Things I'm Really Excited and Nervous About

So, getting ready for long trips abroad is always a mix of really exciting and really nerve racking.  Tomorrow will be one month until I board my plane for Tanzania but I'm leaving Toronto to go for training on May 30th (eek so close!).  I'm starting to walk around with that "I'm about to jump off the diving board" feeling in my stomach. It's going to be great but its also going to be a big adjustment.  I previously spent a year in Sub-Saharan Africa but I've never been to Tanzania and this is a different set up from what I did last time. So, to purge some of my nervous energy I thought I'd put together a list of the things that are making my mind spin.

1. My Co-workers 
Starting a new job is always exciting and scary. Now throw in a whole new country and a cross-cultural environment and you've got yourself the same situation times 10. It sounds like our office will be a fairly small, tight-knit group and I think that will provide a really great opportunity to work closely and learn from people who work directly with the community.

2. My Roommates and Fellow Interns
We have chatted over Facebook and a bit on Skype, so we are starting to get to know each other. There will be four of us in total in Dar Es Salaam and we'll all be living together. Though I've done my share of co-habiting, I've had my own place for the past year and I know that communal living will take some adjustments.

3. Housing
We don't know exactly where we will be living yet (Not that I have any sort of detailed knowledge of Dar). We will probably need to do a lot of the furnishing of the place ourselves. I have done this before and its one of those tasks guaranteed to immerse you totally in the culture right from the get go. With all the shops and bargaining, its like being thrown right into the deep end (we seem to have an ongoing swimming pool metaphor going on here... don't know how to explain that but lets just go with it).

4. The To Do List
Packing up and moving my place. Packing up my stuff for my trip. Last minute shopping. And learning Swahili. And placing my phone on hold. And spending time with people before I go. And getting my presentation done... I keep crossing things off my list and then remembering something I haven't put on it.

5. What Will I Do When I Get Back?
I know some people will be going, "Seriously? You are thinking about this now?" Yes, yes I am.  I have had a somewhat changeable existence (This will be the 4th country and 5th city in 6 years).  This is something that I accept and embrace as part of the career I have chosen.  I like to think of myself as having a high level of adaptability. But one of the ways I make it work is by keeping a half an eye on what is on the distant horizon.  This is a six month posting and I know that horizon will come very fast-  so allow me my idiosyncrasies.

Standing on the edge of the board makes me more nervous than finally jumping.
Can't wait to be actually underway!

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