And the countdown begins

I can't believe it's less than 24 hours and I will be on a plane to Amsterdam. After a four hour layover in Amsterdam I will be on my way to Tanzania. People keep asking me if I am nervous about going, but to be honest I don't even know what to expect. I've never even left the country, so I can't imagine what it will be like to live in Tanzania. Thankfully I've gotten a lot of help from my coworkers that have either lived in or traveled to Tanzania (Thank you Mrs. Marsh :) ) and that has helped me to feel a little more at ease about the whole adventure. 


I will be studying for six weeks at MS-TCDC college that is located about 40 minutes outside the large city of Arusha in Tanzania. During my trip I will be taking two classes, Public Health and Medicine in Tanzania (I know very original titles). I am a pre-med student, and I feel that before I can be a physician, I should travel globally and see what medicine and public health is like in a developing nation. This trip will provide me with opportunities to study the medical structure in Tanzania and to compare it to the medicine we have in the United States.


 Before classes begin, we will live at the college for three days to attend orientation and to go on safari in the Arusha National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. While I am taking classes, I will be living with a host family. I just found out today that I will be living with a family consisting of a dad, mom, three kids (ages 10, 8, and 1), and a family member of theirs that is 22 years old. They have a pet dog and the dad is a security officer (maybe that'll help my dad feel a little bit better about this trip). I think this will be the most challenging part of my study abroad experience because I will feel like an outsider in their home, but I will have another study abroad student living with me which will make it a little bit better.  


Right now I am spending the last night with my family before I am gone until July. I can tell my parents are torn about me leaving. They know it will be a great experience for me, but I know that my dad would rather my arm mysteriously break so I can stay home with them. Dad's definitely been a little distant this past week which I attribute to him being worried about me leaving. It will definitely be hard to leave my family, we are close and the longest I have been without having the possibility to go home and see them was when I went on a two week trip to Washington D.C. in the seventh grade. I've been trying to pack all day, but most of it has ended up as a heap on the floor of my bedroom. Thankfully Matt's been here to patiently help me through my crazy stressed out moments to pack. Hopefully I will get it all finished by tonight so I can possibly relax for the rest of the evening (relax....that's funny). 


I'm going to try and add all of my pictures from my trip to share with my friends and family in this blog, so if you would like to see photos from my adventures please check in often!