e gym workouts, and I barely stuttered. Well.... Thud. No, in fact, the word is Splat. I fell. The evening following my first round of shots (Tetanodiptherimeningitinfluenza) I spent on the couch with bright red cheeks, uttering whatever disjointed sentences tottered through my head. Standing up was a doubtful option, due to balance issues. This week's line up (H1N1/PV-poliohepatitis) was much fuzzier, with fewer after-effects, so pride is restored pending another fall.I go through this, of course, in accordance with my plans to spend four months in Africa, which brings me to my next point: people and their warnings. Gangs, political violence, disease, and large carnivores are the most popular subjects of discussion, and I've tried to remain calm while explaining that most of these are easily avoidable. But the other night, I was having dinner with two high school friends, Melissa (aka Git R Dunn) and Sydney (aka Pinky). Now, Pinky Syd is doing her masters in business in Manchester, England, and upon the first mention of Zimbabwe, she turns to me and says, "Irene, you shouldn't go to Zimbabwe." I prepared myself for the usual speech, but the next words out of her mouth were "They have hyperinflation there!!!" Or was it superinflation, Syd? I can't recall... Anyway, it had both the benefits of drawing surprised laughter, and of being something practical to prepare for. Round of applause for Pinky!
In addition to Pinky and Git-r-dun being around, I also had a visit from my college chum, Sabina (They call her Petunia), and took her in turn to team up with Tricia (aka Rookie) in Boston, yet another mini GWiM reunion. Since graduation, we've only ever managed to gather three of the six of us in one place at one time. But there's always the five-year reunion. Whatever. I can still tease Saby about her height, and Tricia about her cast of expressive voices. Amazing what an evening of friendly character defamation can do for the soul!
On a sober note, my sweet little brother of the canine variety is having problems with arthritis in his neck. He's a solidly mature dog now, ten years old, and had a similar round of pain last winter. I know all this logically, but it's still tough to watch him lie still all day, and hear him yelp with pain. Makes me feel pretty rotten about leaving.
My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon, and it will be two days before I reach Capetown. That's not normal, just a side effect of buying through cheap ticket agencies. The upside is I'll get a bit of a world tour of airports. I'll write another entry before I leave, perhaps I'll even wax sentimental, and then I'll post again as soon as I can!
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a to-do list to write!
Oh! I forgot! Got confirmation today of my February and March plans! February I'll be in Tanzania, living in a hostel that operates its own volunteer services, so I'll be able to explore of range of non-animal-related work! Nice change of pace. Then in march I'll be in the Thuma Forest Reserve of Malawi doing whatever they need done (wildlife surveys, repairs, etc).
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