Details...

For those of you still wondering, here's a short FAQ...

When do I leave? Sunday, Aug. 20th, a 5:55 pm flight from JFK to Johannesburg and from Johannesburg to Lusaka, Zambia via South African Airways. I'll arrive at Lusaka Airport 8:10 pm Lusaka time on Monday Aug. 21st.

What am I doing? "Research" for a couple of economics professors in Lusaka, Zambia. Involves implementing experiments in contraceptive education and collecting data on fertility outcomes. If you want more details, email me.

Is it safe? Actually, yes. Lusaka, Zambia is supposedly pretty safe according to a friend living there now, despite a relatively corrupt, ineffectual government, a large amount of international debt, a large HIV/AIDS population (~20%), and 50% unemployment.

How long am I staying? At least 4-5 months.

What's the time difference? Lusaka is 6 hours ahead.

What's the best way to stay in contact? Even though I will be getting a local Zambian cell phone, email is definitely the best mode of communication; my BlackBerry works in Lusaka, according to Cingular. (yay international data plan....). Another cool perk is that a friend showed me how to get wireless internet access on my laptop via my Blackberry. So I should technically have wireless internet in Lusaka too... (thought it'll be really slow.) Please note that my cell phone will be suspended after this Monday.

Am I all packed? 95% as of now. Still need to get an extended life laptop battery... supposedly a must in developing countries.

What am I going to do after the Zambia job? Good question. Not quite sure, but I used the acronyms "MBA" and "PhD" in my discussions with my parents.

How are you feeling? Excited, of course. A little scared. Challenges will be... adjusting to a new time zone, a completely new cultural environment... trying not to catch malaria, trying not to get sick from the unclean water... fending off homesickness....

Ok that's all I can think of. Please comment so I know who's reading!