July 13: Preparations -- what goes along with traveling to Africa

It's quite far away. Malawi, that is.

I realized that when I checked the flight itinerary and saw that I would be on a plane for about 15 straight hours from Washington D.C. to Ethiopia. Yikes. And yet, I know it will be worth it.

The planning for a trip like this, however, takes more than it would for a jaunt over the pond to London or even Italy. Sure, there's the passport to apply for and the Tylenol PMs to purchase. But there are also immunizations involved -- Yellow Fever, Hep. A and B, Polio and Typhoid in Malawi's case -- and then the Malaria pills, which must be taken everyday while there as well as a week upon return.

There's the doctor's signature that states you're in good health. And the hopes to find bug spray with as much DEET as possible.

The whole process is very alarming for us Westerners who are fortunate enough to not usually have to think about such diseases. About two months ago I signed up for the deal -- three shots in each arm -- with the nurse coaxing me every step of the way. I survived and even made it to the office afterward.

As the trip approached, I began purchasing other necessities for the venture over to Malawi. The women only wear long skirts, which means that's what we'll wear. Our team is helping build the linen supply for Children of the Nations, so we are each bringing white sheets and a towel to use and then leave behind. Each traveler is allowed two checked suitcases -- one we'll use for obvious reasons and the other we filled with donations.

Collecting donations was the easy part as people were so eager to give and be a part of this trip. We filled suitcase upon suitcase with donated clothes, toys, shoes, books and hygiene products last Saturday in preparation.

Needless to say, there's been some planning involved -- which seems to make the trip that much more exciting.