I don't know!

Less than two weeks from today, I'll be on a plane to South Africa!  Good thing my visa finally came in the mail on Saturday!

I spent the weekend with my in-laws in Crozet, VA.  I'm going to miss them.  I'm also going to miss the Blue Ridge.  I know I'll have other (bigger) mountains in South Africa, but these are MY mountains.

Jacob and me at a brewery in Nelson County, VA

The Geigers have a good view from their front yard!

As I get closer to my departure date, I've noticed that people have started to ask me more specific questions.  Ashley had the idea of an FAQ post for her blog, so I'm sort of stealing her idea.  Here are some of the questions I've been asked lately:

Question:  I know you're working for a hospice clinic.  What exactly does will you be doing day to day?  

Answer:  I don't really know.  My job title is the 'Home Care Coordinator and Support Group Facilitator'.  So likely I will be helping out with day to day patient care in their homes, and sitting in on support groups.  That's about as specific as I know.  I'll let you know more when I get there.

Q:  Where will you be living?  

A: 1 Church Street, Hawston.  I hear it is a 3 bedroom house next to the clinic where I will be working. 

Q:  Will you have roommates?

A:  I don't know!

Q:  What will your first few weeks look like, right when you get there?

A:  I don't know.  I'll be in Cape Town for a week before heading out to Hawston.  I don't really know what I'll be doing there, but I assume some sort of orientation.  I think I'll also have an orientation period at the clinic once I get there.

Q:  Will you be able to stay in touch with people at home?  

A:  I don't know, but I hope so!  Internet access is supposed to be relatively good in South Africa.  Does that mean I'll be able to skype with my husband every day?  I don't know!

Q:  What will you do in your free time?  

A:  I don't know, and I don't even know how much free time I'll have!  I don't really know what my work schedule will be like.  I assume it will be a 40 hour per week, day shift hours mostly, but that's just a guess.

Q:  Did you quit your job to do this program? 

A:  Yes, I quit my job.  

Q:  What will you do when  you get back?

A:  This is the biggest I don't know of all!  This year is going to change me, and I really believe that if I tried to tell you what I want to do when I get back, the answer will be totally different a year from now. 

Q:  What are you packing?  

A:  I don't know yet.  I'll write a blog post about this next week, once I've figured it out for myself.

Q:  What is your husband doing while you're gone?

A:  I don't know... sitting around missing me, obviously.  Also working, because one of us has to have a 'real' job.

Q:  Why do you answer 'I don't know' all the time?

A:  Because that's the way I want it!

I've started to develop an 'it is what it is' attitude about a lot of these details.  The way I see it, the most important part of my job in this program is to just be there and be available to the community in whatever way they feel is appropriate.  That means being in the moment and accepting things for what they are.  In my daily work, I will happily do whatever is most beneficial for the clinic.  I don't really need to know the specifics until I get there.  If my internet connection is slow, it's going to be slow, and knowing that ahead of time might help me prepare for the reality of it, but it's not going to make it go any faster!  I'm not sure exactly what I'll need to pack, but I'm pretty sure they have clothes and soap in South Africa, so I can get a lot of the things I'll need once I'm over there and have a better idea of exactly those things are.  According to some people who have had international experiences like this before, having as few expectations as possible is important.  There will be things that surprise me and amaze me and terrify me, and that will happen regardless of whether or not I have a picture in my head of how this experience 'should' go.  So, to all these questions, maybe instead of 'I don't know' I should say 'I'll let you know when I get there.'  Now you have an incentive to keep reading my blog!