Have Smile, Will Travel

How do you prepare for a trip like this? Two months of preparation has netted 110 lbs. of gear in two army duffel bags, a carry-on backpack, 7 immunization shots, loads of new equipment and a world of unknowns ahead. How can you possibly prepare to travel to a third world country that has been wrecked by one of the largest natural disasters we have ever seen? I could pack for another 2 months and still not be prepared for what may lay ahead. Then again, how do you prepare to have your ENTIRE family, home, friends, job, economy, community, and the very ground you walk on to be swept away by a tsunami? How on Earth do you handle that????? Earth. That word is about to earn a whole new meaning to me.

Enough talk, it's time to go. Tomorrow will be a day I never envisioned for myself and one nobody wished necessary. These past 3 days have been a non-stop whirlwind of activities and last-minute thoughts. I stopped by my local Lowe's Home Improvement Center in Cookeville on Friday and asked if they would be interested in donating a few tools for the cause. Before I knew it I had 5 canvas tool belts, a tape measure, a complete set of masonry tools, and a nice first aid kit. Thank you Lowe's for coming through without hesitation. These supplies will be well used and appreciated. Also, the passport arrived not on Monday, as promised, but on Wednesday, as expected. Anyway, enough of that.

The posted times on my blog will be US central time and are automatically displayed when updated by the Blogger system, but I will post in my entries the local Sri Lankan time just to completely confuse you. Also, I was mistaken on the time difference in my earlier post but it did make a good story. India is indeed one big time zone on the half-hour but Sri Lanka is exactly 12 hours ahead of central time not 11.5. Normally they are 11 hours ahead but do not recognize daylight savings time. Learned enough about that? Me too. Just switch your A.M.'s and P.M.'s and you'll know where I am, because I probably won't. :)

I understand there is internet access in some of the airports and I will try to say hello between flights. Five planes and six airports in 2 days and I'll be happy with whatever accommodations I can find at the end.

Please note the new page, "Thank You", on the left-side menu. Also, the Photos page has a new link at the top which will open a new window to my offsite photo album. This album will be updated whenever I get my camera's memory card transferred and uploaded. Well, until then and as Forrest Gump would say, "That's about all I've got to say about that."

-Chris