Christmas and packing

It sure looks Christmasy here, and without the hassle of having to shovel our driveway either. The temperature has been staying around 20 F (-6 C) for the past few days and there is a light dusting of snow making everything white. We are going up to the mountains on Saturday and staying there until the 28th with Viggo's family. Viggo was done with his work as of yesterday, so now we can both focus on all the things we've got to get done before we leave.




I did a bit of a pre-pack yesterday to see if everything we're taking is going to fit in our luggage, and it looks like we'll have to ship some stuff. Packing is kind of intense since there are a number of things that are hard to get in Tanzania and we're going to be there for a long time. I ended up deciding to bring clothes for Daniel up to size 24months. I know we can get clothes for him there if we need to, but finding what you need is way more complicated there, and I think we're going to be busy enough in our first year.

We're also going to need to go through the stuff we're leaving here pretty carefully to decide what is worth keeping. We've tried pretty hard not to accumulate too much stuff since we knew we wouldn't be able to take too much to Africa, but there is still plenty to sort through. I'm working on putting together a decent filing system so it will be possible to find any papers that we might need later on without too much trouble. Yeah. So that's pretty much where my head is. Not so much focused on Christmas, to tell the truth. We've got almost a month until we leave, but I know it's going to go really fast.

37 Days

37 Days until we leave for Tanzania now. Assuming I counted correctly.... Our funding is in place (thanks to all of you who have given or have committed to giving regularly), our work permits have arrived, and I'm busy ordering summer clothes and cloth diapers for Daniel. It will probably be in the mid-90s when we get there, with 100% humidity. That's on the coast, where we will be staying for our first three weeks (fortunately in air-conditioned rooms). The town we will be living in for the long-term is inland, and doesn't get nearly as humid, and probably not as hot either. It will be quite a transition from our cold Norwegian winter here, especially for Daniel I expect.

We are doing very well. Viggo has been working up until now, but expects to be finished with his last translation assignment (not the Bible, just a boring lighting catalog) by sometime tomorrow. Daniel just got his yellow fever vaccination today. Once Viggo is done with his work, I'm hoping to be able to use a couple of days to start on some packing and organizing that really needs to get done.

Daniel is also very busy. We finally decided we needed a playpen recently and borrowed one from some friends, and it has saved my life. I can't leave him for two seconds now without him finding something forbidden to get into or chew on, or else falling and hitting his head. He is really good at standing up now, but doesn't seem to understand the danger of just leaning backwards and letting go of the thing he's holding on to. So he would be constantly falling and hitting his head on our wood floors if I didn't watch him like hawk. I don't really watch him quite 'like a hawk' as it is, so he tends to fall on his head at least once a day. But the playpen helps somewhat at least.

We'll be going up to the mountains with Viggo's family for Christmas, and that should be fun, though cold. They are all excited about the cross country skiing possibilities, while I'm less than excited about that based on past experiences. Norwegains like to do their cross-country skiing in pretty hilly terrain, and that can be tough and at times embarrassing for out-of-shape and inexperienced skiiers like me. Oh, and they take their babies with them. In little covered sleds that they attach by a harness around their waists and drag behind them as they ski. Seriously. I'm not letting them take Daniel.

I'm glad we're going away for Christmas so that we will get to have a real break from the stress of all the things that need to get done before we leave. My parents will be coming to Norway on January 7th. They will get to see Daniel before we go that way, and we will get some help with him while we're in the midst of packing and moving out of our house.