Four Days and Counting!

Hello again!

This time I am coming to you from my home in Portland, OR... a mere 4 days before I depart on my trip! I am stocked with fancy travel gadgets and wondering how I will ever fit my gear into my bags. I'm really hoping to get by with just my large backpack to start with, since I know I'll acquire more throughout the year.

Finally, there has been a victory on the visa front! After many MANY trials and tribulations I received my year-long visa to South Africa via FedEx yesterday (5 days before departure). Now, it's not that I didn't get all the ridiculous amounts of paperwork in to the consulate in time, actually, I did. But deadlines are flexible there, it seems, and allowing four weeks for a visa that is supposed to process in five days was just barely enough. In fact, I got a call on Tuesday (7 days before departure, three weeks after the consulate received the application) notifying me that a Portland police department clearance was not sufficient, although this was never mentioned in the application packet, and I had to run out to get fingerprinted so that I could apply for an FBI clearance. Personally, I wonder how many people make this mistake, since the requirement simply asks for a "police clearance"! Surely they could save some time at the consulate by being more specific? But anyhow, I got the visa and I can go :).

I have four flights to get me to my first destination--Cape Town, South Africa. A couple full days of travel... Portland-->New York-->Dubai-->Johannesburg-->Cape Town... on three different airlines, and a strong hope that my baggage makes it there with me :). I'm starting out in Cape Town with the South African Education Project, which can connect me with a township high school that has had a marimba program for several years. It also turns out that the SAEP needs someone with knowledge of basic laboratory chemistry to help them start up a science unit, so I'll be useful on more than one front. There are also rumors of a music camp in Gabarone that I might dash over to in August, but I can't seem to find out when, what, or where this festival is, so it's still just a rumor.

So, with that I am over and out. I hope to have some pictures and another update for you in about a week!