I look at this period of time of my upcoming service to Tanzania as the 'pre-season'. I'm preparing, getting ready, learning, gearing-up, etc. But, like my pre-season in skiing, I'm also experiencing anxiety and fear, and I am asking myself a lot of 'what if' questions.
One of my biggest fears going into this service trip is Africa itself. When I think of Africa, for some reason I get a dark and depressing vibe towards it. I don't know why. I'm confident that I can prepare myself for the challenges at the orphanage and school. I'm confident that I will work hard, give my all and do my best physically and mentally. However, I'm unsure of how to prepare myself for what Africa will be like. Other than endless second hand information provided to me on the Internet, I don't know what to expect.
I'm also unsure of how I'm going to conquer the language. Even though I have a lot of opportunities to improve my Swahili during the pre-season, I still think the language barrier is going to be one of the most difficult things on this trip. Swahili is a hard language to learn and even harder to speak. What if I can't communicate with the kids in Tanzania? What if I make mistakes with the language? It's going to be relatively impossible to connect with them if we can't communicate.
Like any pre-season, I'm going to do my best to prepare. And then I'm going to give it my best when I'm there. And hopefully, just like my ski season, when it's over I will look back with few regrets knowing that I went in prepared and gave it my all.
