Tuesday, August 4, 2009

We Go!

Tomorrow afternoon, 5:15 to be exact, we fly out. It's never easy getting on the plane and leaving loved ones behind, they having their worries and concerns, and we having ours as we settle in our seats.

The other side of that is: excitement!

Two weeks in Africa's most populous country. The home of more than 240 ethnicities. Teamwork between cultures. Nigerian and Purdue Extension improving livelihoods. University research being applied on the ground. Learning new words and phrases. Tasting local food and drink. Mind expansion.

For me, being with Adrienne, Maria, Bill and Jeremy, and our Nigeria counterparts, with their wealth of experience, is an opportunity to learn and experience international extension in practice.

How can the extension educator from Indiana assist the extension educator in Nigeria? What might the team in Nigeria teach the Purdue team? How will what we do in Nigeria have importance in Indiana? What will Purdue Extension accomplish in Nigeria?

These questions can't be answered without going.

Tomorrow, we go!

--Jim

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