Dream Coming True

Europe Trip Update:
Well today I finally decided to cave in and go visit the local travel agent. After several months of trying (with no avail) to find airfare, rail passes, hostel deals and many other details that will be essential for my trip, I decided I was overwhelmed and in need of assistance. I walked in and the travel agent greeted me with a huge smile and a wealth of knowledge. It's funny that I put off going for so long in the interest of saving money (ok, and I wanted to do it by myself), when really she knows far more about economic travel than I ever will! Anyways, I walked out feeling excited about my trip again instead of overwhelmed. Which is nice, because I was having second thoughts after waking up from a terrible dream the other night, but all is well. All in all this trip to Europe is a dream for me, and it's staggeringly close to coming true.

I also picked up a sweet journal for the trip from Ten Thousand Villages, as well as a pocket-sized Italian phrasebook for travelers from the MCC thrift store. Score!
Needless to say I'm falling in love with a place I've never been to.

On that note, I'm also in love with Africa. For very different reasons though. I just finished reading Stephen Lewis' book Race Against Time, wow. In the interest of not reducing it, I was left speechless and in tears. Stephen Lewis is works for the UN as part of the envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. The premise of his book is that there is a race against time as far as the human beings that are perishing in Africa is concerned. It shook me up, motivated me, crushed me and empowered me all at the same time. I'm thinking differently about Africa now than I have before. I'm not much for talking without living things out, so I'm not going to quote the devestating statistics. All I know is that I can't sit here in silence, and not do something. What I can and will do, I'm trying to figure out at present.

Anyways, Happy International Woman's Day to all the women out there.