honest observations

Here's another link, in case you have a spare hour or so and would like to read what it's really going to be like for me living at GGA. The Taubensee family from Canada spent 6 months living and working at GGA from Jan to July this year, and they have made some fascinating and honest observations on their blog:

http://gowellstaywell.blogspot.com

Looks like I should be getting ready to live alongside lots of creatures, especially frogs!

Having just spent a while reading the entire blog from start to finish, I've found myself excited and challenged by the kinds of experiences and adventures I'm likely to be surrounded by. 'Keep an open mind' is my first mantra, 'Just go with it' will probably be the second.
Having studied and experienced culture shock and transition I know to expect some wobbly moments when I get there, and indeed during my time there too. Living in Africa will be way further down the scale than even the slummiest of Italian cities. It's going to be one of those 'having to trust God every second of the day' adventures, where nearly all 'normality' will go out of the window... Counting my blessings will become uppermost in my thinking, and prayer will become as instinctual as breathing....

It's easy to write that from my comfy sofa and, relatively, high-speed internet connection here in the UK. The fun starts when I'm sleep-deprived, bug-bitten, hot, dysglycaemic and missing starbucks... That's when the trust bit really starts to kick in....