My long-awaited flight to India is in just two short days. Despite three months advance notice of the assignment, and my efforts to prepare during that whole time, I'm still not ready! Work has kept me super-busy the past two weeks, and in my limited free time I've been going through the learning materials every Corporate Service Corps team member is required to complete before their in-country experience. It hasn't left much extra free time to get supplies in order for the trip. Let's see...
- Passport - check.
- Indian visa (rather involved procedure that required letters from executives in US and India) - procured.
- Multiple vaccinations for various diseases found in the subcontinent - completed.
- Malaria medication - obtained.
- Mosquito net, face masks, industrial-strength Deet products, hand sanitizers, guidebooks - all purchased.
What's left? Taking care of bills, household chores, backing up my computers, setting up webcams and Skype, making sure bills will be paid, cleaning up my home, and, finally, packing. With age and experience, I would have thought this kind of packing and
preparation would get easier... but it's actually getting harder. I feel much more stressed this time than before any other trip. Maybe it's the length of the trip, or the rather esoteric supplies and complex preparation required... but I'm extremely stressed out right now. I've talked to some other folks getting ready for their CSC assignments, and it seems this is a common experience in the days leading up to departure...
Above are my baby Siamese kittens, "helping" to pack my suitcase! I'm sure they've left me some cat hairs to remember them by while in India.
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