T - 1 Week . . .

Today I am one week away from catching a plane to Lesotho. In case you are like most people and don't know where Lesotho is-- it is a small landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa, and almost entirely in the mountains, the only country in the world that lies entirely above 1000 meters (3300 ft). Yes, that means even though I'm going to Africa, it's going to be fairly cold in September.

From Chicago, it will take me two days to get there. I will fly from Chicago to Atlanta on 8/24, then catch a plane all the way to Johannesburg, South Africa, which will land on 8/25 around 5pm. I will then stay overnight in Jo'burg and fly the next morning on a puddle-jumper to Maseru, Lesotho, where I will be living and working with the amazing Baylor Pediatric Infectious Disease Corps Physicians. I will be working in a Pediatric HIV clinic, as well as possibly doing some outreach work in rural Lesotho and/or some inpatient pediatric work at the Government-run hospital. Exciting and scary.

For now, I'm just finishing up my packing list, getting prescriptions for Malaria meds for traveling through South Africa that I'll be doing at the end of my trip, and getting excited about this new adventure. For my family and friends who I'll miss like crazy, I'll try to keep this blog updated. I also have a skype account now . . . and for those of you who don't have one, if you get one we can talk for free on the internet phone service . . . ask me for more details if you're interested. Rafe and I have already tried it out from our living room, next step will be between Chicago and Lesotho : )