All packed and ready to go…

I don’t know what it is about taking trips, but I get really excited about traveling. Whether it is leaving on a new adventure or returning home from one, I really enjoy the moving from place to place. And the packing. I love to pack! I don’t know whether it is some kind of combination of OCD and anxiety or something else, but I tend to start packing well before a journey. And I’m not talking a day or two early, but more like weeks. Here I am, 10 days away from leaving the Gambia and I could walk out the door in less than an hour. Because I am pretty much packed and ready to go and I have been for several days…ok, probably closer to a week. I can’t help it. I usually start with a list, but the list quickly turns into a pile. Once the pile is large enough, I pull out the suitcase and it’s all downhill from there. And even though I am already pretty much packed, I’ll probably unpack everything and repack it…just for fun.

My five months in the Gambia is coming to a close and I will really miss this country, my colleagues, and my students. I have made a home here and I am already trying to figure out how to come back. I will miss the beautiful beaches and the goats. Yeah, weird priorities there. It’s just that baby goats are soooo cute! How often in the US do you get to watch a baby goat walk past you while you check your email? I’m guessing not often. One thing I won’t miss…the hot season! I have been feeling hot and sticky for the last month. Combine that with the ever present dust and it is not a pretty picture. And while I do have a fan, which I cart from room to room and turn to face me at all times, that only works when there is electricity. Of which there is none currently. I usually enjoy the heat, but not the sweating. It is no fun typing on a computer when you can feel the sweat dripping off your elbows and chin. At least I like to shower. This type of weather is definitely 2 shower a day weather. I would swear that even my hair is sweating. Seriously. And traveling by public transportation makes this hot weather even more fun. I tend to feel like a sweaty sardine when I get out of the taxi. It is usually pretty tight which means both you and your neighbor(s) are tightly packed and sweating. Let’s just say I like to shower after taking a taxi home from work.

I wish it would rain. I have been in the Gambia for almost 5 months and it has rained three times, both of those times were in the past 2 weeks. So when they say it’s the dry season, they aren't kidding. June is the start of the rainy season, but it doesn't really get going until July and August. So I won’t see a lot of rain before I leave. Which is sad. One of my favorite memories from living in Togo was lying in bed at night, listening to the rain on my tin roof.

Well, I should check my laundry…something might be dry and then I could pack it!