what's the plan, stan?

It hit me today, while already starting to think about what we'd do with a chronically ill patient after the ship leaves, just how short this outreach is. We're already in our ninth week of surgery; the last day is scheduled for the thirtieth of July. Just over three months and the ship will be pulling up anchor and heading to South Africa for a new set of generators to be installed. (It's going to be a massive undertaking that's rumored to involve actually cutting a huge hole in the side of the ship. But I'm not a technical person so don't quote me on that!) If all goes according to plan (and with Mercy Ships, very little does) the Africa Mercy is set to be in Sierra Leone in February of 2011.

Our contract ends on the twelfth of August, three and a half months from now. We have no plans to sail to South Africa with the ship. I'm a shaky sailor at the best of times, and I'm not sure a trip around the Cape in a ferry would be a memory I'd treasure. So what's next?

I feel like a kid who just woke up to find that a surprise blizzard has blanketed the town and school is unexpectedly out for the day. You know how that feels, right? How the whole town stretches out in front of you, untouched, just waiting to be explored. Vast expanses of snow just waiting for your footprints.

That's kind of what the world feels like for us right now. So we're going to go leave some footprints.

We've just mailed a cheque to our travel agent, securing our seats on an around-the-world ticket. From mid-August until just before Christmas, we're planning the World Domination Tour Oh-Ten. (Name subject to change when I come up with something better; any suggestions?)

We're going to spend time in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, India, China, and Thailand with friends of ours from the ship, Julle and Elliot. (Get used to their names; you'll hear them again.) Jelliot (as they're more abbreviatedly known) will then head home while Team Chandra heads out for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Mexico before heading home to New Jersey and/or Toronto for Christmas.

I just got giddy typing all that out. We've been thinking and planning for quite some time now, but since the money has changed hands, I'm feeling secure enough in the plan to share it with you. We're not taking much; a backpack, a camera, a notebook and a Bible. I'm going to re-learn how to live without technology, how to write with pen on paper, how to see the world through my lens.

And when we hit places with internet cafes, I'm going to share it all with you.

This is going to be fun.

What I need from you is any information or suggestions of things to do in any of those places. I know some of you have either been there or actually live there. Places to go? Things to see? Let me know!