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Pre-Philly

“Haven’t you left yet?”

A valid question.  My departure date was moved to Oct. 10, so I’ve had an extra week to act like a maniac around my most loved friends and family.  Hopefully they will forgive me later for being so stressed. Currently I’m deciding what pictures and music to bring.  Tomorrow I’ll stow away the rest of my non-Kenya-bound stuff and pack up my bags.  Mostly I need to decide what NOT to bring, because I’m over the weight limit. Solar equipment works great.  I was able (before the weather got nasty) to sit outside and run my laptop completely off of the foldable panel.  Perhaps I will post a later entry on how it works… my search for real examples of similar setups came up empty, but I think people would like to know how to do it.  Beware, it involves soldering… I am also not leaving from DC anymore… it’s Philly now.  And instead of training in Embu, I’ll be training in a small town to the south of Nairobi.  Also, because I’m in the deaf ed group, we’ll be in Mombasa for the first week, which means out group gets to travel more than everyone else… pretty cool but I bet I’ll be tired of packing and unpacking by the time I finally get to my final placement, wherever that may be… Also, I can now sign the ABC’s in American Sign Language.  I learned it over lunch, so hopefully that bodes well for my KSL training.

Categories
Pre-Philly

Solar Power Mania

As a researchaholic, it is difficult to decide what to bring to Kenya.  On one hand, I have no desire to overwhelm myself and my community with amenities that make me stand out.  On the other hand, there is the possibility that I will want to further develop the e-learning software used in the deaf classes, which would require a laptop and possibly a video camera, and I want to make sure that if that opportunity arises, I can take advantage of it even if I’m in an area without reliable power.  (For that matter, I don’t want my interest in that software to inherently mean that I have to work in a urban district.) 

So… I splurged yesterday and bought some items to keep me off the grid:
-a 62w fold-able solar panel (about 3 pounds)
-a charge controller so I can hook it up to a car battery if I get one while I’m there
-a voltage limiter to so can hook it up to laptop/AA chargers, etc.
-various cords and stuff

This was no small investment (I won’t list prices but if you look these things up you’ll see), and I may feel silly if I end up in a place with reliable AC power, or I end up simply not needing my camcorder or laptop, but as a Boy Scout it’s just not an option to go unprepared.  The good news is that this stuff won’t take up much space; however, if I do use the panel, I’ll definitely be the Crazy American with all my gadgets.  I can live with that though.

Categories
Pre-Philly

My Pre-Kenya Timeline

I was able to redeem my Southwest rewards so that my entire Ohio trip’s airfare will be free.  Pretty handy.

(now)-Oct. 4: Work/pack up in LA

Oct. 5: Move up to Saramento

Oct. 6-8: Stow away boxes, etc.

Oct. 9: Fly into Chillicothe, OH

Oct. 10-14: Chillicothe

Oct. 15-19: Cleveland

Oct. 20: Fly back to Sacramento

Oct. 21-Nov. 1: Goodbyes & get my act together

Nov. 2: Fly to DC

Nov. 3-5: DC Training

Nov. 6+: Kenya!!!