The Team

More information has been trickling down...

The team from Canada will have eight people on it. Six women and two men. Carey has two students, McMaster Divinity School has three, and three are from Acadia Divinity School. We've been given each other's email addresses, and have started to introduce ourselves, but so far I've only heard from the three from McMaster.

I have heard from a couple in Africa who will be in communication with us from now till we go with all the things we need to know, and we have heard as well from the man who will be our team leader there. His email was fairly informative: he said there will be a group of Africans along with our group of Canadians, and that they are being selected as representatives from their churches. So they will not know each other either, but will be coming together for this project.

I have finished one of the three required texts - I'll write about that another day, but I will say that there was some benefit in the long drive to Montana and back! I got that done and got The Fate of Africa started. That's on the recommended list, not a required one, but it's really informative, and I hope I can get through it before we go, too.

baby steps

I have not heard back with more details yet, but the deadline to confirm participation was a couple of days ago, so hopefully we'll hear something soon.

Until then, I have called the travel clinic and made an appointment. I have told them where I am going, when and for how long, and when I go in in a month they will tell me what shots and pills I need. Fun!

And I ordered my books (online at Amazon, my number one textbook supplier!) the night I heard I got accepted. After I did, I realized the syllabus they had attached to the application said SAMPLE in big letters diagonally across the background - oops! I hope they haven't changed... There are three required books and I ordered one of the "also recommended" ones, which is a massive work called The Fate of Africa, all about the last 50 years since independence. It looks really good - I'll be taking it and one of the texts on our road trip to Montana this weekend. (Whitefish Montana has had tonnes of powder this winter, and the temperatures look great for our trip - Snowboarding for Valentine's Day!)

Maps

and the family?

This would be an amazing trip to share with Sean and Madeline, but no, they are not going along. Sean is going to hold down the fort here, and to simplify childcare every morning and after school, Madeline is going to Winnipeg to hang out with my family there. She'll be going to school with her cousins at the school I went to when I was her age! That's a fun thing to share. She is in French Immersion here and they are not, but her teacher will send some extra french work along with her.

Another fun twist is that it's payback time. My sister Jessica and her husband Dave went to Kenya for a month 3 1/2 years ago, and I looked after their 3 boys for the month. Now I get to go check out 'their' Kenya and they get to watch Madeline for me. Such a huge world - funny to share the same destination. I wonder if we'll get to Mwingi, where they went...