a cholera cocktail, please

I'm headed to India for 10 days in June for a leadership training with CCC. Basically we're going to just see some works in India, some spiritual movements. We'll be in rural northern India.

Thus, I went the other day to a public travel doctor to find out what immunizations and vaccines I'd need prior to going. It's been 10-12 years since I've had anything, so I somehow expected getting 10+ shots all at once. Nope. I got one, which he said he only gave me because I asked about it. It was a Polio reinforcement. The US and the Center for Disease Control suggest I get it, but Spain and many other Western, civilized countries don't. It's not a for sure necessary thing, but he gave it to me anyway, particularly since India is known for having LOTS of polio cases. My Hepatitis A & B shots are good forever, so are my childhood immunizations. I have Maleria pills to take while I'm there and afterward for a week. I just took the first of two doses of the Cholera Vaccine, which will be good for two years. And I need to go pick up a shot for Typhoid Fever and give it to myself, just in case. Then I'm good to go. No pandemic diseases for me.

So... the Cholera Cocktail I just took... I had to not eat or drink for one hour, mix an effervescent, salty, sweet, raspberry flavored pack, that keeps my stomach from attacking the vial of cholera I added to the mix, in a couple ounces of water (150 ml) and then add the cholera vial to the mix, mix it again, drink, and then wait another hour before eating or drinking. It tasted very salty, VERY sweet, and like raspberries. Not too bad. Just hoping for none of the side effects. Salud! :-)

This is one of those times I am VERY thankful to be in the modern world with modern medical advances and to be in the western world. And I'm very excited to see a bit more of the world and to be struck by how God is at work there and also to be struck by the richness of other cultures, the great need, and to learn.

a brief update

I am hoping to write some thoughts about my recent trip to the US and seeing it through my Spanish friends' eyes a bit since she came with me. I arrived back on Friday morning, am still fighting with jet lag (at least in the mornings), have watched four movies in the past 24 hours to prep for our film nights this fall, am trying to cram one and a million things into the next 24 hours, and leave tomorrow afternoon for two days of meetings in Barcelona.

On a side note: here are some fun books I've read recently or am hoping to read soon - Know it All by A.J. Jacobs who worked for Esquire, The Elegance of the Hedgehog (I've probably mentioned it before), and Reading Lolita in Tetuan. Oh and some good nonfiction books that I highly recommend are The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (or anything by Lewis for that matter), The Promises of Grace by Bryan Chappell (or Praying Backwards - also great), and The Prodigal God by Tim Keller (or anything by Keller).

As for movies...I have a list, so I'll finish watching them and then give you the reviews or send you to my ministry website.

the countdown

Inevitably before a big trip, there comes a point where it feels like there are a million and one things to do, time is ticking away, and I'm on a downhill slope with the momentum that comes from running downhill. All is well, I just feel the pressure of time running out. 9 times out of ten, or maybe 9.9 times out of ten, that which is left undone is fine that way but it doesn't change the sensation of it all - hoping I'm not forgetting anything too vital nor to tell anyone who needs to know that I'll be gone. This is only heightened by an overseas trip because my cell phone won't work and the lapse of time and frequency of checking all forms of communication is just a bit slower.

On my list are:

Paying rent & clearing bills with my roommates (including my former roommate who just moved to another city)
Updating ministry updates, websites, etc.,
Tying up loose ends having to do with the new semester that begins as soon as I get back (including applying for permission to do our fall outreach on campus and following up with the guy who may give us a place for our movie discussion night)
Seeing everyone I can who just got back into town from vacation (since Sept is the in-between month, between summer and fall)
Hmm... that's the first of the list...which I actually need to get to.

The other "countdown" per say underway is that into the fall semester. This is a fun, exciting, I can't wait kind of countdown, however. It's the kind of countdown before you take off on a sprint running as hard as you can for 200 meters, but with all the energy in the world. It's a good feeling, not at all overwhelming. And I guess the other one, if I don't worry about anything getting unknowingly dropped by the wayside, is also somewhat injuvenating. So, off I go to finish the lists...

traveling home (to madrid)

so... i am packing (and presently procrastinating packing). i have all except my carry-on packed (at least for now, until i realize i have too much for my carry-on).

today has been fairly uneventful although the last week has been jam-packed full of seeing fun people, traveling across several states (florida to georgia to tennessee to missouri to kansas and back to missouri). i've had sushi, ethiopian, pizza, lots of coffee, a good number of salads, and lots of blueberries (which i can't easily get in spain). also i bought another pair of running shoes today and was VERY happily surprised that my new shoes have a secret passageway for my ipod nike running chip (to measure how far and fast i go). definitely a pleasant surprise and a surprise.

hmmm... well i don't have much more to say other than i will miss the dear people i love who live in the US much!!! and particularly after having seen some of them briefly. i so wish all the people i loved lived closer, or that somehow i had a private jet and time traveling abilities.

but for now there is vonage and the blessings of living in the 21st century. i will be fairly out of touch for the next month, as most of that time will be spent in a fairly rural area. (i have 4 days in madrid and then head up to ligonde, in nw spain, where i will be for about 2 weeks, then back to madrid and then probably to morrocco with some students.) all that to say, i will blog and e-mail when i can, but if you don't hear from me, my life will return to semi-normal in september (the semester in spain starts october 1st).

thanks for all the memories!!!

oh, and by the way, i have a sweet 6-hour layover in philly to see my amazing brother who i love but don't get to see all that often.