Tickets booked!

We've finally booked the trip! We're leaving two weeks from yesterday, on September 27th! So now it's crunch time. We're trying to squeeze a lot of Very Important Errands and Friend/Family Time into these next couple weeks.

Today, I have to go and get all of my vaccinations for the trip, so that should be a fun way to spend my afternoon. My Pop-Pop is up from Tennessee right now, and we're having dinner with him tonight. Josh may be competing in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament tomorrow, but he hasn't decided for sure yet. If not, we might go see Tony Mac's football game again (but this time we'll take sunscreen). Sunday morning we're helping a friend out at her booth for the Restaurant Festival in West Chester and Sunday night we're having a Thanksgiving-style dinner with Josh's mom. Next Wednesday, we'll be going with friends to see my favorite non-Josh singer/songwriter perform. My brother's birthday is next Friday and then on Saturday we'll be heading down to DC to check out a Filipino restaurant and visit with Josh's brother and his wife, before returning home to watch UFC 76 with our friends late Saturday night. (I'm truly sorry if you read this paragraph. That was more for my benefit and thought organization. I promise I'll make any future lists much more entertaining to read.)

Josh talked to Emma, our contact in the Philippines, last night on Skype and it sounds as though we'll have a house to stay in as soon as we get there. A two-unit house in her subdivision recently became available for rent, and the group has decided that it would be the perfect place for them to host incoming missionaries and other volunteers. From what I understand, we'll have one unit to ourselves and we'll have new "neighbors" coming and going during the three months we're there. It'll cost us only about $340 a month, and she said that any monthly utility bills, such as water, will be very cheap - something like $5. It's currently unfurnished, but Emma made it sound as though they'd be working to get it as least slightly furnished before our arrival. This is exciting, because originally the plan was for us to stay with Emma and her family until we were able to find an apartment on our own. I don't have any problem staying with a host family, however, I'm glad that our first weeks won't be consumed with finding a place to stay.

She also gave Josh a list of things she thinks we might want to bring with us, like collapsible mosquito nets and self-inflating bed mats for when we're "out in the field" and comfortable, long-sleeved, lightweight clothes. She suggested that clothes and shoes could be purchased quite cheaply in the Philippines once we arrive there, which Josh told me with great enthusiasm. (He's not keen do much pre-trip shopping or to pack has heavily as I intend to do.) I reminded Josh that he's 6'4" and sometimes has trouble finding clothes and shoes in the US that fit him properly. He mentioned this to Emma, and she confirmed my concern when she stated that even as a slim 5'5" she sometimes struggles to find things in her size. Now, if a slim 5'5" woman struggles to find clothes that fit, what hope is there for an athletic giant and his chubby wife? Let's just say that we'll be well-packed for those three months.