty of ROOM...for nail polish and additional clothes.  The problem is meeting the weight limit.  Both so that it's sensible for me to carry a ways, and so that it meets airplane requirements (which are very narrow...and pricey, by the way).  Just when I thought I was actually doing a good job finishing up my packing process, I may have to practically start all over and prioritize my items (again) and see what doesn't make the final cut. Urgh.