You know that phrase, "hurry up and wait"? Well, I've decided there is no better way to sum up the last week of my life. When I first found out last week that I'd be traveling to Niger in mid-September, I was instructed to expedite my passport in order to leave as soon as possible. So I immediately got on phone with the passport agency in Boston only to find that my passport had already been sent to me via priority mail, and there was nothing I could do to expedite the process. The only advice the man on the other end of the line could give me was to wait.

When I received my passport just a few days later, I called my supervisor who just so happened to be out of town. I left him a voicemail message, but once again, my only option was to wait.

Last night, I spoke with a travel agent who faxed me my visa applications just after FedEx had closed. While I rushed to get all the information necessary for my application, I realized I would have to wait until FedEx opened this morning to overnight my application package. This afternoon, I am sitting at Panera, just having left FedEx (where I was assured my package would arrive in Washington, D.C. by 10:30am tomorrow), waiting...

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, my passport with a freshly stamped visa, will be returned to me by 10:30am Saturday, and I will begin the first leg of my journey to Niger on Monday afternoon. Until then, I'll be waiting...