One thing after another!

The lead up for this trip has been one hurdle after another! This trip was originally supposed to happen in January. One little hitch after another has pushed it back to August. Let's take a moment to chronicle the hitches:

• Money - funding has and will continue to be an issue for this and almost every trip like it. As I stated earlier, in the end, the Kenyans themselves are footing the bill for our travel and accommodations. Each of our employers has granted us some type of time off to make this happen. Available funding was definitely the first set back, and drove the January launch back to late spring/early summer.
• Money...again - Spring became summer, and early summer became mid-summer, and still Dave and the crew at NYC Medics struggled to put together the roughly $15,000 needed to get us all to Kenya. We knew that KCEMT had some funds, but it wasn't clear how much of the trip they could cover. Around this time, a large East Coast hospital system, known for research and humanitarian work around the world, stepped up and unofficially offered to cover the entire trip. 
• Money revisited - The hospital pulled out...sort of. I think a better explanation would be that they turtle-headed: they were in, they were out, they were in, they were out, they stayed out. Up to two weeks prior to the departure date, we thought they were still in, but they officially and unequivocally said they would not be funding us, leaving the Kenyans to come up with the money...which they did!
• My anniversary - I know this sounds like a strange hurdle, but as it turns out, my 10th wedding anniversary on the 9th of August. When I was asked about my availability to travel, I said "any time after the 9th". Our original departure date was set for the 10th (Happy Anniversary Baby!), but, due to forces outside our control, and in order to save over $2000, we had to switch the departure date to the 9th (Double Happy Anniversary Honey!!). To be clear, and for the world to hear, Mrs. Goldstein was already aware that this was a possibility and despite a dirty look, offered zero argument to the new travel plan. Dave, to his credit, realized the gravity of the situation, and thought the trip was doomed right up until he spoke to me. Problem solved, tickets bought.
• Carry on only! - This may have only been a problem for me, but some folks might find it humorous and I'm certainly not above self-deprecating humor. So, Dave says to me, "You can only take carry on bags." I'm thinking, 10-days, Africa, how the hell am I getting everything I need for 10 days into a bag that's roughly 20"x14"x9"? This is further complicated by the fact that the only official carry on bag we own is my wife's bright orange roll around bag. So this is where I have to make a confession, I'm a bit of a bag addict and I'm VERY snobby about the bags that I'm addicted to. First thing is, there's no friggin way I'm gallivanting through international airports with a bright orange bag in tow. I'm vain, there it is, I said it; simply not going to happen. (It's worth noting that Mrs. Goldstein does not share my zealous search for the perfect bag for each occasion and has NO problem telling me that I'm insane about it). After an exhaustive, internet search, interviews with other international travelers I know, field recon at Eastern Mountain Sports and careful calculation of the airspeed of an African Swallow, unladen of course, I determined that the Osprey Porter 46 was the bag of choice. My parent generously agreed to help me purchase the bag and in my mind, that box is checked. Further "debate" with my wife revealed deeply seeded issues with my self-professed psychosis. Only after offering to model the new bag, and show her just how perfect it is, given my body shape, packed volume, and need to be agile while in transit did she agree to stop calling me "ridiculous". I'm pretty sure she still thinks I'm a lunatic, but I got her to stop saying it out loud!
• Let's get crazy!!!!!! - No, this is not a reference to my bag fetish (is it really a fetish? I'l have to look that one up). traveling to sub-Saharan Africa requires one to consider the presence of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. To avoid all the fun associated with the blood infection, one has to take an anti-malarial medication. Larium is probably the most popular drug for this and was recommended to me. Larium has some known side effects, most of which are attributed to every drug the FDA approves: stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, headache, flu-like symptoms, etc. Facts of life dictate that you deal with the side effects to avoid the fun associated with a blood infection! So, I get my Larium and set about taking the initial dose a week before we leave. Knowing it has some GI impacts, I decide to see if anyone has posted whether it's better to take it with food or on an empty stomach. And what, pray tell, do I discover? 6 days prior, the FDA issued a Black Label Warning on Larium! Apparently, there's a fairly high instance of psychiatric and behavioral side effects known to accompany taking Larium, simple issues like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, twitches. These symptoms may be short term and have been documented to last months and years after the drug was taken. I immediately called Dave to let him know (he was the nice guy who said, "Take the Larium, it's great, it works...no big deal." I have since been seriously reevaluating some the other advice he has given me over the years!!) In an effort to avoid long term psychiatric disorders, no matter how much fun they might be for my wife, I decided to go with another anti-malarial. Maloram has to be taken daily, rather than weekly, but it has almost no side effects and only has to be taken 7 days after returning from the trip instead of 4 weeks.
• Damn terrorists - Thinking we had hit some smooth sailing going into the last week before departure was a huge mistake. Just when everything started falling into place, the US Governments controversial electronic surveillance programs help uncover some sort of terrorist plot out of Yemen. The State Department issue travel warnings and closes Embassies, the military goes on alert, Predator drones start crisscrossing the Middle East and we throw our hands in the air! I mean, REALLY? The threat is deemed to be primarily in and around the Middle East and or North Africa and does not even remotely involve Kenya...but REALLY? Anxiety levels spike, but no plans are changed..yet.
• NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 600 - What does the NYS V&T law for a hit and run accident have to do with our trip to Kenya? When a low level diplomat out of the US Embassy in Nairobi hits and kills a Kenyan father of 3, claims diplomatic immunity and is whisked out of the country over-night, this present a minor complication for the other Americans, without diplomatic immunity, traveling to the area. I have no clue what the details of the accident are, and I'm not suggesting fault, liability or responsibility, but it sure don't look good!
• The final straw! - 
  
  
  
  You just can't make this shit up! As if everything previously discussed isn't complicating enough, two days before we leave, the International Arrivals Building at the airport we're flying into burns to the ground! The irony of the fire happening days before we deploy fire instructors to the area is unrelenting. No official cause announced so far. Fortunately, there's no indication that it has anything to do with the "Damn Terrorists" bit above. 
  
  
  From here, we wait to see what happens next. Dave is afraid that some new strain of deadly virus will be uncovered in the resort we're staying at. I'm past that and looking for alien space ships!