a life adventure: I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

Okay, it's officially official this time- the U.S. government has booked me plane tickets and we know in this bear market they aren't going to renig and lose the money. Right...?

I leave South Carolina for Philly on Nov 1 and go through a super-short, super-intense orientation to the Peace Corps, lasting about 6 hours. At 2am the next day, post-orientation, my group and I hop on a bus and head for NYC. I think our orientation leaders prepare us mainly to not get killed between the airport and our training site. We fly out that day and take a 16 hour plane ride to South Africa. Fun, right? I know- I mean, who doesn't love that hot, anxious feeling that arises in ones stomach and spreads to the heart and brain that's triggered by flying 30,000 feet above a vast expanse of abandoned ocean teeming with some of the world's fiercest predators which you totally don't have to worry about unless you actually survive the crash landing that might occur if both of the engines fail? Who doesn't love that?!

Oh, yeah- me.

So friends, while I fly over the Atlantic and try my best not to worry about blood clots in my legs, sleep, the dude next to me, which movies are playing, how sick the plane food will make me and what my actions should be in case of an emergency water landing, please think positive thoughts. They really work- trust Norman Vincent Peale.

By the way friends and family, I can't have visitors for the first three months- or five months, I can't remember. So please, be patient. And yes, Lesotho is a wonderful vacation spot so pack up your pony bit and reins and some sunscreen and get on over here.

www.go2africa.com/lesotho

In the meantime, let's continue with your southern African education. This one is for the visual learners.