With approximately 4 months to go until my expected departure to whichever-francophone-country-West-Africa, I'm beginning this blog as part of the many preparations I've undertaken. Learning french so far has been the most intense of my preparations. I really pray that I will know enough by the time I leave to avoid any delays or setbacks due to language barriers. In addition, I've continued to brief myself on West African political climate, study Agroforestry techniques used there, brainstorm about down-time projects using little resources, try to convince my parents that this is a good decision, make contacts with people going through these similar motions, and finally convince myself - body and soul - that this is really happening.
I'm beyond excited and very anxious to go, but there are many things I still need to do before I leave. Confidence building is my main priority right now - and that may come most with language fluency and a self-defense class... a machete wouldn't hurt either.
So this is the beginning and my first-ever blog post.
