We are in the final moments before our departure. We'll leave for the airport in the morning at about 6:30 a.m. I am excited and sad, all at once. Excited for the trip, sad that I will go for 2 weeks without seeing Alyssa and Todd. Alyssa and I have cried together about our upcoming time apart, but she is a brave and wonderful kid, and her time with her dad will be very special. I think this will be an adventure for all of us.
I took Alyssa over with me today to see my friend Mamadou before the departure. Mamadou came all the way down from Avon to say goodbye. We will be seeing his family in Ndindory in Senegal on November 10. While we were seeing Mamadou, I also say another friend, Binta, who gave me some things to carry home for her family in Oura Alpha. It was such a wonderful moment - they were all so happy to know that we would be traveling to their villages. They were full of love and happiness and it was such a great moment. Mamadou picked up Alyssa and carried her outside in his arms and Alyssa held her arms around Mamadou, and I thought to myself, what a wonderful thing it is to have my kids exposed to people from other parts of the world.
The picture that I posted here is not from today - it is an older picture of Alyssa and Mamadou. But I didn't have the wherewithall to take pics today, and so thought this one would be good.
So a little bit about Mamadou. He has two wives (very common in Senegal) and 8 children. He couldn't tell me the ages of his kids - that is not as important in his culture. His mother is still living, but I think must be very, very old.
My mom brought chicken noodle soup over for dinner tonight, a welcome treat considering all the last minute stuff this evening. Finally, though, everything is ready.
Zach and I will blog as much as possible on the trip. We found out it wouldn't be quite as easy as we had hoped thanks to a little communication snafu with AT&T, but we will do our best.
Stay healthy!!!
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