Almost three months ago, my amazing friends surprised me with a grand send-off adventure that I would not soon forget. Aptly entitled “The Amazing Race: ZamPIA,” the game consisted of a series of challenges that tested not just my cognitive and psychomotor competencies but also (more importantly) my sense of humor.:D

I would say that the best parts of the race were (a) reading through the clues and discovering the next creative task that awaited me, and (b) landing on the mat to indicate my successful completion of the race, as my friends cheered me on.:) (I’m sorry to say that wearing a pink shirt and a floral skirt did not make it to my list of “favorite moments” from the race. Haha.)

(Read Tristan’s full account of that “amazing despedida” here.)

Little did I know that a few days after that event, real-life YIELDS, DETOURS, and ROADBLOCKS would make the distance that separates me from Zambia a bit more tricky to traverse. What was initially a smooth-sailing pre-departure phase became full of twists and turns. For a while there, I thought that all roads to Zambia would lead to dead-ends.

Then, that one path opened up for me a few days ago. Quick decisions—not without costly risks—had to be made. That’s when I realized that I have reached the FAST FORWARD phase.

Yesterday morning, I had no idea when I was leaving. Today, I’m all packed up and ready to go. After the prolonged wait for my final deployment, and the hurried preparation for the actual departure, I am finally on the last leg of my “race” to Zambia.

Tomorrow, barring any freakish circumstances, I would have crossed over to Zambian soil. When I reach that place, there would be no familiar Road Signs or Clues to point me where to go, no Task cards to give me step-by-step instructions on how to go about my tasks, no Landing mats to indicate that I successfully completed my goals, no familiar faces to cheer and clap for me through my small victories.

And that’s when I’d know that the real race has begun.:)