Hello from Hotlanta, everyone!
Actually, this city is experiencing record lows. The scorching heat I associate with Atlanta is now a biting cold. When my team goes outside to get lunch from the Arby’s or Subway across the street, we wear all our layers and complain that our faces are numb.
I’m at what they call “Launch,” the final four-ish days in America. All of us racers are together at a hotel in Atlanta now, doing some more training for life on the field, reuniting, and learning how to live together as a team. My parents came to Launch with me, which was a huge blessing. I’m so glad Mom and Dad could be a part of this transition with me and meet the people I’m traveling with!
It’s hard to believe that in two days I’m flying to Honduras. It’s also hard to believe that last Saturday I was at home.
But as I got ready that last day, I took notes so I could share what my last day at home was like. So I give you a guide for the perplexed, by the perplexed, to getting ready for the World Race, last minute style!
Wake up.
Hang out with your sister Kate on the couch. Play your favorite game and watch videos on youtube.
Look at the mess on your floor and think, “I need to pack.”
Decide you need more underwear.
Come to terms with the fact you won’t finish the three books you’ve been working on and don’t have space to take them with you. Until next year, you tell each of them.
Question your decision to bring a mandolin with you when you can barely play the thing.
Find a spoon you stole from the Deece years ago at Vassar. (Deece=ACDC=All Campus Dining Center.) You get nostalgic about the Deece and slip the stolen Sysco spoon in your pack.
Have lunch, watch The Holiday with Mom and your sister, and sew up the rips in your favorite orange sarong. It’s gotta look spiffy for the trip!
Oops, you didn’t get enough underwear or bug spray! Do a Target run.
While you’re at it, embrace your Northwestiness by swinging by Starbucks as the pink and orange sunset colors the snow on Mt. Rainier.
Buff. Buff! Where’s my Buff? I can’t be a missionary without my Buff! How can I share God’s love when I don’t have a glorified headband that doubles as a ski mask?
You decide it’s good you won’t have a Buff. One less thing to worry about. All I have is Christ.
Find your Buff. Pack it.
Learn how to sew a rolled hem on the modest, lightweight skirt you’re making.
Rejoice when you succeed in installing a rolled hem on that modest, light skirt. In a triumphant daze, make a shirt from the remaining fabric.
Have your dad spray permethrin on some clothes to keep mosquitoes at bay.
Dad tells you the permethrin only lasts 42 washes. You think that won’t be an issue.
Stop! It’s dinner time. Join your family for an incredible feast of bread, cheese, olive oil, wine, pasta, steak, and vegetables.
Spend FOREVER putting things in your pack the right way.
Weigh your pack and do some fist pumps when it clocks in at 38 pounds.
It’s 2 a.m… time for bed. You need to wake up in three hours to leave for the airport!
Great job, you did it! You prepared for the World Race. It’s all downhill from here… right?
