Leaving on a jet plane.

So the packing frenzy has begun. Except it's really not much of a frenzy, it's more me nonchalantly rolling clothing items into a suitcase while "The Holiday" plays on my laptop for background inspiration.

I know there should be a thousand things on my mind, and there definitely are, but here's one:

Today I visited the Garner Rotary Club, since they are so graciously sponsoring this endeavor, and got a chance to talk to them about my trip. Further confirmation of my suspicions that Rotarians are some of the loveliest people on the planet. I surprised myself by actually almost crying during the presentation. Most of you know I'm generally made of steel, but I was recounting a story I heard at the Pittsburgh Rotary training conference I went to in April.

A Pittsburgh Rotarian told us about his trip to Nigeria through Rotary's Polio Plus program. Polio Plus is Rotary International's mission to completely eradicate Polio from the Earth. To COMPLETELY rid the globe of Polio. Every case, every microbe. Here in America we have distant memories of leg braces and iron lungs, but in four countries (India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan), Polio is still a serious reality that cripples and kills every day.

The gentleman from Pittsburgh traveled to Nigeria to personally help immunize children there, and he remembered one child clearly. She had no shoes, tattered clothing, and her face was covered with crusty tears and dirt. By gently tipping her head back and placing a single drop of vaccine on her tongue, he gave that little girl freedom for life from a horrific disease. He choked up as he told us, "I looked at that little girl and I knew she would never have the kind of childhood I was able to give my children in the United States. But now, at least, I know she'll never have Polio."

Of all the things I'm worrying about right now (Did I remember my curling iron? Do I have enough adapters?), I keep returning to this. One, because I cannot believe I nearly cried in front of a group of people who hardly know me (gracious though they are), and two because this is what I SHOULD be thinking about.

This whole scholarship program was meant to send me to a different country so I could learn as much as I could and then take it out and make some sort of small difference in the world. I hope I'm up to that challenge.

___________

The next time I write on this blog will be from London :) Thank you so much to all of you for supporting me and hugging me and wishing me well! Sometimes making big moves like this can be scary, but I think the reason I feel so good about it is that I'm lucky enough to have people like all of you in my life!