Scalpels and syrings and snow...oh my!
Trip Start
Feb 07, 2009
1
7
12
Trip End
Feb 21, 2009
Covington,
Georgia,
United States
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
thinking about packing. Anyone who knows
me at all realizes that this is exactly 4 days ahead of my typical
procrastinator's timeline (most trips I am cramming stuff in a suitcase the
morning of departure). But with an extra
6 weeks to prepare for this trip, I figure I am right on schedule.
So before our supposed December trip I was given a suitcase
of supplies that I was asked to transport over.
Typically on an international mission trip (spoken like a true veteran
who has done international mission exactly 1 time before) you take 3 bags...your
own suitcase, your carry-on, and an extra bag of supplies. After I agreed to lug this big suitcase
around, which I will appropriately name "The Jolly Green Giant" (it's huge,
packed to the bursting seams, and of course, my favorite color, green); I toted
it home and threw it in the least used room of my house, the dining room. A week or so later I thought it would be good
to know what was in Jolly Green in case any airport official asked if I had
packed the suitcase myself, I wanted to be able to fake an almost honest
"yes". So I opened it up, halfway torn
zipper and all, and hidden cleverly beneath a pile of old swim warm-ups, the
entire contents consisted of dozens of sharp scalpels, needle syringes, and
various other bandages, wraps, etc. So
my first thought is, "how on earth am I supposed to walk into our Atlanta
airport with a bag full of weapons and expect to get through security?" I call a fellow church member who just
happens to work at the airport and ask if I can get away with this...he assures
me as long as I declare what's inside and check the bag; I can take any gun,
knife, sword, weapon, or other sharp object I want. That knowledge is overwhelmingly reassuring
(*sarcasm*). So I suppose I'll take
Jolly Green and all the surgical supplies.
After hearing that some others are now packing a chainsaw, I feel a
little better about my band aides and scalpels.
This morning I started spraying my suitcase, scrubs, sleep
sack and socks (say that 5 times fast) with the permethrin spray from REI. We were told to spray everything down to
protect against bed bugs (yes, they really do exist) and keep the mosquitoes at
bay. So I was out in my driveway this
morning drenching each item. To look at
me you'd think I was heading to the farthest reaches of the deepest jungle...which
may not be too far off-especially during the tiger safari. With all the shots I've had, all the bug away
spray I'm sure the whole group is bringing, we should be protected against just
about anything. At least anything I can
imagine...
The latest news I've heard is that there is snow in London. Tons of snow.
Enough snow and ice to practically shut down the city and the heaviest
storm they have seen in over 18 years.
So that makes it fun, because we are supposed to be going straight
through there to switch airports, and supposedly do a quickie tour bus ride to
see the sights. Maybe it will be
beautiful and winter wonderlandish. I
just hope the traffic doesn't cause us to miss our flight to Delhi. There have been so many obstacles to this
trip already, and we are so close! I
just want to get there!
