Leaving on a bush plane...

So this morning we found out we’re leaving tomorrow.

Yeah, tomorrow. As in, two days earlier than first planned.

This is just how things go out here, especially with Steve. The guy is terrible at planning, but things always seem to come through for him, though not always with the least inconvenience to everyone else. But, hey, that’s Africa, right? Right.

The point is, we’re leaving tomorrow. Which means today we stuffed two days’ worth of work into one half day, and tonight we’re so exhausted it’s making goodbyes pretty much impossible.

But, fortunately (I guess) for me, I’m finding that though I’ve long expected an intense, stomach-dropping moment of feeling the finality, it hasn’t come. And I’m a bit worried it isn’t going to come? I’m not sure if this is me being numb and exhausted or the fruit of preparing myself well and achieving a healthy closure.

Whatever the case, here I am, my last night in Lopit. It’s nuts. Simply crazy.

From here, it’s straight to Nairobi where we’ll spin our wheels a few days before our debriefing at the TIMO headquarters in Tanzania. Then, back to Nairobi for a bit until Kim and my flight leaves for Chicago, with a pesky layover in London.

Two weeks from now, I’ll be nowhere near this remote, funny mountainside I’ve called my home for two years.

Instead, I’ll probably (hopefully?) be in Wal-Mart with my parents. Or grilling steaks in the backyard. Or watching my beloved Cubs and eating fried chicken with my friends.

Whole different worlds, that’s for sure.

And I just can’t believe yet that I’m leaving this one.