Packing!

The time has come to tackle the challenge of packing.

Thanks to some lovely Mercy Shippers who read my blog and emailed me; I have some insight into what to pack and how much.  And with their advice in mind, I did a packing dry run through (yes, I know, I still have 5 weeks, but I'm a teacher: I like to plan ahead and be organized!).  So, without further ado, here's what I am taking to Africa:

4 pairs of pants
3 skirts
4 dresses
6 t-shirts
6 nice shirts
3 pairs of knee length shorts
2 pairs of capris
4 dresses
4 cardigan sweaters
1 fleece jacket
1 rain coat
1 hat
6 pairs of footwear
+ Socks, underwear, swimsuit, etc


This packing list is a huge accomplishment for me. I look at this picture and think, "I like all these clothes and I am excited to wear them." Which is good since I will wearing them over and over.

Something about pulling all my clothes out of the closet and choosing what to bring (and what I can't bring) was a catalyst for the 3rd stage in my emotional state. To recap:

Stage 1 (Jan-Feb) - 100% Excitement
Stage 2 (March)  - 50% Excitement + 50% Bittersweet Goodbyes
Stage 3 (April-May) - 110% Freaking Out

Freaking out = intense feelings of nervous energy, fear of the unknown, and overwhelmed-ness, Luckily, this season of standardized testing at school is also intense and busy and and it keeps me fairly distracted.  However, I am slightly worried about showing up at Onboarding training 6 days after the end of the school year as a messy heap of stress and turmoil.  I wish I had more time to process the transition before I arrive at the IOC (International Operation Center in Lindale, TX). But I am very grateful for the 5 weeks I will have before leaving the continent and look forward to some quality alone time with God during those weeks.

Here's my itinerary for the summer:

June 5: Leave Houston

June 6: Training begins in Lindale, TX

July 15: Fly from Dallas, TX to London to Johannesburg to Durban

July 17: Arrive in Durban, South Africa

July 17-29: 2 Weeks of a Field Practicum here 

July 29: Board the ship!

Burning Questions

If you were moving to Africa, what would you want to know before you left? Here are my burning questions, in no particular order...

1. How cold is it on the ship? Is it hot like the outside temperatures? It is air conditioned cold? How cold? Will I want to wear pants and sweaters? Or skirts and short sleeves? How will I know what to pack? 
2. Will there be milk? I am considering packing multiple boxes of grape-nuts. Probably not a good idea if there will be no milk to pour on top of them.

I thought I had a lot of burning questions, but I can't think of any others.  You would think my questions might be more meaningful like, "Will I make friends? or "What teaching supplies will I have?"  But no, temperature and cereal are my greatest concerns. So from this blog post you can clearly see that a) I am addicted to cereal and b) I have temperature anxiety (which I don't think is a real disorder, but should be, because I have it!)

When I started this blog I assumed only people I knew would want to read it.  But since I don't know 1000 people, I guess there are other people reading this too. So for those of you who don't know me, I just want to say that I am not as weird as this blog post makes me sound. 

The Emotions of Change

Monday will be the 2 month mark until I leave. This month I have started feeling the bittersweet pangs of emotion that come with change. No longer am I just riding the waves of excitement. For months my elation about being accepted with Mercy Ships overshadowed any other possible emotion.  But that changed with my first good-byes. It began over Spring Break; first with my dear college friends, then with my family. With only 4 days between the end of the school year and the start of training, I won't get back to Wisconsin before I'm off to Africa.

I've finally told the teachers in my department at school that I'm leaving and I spent the day yesterday interviewing someone to fill my position. Now I just have to tell my students. Gulp..am I really leaving Sharpstown???

Ready or not, my preparations continue:

• Yellow fever vaccination...check.
• Typhoid prevention pills...purchased.
• Fundraising...only $7,000 more to go.
• Pre-reading assignments...75% finished.
• Books for my kindle...thanks to your suggestions I have a long list compiled! Now the problem is not reading them all before I leave. 
• Packing list...in progress. Should I bring 4 t-shirts or 5? I'm only supposed to pack clothes for a week to 10 days. That should be easy, right? But how many pairs of pants do I wear in a week? And I guess I should make sure I can mix and match them with my shirts to get the greatest number of combinations...ugh! I hate dressing myself. 
• Learn Malagasy...I can count to 3! Yeah, I know, I still have a long way to go on this one.
• Buy health insurance...I am putting this off, because obviously it is the least fun thing on my list. 
• Sell my car...Also putting this off til the last moment, but if anyone is interested in buying a 2011 Madza 2 (stick shift), I will make you a good deal! But not til July. 

