T minus 19 hours

The boarding pass is printed, the bags are packed. Off I go! Looking forward to a life-changing summer and some sustaining comments from friends back home...

T minus 1 week

It's a hot, muggy day in Wisconsin. One week from today, I'll be boarding a plane for Amsterdam. It's hard to get my head around that.

I'm slowly working through my to-do list. I even bought skirts yesterday!

Today some friends are having a going-away party for me. It will be great to see everyone and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, which I hear aren't so common in Botswana.

Wednesday, I head home to Minneapolis to drop off my cats and see my family before flying out of MSP.

Let the countdown begin...