'See you later' Bash

We were amazed and very touched by the number of people who came out to wish us well on our journey at our farewell gathering last night. We reserved the upstairs of a local pub, and had people dropping by all night. It was a wonderful opportunity to see all of the people in our lives in one spot.

My mom helped out by taking pictures...

Regan's closest friends came out to wish us well too.

My mom even managed to get someone else to play photographer so we could have a photo of here as well.

At the end of the night, the last few remaining guests somehow convinced us to head over to the local country bar to ride the bull - fortunately (actually, fortunately), the bull was out of action, and no bull-riding occurred.

Milestones...

So another big milestone was completed yesterday...my last day at work! Strangely, I didn't even cry once. Well, actually, when I was in early (desperately trying to clean off my disorganized desk), I wrote a few goodbye emails and completed a few last 'to-do's' and found myself tearing up a bit and feeling pretty fragile and thinking, whoa - I am going to be in for a hell of a day...but then it passed. The same thing happended when we moved out of the condo - no tears whatsoever! Partly I think it is because many of my close friends from work will be attending our 'See you later' bash tonight, so I will still be seeing them, but partly it is because this move feels so right.

Throughout the planning for the trip, I (and my patient, listening friends) have suffered through several different anxious phases - first concerned about health, then security, then Regan's school, length of our contracts, the flight etc - plus all the anxiety about how to take care of the condo, cats etc - but I have never really questioned going. I have wanted to do something like this for such a long time, and it just feels right.

So now we are getting more excited with each passing day! Everytime someone new sends me a link to their pictures of their own experiences in Malawi (many friends have managed to hook me up with people who have been there), I just can't believe we will get to live there!

Cat Custody...

In an update on our cats, despite initial worries about not finding a home for them at all (I even started looking into how to import them to Malawi), there ended up being a custody battle...now that we are so near to our departure, my mom decided she didn't want to let them go live with our friends, so 'the girls', as she refers to them, with be staying with their Gran.

In other news, we have confirmed our flight and will be flying Toronto-Dubai-Addis Ababa-Lilongwe...I only wish we were arriving at a better time in Dubai - not sure we will be able to really see much when we arrive at 7:45pm and take off at 4:45am...though I did confirm that our luggage will be checked all the way through despite changing airlines in Dubai.

We still need to make a few purchases, but everything is mostly under control...now the next hurdle will be finishing work - can't believe what I hope to accomplish in the next 2 days!!! Speaking of...I'd better get in there and get at it.

Step One - Complete

Well, we are now moved out of the condo!
It took us all weekend, including working through the night on Sunday until 7:15am Monday morning - brutal!
At any rate, we are now done and are living out of our 14 bags in my parents house.
We were pretty tired Monday (especially since we had to drive to Toronto that night for our last bout of innoculations), but got some sleep last night...still, I was tired today as well...takes longer than it used to to get past the all-nighters!
We had dinner with a fellow volunteer last night and I must say, every time we do things like that, this whole Malawi thing seems a little more real (I know, it should seem real by now, but sorry, that's just not the case). Anyways, I am getting more and more excited!!! In a week, I will be in Malawi!
On another note, our Nairobi, Kenya flight was re-routed, but now i am facing a 13 hour flight from Toronto to Dubai...yikes for the anxious traveller!

Three Cs

On the brighter side of things...we took care of the second C today....our three major concerns prior to leaving were our three Cs...our Condo, Cats and Car.

We have sublet the condo, and aren't overly concerned about the car - either it will sell or we will store it....whatever....but we were pretty concerned about a home for our dearly beloved cats.

Our first cat, Willow, who tends to be shy...

And our second cat, playful Clio....

Anyways, we had a very kind confirmation from a friend who will take care of them...so whatever happens with C number three, I don't care....the two most important things (well three I guess) are taken care of (though we will miss our kitties very much while we are away, it is very comforting to know they will have a good home).

Chicken...

OK, I am clearly not the experienced world-savvy adventurer I thought I was. I found out our flight information yesterday and we are being routed through Nairobi - with a 12 hour overnight layover. Due to the current political situation there, I am more than a little freaked out.When I expressed concerns, I got a blasé 'it will be fine' response from the organizers....wish I could be more blasé about it myself, but I must admit to being concerned...

At any rate, I asked if they could possibly re-route us, but it turns out they can't, so I am putting my faith in the very reputable airline (KLM), and assuming they wouldn't put us in danger!!! I also had a reassuring email from a friend in Nairobi who offered to take us around the city during our layover (I believe I will pass, but since she offered maybe the violence is localized?). At any rate - not for personal reasons, if you want to do something about the situation, there is a petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/kenya08/

Nayways, I am hoping the situation there improves for the sake of the people who are affected directly by the situation.

Confessions of 'stuff'

As I sit here, completing my annual holiday tradition of sucking back some wine and watching Bridget Jones' Diary, I am contemplating 'stuff'. To provide some background, I should let you know that our Malawi journey really started with the epihany I experienced when in Paris in May 2006. We travelled there due to a fortunate larger than expected tax return, and it just felt so right...I decided then and there that we needed to make some changes to travel more and provide more experiences for Regan. The first step was completing my degree (I had been pursuing it part time for over a decade) - by shortening to a three year degree, I was able to finish that very summer. Then came the selling of our beloved (but very work-heavy) 97 year old home, and the purchase of a lower maintenance condo (and we even managed to find one in a historical building!). Thanks to the clean up needed to sell our home, we ended up giving away approximately 75% of our 'stuff'. We decided to take an aggressive approach to not purchasing so much 'stuff' (this has been met with some sucess, though not a complete triumph, in the furnishing department). Despite my new eschewing of 'stuff' and the drastic decision to move our whole family to Malawi, I must admit to giving in to a bit of a 'stuff' craving today in our luggage purchase. After a well intentioned Sorry - Bridget is attending the 'smug married couples' dinner - really one of my fave scenes.... At any rate, after a well intentioned visit to purchase used luggage at Value Village, we visitied Zellers to compare (Value village did have one sad little suitcase).

At any rate, I can guarantee that these really did offer the maximum size luggage in the store for a very reasonable price.....right????

Oh...now for my absolute favorite line....'nice boys don't kiss like that' 'oh yes, we ^%$&^%do' (true).
OK - I put this line in anticipating my favorite line....and it didn't come!!! Censored for TV? Seriously???