It's still a long explanation that most people wouldn't want to hear as to why, at the very last minute I could (classic me), I chose to study in Ireland rather than Kenya. Yes, two wholly different places, it's true, but hell, ask my advisor (Tony!)--there is very little consistency to much that I do. The unrest and violence that recently erupted in Nairobi has my parents especially grateful that something in me made that switch just a couple of months ago. I guess I am too, but I also wonder what that might have been like to go there still. (Ah, naivety and presumptuousness.)

Well, I'm off tomorrow evening, six p.m. flight out of Chicago if no delays. I still have to pack, I guess, but otherwise, I'm ready. Next time I write, I'll be on Irish soil...