Pre-Departure Blog Post (December 19)

By: Victoria Westlund

We leave in just a couple days, and I know everyone is extremely excited! Finals are over, and now all we have to focus on and look forward to is the Philippines trip. For me, I have never been anywhere outside of the United States, so it is a lot of excitement and a little bit of nerves as I finish up my packing today. The longest flight I have been on is a little over 3 hours, so adding ten more to that is going to be interesting. I am going through my head as to what is the most important thing to not forget (plane tickets, passport, etc.), what and how much of everything I need, and what I can/can’t bring on a plane. It’s kind of a lot to remember!

On the ninth of December, we had our last meeting as a group at CSS. It was a pretty high-energy class, especially when Gina and Paula started handing out the plane tickets! It finally started to feel real. This semester has been quite busy, so being able to feel like we are ACTUALLY close to leaving for the Philippines was thrilling. At the final meeting, we were also given stories/advice from previous students who had gone on the trip. It was really insightful, and nice to hear their personal experiences. As we were munching on our Erberts and Gerberts sandwiches courtesy of Paula and Gina, we read those stories and talked about packing, what we were excited about, and many, many questions were asked and answered!

After we talked and ate, we started packing the different donations. We filed into Gina’s office and grabbed huge duffle bags, and began hastily filling them with the various items. I don’t think I have ever seen so many stuffed in my life! Aside from the millions (give or take a couple) of stuffed animals, there were also multiple different medical supplies items, books, and other toy-like objects. I believe we filled about 7 bags, and most of them were pushing the 50 pound limit! There are also other items still coming in, and those are being packed by others and they are bringing them to the airport themselves.

Personally, I am very excited for everything on this trip, and I also am looking forward to getting to know my classmates better! I have no doubt it will be an experience I will never forget. At this moment, I am going to finish packing my stuff in Duluth, and then I’m headed to Wisconsin for Christmas. The next time I see everyone, it will be at the airport on Saturday. Merry Christmas, everyone!