So there you have it.  An update of my preparations both physical and emotional. It will be good once I get to Madagascar, because then I will actually have interesting things to write about. Until then I guess you are stuck with my to do lists.  

PI Extravaganza!

Here it is...what you've been waiting for. The results of my pi day fundraiser. I was able to recite 330 digits of pi from memory.  Wonder what that looks like? Here they are:

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067962148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920

And here is the video.  My friend Bits, graciously volunteered her birthday party to be a joint fund-raising party for me. So here I am, reciting 330 digits of pi to a room full of 25 people! It's way harder that way than in my house by myself.  Apologies for the slight technical issue, we lost a small chunk near the end, due to iphone video recording space issues, but know that I really did get them all. (I did make 2 errors, so we may want to only officially count 328 digits!)

Thank you so much to everyone who participated, whether by pledging some amount per digit, helping me practice, coming up with the idea in the first place (Sharon and Bits), or by being a supportive audience.  I really enjoyed using my quirky talent in this fun way to raise money for a great cause.

Tomorrow

Starting to sell most of my worldly possessions...

Compelling

“He who loves a hundred has a hundred woes. He who loves ten has ten woes.  He who loves none has no woes,” says Buddha, and therefore in place of love Buddha enjoins his followers to a kind of impersonal and invulnerable benevolence. But the God who is in Jesus loves no matter what the cost because that is the innermost secret of his nature, and he enjoins all men to do likewise because it is also the innermost secret of theirs. Buddhism and Christianity agree that to love is to suffer, because wherever the ones we love suffer, our love suffers with them and for them; but whereas Buddhism says that this suffering is above all things to be avoided, Christianity says that it is above all things to be embraced, because it is by suffering in love for one another that we can help work each other’s redemption and our own too, thus participating in the redemptive activity of God himself.

                              -Frederick Buechner

I think my greatest fear is loneliness. Which is why the work of Mercy Ships is so compelling to me.  For most patients the hospital ship serves, surgery provides more than physical healing.  In parts of the world where disease is often attributed to evil curses, people with deformities such as tumors, cleft lips, and bowed legs may be kicked out of their homes or ridiculed by their entire community. I’ve heard stories from the ship of people who have to scavenge for food at night, because they cannot even go to the market because of how neighbors will mistreat them. Receiving proper medical treatment means a person can be integrated into his community again; it means she will be seen. Seen as a person. And I hope it means he knows he is loved by the God of the universe; I hope she knows God sent a big white boat with hundreds of volunteers across the globe just for her.

Claire

Someone recently asked me what I am most excited about.  It’s this. To participate in the suffering of the poor in a way that brings about both their healing and my own.  I’m not just joining Mercy Ships because it is a noble cause (although it is), or because I believe God called me to it (although He probably did), but because I believe what Buechner said.  That finding wholeness is wrapped up in working towards healing and justice for others. I am afraid of being lonely.  And so I can think of no better choice for my life than to participate in work that relieves the suffering of some of the most lonely people on earth. 

Hawa

The photos featured in this post are some of the beautiful people who have been treated on the Africa Mercy. Photos are courtesy of the ship’s communication team. 

Sabany

Ravette

Pi Day Fundraiser

As you may know, pi day (March 14) is fast approaching. This year's day will be epic for 2 reasons.

1. It is the year 2015 making the date 3/14/15 which are the first 5 digits of pi.
2. I will be reciting the digits of pi from memory as a fundraiser.  My friend, Bits, has graciously offered her home (and her birthday party!) as an opportunity for the recitation!  We will be filming and posting the event online.  If you would like to participate in the fundraiser, you can pledge a small amount per digit.  My goal is to get to at least 250 digits. 

This was not my idea, by the way. My friends came up with this crazy idea.  They know me well; some people run marathons, but I prefer the more brainy side of life. Who knew my weird talent of memorizing long strings of numbers would be put to use!  If you want to pledge, you can sign up here.