Take a deep breath, and . . . . .

As I mentioned before, this year is going to be our busiest yet in terms of travel, and it kicks off tomorrow morning. Here's a summary of what's in store for 2008, and a little more detail about the very first thing on the list.

Jennifer goes to Senegal, West Africa for 10 days,
Tristan and Zoe go to Western North Carolina for 5 days,
Tristan and Zoe fly out to Illinois for two weeks,
Jennifer returns from Senegal, drives to Vermont for a week to finish her masters degree,
Tristan and Zoe fly to New Jersey, where Jennifer meets them, and they hang out for a few days,
I meet the rest of the family up North, and we all go to Morocco, North Africa for 10 days
Most of us go to Western North Carolina for a week for Roth extended-family vacation.

. . . and then things get back to normal. Until October when I go back to Nevada, November when Jennifer has a conference in Florida, and then Christmas time when we all (tentatively) go to Barcelona, Spain to hang out with Jennifer's family.

So now some detail on Jennifer's Senegal trip.

Jennifer is traveling with the World View program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From their own words:

World View International Study Visits

Every summer World View leads a study visit to a country or region of the world where many North Carolina educators may not have traveled before. From our own experiences, we understand that travel abroad changes our lives for the better. It broadens our perspectives, it challenges our understanding of ourselves, and it helps us understand those whose cultures are different from our own. For those of us who are educators, international travel helps us help our students understand the world in more complex ways—and to understand their place in this world.

World View traveled to Russia and Finland in 1999, to South Africa and Swaziland in 2000, to Guatemala and Belize in 2001, and to Mexico in 2002. Due to popular demand, the 2003 international study visit returned to Mexico. World View's trip to Eastern Europe in 2004 was a huge success and filled up fast. Our 2005 trip to Spain, 2006 trip to China, and 2007 trip to India were also very successful. In 2008, we look forward to our trip to Senegal in June and our Honduras Heifer International Study Tour in July.

And a little more detail on the itinerary.

All activities will be planned with cultural and educational value in mind. You must take part in all scheduled group activities during the study visit. Activities will include:
• Visits to local schools and colleges
• Lectures on education and culture of Senegal
• Lessons in Wolof, the traditional language of Senegal
• Tour of Dakar
• Visit to Goree Island, the House of Slaves, and the “Door of No Return”
• Tour of Saint Louis, old colonial capital
• Visits to Tuba and Tivaoune, en route to Saint Louis
• Traditional musical performance
Schedule is subject to change.

Needless to say, Jennifer is very excited and has been packed (in one carry-on suitcase, by the way, the Traveling Roths do not check luggage) for days. I think she's one of maybe two people on the trip that speaks French, one of the main languages of Senegal, and is ready to hit the ground running. She's been to Africa twice before, but never to Senegal. With her savvy travel and language skills, we're sure she's going to have a great time, and will probably make fun of the people who over-packed. Now if I could only get her to post here too. . . . Maybe we'll at least get some pictures. I'll update here when I hear from her.

So that's the rest of the year in a nutshell. Stay tuned.