The Night Before the Night Before

6/18/2013

     It's the second to last night before we leave.  I still haven't packed, and I've just begun to get excited.  I'm nervous, though, too.  Fear isn't an appropriate word for how I feel, I'm just experiencing jitters.  Interestingly, though, the 20+ hours of travel are the least of my worries.  The language barrier, the food, the separation from technology are all things I've had to deal with before, albeit to a lesser extent than epic blocks of travel time.  My real jitter epicenter is, perhaps ironically, this blog.
     The third time a trip to Africa happened, I opted not to go.  A number of people were surprised that I would pass up an opportunity to do something like go to Africa, but there were things at work that were invisible to the casual observer.  Having already been to Africa twice, it wasn't the once in a lifetime window that everyone saw it as—and perceived to be closing.  They also didn't know that the last time I went to Africa, I felt grossly out of place.  I felt like a burden, a liability, or a worker without the skills to do his job properly. Naturally, friends and family assured me otherwise, but I felt a deep conviction that, if having gone wasn't a mistake, going again would certainly be one.  So naturally, when the planning period for this trip began and I was asked if I was interested in going, I had my hesitations.  I didn't give a definite answer until I was told what role I would fill.
     My goal after graduating college is to be employed as a travel writer, one who goes places and does things and then writes pieces for a magazine (or blog) that take the reader there with me.  I want them to taste the food I've eaten, see the vistas I've taken in, feel the equatorial heat or arctic cold.  I couldn't, therefore, pass up the opportunity to be an official trip blogger for a group going to Africa from a professional standpoint.  Many of the reservations I felt about going on this trip were eased when I was approached about filling this position specifically.  Even just tonight, Kim Champion, my mother and one of the trip leaders, handed me a list of expectations and a calendar schedule that solidified my place on this trip.  I am, it would seem, situated somewhere I'll be useful over the next few weeks.