Counting down....22 days!

While I thought I was prepared for going to Nicaragua with Davie for two weeks (I've only known it was coming at some point for the last three years), the past few months have shown me that I really wasn't!  I've done some international travel, but the last trip was over 10 years ago.  And I've never taken an international trip where I was the one in charge of making all of the arrangements or keeping things on track once I got to the foreign country.  I have been to poor countries in the past, but I haven't been to a country this poor.  All of these factors and more have made this experience one that I don't think I could have been prepared for - and we haven't even left the US yet!  (Even more waits for me once we actually get there!)

Thankfully this has been a productive week:

1)  We officially have a hotel room for our first night in Managua!!  Hotel Morgut  (Thanks Mom for the idea of asking the US Embassy in Nicaragua for help - they had a list of hotels on their website that gave me a place to start!)  Davie spoke with them last night and they were very nice and helpful.  He asked for help trying to find a rental car and they've already sent us an email with options today!  They'll also pick us up at the airport when we fly in, so we won't have to mess with all of our luggage and trying to find a (legitimate) taxi.

2)  I found out that my Marriott Visa credit card won't charge transaction fees on international transactions, which means I'll be mostly using that card while we are there.  I was worried about the best way to pay for things while also not wanting to be charged an arm and a leg for using my credit / debit card overseas.  We'll take some cash / traveler's checks too, but it's nice to know that it will be easy to use the card.  I went ahead and had them note the international travel on my account, so hopefully they won't deny any charges either as potential fraud transactions.  (Although I've heard they still will, so we'll have to see how that goes!)

3)  We've basically decided the phone situation.  I'm going to add an international data plan to my phone for a month, so I should be able to use my iPhone for internet while we are there (and hopefully blog post!).  Davie is going to get a new pay-as-you-go phone for while he is there - it is sooooooo expensive to have an international plan through AT&T!!  He'll go ahead and keep his US phone too, and I think we'll add some international texting as I don't think he could do that using a pay-as-you-go phone, but he won't have a US smart phone anymore (at least until he gets back).  He goes over his data plan now every month as it is and he has about 10 times the usage he would have under an international plan!  I don't even want to know what that bill would be!  So, on that note, if anyone has an old "normal" phone that Davie could take to Nicaragua that we could buy for cheap, let's talk!  :)

4)  Davie is calling today about driver's licenses for while we are there.  (Thanks Dad for making sure we thought of this!)  I'm still not sure how that will work, but hopefully he'll figure that out today.

5)  I started the vaccination process for hepatitis A and B yesterday at the on-site medical clinic here. (How much do I love the new job?  Free on-site medical care!!)  Who knew they take six months to finish?  :P  But the doctor still said it will help that I've gotten the first shot and, since the plan is for me to visit a couple times next year, I'll still need the full vaccine in the future anyway.  Once we have insurance (Saturday!) I'll make an appointment with a "regular" doctor to get the last of the vaccines that the CDC recommends.  Or at least to talk with the doc about what he/she thinks I should get.  We'll be in the country and around animals, so I think better safe than sorry to maybe just get them all! 

6)  I let the US Embassy know I'll be in Nicaragua at that time and they'll contact me if there are any alerts or anything that they think I should be aware of.  Helpful service!

With as much as we've done, it still feels like there is so much left to do!  And every time I cross something off the list, I add something else, so the list never gets smaller!!  I'm trying to not stress too much about details / planning and just go with the flow.  I know there are things that have to be done before we go, and I'm trying to get those done, but I'm also trying to recognize that this trip will be unlike anything I've ever done before and I can't prepare for everything that might come up.  So, in order to not be completely overwhelmed by all of those potential things, I think I'm probably being too laid back!  Stressing out won't help me with anything though, so we're going to try a different approach.  :)  If I've learned nothing else the last two and a half years (officially today!) that I've been married to Davie, I've learned that I cannot control everything, no matter how much I wish I could, and that the really important things are what I should focus on - my love for Davie and our family and friends, trying to be the best person I can be and living each day to the fullest.  So there will be minimal (because there still has to be some) stress about the trip or about the time after the trip when we will be apart, and instead I will focus on spending as much time as I can with Davie in the weeks leading up to this adventure and I will enjoy each moment spent in Nicaragua (even the time spent in the outdoor shower / toilet)!