Why you Shouldn't Put Chickens in Your Room

...And other impulsive decisions. Before I talk about my prep for this trip I should probably address the title. Beginning, of March Claire was very sad and lonely and so she got baby chicks and put them in her room. From putting up with their football matches at 2 in the morning, my room being the temperature of a hatchery, and the inevitable fact that babies grow into teenagers, I have learned from this decision that while chickens are wonderful they do not belong in a bedroom. I'm hopeful that this trip isn't another one of those realizations. Now that that's been addressed why don't I talk about this trip a little bit.

It's been my goal to travel after college and while the original plan was to work on a farm in Central America I am ending up working in a school and at a hospital in Africa which schools are if you really think about it similar to farms. Then Chris, my friend from college, biking buddy, and baking partner decided to spend a semester in Rome and it seemed like a good idea to stop off there. How'd we end up going to Poland? Well it's his spring break and it's on both of our bucket list to see Krakow. So that's how this trip happened. And that's how I ended up booking 15 flights across the world and hoping and praying I don't lose track of anything important-like I do everywhere else I go.

This last month I've been working as a band teacher in Kettle, becoming an EMT, and taking care of the afore mentioned chicks. All this to say I've had a lot of free time to learn Swahili, apply for Visas, pack and repack, and getting band music out of my head. (I really liked Crazy Train but let's be honest I never liked Pomp and Circumstance.) The kids in all honesty have been really fun and while I know nothing about playing brass instruments I've had a lot of fun trying to teach and conduct a band. The high schoolers are quick studies too. They only took like three days to figure out my arm flailing conducting style.

Speaking of flailing about, I decided to curb the possibility of losing things that I would take only one bag. Pictured here. Two months one bag-and only 2 books which is truly the most depressing thing. It's kept me from impulsively hauling an Accordion across the world or more realistically more books.

I'm headed out Easter Sunday evening and I'm sure the next update will be much more interesting but for now I leave you with an itinerary.

Krakow

Chris and I will get there Tuesday afternoon. We are staying in a small hotel in Old Town Krakow. On Tuesday our goal is to probably find as much Polish food as possible but remains to be seen. Wednesday we go to the Salt Mines, Thursday we explore the city, Friday we go to Auschwitz, and Saturday we go for a hike. Sunday we will visit the Divine Mercy Shrine and fly back to Rome. Something that is worth looking up but we aren't going to because Chris is a coward is a haunted house escape room in Krakow. What makes this neat is there are varying levels from they can't touch you, to they can throw you in coffins, to they can inflict bruising pain. Weirdly enough no one makes it out of the last one.

Rome

I don't honestly have a lot planned here. Monday I will do my best to find Mass and then visit the Colosseum, Forum, and all the old Roman stuff. My goal is to find good coffee. Tuesday, I'm going to the Vatican, St. Paul outside the Wall, and a collection of other churches that I have on my to do list. Wednesday, I'm going to the papal audience with St. Andrews (yes the one from Helena) not sure how that happened but I can't escape Helena. In the afternoon we are doing a museum and then I am switching from staying at a convent to a hostel. These will be a little different of experiences. One offers daily mass the other offers unlimited free drinks for only 10 Euros.

Tanzania

I am volunteering with a foundation called Lift Them up. The goal here is education for

primary age kids. To the best of my understanding I will be working as a para helping the kids with their English. In Tanzania primary school is in Swahili and secondary is in English. This can be a difficult transition and so the goal here is to help make the transition easier for the kids. I will be staying with a family and am really excited to learn as much as I can.

Zambia

Finally the last part of my trip I will be working at a Seventh Day Adventist Mission hospital shadowing and assisting where I can. I am most excited for this because it will be in a rural area. The goal here is to not get eaten by a lion which I suppose is a distinct possibility but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I survived teaching 8th graders so perhaps I'll be better off than I think.

Quote of the Post-"How many pairs of pants do I really need for two months?"

Song of the Post-"Apex Predator" Mean Girls--Really Sum up how I felt the first day in the High School