Progress!

Passport!
Roundtrip Tickets!
Visa!

So I am pretty much ready to travel official papers wise but still need to get a few things, like appropriate clothing, and last minute medicines for typhoid and malaria. Also I am trying to get my asthma under control but am not really having much luck considering that I have to remember to take some of these medicines several times a day.
I have a huge list of required books that I need to read before hand and to get while I am there. Funny thing is that when I looked for the dictionary that SIT recommended to me I found to copies on Amazon one for $200 and one for $635.
I also got a pair of shoes but they hurt only on my left foot. This is because my left foot is significantly larger than my right so the right foot is a little loose, and the left fight is a little tight... story of my life.
Also I received two watches for Christmas! I had ordered one for myself and then my grandmother gave me one so if I get tired of one then I just switch them!
Also I got a new computer that is so much better than my old one!! I mainly got it because it will be super light and not take up much room so that I will be able to take more things with me to Mali. This computer also uses less energy and has an advertised battery life of 12 hours. I think that it will live up to that because I often use my computer for short spurts and then not need it for awhile, with this computer I can put it to sleep and not have to worry about the battery running out of juice or the computer getting mad at me for not shutting it down completely. It is very freeing!

For those of you who don't know (I don't know how many of those don't know) I go on an annual camping trip to Big Bend where we sleep in tents, cook on fires and propane stoves, and do not shower for a week. This was a nice little prep course for Mali though not anywhere near as intense as Mali will be. I figured out what my hair did after several days of no showering. I also figured out how badly I smelled after four days without a shower. One difference is that in Mali the temperature will be in the hundred and teens, whereas Big Bend was in the forties and below most of the time. Also I have been doing this trip with these people for 10 years and now that area really well, OH and everyone speaks English!!! I think that this is the scariest thing for me, that it will be super difficult for me to communicate with people there. I am planning on studying french for the next few weeks to stay up on it and maybe learn some of the things that I was supposed to last semester.

Well that is all for now! If you have any questions feel free to comment and I will answer them in my next post!

~Thaddeus