Less Then 3 Months Away!

Well some major changes have been happening...

1) I'm now going alone, which is totally fine because this trip means a lot to me and I want to make the most out of the trip. And it's traveling to a 3rd world country and if someone can't handle that, then this trip is not for them! So off I go...and I'm so excited :)

2) I'm getting my budget together and it's about $10,000 plus right now with program costs and all of the travel things I need. It's a lot of money, but I just don't think you can put a price on this trip

3) I got a scholarship from the Political Science department at my school!!!!!! It's $3,000 and I couldn't be happier! It will help out a lot

3) In about a week, I will get my Yellow Fever Shot...not looking forward to that. I have heard that it takes a lot out of you so I'm going to get it on a Friday and lay low for the weekend.

4) In April I will get my last shot, Hep B

5) I will be getting my financial aid set and getting my plane ticket booked :) I will be going home for two weeks to see my family and then OFF TO AFRICA :)

Shots!

Today I got some of my vaccinations for my trip, and although I was pretty nervous about getting them since I haven't had a shot since I was 12, it didn't hurt at all :) I went to my campus Health Center because it could get charged to my student account so I don't have to front all the money at once, and it's a lot cheaper there then anywhere else. My doctor and nurse were very nice and helpful and it made the whole thing a lot easier to do.

I got Hepatitis A, Tetanus, and Polio today,so I have to go back in a month and get my Yellow Fever and flu shots. I got my prescription for my Typhoid (it is a liquid) and I take it once a day, every other day for 4 days. I will start that about 2 weeks before I go...so I'll start taking that at the end of April! Also I got my prescription for Malaria, I will be taking Lariam, but if I get the bad dreams that sometimes happen with Lariam I will be switching to Malarone.

Lariam is taken 1 week prior to leaving, once a week while in Africa, and 4 weeks after we return. Malarone is taken 2 days prior to leaving, every day while in Africa, and 2 weeks after we return. So I'm hoping Lariam works, but once a week is much better then everyday and Malarone is pretty expensive.

Budgeting

Time to budget for this trip...the financial aid office at our college needs this to determine how much aid we will get to go on trip. I'm seeing a lot of paper pushing to come, but I think if I can get a head start, when something goes wrong (which it will) I will have time to fix it.

So Projects Abroad has a lot things included in our program fee:

Total: $4,145.00 which includes the following

• Accommodation
• Food
• Airport pick up and drop off
• Full travel insurance
• Medical insuranc
• In-country induction with a staff member upon arrival
• Support and 24 hour back-up from both our local and US/Canada staff
• Personalized MyProjectsAbroad page
• Pre-departure support from Desk Officer by email and phone
• Visa support (if applicable)

Projects Abroad also sets up our flights, so I looked ahead to get an idea of what the cost it. I'll be flying out of Minneapolis, MN and if I flew with Delta it's around $1700.00 with one layover at JFK. Trying to prepare for a 16 hour fly :(

Other cost we have to think about it is:

• Spending money
• Clothing
• Personal products
• Transportation within Ghana

So I am trying to find out all prices for these things so I can hand in my budget report!

Change of Plans

Well after some thought, Europe will be off the schedule:( Just too much to do and not enough time or money! But one day I will get over there and do our trip. But now I'm focusing on getting geared up for Africa. We will be heading out May 20, 2010 and coming back August 20, 2010 and I am getting very excited. This Friday I will start getting my shots, so I'll let everyone know how that goes :) But so far, just getting the paperwork and all the details set before we leave and I'm sure there will be bumps a long the way. But we had a meeting with our International Affairs adviser, and now we are getting this set in stone!

For school, I will be registering for PS 490 credits (Political Science Internships credits) and during my time in Ghana I will be blogging about my experience. I will also have to write a paper about my time out there, and have an assessment paper that will need to be signed by my supervisor out there.

Now we just have to get the financial aid office to corporate a little bit more and we should be set to go!!!

123 DAYS TO GO !!!!!

Getting Prepared :)

Shot time! Katelyn and I had an appointment with a local doctor in town to discuss the shots we will need, so here is goes:)

• Hepatitis A: $75
  
• Hepatitis B: $65 each (need 3 of them)
  
• Typhoid: $55
  
• Yellow Fever: $87
  
• Polio: $32
  
• Rabies: $180
  
• TB: $40
  
• Malaria: pills we take while there
  

Probably forgetting some, but that's my list so far!

In June 2010, I will be heading off to Ghana to do a medical internship. I'll be working in the Accra hospital shadowing local doctors, and on the weekends doing outreach programs at local orphanages:) I'm very excited and scared at the same time. I'm excited to be in a place and experience a life style very different from the one I am living now! When I return in September I will be doing a public health internship in Washington D.C, so hopefully I will be able to apply the lessons I learned in my undergraduate studies, and the experiences I learned in Africa.

Although I will not be focusing my medical internship on just HIV/AIDS, it will definitely be something I will be encountering everyday. And I will be getting a first hand experience how their public health system is run by seeing how the local citizens get basic medical care.

The Beginning!

So in 2010, I will be backpacking through Europe for a month, and then heading off to Ghana, Africa! In Europe this is our tentative schedule:

Day 1 Travel
Day 2 Dublin - National Museum, Grafton Street
Day 3 Dublin-Dublin Castle -- Travel to London/ Lowestoft (Leave bags)
Day 4 London- Tower of London, St Pauls, Fleet Street
Day 5 London- Westminster Abbey, Big Ben/ London Eye
Day 6 London- Buckingham palace, Nat History Museum or British Museum
Day 7 London- Royal Parks and Gardens, Hamleys
Day 8 London- Stonehenge --- Travel overnight to Paris
Day 9 Paris- Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle Paris
Day 10 Paris- Musee Picasso, Musee du Louvre (part one)
Day 11 Paris- Musee du Louvre (part two), Musee D Orsay, Paris Couture
Day 12 Paris- Pantheon Paris, Museum National Naturelle
Day 13 Paris- Catacombes, Musee Rodin, Eiffel Tower
Day 14 Paris- Arc de Triomphe, La Madeleine, Moulin Rouge
Day 15 Paris- Versailles --- Travel to Barcelona
Day 16 Barcelona- Basilica de Santa MDM, Sagrada Familia ---Travel to Florence
Day 17 Florence- Duomo
Day 18 Rome- Vatican, St. Peters
Day 19 Rome- Castel Sant Angelo, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain
Day 20 Rome- Colosseum, Capitoline Museum
Day 21 Naples- Museo Arch. Naz., Porta Capuna
Day 22 Pompeii- Ruins, Mt Vesuveus
Day 23- Greece
Day 24- Greece
Day 25 - Greece
Day 26 Veince- St. Marks, Doges Palace, Santa Maria S.
Day 27- Vienna, Austria
Day 28- Prague, Czech
Day 29- Berlin, Germany
Day 30- Berlin, Germany
Day 31- Berlin, Germany
Day 32- Amsterdam- Anne Frank Hous, Koninklijk Paleis, Red Light District
Day 33- Amsterdam- Van Gogh Museum--- Travel back to London
Day 34- REST
Day 35- REST
Day 36- REST
Day 37- Flight to Accra, Ghana